Stress Zones Near Displacement Piers: I. Plastic and Liquefied Behavior
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Volume 132, Issue 1
Abstract
Radial stresses measured with the stepped blade in saturated soils near Rammed Aggregate Piers indicate temporary liquefaction of soil in the vicinity of the rammer. Drainage and compaction proceed during ramming of succeeding layers of the pier, such that the final distribution of radial effective stresses follows plastic cavity expansion theory. A plastic zone and liquefaction can develop only if the radial stress from ramming exceeds the soil compressive strength. If that condition is met, the transient hydrostatic condition allows the zone to expand with additional ramming. A passive condition occurs where radial stresses cannot be fully contained by the overburden pressure, in which case they approximate Rankine passive pressures. The tangential intermediate principal stress then can be modified by ramming of adjacent piers. Stress-induced cracking in the elastic zone contributes to rapid drainage and is discussed in Part II of this two-part series.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the suggestions and contributions of Dr. Kord Wissman to this investigation. The Winterset and Memphis tests were conducted by GeoSystems Engineering, Inc., Lenexa, Kan., under a research contract sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Dr. Glen Ferguson, Principle Investigator. The Salt Lake City tests were sponsored by Geopier Foundation Company Northwest, Inc., Portland, Ore., Geopier Foundation Co., Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., the Federal Highway Administration, and the University of Utah, Dr. Evert Lawton the Principal Investigator. Des Moines tests were conducted as part of a research project of the Spangler Geotechnical Laboratory at Iowa State University sponsored by the Iowa DOT. The writers acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Scott Mackiewicz in conduct of some of the tests and for suggesting an important design modification for the stepped blade. In particular the writers acknowledge the foresight and support of engineers of the US-DOT-FHWA, who in the late 1970s saw the need for and initiated a program to develop an instrument to accurately measure lateral in situ stress directionally in soils. This eventually led to invention and development of the stepped blade. The writers also acknowledge the support and participation of many other colleagues and co-workers who helped to make it happen, and in particular Dr. Nathaniel Fox, who initiated the stepped blade research and later founded Geopier Foundation Co., Inc. The writers serve as research consultants for Geopier, a subsidiary of the Tensar Corporation.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 1 • January 2006
Pages: 54 - 62
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 24, 2004
Accepted: Jun 9, 2005
Published online: Jan 1, 2006
Published in print: Jan 2006
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