10/26/2021

CIVL3133 Ground improvement:

Preloading

Clarence E. Choi
Tuesday (15:30 to 16:20)
Friday (15:30 to 17:30)
MWT4

What are the expected outcomes of this lecture?

• What are the fundamental principles of preloading?
• Explain the benefits of preloading of a site prior to building a permanent
structure
• Compare advantages and disadvantages between fill and vacuum
preloading
• What are vertical drains and prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs)?
• What is a smear effect? Explain how it may affect the rate of
consolidation.
• What is well resistance? How can it be minimized?

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How has preloading helped shape Hong Kong?

Victoria Harbour in 1870

SCMP 2018

What is preloading?
• A ground improvement technique that reduces the void ratio of
geomaterial through consolidation by applying loads on ground
surface for a certain time period and then removing it for the
construction of a permanent structure.

• Construction of the permanent structure induces new settlement

due to the increase of the load. However, the induced
settlement by the structure after preloading is expected to be
much smaller than that without preloading.

Objectives: Two types of preloading:

1. Minimize settlement 1. Fill surcharge
2. Increase shear strength of soft soil 2. Vacuum
3. Optimize foundations and earthworks

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Fill preloading (aka fill precompression)

• Shear strength of soft clay increases with consolidation pressure

• Stiffness of soil increases with stress level
• Recompression coefficient is approximately 10% of compression index
• Horizontal hydraulic conductivity is soil is generally higher than its vertical
hydraulic conductivity

Fill precompression: stress path

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Preloading: allowable load

What is the most probable failure mechanism due to preloading soft soil?
Rate and height of fill preloading should be controlled to prevent bearing failure
of the clay layer
• Preloading is generally used to improved soft soils (often normally consolidated)

• These soils, when subjected to fill loading, are more critical under an undrained
condition than under a drained condition.

• Therefore, the ultimate bearing capacity of the soft foundation under an

undrained condition is often used to estimate the allowable pressure for
preloading:

𝑞ult 𝑁c 𝐶u
𝑝= =
𝐹𝑜𝑆 𝐹𝑜𝑆

𝑝 = allowable pressure for preloading;

𝑞ult = ultimate bearing capacity;
𝑁c = bearing capacity factor (5.14 for uniform soft soil);
𝐶u = undrained shear strength of soft soil; and
𝐹𝑜𝑆 = factor of safety (typically ranging from 1.1 to 1.5)

Vertical drains (aka sand drains)

• Consolidation in soft clays may take a
long time to complete due to its low
permeability.

• If the time for preloading and construction

of the structure needs to be accelerated,
then vertical drains can be installed in the
clay to shorten the drainage distance
thus accelerating the rate of consolidation
and reducing the time for soil
Sentex Geopier Foundations
consolidation and settlement.

• Sand drains are formed by filling

predrilled holes with highly permeable
sand and arranged in regular patterns
with certain spacing to shorten drainage
distance of water in soil thus accelerating
the rate of consolidation.

Wakachiku

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Prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs)

• Traditionally, sand drains may be expensive because of the need for sand
• Boring holes for the sand may also be expensive because it takes time to
reach those depths
• Nowadays prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) have been widely used in
the world for ground improvement and can be installed up to 60 m in the
ground
• PVDs are economical, produce higher conductivity and are easy to install
(1000 m per hour)
• PVDs also induce less disturbance to the ground
• Better quality control
• Proven performance

Prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs)

• The core is made of highly flexible plastic,
which maximizes water flow along the Geotextile filter
grooves formed longitudinally on both sides of
the core

• The filter fabric on the Vertical Drain is made Typically

from strong, durable polyester geotextile, 100 mm in width
having a very high permeability.

• The geotextile fabric serves as a filter to allow

passage of groundwater into the drain core Plastic core
while preventing piping of fines from the (3 to 6 mm
adjacent soils thick)

• The filter also serves as and outer skin to

maintain the cross-sectional shape and
hydraulic capacity of the core channels. Image of PVD taken from
third runway for HKIA

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Installation of PVDs
• Vertical drain is installed using a mast mounted on a mandrel
• The vertical drain, which is supplied in rolls 250m to 300m in length, is
threaded through the mast into the mandrel and is held in place at the
base of the rectangular section by an anchor plate.
• The rectangular section and the PVD is then driven into the ground to
the desired depth.
• The anchor plate serves two purposes:
1. prevents soil from entering and clogging the hollow rectangular
section as it is being driven into the ground
2. anchors the drain in place at the desired depth as the mandrel Faechina.com
is being retracted.
• When the rectangular section has been withdrawn, the PVD is cut off
above the ground surface, leaving a tail of about 300 mm
• Then a new anchor plate is installed, the mast is repositioned over the
next location and the cycle is repeated

Animation and field video of PVD installation

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Principle of vertical drains

Plan view Cross-section view Devices that artificially
created drainage paths,
which are inserted in the
soft clay to accelerate
consolidation by promoting
radial drainage.

