Ko consolidation test on organic soils reinforced with stone column

As with other problematic soils, organic soils frequently deviate from known soil behavior rules, posing significant problems to the design profession. Indeed, organic matter in soils is commonly associated with high compressibility, severe secondary compression, often unacceptable strength properties, and low unit weight. Compressibility and creep are frequently increased, which increases the danger of undesirable settlements and/or foundation failure. As a result, the Vibro-replacement (stone-column) technique has been extensively used to reinforce soft organic ground over the past years. Large-scale triaxial specimens of floating and end-bearing stone column foundations were tested in organic clayey soil beds with known effective stress and an average organic content of 15.2 percent. Different stone column parameters are being investigated, such as the area replacement ratio and the column’s length. It was found that the creep improvement factor is directly proportional to the column length and area replacement factor and varies from 1.18 to 2.05 according to the length of the column, its area, and the type of end bearing. Further research is needed to examine this aspect at higher area replacement ratios.