Ground Improvement and Ground Control including Waste Containment with Geosynthetics

1. Ground Improvement and Ground Control including Waste Containment with Geosynthetics Dr. J.N.Jha, Professor and Head (Civil Engineering), Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, Punjab-141006

2. Ground Improvement Tehnique: Issues, Methods and their Selection

3. Present Day Scenario • Best buildable lands not available for construction • Available sites are having low strength because : • Filled up sites, • Low lying water logged, • Waste lands, • Creek lands with deep deposits of soft saturated marine clays • Another problem: Design loads are high and the site is situated in seismic zones

4. What are the options? • Traditional foundation techniques sometimes costlier than the super structure and in many situations can’t be built • when a poor ground existsat the project site, designer faces following questions: • Should the poor ground be removed and replaced with a • more suitable material? • Should the weak ground be bypassed laterally by • changing the project’s location or vertically by the use of • deep foundations? or • Should the design of the facility (height, configuration, • etc) be changed to reflect the ground’s limitations?

5. Development of ground improvement, gives the designer/bulder has a fourth option • To “fix” the poor ground and make it suitable for the project’s needs • Now the designer/builder faces new questions: • Should the problematic ground at the project site be • fixedinstead of bypassed? • What are the critical issues that influence the successful • application of a specific fixing tool? And • Which fixing tool to be used from comprehensive • and diversified set currently available in the tool box?

6. What are the major functionsof Ground improvement in soil ? • To increase the bearing capacity • To control deformations and accelerate consolidation • To provide lateral stability • To form seepage cut-off and environmental control • To increase resistance to liquefaction • Above functions can be accomplished : • by modifying the ground’s character - with or without the addition of foreign material

7. The current state of the practice: • Densification • Consolidation • Weight reduction • Reinforcement • Chemical treatment • Thermal stabilization • Electrotreatment • Biotechnical stabilization

8. Ground Improvement by Densification • Methods of Application : • Vibrocompaction • Dynamic Compaction • Blasting • Compaction Grouting • Key Issues affecting densification: • Percent of fines in the soil, • Ability of the soil to dissipate excess pore water pressure, • Energy felt by the soil, • Presence of boulders, utilities and adjacent structures, and • Mysterious phenomenon of ageing.

9. Ground Improvement by Consolidation • Methods of application: • Preloading with or without vertical drains • Electro-osmosis • Vacuum consolidation • Key Issues associated with consolidation: • stability during surcharge placement, • clogging of vertical drains, and • maintenance of the vacuum.

10. Ground Improvement by Weight Reduction • Methods of Application: • Placing lightweight materials over the native soil in one of three ways: • spread in a loose form, then compacted • cut in block forms, then stacked according to a • certain arrangement, or • pumped in a flowable liquid form • key issues with the weight reduction method • Placement of the lightweight material, • Longevity and long-term performance.

11. Ground Improvement by Reinforcement • Methods of Application: • Mechanical stabilization • Soil nailing • Soil anchoring • Mirco piles • Stone columns • Fiber reinforcement • Key Issues Affecting Soil Reinforcement: • Load transfer to the reinforcing elements, • Failure surface of the reinforced soil mass, • Strain compatibility between the soil and the reinforcement, • Arrangement of the reinforcing elements, • Durability and long-term behavior of the reinforcements.

12. Ground Improvement by Chemical Treatment • Methods of Application: • Permeation grouting • Jet grouting • Deep soil mixing • Lime columns • Fracture grouting • Key Issues involved in Chemical Treatment • soil-grout compatibility and reactivity, • operational parameters, • column verticality, and • weathering effects

13. Ground Improvement by Thermal Stabilization • Methods of Application: • Ground freezing • Vitrification • Key Issues of thermal stabilization • Degree of saturation of the soil, • Rate of groundwater movement, • Creep potential of the frozen ground, • Post thawing behavior, • Heat transfer in the melted soil and • Impact of heat on utilities and adjacent structures.

14. Ground Improvement by Electrotreatment • Methods of Application: • Electrokinetic remediation • Electroheating • Electrokineting fencing • Bioelectrokinetic injection • Key Issues in Electrotreatment • Soil’s electrical conductivity, • Ionic characterization of the contaminants, and • Impact on buried objects and utilities

15. Ground Improvement by Biotechnical Stabilization • Methods of Application: • Brush layering • Contour wattling • Reed-trench layering • Brush matting • Live staking and others • key issues affecting biotechnical stabilization • Development of artificial cohesion in the ground, • Effects of evapotranspiration, and • Durability of the vegetation

16. Factors affecting the selection of a ground improvement method Ground, Groundwater Construction considerations including schedule, materials, accessibility, right-of- way, equipment and labor (d) environmental concerns, (e) durability, maintenance and operational requirements (f) contracting, politics and tradition, (g) cost

17. Waste Containment with Geosynthetics • Large quantities of waste are being produced • since 1990 due to Rapid industrialisation and • Excessive urbanisation • Waste needs to be disposed off and only disposal • bin is ground and it occupies large chunk of land. • One million ton of municipal solid waste • occupies approximately one million square meter • (One square kilometer of land area when waste is • spread uniformly with a thickness of one meter)

18. Other problem associated with waste disposal • Another problem with the disposal of waste : • Source of pollution • Contaminates the soil beneath the waste • Contaminates the ground water as • contaminants travel from the solid waste to • the subsurface environment

19. Other sources of subsurface contamination • Ponding or impoundment of Liquid Waste : • Slurry type liquid waste • Leakage from storage of liquids in underground • tanks • Leakage from pipelines that transport liquid • Accidental spills of toxic liquid • Application of fertilizers , pesticides on large • agricultural areas

20. How to tackle and minimise this damage • Design and implementation of solution for • detection, control, remediation and prevention of • subsurface contamination • Protection of uncontaminated land • Analysis of the fate of contaminants on and in • the ground including transportation through • geomedia • Use of waste material on and in the ground for • geotechnical construction

21. Pollution:MSW/ISW • Municipal solid waste/Industrial solid waste place on the • ground: two most significant source of subsurface • contamination • Water infiltrates into waste and reacts physically, • chemically and biologically to produce leachate • Leachate infiltrates into the ground causing subsoil and • ground water contamination • Solid waste continues to stay at the location where it is • placed for years • Therefore the process of leachate infiltration into • subsurface environment continues , slowly but surely for • several yearss

22. Control and Remediation • Clean up of soil involves - Treatment of three phases in soil:Solid soil particle, Liquid pore fluids and Pore gases • Methods • Controlling the spread of polluted zone by installing impermeable vertical barriers (cut-off walls) all around and horizontal cover above the contaminated site • Removing the source of contamination and placing it in designed facility • Excavating the affected soil, washing it or teating it and placing it back after treatment

23. Pumping out the contaminated ground water by using a • set of tube wells installed in the • Contaminated zone , treating the ground water and the • injecting the purified waterback (Pump and Treat • Method) • Pumping out pore gas from the unsaturated zone using • gas wells and allowing air to enter through injection • wells • Using micro-organism to biomediate the sub soil and • ground water by transforming or immobilzing the • contaminants • Using thermal treatment e.g. incineration

24. Control of subsurface contamination for new facility • For solid waste: Providing impermeable flexible liners at • the base and covers on top of all Solid waste disposal • facilities to minimize leachate formation • For slurry type waste: Providing storage in ponds and • impoundments having incrementally raised • embankments and impermeable flexible liners at the base • For liquid: providind storage in ponds with impermeable • flexible liner • For underground liquid storage facility: Providing • double walle tanks with leakage detention system placed • between the walls

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