1. Shorten consolidation
time
2. Increase shear strength
b
Equivalent diameter of PVD based on the perimeter equivalency and considering a correction factor is: tg
2(𝑏 + 𝑡g )
𝑑c = 𝛼d OPTION 1
𝜋

𝑑c is the equivalent diameter of a PVD

b is the width of the PVD
𝑡g is the thickness of the PVD
𝛼d is a correction factor, typically 0.9 – 1.0

Federal Highway Administration Prefabricated Vertical Drains Engineering Guidelines (Rixner et al. 2986) suggested the
following simplified formula:

𝑏 + 𝑡𝑔
𝑑𝑐 = OPTION 2
2

Review: assessment of degree of consolidation

The average degree of consolidation is defined by:

𝑢i − 𝑢t
𝑈= × 100%
𝑢i

𝑈 is the average degree of consolidation of a homogenous soil stratum

at a particular time
𝑢i is the initial excess pore pressure upon application of a vertical load
𝑢t is the average excess pore pressure at a particular time

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Review: consolidation without vertical drains

Terzaghi’s theory of one-dimensional consolidation predicts the excess
pore pressure under vertical drainage alone. Terzaghi’s theory give the
following for the average degree of consolidation due to vertical drainage
alone:
∞
2 (−𝑀2 𝑇 )
𝑈v = 1 − ෍ 𝑒 v
𝑀2
𝑚=0

𝑈v is the average degree of consolidation due to vertical drainage alone.

𝜋
𝑀 = 2𝑚 + 1
2
𝑐v 𝑡
𝑇v = 2
𝑑
𝑑 is the length of the longest drainage path
t is the time from load application
𝑐v is the coefficient of consolidation due to vertical drainage, which can be
obtained from laboratory oedometer tests

Consolidation due to radial flow (without smear)

Barron (1948) proposed a solution for an average degree of consolidation

due to radial flow toward a free-draining sand drain:

8𝑇
[− r ]
𝑈r = 1 − 𝑒 𝐹(𝑛)

𝑛2 3𝑛2 − 1
𝐹 𝑛 = ln(𝑛) −
𝑛2 − 1 4𝑛2

𝑈r is the average degree of consolidation due to radial flow

1. Darcy’s law is valid
𝑛 is the diameter ratio (i.e., 𝑛 = 𝑑e /𝑑c ) 2. Homogenous soil
𝑑e equivalent diameter of a unit cell 3.
4.
1D displacement
Excess pore water pressure at drain well
𝑑c diameter of a sand drain 5.
surface is zero
Cylindrical boundary of soil mass is
𝑇r time factor due to radial flow (i.e. 𝑇r = 𝑐r 𝑡/𝑑e2 ) impervious
6. Excess pore water pressures at upper and
lower boundaries is zero
7. No vertical flow at half-depth of soil mass
8. No smear zone or well resistance

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Consolidation due to radial flow (with smear)

The diameter of the smeared zone depends on the shape and size of the section used to install vertical drains and the type
and sensitivity of soil.

The commonly used correlation was proposed by Hansbo (1981; 1997):

𝑑𝑠 = (1.5 𝑡𝑜 3.0)𝑑𝑐

Installation of prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) disturbs the soil surrounding the PVDs and reduces the radial permeability
of the smeared zone.

The permeability of the smear zone can be estimated using:

1
𝑘𝑠 = 𝑘
𝜆 𝑟

Typically 𝜆 is from 2 to 6

Consolidation due to radial flow (with smear)

• Smear is the effect caused by
the disturbance of the soil
adjacent to the drain which is
likely to decrease its hydraulic
conductivity and slow down
the consolidation

• Smear increases with drain

diameter

Hansbo (1981) proposed an average degree of consolidation of a sand drain due to radial flow considering
smear and well resistance:
8𝑇r
[− ]
𝑈𝑟 = 1 − 𝑒 𝐹(𝑛)
𝑛 𝑘r 3 𝑘r
𝐹 𝑛 = ln + ln 𝑛S − + 𝜋𝑧(2ℎdr − 𝑧)
𝑛S 𝑛s 4 𝑄c

