Effect of Soil Cement Replacement Ratio on Settlement Reduction

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of soil cement column diameter and spacing on overall settlement beneath a road embankment situated on normally consolidated estuarine deposits in the South East Queensland region. The effect of Area Replacement Ratio (as) on settlement with consideration to column diameter and spacing variation is also compared to actual site settlement gauge data. The modelling was undertaken using Plaxis 2D and the results are discussed with respect to the variation in parameters as described. The sub surface profile was established during the investigation for the embankment and a series of oedometer tests were undertaken on samples obtained from the boreholes. The Plaxis inputs were calculated from the results of the oedometer tests and by several recognised methods as discussed in the paper. The aim of the research is to establish a graph suitable for initial settlement estimations on cement improved compressible soil