Abstract
This study presents a geotechnical investigation and soil improvement techniques used in the construction of an embankment at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar economic zone in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The embankment site consisted of very soft and non-cohesive inorganic silty clay soil, requiring careful consideration during foundation design to ensure stability. The study determined that a 100-mm-wide and 3.8-mm-thick PVD with 1.0 m center-to-center spacing in a triangular pattern was the optimal solution for soil consolidation. The use of PVDs and geotextile strips significantly reduced settlement, resulting in a more stable embankment. Estimation and evaluation of settlement and allowable bearing capacity of soil in relation to fill height increase ensured the embankment could support intended loads without excessive settlement or failure. The study shows that the finite element method is efficient in forecasting safety factors for improved embankments built on soft soil, and the simplified method can produce satisfactory settlement results. The total cost of the embankment, including materials and construction, was estimated at 491,460 USD, and the cost change due to settlement was found to be 2.5–9% of the total cost. This study provides insight into the effectiveness of PVDs and geotextile strips in reducing settlement during embankment construction on soft soils.
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This research presented in this paper was supported by the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and Geotechnical and Concrete lab, BUET, and this support is gratefully acknowledged.
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Sudipta Chakraborty and Prof. Mehedi Ahmed Ansary conceived of the presented idea. Sudipta Chakraborty and Md. Saddam Hossain developed the theory and performed the computations and also verified the analytical methods. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript. Sudipta Chakraborty and Md. Saddam Hossain wrote the manuscript with support from Prof. Mehedi Ahmed Ansary. Prof. Mehedi Ahmed Ansary encouraged Sudipta Chakraborty and Md. Saddam Hossain to investigate and supervised the findings of this work.
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Chakraborty, S., Hossain, S. & Ansary, M.A. Exploiting prefabricated vertical drain for ground improvement: a numerical and field approach. Arab J Geosci 16, 432 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-023-11528-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-023-11528-5