𝑛𝑠 is the diameter ratio of smeared zone to vertical drain (i.e., 𝑛𝑠 = 𝑑𝑠 /𝑑𝑐 )

𝑑𝑠 is the diameter of the smeared zone
𝑘𝑟 is the radial permeability of undisturbed surround soil
𝑘𝑠 is the radial permeability of smeared soil
𝑧 is the depth in the ground at which the degree of consolidation is computed
ℎ𝑑𝑟 is the longest drainage distance due to vertical flow
𝜋𝑑𝑐2
𝑄𝐶 is the discharge capacity of a vertical drain, which can be expressed as 𝑘𝑐 , where 𝑘𝑐 is the vertical permeability of the
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drain well

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Consolidation under combined vertical and horizontal

drainage
The presence of vertical drains does not prevent the vertical
drainage of water in the normal way.
In reality, both horizontal and vertical drainage take place
simultaneously.
This can be taken into account (Carillo 1942):

𝑈f = 𝑈r + 𝑈v − 𝑈r 𝑈v

𝑈f is the average degree of consolidation under combined vertical

and horizontal drainage

The portion of consolidation contribution by vertical flow is typically

small when PVD used
• Consolidation rate of 5 to 10% may be assumed for Uv as a starting point
to estimate the required consolidation degree by radial flow Ur

Well resistance
• Well resistance is not the same as smear effect
• Well resistance is when fines pass through the
geotextile of the PVD and into its core.
• The fines then accumulate in the core and reduces
the permeability of the PVD
• The reduced permeability of commonly referred to as
‘well resistance’
• By contrast, smear is a zone of in-situ soil that has
been disturbed during the installation of the PVD

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How do we tell if a PVD is experiencing well resistance?

The efficiency of a PVD in discharging water depends on not only the

discharge capacity of the PVD but:
1. permeability of the surrounding soil
2. length of the drain
PVD in a soil should have the following required discharge capacity to be
considered as a free drain without any well resistance (Chu et al. 2004):

2
𝑄c ≥ 7.85FoS ∙ 𝑘r ℎdr

Chu et al. (2004)

𝑄c is the required discharge capacity of a PVD
FoS is the factor of safety (typically 4 to 6)
𝑘r radial permeability of soil
ℎdr maximum drainage distance of PVD

What is the minimum soil retention criteria for the

geotextile filter around the core? (particle size)
To ensure the long term performance of PVDs, geotextile filters
wrapped around drainage cores also need to meet the soil
retention, drainage, and clogging resistance requirements. The
soil retention criteria for a geotextile filter are:

𝑂95 ≤ (2 to 3)𝐷85
and
𝑂50 ≤ (10 to 12)𝐷50
Carroll 1983

𝑂95 is the apparent opening size of geotextile filter

𝐷85 is the soil particle size of 85% finer
𝑂50 is the mean opening size of geotextile filter
𝐷50 is the soil particle size of 50% finer

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What is the minimum permeability requirement for the

geotextile around the core? (prevent clogging)
The drainage criterion of a geotextile filter is:
𝑘𝑐 ≥ 10𝑘𝑟
where 𝑘𝑐 is the permeability of the PVD

The clogging resistance requirements for a geotextile filter (Wang and

Chen 1996) include:

𝑛g ≥ 30%
𝑂95 ≥ 3𝐷15
𝑂15 ≥ (2 𝑡𝑜 3)𝐷10
𝑛𝑔 porosity of filter
𝐷15 soil particle size of 15% finer
𝑂15 opening size of filter of 15% finer
𝐷10 soil particle size of 10% finer

Fill surcharge
• After the PVDs are installed, a sand layer (typically 300 mm or greater in
thickness) is constructed on top to provide a free draining layer for the
water being discharged from the drains.
• The sand layer must also be thick enough to provide a stable working
platform. Geotextiles can be used to reduce the amount of fill require.

Green Cosmo Marketing Lte Ltd.

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Design example of preloading using PVDs

4.5 m

A highway embankment is to be constructed on soft soil. PVDs may be used to

shorten the construction period and accelerate the consolidation. The PVDs will
have dimensions of 100 mm by 4 mm. Assume there is no smear effect and the
required FoS is 1.3. The allowable discharge capacity is 0.000109 m3/s. The rate of
construction is 0.3m/week. Assume the PVDs are arranged in an equilateral
triangular pattern with spacing of 1.0 m. Use Federal Highway Administration
Prefabricated Vertical Drains Engineering Guidelines to deduce the equivalent
diameter of the PVD.
What is the degree of consolidation and settlement at the end of construction? What
is the strength gain?

