National Conference on Recent Advances in Ground Improvement Techniques February 24-25, 2011, CBRI Roorkee, India

Ground Improvement Using Vibro Techniques in FlyAsh Deposits

Dr V R Raju
Keller Ground Engineering (I) Pvt Ltd, India

ABSTRACT
Ash ponds are extensively located in India. Unavailability of suitable construction site for extension of existing power plants or to build a new plant makes it worthwhile to consider the ash pond as one of the options. Ash ponds in general are not consistent with the depth and density characteristics of the hydraulically deposited fly ash across the site. The traditional methods of foundation design in such situations may result in commercially unviable solution. Ground improvement in such case provides a techno-commercially feasible solution. Anpara Thermal Power Plant by Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (UPRVUNL) is one such classic example. The site allocated for the proposed development of Unit D of the power plant is an abandoned ash pond. An extensive research has been done and was established that ground improvement using stone columns (dry bottom feed method) shall be adopted to not only mitigate the liquefaction potential but also to enhance the bearing capacity of the hydraulically deposited fly ash deposits. The stone columns are also installed to enhance the lateral capacity of bored cast-in-situ piles. This paper illustrates the soil conditions, proposed ground improvement technique to address the geotechnical applications of bearing capacity, liquefaction mitigation and enhancing the lateral capacity of piles and discuss the pre and post treatment testing.

1. INTRODUCTION Ash ponds are extensively located in India. The area occupied by the ash ponds is more than 250sq.km and it is likely to cross 1,000sq.km by 2012 (Bedanga Bordoloi and Etali Sarmah, 2010). Unavailability of suitable construction site for extension of existing power plants or to build a new plant makes it worthwhile to consider the ash pond as one of the options. Ash ponds in general are not consistent with the depth and density characteristics of the hydraulically deposited fly ash across the site. This results in inadequate bearing capacity and lateral capacities of deep pile foundations. The traditional methods of foundation design in such situations may result in commercially unviable solution. Ground improvement in such case provides a techno-commercially feasible solution. Anpara Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh is a classic example for such case. Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (UPRVUNL) is expanding the existing power plant by setting up Unit-D of 2 x 500 MW capacity at Anpara, near Sonebhadra. The site allocated for the proposed development is an abandoned ash pond of area approximately 5,400 acres. The depth of ash varies across the site and ranges between 3m and 13m and is loose to medium dense in condition. It was found out during the initial soil investigation that the existing bearing capacity of the fly ash deposits is the less than the required i.e., 10T/m2

for open foundations of structures like pump house, cable gallery etc at coal handling plant. Also, site falls under Zone III according to the IS 1893 (Part 1):1982, making it susceptible to liquefaction in an event of an earthquake. An extensive research has been done (study of effectiveness of ground improvement techniques and possible liquefaction potential for Anpara D Thermal Power Project, IIT Roorkee) and was established that ground improvement using stone columns (dry bottom feed method) shall be adopted to not only enhance the bearing capacity but also to mitigate the liquefaction potential of the fly ash deposits. Further, the stone columns are also installed surrounding the bored cast-in-situ piles to enhance the lateral capacity for structures like stacker reclaimer, crusher house etc of coal handling plant, which otherwise was giving low lateral capacity. 2. SOIL CONDITIONS The project site is an old ash pond. Depth and density characteristics of fly ash vary across the site. The depth generally ranges between 3m and 13m underlain by clayey silt / silty clay to about 23m depth. Below this dense sandy silt or hard clayey silt was found and occasionally weathered rock (granitic gneiss) is encountered. Density characteristics vary considerably within the depth of fly ash. The SPT N values recorded are as low as 2 to as high as 30, but generally vary from 3 to 8. This is followed by stiff to hard clayey silt with SPT N values ranging between 9 and 30. The following figure-1 illustrates the cross sectional profile of the site indicating the variation in depth and density characteristics of fly ash.

Fig. 1 Typical sectional profile illustrating the soil conditions at Coal Handling Plant location

3. GROUND IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUE Vibro Stone columns using bottom feed method is adopted as a ground improvement technique. This method does not require water for penetration, which avoids the need to handle and dispose large quantities of muck and also makes it environment friendly. It is also well suited for a congested site, with many simultaneous activities. For this method of installation, a rig called Vibrocat is used. It consists of a bottom-feed depth vibrator mounted on a crawler-rig. An operational advantage of the Vibrocat is that it is able to exert a pulldown force, improving penetration speed and hence productivity. A typical Vibrocat unit, used on site, is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 A typical Vibrocat unit The Vibrocat feeds the coarse granular material to the tip of the vibrator with the aid of pressurized air. The installation method consists of alternative steps of penetration and retraction. During the retraction, gravel runs from the vibrator tip into the annular space created and are then compacted using vibrator thrusts and compressed air. Fig. 3 illustrates the schematic of this process.

