Performance of granular columns in dispersive soils

The soils found abundantly along the Konkan belt in peninsular India are lateritic soils and lithomargic clays. The locally available lithomargic clayey soils are problematic in the sense that their strength reduces drastically under saturation conditions, which is typical behaviour of the dispersive type of soil. Most foundations are placed on this soil layer. This paper presents results from a series of laboratory plate load tests carried out in unit cell tanks to investigate the behaviour of granular columns in these weak (lithomargic clay) grounds. Tests are carried out with two types of loading: with the entire area in the unit cell tank loaded, to estimate the stiffness of the improved ground; and with only the granular column area loaded, to estimate its limiting axial capacity. Investigations were carried out by varying the area ratio (or spacing), diameter of granular columns, end condition and column configuration. The load–settlement behaviour, stiffness and bulging behaviour of granular columns are analysed. It is found that the ground treated with granular columns exhibits a high load-carrying capacity and stiffness, and a significant reduction in settlement, compared with the untreated ground.