Mitigation of Soil Liquefaction Using Stone Columns: An Experimental Investigation

The risk of liquefaction and associated ground deformation may be reduced by using various ground-improvement methods, including the stone column technique. To examine the effects of stone columns, a shaking table experimental study using four models (two containing saturated sand and two containing stone column composite foundations) was conducted to measure the development and dissipation of excess pore water pressure and the acceleration response during a simulated earthquake. The test results demonstrate that the effectiveness of stone columns for mitigation of soil liquefaction during an earthquake depends on the following three aspects: (1) the densification of the surrounding soils; (2) drainage along the stone column; and (3) reduction in the total cyclic shear stress of the soil (because the cyclic shear stress is partially shared by the stone column). The first factor (the densification of the surrounding soils) is the most prominent factor among these three. The drainage and re-distribution of the shear stress can only develop fully for sand ground with a considerably higher density; thus, the effectiveness of the last two factors are only significant for dense sand ground.