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International Journal of

Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering


ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 03, No. 04, October 2014

Soft soil improvement by cement column


MD. KAMRUL AHSAN, MD. ISTIAQ HOSSAIN, MASUM SHAIKH, MUHAMMED ALAMGIR
Department of Civil Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna-9203, Bangladesh
Email: kamrul0701047@gmail.com, istiaq_00@yahoo.com, masumkuetce0701102@gmail.com,
alamgir63@yahoo.com
Abstract: Due to scarcity of land for rising population in a country like bangladesh, it is necessary to improve
the soft soil to face the challenges of this problem. Soft soils are generally labeled as problematic because of
poor resistance to deformation and very low bearing capacity. Thus, improvement of the weak properties of soft
soil is required, which can be achieved by adopting cement column as one of the soil improvement techniques.
This paper aims to define the effect of cement column in improving soft soil and their installation technique by
laboratory investigation through small scale test. To check the degree of improvement of soft ground due to the
installation of cement column is the main objective of the study. A mixing machine, fabricated locally as a part
of this study, is used here to provide cement column in the soft soil. Astm d2166 is used to determine the
unconfined compressive strength of the reconstituted soil, which is used further to determine the bearing
capacity of the soil media. The universal testing machine is used for determination of load-settlement
behavior of the cement column improved ground. Finally, from the experimental investigation it was observed
that the bearing capacity of soft ground can be increased significantly through the installation of cement column.
Keywords: Soft soil, Bearing capacity, Cement column, Reconstituted soil, Unconfined compressive strength
1.
Introduction:
The rapid growth in the infrastructure of urban and
metropolitan areas in most countries of the world has
resulted in non-availability of suitable locations.
Accordingly, the marginal ground and reclaimed land
with poor soil conditions; especially in coastal
regions and low land areas are becoming more
attractive for development. Weak deposits are very
common along the coastal region. Most of the
marine deposits are of recent origin and have not
undergone much consolidation. As a result, they
have low shear strength or high compressibility.
Even some of the land deposits, particularly alluvial
deposits along the river belt have loose silt/sand to a
large depth. Even man made deposits such as mine
back-fill or land reclaimed by filling can have
inadequate strength properties requiring ground
improvement.
Deep mixing columns using cement mixed in-situ
with soft soil to stabilize soft clay and organic soil
are commonly used in Sweden, Finland, Norway and
Japan. These methods of soil stabilization have
gradually been improved since 1967 when Mr. Kjeld
Paus patented the method and subsequently new
techniques were invented. In Malaysia, soil
improvement is very important as the country is
abundant with weak soil that is unsuitable for
construction works. Weak soil such as Alluvium
Clayey is abundant throughout Malaysia, constituting
70% of 5000km of the countrys coastline ranging
between 20 to 40 meters in soil thickness. Thus,
ground settlement is an issue due to low bearing
capacity of soft clay material which can cause
problems such as low stability and excessive
settlement (Nur et al., 2011). Not only those countries
but also in Bangladesh it is a problem because it is a
land of delta formation with alluvial deposition. The
method has gradually been improved in Scandinavian

countries since the 1970s (Broms 1999a). Since the


end of the 1990s, it has been the most commonly
used method in Sweden for stabilizing soft soils.
According to Swedish practice, stability calculations
are based on the assumption that the columns and
surrounding soft soil behave as a composite material
(Carlsten & Ekstrm, 1995). Excavation support
using deep soil mixing technology evolved from the
early 1970s Japanese practice, in which single soilcement columns were created to support excavations
and act as cutoff walls. The behavior of cement
column by deep mixing method has been investigated
experimentally by Miyake et al. 1991, Hashizume et
al. 1998 and Kitazume et al. 1999. The increase in
strength with time of surrounding clay adjacent to
soil-cement columns was experimentally and
numerically studied by Miura et al. 2001 and by Shen
and Miura 1999. The factors controlling in-situ
strength of soil-cement columns have been
investigated by a full-scale test (Horpibulsuk et al.,
2000). The recent laboratory investigation on the
strength development in cement admixed clay at
various conditions of cement content and water
content is presented by Miura et al. 2001 and
Horpibulsuk and Miura 2001. Horpibulsuk et al.
2001 have proposed interrelationship among water
content, cement content, curing time and strength of
cement admixed clays. The application of deep
mixing technique to reduce settlement of an
embankment in Thailand was successfully done by
Bergado et al. 1999.
In this study, the degree of improvement of soft
ground due to the installation of cement column is
investigated in the laboratory. It was observed that
the bearing capacity of soft ground can be increased
significantly through the installation of cement
column.

