Field measured and simulated performance of a stone columns-strengthened soft clay deposit

This paper described field behaviour of a stone columns-reinforced soft foundation at a coal and ore stockyard followed by a comparison with numerical analysis. Performance of a 130-m-wide section with two ore stacks was recorded along a 500-operative day. An extensive instrumentation, comprising 14 sensors, was used to monitor the serviceability behaviour of the stabilized area. Complementary numerical analysis was performed using PLAXIS 2D finite element code, with which the increase in lateral earth pressure due to column installation was suitably modeled. The numerical analysis was carried out using plane strain approach, in which the stone columns were converted into the equivalent walls. Results showed that the adopted plane strain model could predict well measured total deformations of the reinforced foundation. Simulated curves of excess pore pressure also showed similar behaviour to the field data with a maximum value upon loading application followed by a gradual dissipation in consolidation stages.