Experimental Study of Single and Groups of Stone Columns Encased by Geotextile

Stone columns are one of soil improvement methods that helps to increase the bearing capacity of soft soils. Therefore, finding ways to enhance their workability can be considerable. Bulging, known as the most important columns failure, can be dealt with by using suitable encasements. In this paper, single and group of stone columns were studied with and without geotextile encasement. Single stone columns with diameters of 63 and 82 mm and length to diameter ratio of 5 were tested. Results showed that by using geotextile, the bearing capacity of columns increased. Also, stone columns were tested in groups and their bearing capacities are compared.