An Innovative Foundation technique for residential
building – Case Studies
Vani B1 and PVSR Prasad1
1 Keller Ground Engineering India Pvt. Ltd, Centennial Square, Kodambakkam, Chennai -
600024
[email protected], [email protected]
Abstract. In recent years, rapid development of urban environment demands
large number of residential units which are compounded with scarcity of suita-
ble land. This compelled practicing engineers to find an innovative foundation
technique to improve the unsuitable land which are technically feasible and
economical. This paper presents case histories of similar conditions where
ground improvement techniques using vibro stone columns was chosen to sup-
port residential buildings in weak soil strata. The foundation challenges such as
bearing capacity, total & differential settlements and mitigation of liquefaction
were addressed. Various aspect of subsoil conditions, design aspects, construc-
tion methodology, quality control measures are discussed.
Keywords: Vibro stone columns (dry bottom feed method), innovative founda-
tion technique, Post monitoring results.
1 Introduction
Soil improvement techniques are typically implemented as value engineering solu-
tions to classical deep foundations or conventional soil replacement, for wide range of
applications such as infrastructure projects, residential buildings, oil & gas facilities,
transportation structures [roads, railways and airports], marine structures, power plant
structures and storage tanks.
One of the major functions of geotechnical engineering is to design, implement and
evaluate the feasibility of ground improvement schemes for unsuitable construction
lands. In the last two decades significantly new and advanced technologies and meth-
ods have been developed and implemented to assist the geotechnical engineer to pro-
vide innovative solutions for construction sites where poor soils exist. The selection
of the most suitable and economical soil improvement method for each project de-
pends on the soil conditions (soil type, depth of improvement), type & loads of foun-
dations, project modalities in terms of cost and project schedule and site conditions.
In the current paper, ground improvement using dry vibro stone columns as an inno-
vative and economical solution for residential buildings are discussed with case stud-
ies.
2
2 Case histories
2.1 Low budget residential project at Manali
Project background
Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) proposed to construct a residential pro-
ject of 7 blocks (G+3) with an area of 5,400m2 at New Town, Manali in Chennai. The
project site consists of soft to firm silty clay (intermediate to high plasticity) for top
11m of with SPT ‘N’<10 which is followed by very stiff clay and medium dense
sand. The buildings rest on rafts and when loading intensity of 90 kPa is imposed on
weak ground (N<10), they induce high settlements (>120mm).
Alternative foundation system
Vibro stone columns (dry bottom feed method) was selected as an innovative founda-
tion to conventional piling method (since there is restriction to go with pile foundation
due to environmental and safety issues) to reduce the settlements and to satisfy per-
formance criteria of the project. This project was completed with in 3 months using
vibro stone columns where the initially proposed pile foundation was 6 months. There
is also a cost optimization when compared to piling and environmentally friendly
solution compared to piling.
Design approach
Based on site limitation and performance criteria, dry vibro stone columns with area
replacement ratio is of 18% were proposed & executed and the cross section of vibro
stone columns is shown in Fig. 1. The quality of the project was ensured by observing
the M4 records, conducting plate load tests and post-performance settlement monitor-
ing.
Fig. 1. Cross section of vibro stone columns
3
Post monitoring results
To understand the post construction performance of the structures, it is planned to
conduct field settlement monitoring up to 2 years of the life of structures. The super-
structure load is increased from 0 to 90 kPa in 29 weeks and correspondingly predict-
ed settlements (analytical method) increased from the 0 to 72 mm. settlement moni-
toring results for 1.5 years are of 45mm which is shown in Fig. 2 and almost settle-
ment readings are saturated.
Block 2
Load vs Time Curve
100
90
Super structure load (kPa)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92
10
20
Settlement 'mm'
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Design Settlement (improved) B2-SM5 B2-SM6 B2-SM7 B2-SM8
100
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92
Time in Weeks
Settlement vs Time Curve
Fig. 2. Post Settlement monitoring data for low budget residential project
2.2 Multistorey structure in Haryana
Project background
A large residential complex comprising of 13 blocks, of each G + 14 floor towers
developed in 12 acres in Haryana state. The site consists of silty sand / sandy silt till
30m depth from existing ground level. The percentage of sand varies from 35 to 70
throughout the depth. The project location falls under seismic zone IV with zone fac-
tor of 0.24 according to Indian seismic code (IS 1893:2016) and it was required to
address liquefaction mitigation and bearing capacity.
