Numerical investigation of stone columns system for liquefaction and settlement diminution potential

• Main Authors: Haleh Meshkinghalam, Masoud Hajialilue-Bonab, Ali Khoshravan Azar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2017-06-01
• Series: International Journal of Geo-Engineering
• Subjects: Liquefaction; Soil improvement; Stone columns; FLAC3D
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40703-017-0047-x

Abstract The aim of this study is the investigation of application of stone columns in decreasing liquefaction potential. Liquefaction potential of sand bed was studied by FLAC3D and validated by the results of VELACS international project. The effect of stone column was studied on decreasing excess pore pressure and soil settlement individually at the center of the model with different diameters. The effects of columns group were also studied on decreasing excess pore water pressure and soil settlement in a triangle arrangement. Finally an average vertical contact pressure of 100 kPa, which is approximately equal to the vertical pressure transmitted by a 10 story reinforced concrete building, was applied in the model. The implementation of stone columns individually, as a row or in groups with fewer numbers, caused a decrease in bulking in comparison to that of group using compressed meshing method. In certain numbers of columns, a decrease in distance among columns caused an increase in soil bulking. The columns group function will be better in settlement reduction, for center to center distance which is equal to 2.5–3.5 times of column’s diameter.