Nathaniel S. Fox

Field tests and numerical analyses of subgrade soil reinforced with grids of stabilized granular columns

Field tests and numerical analyses conducted to establish the feasibility of reinforcing soft, loose, or otherwise inadequate subgrade soils with a grid of small-diameter, stabilized, vertical granular columns to support traditional pavement systems are described. This technique may prove to be cost-effective if it is used to improve subgrade soils so that the subbase or base courses can be reduced in thickness or eliminated. Field plate bearing tests were carried out on unreinforced cohesionless silty sand and on the same soil reinforced with vertical reinforcing columns constructed of four materials: crushed granitic gneiss, silica sand, cement-stabilized native soil, and cement-stabilized silica sand. The field tests indicated that the columns made of the two cement-stabilized materials substantially increased the subgrade modulus of the native soil. In contrast, the two unstabilized columnar reinforcing materials produced no substantial improvement in stiffness. The field tests were modeled by using a...