Settlement calculation for lime/cement column improved clay : Analytical and numerical analyses related to a case study

Abstract: The dry deep mixing method is widely used to improve a soft clay soil to increase the shear strength as well as to reduce the time for consolidation. It is a mechanical mixing process that makes parts of the soil stiffer than its original strength. It is mainly applicable to soft clay or peat soil.   In this master thesis, the objective was set to perform a comparative analysis on the prediction of the settlements of a clay soil improved by lime/cement columns (LCC). The theoretical settlement predictions were made using two analytical and numerical modeling. A case study was carried out on a part of Stockholm bypass project where LCC was applied to improve soft clay for a foundation of a concrete trough. Field measurements of the vertical deformation of the improved soil were performed using settlement plates to compare the analytical and numerical results. The first analytical method was performed based on the recommendation of TK Geo 13 (2013) while the second method was performed based on the concept of a composite ground. In the case of the numerical method, FEA was performed using 2D plane strain model in Plaxis simulation. The performance of the geometry and combined matching models were investigated to convert the axisymmetric to plane strain model. The variation in stiffness of the columns were taken into consideration by applying two stiffness values 30 and 33 MPa for the upper and lower half of the column respectively. A preload of 58 kPa was applied on the improved clay soil to simulate the time-dependent consolidation settlement due to the stress addition. A comparison was carried out between the results obtained from the analysis and a field measurement. The two analytical methods produced a better agreement with the field measurement regarding long-term consolidation settlement and a reasonable agreement concerning the rate of consolidation. The numerical analysis showed a good agreement with the benchmark concerning both the long-term consolidation settlement as well as the rate of consolidation. The geometry matching model gave a reasonable result regarding correctness of the result compared with the combined matching. Based on the results obtained in this study, the numerical methods had a better agreement with the measurements.