الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Port Said clay represent a well-known category of problematic soils. The soil characterized by their low strength, high compressibility and time-dependency of deformations. Studying the behavior of soft clays in particular requires a thorough determination of their geotechnical parameters. Hence, it is required to carry out laboratory tests on extracted specimens from cored samples. This research, at first, has explained soil improvement using vertical drains as a kind of solution to improve soft clay. Second, the research briefly discusses the geological properties and the classification of Port-Said Clay. Three physical models were carried to investigate the behavior of Port Said clay, the first case was with no drains, the second was with sand drains and the third was with prefabricated vertical drains (PVD). Two-dimensional finite element analysis was carried out using PLAXIS 2D. The finite element results were compared with the previous physical models results where good compatibility was found. Parametric study was carried out with considering these variables spacing, length and diameters of sand drains. The length and spacing of PVD, smear zone diameter and smear zone permeability were also studied. The results showed that the PVD is more suitable to improve soft clay than sand drains system. Finally, the integrated obtained results of the 2D finite element and the three physical models recommended improving Port-Said soft clay by both sand drains and PVD. They are highly necessary to decrease the time of consolidation. Two empirical equations were obtained from the research results to calculate the time of consolidation using sand drains and PVDs. Abstract. |