Improvement of soft clay using installation of geosynthetic-encased stone columns: numerical study

The use of geosynthetic-encased stone columns as a method for soft soil treatment is extensively used to increase the bearing capacity and reduce the settlement of raft foundations and the foundation of structures like embankments. Pre-strain is an effect occurring in the encasement during stone column installation due to the compaction of the stone material. The present study uses the finite element program Plaxis to perform a numerical analysis of the soft clay bed reinforced by geosynthetic-encased stone columns. An idealization is proposed for simulation of installation of geosynthetic-encased stone columns in soft clay based on the unit-cell concept. In the analyses, initially, the validity of the analysis of the single column-reinforced soil in the unit-cell model was performed through comparison with the group columns. Then, by considering a unit-cell model, the finite element analyses were carried out to evaluate the stiffness of the reinforced ground to estimate the settlement. The results of the analyses show that the improved stiffness of the encased stone column is not only due to the confining pressure offered by the geosynthetic after loading, but the initial strain of the geosynthetic that occurred during installation also contributes to the enhancement of the stiffness of the stone column and the reduction of the settlement.