Experimental Investigation on the Bearing Capacity of Stone Columns with Granular Blankets

Using stone columns is an efficient method to increase the bearing capacity of soft soils. This has led to an increased interest in further developing and improving the method. In addition, granular blankets are used to increase the bearing capacity of the stone columns. In this research, the bearing capacity of stone columns, granular blankets, and a combination of both methods in reinforced and unreinforced modes was examined using large-scale laboratory tests. A scale factor of 1–10 is used for the geometry of the models, and the stone columns are a floating type that are 60 mm in diameter and 350 mm in length. These columns are either reinforced with vertical encasement of a geotextile or they are unreinforced. The granular blankets are either reinforced by using a biaxial geogrid or they are unreinforced with 40 and 75 mm thicknesses. In general, 16 large experimental tests have been carried out. Results indicate that using all these variations (granular blankets, stone columns, and a combination of both) improves bearing capacity. Using geogrid as the reinforcement of granular blankets and geotextile as stone-column encasement increases the efficiency of granular blankets and stone columns significantly. The maximum bearing capacity was obtained when reinforced granular blankets and reinforced stone columns were combined. The stress-concentration ratio and bearing capacity increased as geotextile encasement was used in the stone columns.