Fig. 3 Schematic of stone column installation (Dry bottom feed method)

4. GEOTECHNICAL APPLICATION Ground improvement using vibro stone columns by bottom feed has been adopted to achieve the following objectives: 4.1 Improve Bearing Capacity of Open Foundations The density characteristics of fly ash vary across the site as a result the net safe bearing capacity for open foundations is less than the desired value of 10T/m2. It is proposed to install stone columns to at least 0.5m into the underlying stiff clayey silt / silty clay layer to achieve the desired bearing capacity for open foundations. 4.2 Enhance Lateral Capacity of Piles The existence of loose fly ash deposits resulted in less than the desired lateral capacity of bored cast-in-situ piles. Stone columns were installed around the bored cast-in-situ piles to enhance the density characteristics of the fly ash surrounding the piles there by improving the lateral capacity to 7T (working load). 4.3 Mitigate Liquefaction Potential According to IS 1893 (Part 1):1982, the site falls under Zone III making it susceptible to liquefaction in an event of an earthquake under the possible excitation or peak ground acceleration of 0.16g. According to Table 1, Note 4 of IS 1893 (Part 1):1982, soils with SPT N values less than 20 for Zone III are liable to liquefy.

The SPT N values obtained range between 3 and 8 within the fly ash depth indicating the possibility of liquefaction in an event of an earthquake. The proposed stone columns increases the density characteristics of the fly ash, there by not only enhance the bearing capacity (section 3.1) but also mitigate the liquefaction potential. It was proposed to adopt dry bottom feed method for installation of stone columns to achieve above applications. Extensive initial field trials were carried out before carrying out the main works to assess the suitability of the technique as well as to assess the required grid pattern to achieve post performance criteria.

5. INITIAL FIELD TRIALS Initial field trials were carried out to assess the bearing capacity and also the lateral capacity of bored cast-in-situ pile foundations as a result of stone column installation. The following sections illustrate the field trials carried out elaborately to address the above listed geotechnical applications. 5.1 Bearing Capacity Vibro stone columns of 0.9m diameter at 2m centre to centre spacing in a triangular grid pattern, terminating at least 0.5m into the underlying stiff silty clay or clayey silt is proposed as treatment scheme to achieve the target bearing capacity of 10T/m2. According to the guide lines stipulated in IS 15284 (Part 1): 2003 Design and Construction for Ground Improvement Guide Lines, single and group column initial load tests are performed at site to assess the increase in bearing capacity as well as the settlements characteristics of stone columns. The following figure 4 illustrate the results of plate load tests conducted on single and group of 3 columns at coal handling plant location.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 4 Load Vs Settlement plot of (a) Load Test on Single Column (b) Load Test on Group of 3 columns

5.2 Lateral Capacity of Piles Vibro stone columns are installed at specified pattern (as illustrated in figure 5) surrounding the bored cast-in-situ piles to enhance the density of fly ash deposits which in turn can improve the lateral load carrying capacity. It was required to achieve a design lateral load capacity of 7T with ultimate load of 21T. After the installation of bored cast-in-situ piles and vibro stone columns by bottom feed method, initial lateral load test are conducted on these two grid patterns.

Fig. 5 Initial field trials layout for lateral load (a) Stone Column of 500mm dia. (b) Stone Columns of 750mm diameter surrounding the piles with 0.5m dia stone column at the centre

The results indicated that the deformations are within the allowable limits of 5mm at the design load of 7T (according to IS 2911, Part 4, Cl. 7.4) even for 0.5m grid pattern shown in fig 5(b). The following figure 6 illustrates the observations made during the initial lateral load tests (load vs deflection plot).
Load Vs Deflection
Load [T]

0 0.0 5.0
Settlement [mm]

10

20

30

10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0

0.5m dia. Stone Column grid1

0.75m dia. Stone Column Grid

Fig. 6 Load Vs deflection plot of initial lateral load test on bored cast-in-situ piles

6. EXECUTION OF MAIN WORKS Upon successful execution of initial field trials to assess the improvement in density characteristics of fly ash deposits after ground improvement, main works have been carried out. Ground improvement using vibro stone columns (dry bottom feed method) is carried out for open foundations of the structures like pump house, cable gallery, drive house etc at coal handling plant. About 34,000lin.m of vibro stone columns 0.9m dia are installed for open foundations of various structures of coal handling plant.

