Study of Load vs Settlement Behavior of Stone Columns Improved with Circular Geogrid Discs in Marine Clays

Stone columns are extensively used and most popular techniques in soft calys and loose sands to improve the ground which is used for embankments, raft foundations, oil storage tanks etc. where a relatively large settlement is permissible. This ground improvement technique has been successfully applied to increase the bearing capacity and to reduce the settlement of foundations. The stone columns not only act as reinforcing material increasing the overall strength and stiffness of the compressible soft soil, but also they promote consolidation through effective drainage. In the present study, the stone columns were reinforced by providing lateral circular discs of geogrids within the column. The circular discs were placed at two different spacing (D and D/2) over full column length and investigated the effect of reinforcement to improve the properties of the clay bed. It has been observed that reinforcing the column with the circular geogrids improves the load carrying capacity of the quary waste stone column and reduce the setlements.