Centrifuge model studies on the performance of soft clay improved with pervious concrete piles

V. Manaswini; B. V. S. Viswanadham

Publication Title
Centrifuge model studies on the performance of soft clay improved with pervious concrete piles

Abstract

Pervious Concrete Piles (PCPs) are gaining traction as a promising alternative for soft soil improvement, especially, where conventional granular piles face installation challenges due to low confinement. The objective of the present study is to understand the influence of PCPs in improving the soft clay through centrifuge model tests conducted in a 1.1 m radius balance beam centrifuge facility available at IIT Bombay, India. The present study focusses on the behaviour of PCP reinforced soft ground under flexible loading, which is like embankment loading / loading due to an oil storage tank as the interface between the structure and underlying soft soil deposit is flexible. PCPs, essentially made of uniform sized aggregate, provide higher strength while being permeable, independent of the soil surrounding the piles. This study presents the deformation and consolidation behaviour under a uniform distributed pressure of the order of 100 kPa, which is applied all over the model surface. For comparison purposes, results of centrifuge model tests of PCP improved ground are compared with densely packed granular pile reinforced ground. The results of this study lead to understand the efficacy of using PCPs for improving consolidation characteristics of soft clayey soils.

Authors
V. Manaswini; B. V. S. Viswanadham

Published In

11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)

Theme

Session 6: Onshore and offshore foundation systems