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Vacuum-PVD Improvement: a Case Study of the Second Improvement of Soft Bangkok Clay on the Subsiding Ground

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Abstract

This paper describes a case study of the second improvement of soft Bangkok clay utilizing a vacuum-PVD combined with embankment preloading. Airtight membranes, horizontal prefabricated drains, and field-distributed air–water separation vacuum systems were applied in this case study. Surface settlement plates, pore pressure piezometers, and inclinometers were installed in the soft clay layer. The settlement and consolidation degree predictions employing one-dimensional consolidation, the Asaoka observational method, and pore water pressure data were analyzed. Back-calculation of flow parameters, comparison of soil properties before and after the first improvement were performed. The ground cracks and lateral movements induced by vacuum consolidation were also reported. After the first improvement, the properties of very soft clay were improved due to increased undrained shear strength and maximum pressure. In contrast, water content, void ratio, and compression index were reduced. The results illustrated that the vacuum-PVD improvement with an innovative field-distributed air–water separation system is effective for the second improvement of soft Bangkok clay.

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All data used in the study appear in the submitted article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Ceteau (Thailand) Ltd. for providing the Bangkok clay improvement project data using Vacuum-PVD and kind cooperation.

Funding

This research was supported by King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok and has received funding support from the National Science, Research and Innovation Fund (NSRF) under Contract no. KMUTNB-FF-65-38.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emeritus Professor and Project Consultant, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

    Dennes T. Bergado

  2. Soil Engineering Research Center Director, Department of Civil Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand

    Pitthaya Jamsawang

  3. Ceteau (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand

    Nuttapong Kovittayanon

  4. Ceteau BV, Makkum, The Netherlands

    Francisco Baez & Peter Tijl de Zwart

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  1. Dennes T. Bergado
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  2. Pitthaya Jamsawang
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  3. Nuttapong Kovittayanon
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  4. Francisco Baez
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  5. Peter Tijl de Zwart
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Contributions

The authors confirm contributing to the paper as follows: manuscript preparation: DTB. Conceptualization and author response preparation: PJ. Data curation: NK. Data analysis: FB. Result interpretation: PTdZ

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Correspondence to Pitthaya Jamsawang.

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Bergado, D.T., Jamsawang, P., Kovittayanon, N. et al. Vacuum-PVD Improvement: a Case Study of the Second Improvement of Soft Bangkok Clay on the Subsiding Ground. Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng. 7, 96 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-021-00339-x

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