Proceedings of The Fifteenth (2005) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference Seoul, Korea, June 1924, 2005

Copyright 2005 by The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers ISBN 1-880653-64-8 (Set); ISSN 1098-6189 (Set)

Triaxial(CD) Behavior of SCP Composite Ground with Low Area Replacement Ratio
Soo Sam Kim
Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Eng., Hanyang University, Ansan, Korea

Hyun Young Shin

Graduate Student, Department of Civil Eng. Chungang Univerdity, Seoul, Korea

Sang Jae Han

Research Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Eng., Hanyang University, Ansan, Korea

Jae Kown Kim

Samsung co. LTD., Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT
This study performed a series of conventional triaxial tests to investigate composite behavior of soft marine clay reinforced by sand compaction pile. Test samples were prepared using kaolin and dense sand with the area replacement ratio of 0, 9.59, 23.58, 38.7 and 100%. Sand columns were prepared with a relative density about 70% and optimum water contents of 13.5%. Sand columns were installed in the center of the normally consolidated clay sample using freezing method. Series of tests are performed under the conditions of rate of strain and area replacement ratios to investigate the behavior of composite sample. From test results, effect of strain rate on stress-strain behavior, variation of effective internal friction angle, effective cohesion, peak stress, ultimate stress of composite sample according to the area replacement ratio were identified. KEY WORDS: Sand compaction pile, SCP, Soft clay improvement, Replacement area ratio, Low replacement area ratio

with low area replacement ratio has not been identified yet, because the composite behavior of sand pile and surrounding clay complicate. In this study, series of conventional consolidated drained triaxial tests are performed to investigate the behavior of the composite sample with low area replacement ratio. From test results, shapes of stress-strain relation according to the area replacement ratio and rate of strain are presented. In addition, variation of peak stress, ultimate stress, effective internal friction angle and effective cohesion of composite ground are quantified according to the area replacement ratio and properties of pure clay ground. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Sand compaction piles are composed of compacted sand inserted into the soft clay. The ground improved by compacted sand piles is termed as composite ground. When loaded, the pile deforms y bulging into the subsoil strata and distributes the stresses at the upper portion of the soil profile rather than transferring the stresses into the deeper layers, thus causing the soil to support it. As a result, the strength and bearing capacity of the composite ground can be increased and the compressibility reduced. In addition, lesser stress concentration is developed on the sand piles. Since the component materials are granular and have higher permeability, sand piles could also accelerate the consolidation settlements and minimize the post construction settlements. The tributary area of the soil surrounding each sand pile is closely approximated by an equivalent circular area. For an equilateral triangular pattern of sand piles, the equivalent circle has an effective diameter of :

INTRODUCTION
The sand compaction pile (SCP) method forms a composite ground by installing sand pile into the soft ground, and is the one of the commonly used soil improvement for reinforcing and strengthening soft clay deposits in many countries for more than 30 years. It consists of wellcompacted sand piles which are installed in soft ground by using a vibrating casing pipe. This method has in fact undergone a greater process and found a wider application in Japan and Korea than in any other country. The SCP method can be applied to both sandy and clayey grounds by using the same equipment and machines. Especially, when the SCP method is set to a clay ground, the improved clay ground is called a composite ground. The application of the SCP method in the construction industry are wide and varied (Jung, 1998). Many researchers have been investigated the mechanical behavior of composite ground reinforced by sand compaction pile (Murayama, 1962 ; Aboshi et al., 1979 ; Kimura et al., 1983). Most of the researches have been focused on mainly five points: (1) bearing capacity, (2) consolidation settlement and deformation, (3) construction problems, (4) design methods, and (5) partly penetrated SCP problems (Jung, 1998). In spite of that, behavior of SCP composite ground especially

De = 1.05S De = 1.13S

(1) (2)

where, S is the center to center spacing of sand piles. The equilateral triangular pattern gives the most dense packing of sand piles in a given area. The resulting cylinder of composite ground with diameter

De enclosing the tributary sol and one sand pile is known as the unit

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