The following figure 7 illustrates the typical drawing of stone columns installed for open foundations of pump house structure of coal handling plant.

Fig. 7 Details of Stone Columns installed for open foundations of pump house Structure

Similarly, to enhance the lateral load carrying capacity of bored cast-in-situ piles of structures like conveyor, crusher house etc of coal handling plant, 45,000 lin.m of 0.5m diameter vibro stone columns are installed. The following figure 8 illustrates the schematic of stacker reclaimer at coal handling plant, where stone columns are used to enhance the lateral capacity of piles.

Fig. 8 Typical details of Stone columns installed surrounding the piles to enhance the lateral capacity

The following pictures (figure 9) illustrate the works in progress at coal handling plant locations.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 9 (a) Installation of Stone Columns and Bored Cast-in-situ Piles using Hydraulic rigs in progress (b) Conveyor 9A Structure under construction here piles in combination with 500mm dia piles are used as foundation

6. QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY ASSURANCE Quality control procedures are important firstly to assure the client that the product he receives is of a high standard, secondly to prevent costly re-work for the contractor and most importantly to ensure public safety. Generally, quality control is applied pre-construction, during construction and post-construction. Various standards can be used to aid in the formulation of good contract specifications and quality control procedures.

Fig. 10 Typical quality control record print out generated simultaneously during installation of stone columns

For Vibro Stone Columns, it is essential to ensure that columns are built to the right depth, to the right diameter and are properly compacted. Computerized monitoring (as shown in figure 10) of the penetration depth of the vibrator easily ensures that the design depth is reached. Sensors within the depth vibrator can readily measure the amperage drawn by the motor, giving an indication of the compaction effort of the depth vibrator. IS 15284 (Part 1): 2003 gives guidelines on the estimation of the column diameter based on fill consumption. In the case of dry bottom-feed stone columns (See Raju & Sondermann, 2005), even the location of each charge of stone along the depth of the column may be determined from the record of depth vs. amperage. Post-construction, load tests are routinely performed as a quality control measure. Another useful general standard for stone column construction and testing is EN 14731:2005. 7. CONCLUSIONS In view of the unavailability or scarcity of the suitable construction site ash ponds form one of the options to consider for the proposed development. Detailed study is required to carry out to check the suitability of the ash pond for the proposed development. In general it has been noticed that the geotechnical characteristics i.e., density of hydraulically deposited fly ash is not consistent with depth which may pose challenges with regards to bearing capacity and pile lateral load carrying capacity. In such a situation, ground improvement using dry vibro stone columns provides a techno-commercially feasible solution. It is evident from the experience in Coal Handling Plant structures at Anpara D Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh that the ground improvement using stone columns (dry bottom feed method) can be successfully adopted to enhance the bearing capacity of the fly ash deposits. Stone columns also ensured mitigation of liquefaction potential of the site under an event of earthquake as the site falls under zone III. Further, the stone columns also helped in enhancing the lateral capacity of deep pile foundations. With this experience, similar application is adopted at other structures of the power plant such as Switchyard and for the Water Treatment Plant structures, which is currently under construction. References
1. 2. Article by Bedanga Bordoloi and Etali Sarmah on Fly Ash Pond Reclaimation dated May 2010 for Agribusiness Forum. IS 1893 (Part 1):1982 Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures - Part 1 : General Provisions and Buildings

3.

Study of Effectiveness of Ground Improvement Techniques and Possible Liquefaction Potential for Anpara-D Thermal Power Project, Department of Earthquake Engineering, IIT Roorkee

4. 5.

IS 15284 (Part 1): 2003

Design and Construction for Ground Improvement Guide Lines

IS 2911 (Part 1) Section 2- Code of practice for design and construction of pile foundations: Part 1 Concrete piles, Section 2 Bored cast-in-situ piles piles

6. IS 2911, Part 4, Code of practice for design and construction of pile foundations: Part 4 Load test on
7. 8. Raju, V.R. & Sondermann, W., 2005. Ground Improvement using Deep Vibro Techniques. Ground Improvement Case Histories, Indraratna, B & Chu., J. (eds.), 601-638 EN 14731:2005, Execution of special geotechnical works. Group treatment by deep vibration

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