Visualization of bulging development of geosynthetic-encased stone column

This paper presents an experimental investigation about visualization of bulging development of geosynthetic-encased stone column (GESC) based on the digital image correlation (DIC) technique and transparent soil. Visual model tests on GESC and ordinary stone column (OSC) were carried out. In order to delete the warping effect resulting from transparent soil and experiment setup, a modification for experiment results was performed. The bulging development process of the GESC and the displacement field of the surrounding soil were measured. By comparing with the existing experimental and theoretical results, it demonstrates that the model test system developed for studying the continuous bulging development of GESC is suitable. The current test results show that the bulging depth of GESC ranges from 1.05 to 1.40 times the diameter of GESC. The influence depth of GESC bulging on surrounding soil displacement is 0-3 the times diameter of GESC.