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ABSTRACT For the expansion of an Aluminium plant in eastern Uttar Pradesh (India), it was required to
construct an industrial facility on a slurry pond formed by pumping Red Mud, the waste product of the
processing of aluminium ore. Since the Red Mud deposition behaves as a soft clay, ground improvement was
done by provision of granular piles / rammed stone columns. The granular piles were load tested to verify the
efficacy of the improvement.
INTRODUCTION
For the expansion of an aluminium industry in
eastern Uttar Pradesh (India), it was required to
construct a Drum Filter Plant on a Red Mud Slurry
Pond. Since the slurry pond was soft in
consistency, ground improvement was done by
provision of rammed stone columns. The site
location is illustrated on Fig. 1.
RED MUD
Red Mud is a waste product of the aluminium
industry formed by washing and purifying bauxite
(aluminium ore). It is pumped in slurry form into a
disposal pond. Over a period of time, as the water
partly seeps into the ground and partly evaporates.
The red mud slurry thickens to form a soft deposit
with very low SPT values.
Since the red mud behaves like very soft clay with
SPT values in the range of 1 to 5, ground
improvement was done by provision of rammed
stone columns. This resulted in substantial savings
to the owner in comparison to the cost for
installing concrete piles.
UTTAR
PRADESH
Geological Setting
The Precambrian rocks exposed in the project area
(Renukoot, Distt. Sonebhadra, Uttar Pradesh,
India) are sedimentaries of the Vindhyan Group
(Maithani, 1986). These rocks classify as grey and
red phyllites, red shale with inter-bedded
PROJECT SITE
Fig. 1
SITE CONDITIONS
Vicinity Map
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Table 1.
Properties
Parameter
Moisture Content
32 38 %
Liquid Limit
39 45 %
Plastic Limit
27 29 %
Shrinkage Limit
19 22 %
Specific Gravity
2.85 - 2.97
10 14 %
43 57 %
32 39 %
Undrained Shear
Strength
Apparent Electrical
Resistivity
0.44 0.56 %
pH value
9.3 10.2
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6th
GRANULAR PILES
In soft / weak deposits, granular piles or rammed
stone columns can successfully improve the soil
bearing capacity and reduce foundation settlements
(Gupta & Sundaram, 1996). It also accelerates the
rate of settlement with the result that a major part of
the total settlement may occur during the
construction period. Thus, the long-term settlement
of the foundation reduces significantly.
Construction Methodology
In this scheme, a bore is made to the required
depth and a charge of gravel, 75 mm down, graded,
is placed in the bore in layers and rammed with a
heavy hammer of adequate weight. The granular
piles are constructed in a triangular grid pattern
below the foundations, with about two rows of
stone columns extending beyond the edge of the
foundations for peripheral restrainment.
Fig. 3: Consolidation Test Results
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