Design example of preloading using PVDs

4.5 m

Stage 1: The permissible height of the fill is:

𝑁𝑐 𝐶𝑢 5.14 × 24
𝐻≤ = = 4.8 𝑚
𝐹𝑜𝑆 ∙ 𝛾 1.3
So the embankment height is safe and will not result in bearing failure.
Since the construction rate is 0.3 m/week, the embankment can be constructed in 15
weeks. So 𝑡 = 15 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘𝑠 = 15 ∗ 7 = 105 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠
The equivalent influence diameter de is:
de = 1.05d = 1.05 × 1.0 = 1.05 m

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Design example of preloading using PVDs

4.5 m

The total primary settlement is (overburden calculated at mid-depth of the soft soil
and the width of the embankment is more than three times the thickness of the soft
soil):

𝐶𝑐 𝐻 𝜎0′ + Δ𝜎 ′ 0.8(6.0) 4.5 × 19.7 + (18.1 − 9.81) × 3

𝑆= log( )= log = 1.58 𝑚
1 + 𝑒0 𝜎0′ 1.0 + 1.0 18.1 − 9.81 × 3

The settlement is about 35% the height of the fill to be constructed.

The coefficient of consolidation due to radial flow is:
𝑐𝑟 = 2.5 × 𝑐𝑣 = 4.5 × 10−8𝑚2 /𝑠

Design example of preloading using PVDs

4.5 m

Unlike theory, the construction of the embankment cannot

be completed to its final height instantaneously. It must be
The time factors for vertical and radial flow are: done in stages so an average construction time is taken to
represent the construction process (i.e. t/2)

−8 105
𝑐𝑣 𝑡 1.8 × 10 × ( 2 ) × 24 × 60 × 60
𝑇𝑣 = 2 = = 0.00227
𝐻𝑑𝑟 62
−8 105
𝑐𝑟 𝑡 4.5 × 10 × ( 2 ) × 24 × 60 × 60
𝑇𝑟 = 2 = = 0.185
𝑑𝑒 1.052
The degree of consolidation due to vertical flow at t is: The portion of consolidation contribution by
vertical flow is typically small when PVD
4𝑇𝑣 used
𝑈𝑣 = = 5.4% Consolidation rate of 5 to 10% may be
𝜋 assumed for Uv as a starting point to
estimate the required consolidation
degree by radial flow Ur

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Design example of preloading using PVDs

4.5 m

The equivalent diameter of PVDs is:

𝑏 + 𝑡𝑔 100 + 4 Compression parameters are

𝑑𝑐 = = = 52 𝑚𝑚 = 0.052 𝑚 stress level dependent, so we
2 2 must find out what our stress
level is and make estimations
Estimation of kv: accordingly.
′ ′
∆𝑒 = 𝐶𝑐 log 𝜎𝑧2 − log 𝜎𝑧1
′ ′
∆𝑒 𝐶𝑐 log 𝜎𝑧2 − log 𝜎𝑧1 0.8 × (log 200 − log 100)
𝑎𝑣 = = ′ ′ = = 0.0024
∆𝜎 ′ 𝜎𝑧2 − 𝜎𝑧1 200 − 100
𝑎𝑣 0.0024
𝑚𝑣 = = = 0.0012
1 + 𝑒0 1 + 1.0
𝑘𝑣 = 𝛾𝑤 𝑐𝑣 𝑚𝑣 = 1.8 × 10 × 9.8 × 0.0012 = 2.12 × 10−10 𝑚/𝑠
−8
𝑘𝑟 = 2.5𝑘𝑣 = 5.29 × 10−10 𝑚/𝑠

Design example of preloading using PVDs

4.5 m

The degree of consolidation due to radial flow can be calculated as follows:

𝑑𝑒 1.05
𝑛= = = 20
𝑑𝑐 0.052
Equation without smear
𝑛2 3𝑛2 − 1 202 3 20 2
−1
𝐹 𝑛 = 2 ln(𝑛) − 2 = 2 ln 20 − 2 = 2.25
𝑛 −1 4𝑛 20 − 1 4 20
OR
Equation with smear (𝑛𝑠 = 𝑑𝑠 /𝑑𝑐 , if no smear 𝑛S =1)
𝑛 𝑘r 3 𝑘r 20 3 6 6 5.29 × 10−10 𝑚/𝑠
𝐹 𝑛 = ln + ln 𝑛S − + 𝜋𝑧(2ℎdr − 𝑧) = ln + 0 − + 𝜋 (2 × 6 − ) = 2.25
𝑛S 𝑛s 4 𝑄c 1 4 2 2 0.000109
8𝑇r 8×0.185
− −
𝑈r = 1 − 𝑒 𝐹 𝑛 =1−𝑒 2.25 = 0.482 = 48.2%

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Design example of preloading using PVDs

4.5 m

The overall degree of consolidation is:

𝑈f = 𝑈r + 𝑈v − 𝑈r 𝑈v = 0.482 + 0.054 − 0.482 × 0.054 = 0.510 = 51%

The settlement at t is:

𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑈𝑓 × 𝑆𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦 = 0.510 × 1.58𝑚 = 0.81 𝑚

The strength gain due to consolidation can be calculated as follows:

∆𝐶𝑢 = 0.25𝑈𝑓 ∆𝜎𝑧 = 0.25 0.51 19.7 ∗ 4.5 = 11.3 𝑘𝑃𝑎
Assumption is that the width of the embankment is much larger than the depth of the
soft soil to use the above strength gain equation.

Vacuum preloading

• Vacuum preloading utilizes atmospheric pressure on an air-tight system installed in the

field by applying vacuum inside the system

• Vacuum pressure removed after the completion of preloading while fill may be removed or
remain as part of an earth structure

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Vacuum preloading: a case study near Hong Kong

• The field test was conducted at about 2 km south of the Shenzhen airport
• Geological condition is very similar to that in Hong Kong
• The depth of the water was 1.5 m
• The area improved by the vacuum preloading was square in shape with a total of
2500 m2
• Soft clay layer present within 7 m below the ground surface, below which was
the firm stratum

Vacuum preloading: layout and instrumentation

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Vacuum preloading: variation of vacuum and u

Vacuum preloading: u and phreatic surface

Contour of pore pressure after 80 days Change in elevation of phreatic surface

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Vacuum preloading: settlement

Vacuum preloading: strength improvement

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Vacuum preloading: summary of findings

• Pore water pressures decreased significantly and linearly
with depth. This indicated that the construction of vacuum
preloading could be accomplished under water.

• Pore water pressures within the underlying layer could be

decreased further depending on the capacity of the pumps.

• After the field test, the maximum surface settlement

represented about 13 percent of soft layer thickness.

• After under water vacuum preloading was carried out, the

undrained shear strength of the soil increased significantly,
and the water content decreased substantially. It indicated
that this method was feasible for the treatment of under
water soft soil.

Suitability and application: fill vs. vacuum preloading

• Fill preloading is more suitable if fill material is inexpensive and readily
available and/or the fill will become part of the permanent structure
(such as embankments).

• Vacuum preloading is more suitable for the areas where soils are too
weak to support construction equipment and fill, and/or fill material is
expensive and not readily available.

• The maximum pressure applied by vacuum preloading is limited by the

atmosphere pressure (100 kPa)

• Fill may be added on top of the vacuum system to increase the

preloading pressure

• Commonly used approach for reclamation projects

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Principles: stress and ground movement

Fill preloading and vacuum preloading have three obvious differences:

(1)fill preloading induces positive excess pore water pressure in geomaterial while vacuum preloading
induces negative excess pore water pressure;
(2)fill preloading induces unequal vertical and horizontal stresses, while vacuum preloading induces the
same stresses (i.e., vacuum pressure) in all directions; and
(3)fill preloading induces outward movement in the horizontal direction, while vacuum preloading
induces inward movement in the horizontal directions.

Principles: variations of excess pore water

pressure and effective stress profiles

Fill preloading

Vacuum preloading

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Vacuum and Fill Combined Preloading

• The maximum vacuum pressure for preloading is limited by
atmosphere pressure (100 kPa).

• In practice, the achievable pressure typically ranges from 60

to 80 kPa due to loss of vacuum in the system

• When the required pressure is higher than 80 kPa,

additional fill can be added on the vacuum system thus
creating a vacuum and fill combined preloading.

• Fill loading induces outward horizontal displacement while

vacuum loading induces inward horizontal displacement. If
they are used separately, both horizontal displacements are
undesirable. However, when they are combined together,
the horizontal displacement is minimized due to the
opposite movements.

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