IJASGE 030401 Copyright 2014 BASHA RESEARCH CENTRE. All rights reserved

MD. KAMRUL AHSAN, MD. ISTIAQ HOSSAIN, MASUM SHAIKH, MUHAMMED ALAMGIR

2.
Soil cement column technique:
This method is commonly known as deep mixing
method or admixture method. Lime or cement
columns, where quicklime or dry cement are mixed
in situ with soft soil as shown in Figure 1, are
common in Sweden and Finland, to stabilize soft clay
and silt as well as organic soils. The method has
gradually been improved and new applications have
been found. Lime or cement columns have mainly
been used to increase the stability and to reduce the
settlements of road and railroad embankments and to
increase the stability of trenches for sewer lines,
water mains and heating ducts. New efficient
machines have been developed for the installation of
the columns. The diameter and the length have
gradually increased and the time required for the
installation of the columns has been reduced
significantly as well as the costs.

Numerous projects have incorporated deep mixing


for excavation support and reduce settlement. One of
the first major applications of cement column as deep
soil mixing for excavation support in the United
States was the Wet Weather Storage Basin for the
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EDMUD)
project in Oakland, California constructed in 1990
(Taki and Yang, 1991). One of the largest projects in
the United States involving deep soil mixing
technology is the Boston Central Artery and Tunnel
(CA/T) project (ORourke and ODonnell, 1997a and
1997b; ORourke et al., 1998; ORourke and
McGinn, 2004). Yang, 2003; states that the improved
engineering properties of the stabilized soils are
governed by a number of factors including soil type,
slurry properties, mixing procedures and curing
conditions.
The main areas of soil mixing applications are as
follows, with the countries in parentheses indicating
their most extensive use so far:
Foundation support (Japan, Scandinavia, US,
France, Poland)
Retention systems (Japan, US, China, Southeast
Asia, Germany)
Ground treatment (Japan, US, Finland, Sweden,
Southeast Asia)
Liquefaction mitigation (Japan, US)
Hydraulic cut-off walls (Japan, US, Germany,
Poland)
Environmental remediation (US, UK).

Figure 1: Installation of lime or cement column

Figure 2: Mixing tools of the DJM method. (a) Construction scheme (DJM Association,
2002); (b) Recently used single mixing tool of 1.0m diameter

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering


ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 03, No. 03, July 2014, pp 310-315

MD. KAMRUL AHSAN, MD. ISTIAQ HOSSAIN, MASUM SHAIKH, MUHAMMED ALAMGIR

Figure 3: Selected mixing tools of the Nordic method: (a) SD 600 mm; (b) modified SD
600 mm; (c) PB3 600 mm; (d) peat bore 800mm (courtesy of LCM)
In the deep soil mixing process, admixtures/binders
are introduced into the in-situ soils throughout the
treatment depth and mixed thoroughly using large
diameter single or multiple-shaft mixing tools to form
columns or panels of improved material (Figure 4).

The mix-in-place columns can be up to 1m or more


in diameter. Typical admixtures are cement and lime,
but slag / flyash and/or other additives can also be
used.

Figure 4: Schematic showing overall process of Deep Soil Mixing


For both wet as well as dry Deep Soil Mixing, quality
control during execution is important to ensure
uniform improvement of the soil and to ascertain the
required amount of binder has been mixed uniformly
over the entire depth of treatment. For this purpose,
the mixing units are equipped with automated
computerized recording devices to measure the realtime operating parameters such as depth of mixing

tool, volume or weight of binder used, flow rate of


grout, rotation speed and rate of penetration and
withdrawal. After allowing for sufficient curing
period (typically, 3 to 4 weeks), the mixed columns
can also be tested using single/group column plate
load tests, unconfined compressive strength tests on
cored/backflow samples, visual examination of
exposed columns, etc.