Ground improvement using vibro stone columns
Based on the critical review of the subsoil conditions and performance criteria of the
project, vibro stone columns was proposed as alternate solution to address liquefac-
tion mitigation and to satisfy the project performance criteria.
4
Design approach
Area Replacement Ratio of 16% was proposed to mitigate the liquefaction potential,
to enhance the bearing capacity of soil. Also, the quality of the project was ensured by
conducting large size plate load tests.
Post monitoring results
Field settlement monitoring was monitored up to 2 years of the life of structures.
The superstructure load is increased from 0 to 150 kPa in 47 weeks and correspond-
ingly predicted settlements (analytical method) increased from the 0 to 97 mm. Set-
tlement monitoring results for 2.0 years are of 60mm which is shown in Fig. 3.
Tower F
Load vs Time Curve
180
160
Super structure load (kPa)
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104
10
20
Settlement 'mm'
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110 B1-SM1 B1-SM2 B1-SM3 B1-SM4 Design settlement(improved)
120
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104
Time in Weeks
Settlement vs Time Curve
Fig. 3. Post Settlement monitoring data for Multistorey residential project
2.3 Residential project “INFINITY” at Porur
Project background.
Urban Tree Infrastructure Private Limited proposed to develop a residential project
comprises of 198 units (Stilt + 4 floors) with an area of 2.5 acres in Chennai. The top
6m of soil profile comprising of thin layers of silty clay and sandy clay with varying
consistency. Larger settlements (>100mm) were expected in case of raft foundation
due to high structural loads which ranges from 75 to 85 kPa.
Innovative & Alternative solution to pile foundation
Driven cast-in-situ piles resting in hard clay layers below 25m were adopted by client
and the construction of piles were stopped due to environmental issues. Considering
5
the project boundary conditions, vibro replacement (stone columns with dry bottom
feed method) was selected as a viable innovative method to reduce settlement and to
satisfy performance criteria of the project. The selected method of ground improve-
ment satisfied in addressing environmental issues and the stone columns were in-
stalled by displacement technique (without removing any soil) which makes the envi-
ronment would be comparatively clean and tidy. The ground improvement works
were completed within 6 weeks (as against 6 months to that of pile foundations) that
was made possible through effective project management.
Design approach.
Ground improvement using vibro stone columns (dry bottom feed method) with area
replacement ratio of 18% is used as a treatment scheme. Typical cross section of vibro
stone columns using dry bottom feed method adopted for the present project is illus-
trated in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. Typical soil profile showing ground improvement
In order to measure and assure the quality of installed stone columns, real time moni-
toring (M4 Graph) was carried out in addition to routine single column load tests to
ascertain the effectiveness of the design and performance of the ground improvement
works.
Post monitoring results
The superstructure load is increased from 0 to 80 kPa in 20 weeks and corresponding-
ly predicted settlements (analytical method) increased from the 0 to 64 mm (Fig. 5).
However, the observed settlements are considerably less than the predicted settle-
ments as well as the allowable settlements of 75 to 100 mm for raft foundations rest-
ing in clayey soils. It is suggesting that the long-term settlements will be of much
smaller range than that was expected.
6
Settlement Results - All Pours
Load vs Time Curve
100
Super structure load (kPa)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
00
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104 108
Pour: P1S1 Pour: P2S2
10
Pour: P3S2 Pour: P4S1
20 Pour: P5S2 Pour: P6S3
Design Settlement
Settlement 'mm'
30
40
50
60
70
80
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104 108
Time in Weeks
Settlement vs Time Curve
Fig. 5. Post Settlement monitoring data for INFINITY residential project
3 Conclusion
Vibro stone columns proved to be an innovative ground improvement solution to
support residential buildings on weak soil deposits and best alternative to convention-
al piling foundation. It is also proven from the results of extensive monitoring that the
required performance was achieved. In addition to improving shear strength and com-
pressibility parameters, the ground improvement technique offered acceleration in the
overall construction schedule and enabled the project to be completed within stipulat-
ed duration.
References
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2. Vani, B., Madan Kumar Annam: Optimal Foundation Solution for Residential Projects. In:
IGC Conference proceedings, IISC Bangalore (2018).
3. Heinz J. Priebe, The Design of vibro replacement. In: Ground Engineering, GT 037-13 E
(1995).
4. Hughes JMO, Withers,N.J.: Reinforcing of Soft Cohesive Soils with Stone Columns. In:
Ground Engineering, Vol.7, Issue No. 3 (1975).
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shallow foundations (Reaffirmed 2002).
6. IS: 15284 (Part 1): 2003, Indian Standard for design and construction for ground im-
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