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering


ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 03, No. 03, July 2014, pp 310-315

MD. KAMRUL AHSAN, MD. ISTIAQ HOSSAIN, MASUM SHAIKH, MUHAMMED ALAMGIR

3. Materials and methodology:


3.1 Properties of Clay (With and Without
Cement)
Table 2: Properties of foundation soils
Value
Property
Liquid Limit
Plastic Limit
Moisture Content

Without
Cement
31%
21%
35%

With Cement
36%
26%
25%

3.2 Formation of Clay Bed


To form clay bed the following steps were taken
(Figure 5) Clay sample was collected from KUET.
A 18'' diameter and 20'' height circular drum was
made.
The bottom part of the drum was made hole for
drain out water.
A geo-jute was in the bottom part of the drum that
only permit to flow water not clay.
Then full fill the drum with clay sample to get a
circular clay bed.
Make a circular slab to distribute the surcharge
load uniformly to the clay bed.
Now kept it 28 days for drainage with surcharge.
Finally clay bed was prepared.

Figure 6: Mixing Device for Installation of Cement


Column

Figure 7: Load Settlement Measurement

Figure 5: Formation of clay bed


3.3 Installation of Cement Column
For installation of cement column in clay soil the
following steps were done A mixing device was prepared which is shown in
figure 6.
After that the mixing device injected into the clay
bed by hand rotating.
In this time the cement was poured in the clay by
the device and mixed with the clay.
The diameter of the column is 6 in diameter
which is one third of the clay bed.
Only 7% cement of the total column is used and
mix with the soil.
Finally the mixing device is lift from the bed by
reverse rotating.

The clay bed was tested in Universal Testing


Machine to find out the settlement against load for
both clay bed i.e; without cement column and with
cement column (Figure 7). Then series of data were
plotted in a graph to find out the load settlement
relationship and finally compared this graph for
improvement.
4. Results and discussions:
4.1 Stress-strain behaviour of foundation soil
From the graph (Figure 8) it was found that the value
of deviator stress for sample without cement column
is 18 kPa. Whereas, with cement column the value
increased upto 80 kPa. From these values the
undrained shear strength was found to be 8.75kPa
before cement column and after the value was
40.00kPa.

International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering


ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 03, No. 03, July 2014, pp 310-315

MD. KAMRUL AHSAN, MD. ISTIAQ HOSSAIN, MASUM SHAIKH, MUHAMMED ALAMGIR

Figure 8: Unconfined Compressive Test with and without cement

Figure 9: Load Settlement Curve


4.2 Load Settlement of Foundation:
From the load settlement curve shown in figure 9 it
was found that the settlement curve for sample with
cement column is above than the other one without
cement column. It indicates that the bearing capacity
of soft soil is increased significantly by using cement
column.
From graph it was observed that the value of load
intensity for cement column is 822.28kPa whereas in
case of without cement column it is only 172.38kPa.
And the percentage of cement in column is very low,
only 7% of volume of soil in cement column.

technique has been used in many difficult foundation


sites throughout the world to increase the bearing
capacity, reduce settlement, and increase the stability.
Based on the laboratory investigation the followings
can be concluded The cement column can be applied upto a suitable
depth.
The bearing capacity of soil is improved after
installing cement column.
Also study gives that improved soil by cement
column will fail with a greater settlement.

5. Conclusions:
The modern development of foundation practices,
namely ground improvements techniques, to
overcome the limitations of the conventional
foundation system has been proved to be both
technically and economically feasible for the
improvement of the marginal sites. Amongst the
various ground improvement techniques for
improving soft ground conditions, cement column is
considered as one of the most versatile and cost
effective method. This ground improvement

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International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering


ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 03, No. 03, July 2014, pp 310-315

MD. KAMRUL AHSAN, MD. ISTIAQ HOSSAIN, MASUM SHAIKH, MUHAMMED ALAMGIR

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International Journal of Advanced Structures and Geotechnical Engineering


ISSN 2319-5347, Vol. 03, No. 03, July 2014, pp 310-315

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