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Numerical investigation on zone of improvement for dynamic compaction of sandy ground with high groundwater table

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Abstract

This paper presents a numerical study of dynamic compaction (DC) on ground improvement in foundation with a high groundwater table, based on a dynamic fluid–solid coupled finite element method with a cap model. Firstly, an analysis of dry ground was carried out to evaluate the effective improvement range, with the proposal of a normalized formula capturing the improvement effect. Then, the parametric studies include the effect of groundwater table, the permeability coefficient, drop energy, and soil type have been carried out to not only find that the groundwater table has a dominant influence on soil improvement by DC but also clarify densification mechanisms of ground improvement by DC on the soil nearby groundwater table, which is through analyzing the contours of effective mean stress. Finally, a relative enhancement index, RD, based on a total of 52 calculations is derived to evaluate the depth of improvement below the groundwater table for different scenarios. These relationships provide a valuable reference for the evaluation of ground improvement by DC for a foundation with high groundwater table and the applicability of the proposed procedure is illustrated by comparing its prediction with three cases of DC in the field.

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Data will be made available on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

d :

Cohesion in p′–q space

p′:

Effective mean stress

D″ and W″:

Volumetric hardening coefficients

η and κ :

Regression coefficients of Eq. 9

D r :

Relative density

p AP :

Atmospheric pressure

R :

Tamper radius

H :

Drop height

M :

Tamper mass

N :

Drop number

h :

Groundwater table

v :

Impact velocity

I r :

The relative degree of improvement

D r0 :

Initial relative density before DC

△ D r :

The increment of relative density

DC:

Dynamic compaction

R’:

The parameter that controls the shape of the cap

y max and x max :

The maximum depth and radius

y x max :

Depth of maximum radius

y ′ max :

Maximum depth below crater level

y ′ x max :

Depth of maximum radius below crater level

y cr :

Crater depth

d′ wat :

Depth of improvement corresponding to Ir for the foundation with high groundwater table

d′ dry :

Depth of improvement corresponding to Ir for dry soil

d ’ wat :

Depth of improvement below groundwater table corresponding to Ir for the foundation with high groundwater table

d ’ dry :

Depth of improvement below groundwater table corresponding to Ir for dry soil

x’ and y′:

Normalized depth and radius

x w :

Lateral extent at the groundwater table level

E′:

Elastic modulus

t :

Impact duration

v′ :

Poisson’s ratio

T :

Dimensionless time

R D = (d wat-h)/(d dry-h):

Normalized depth of improvement below the groundwater table

S :

Elastic constant

D′:

Constrained modulus

a 1 and b 1 :

Regression coefficients of Eq. 18

β :

Friction angle

Y 0, μ, and M :

Regression coefficients of Eq. 12

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Shandong Excellent Young Scientists Fund Program (Overseas) (2022HWYQ-016), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2021QE254; ZR2021ME103), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20220273), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A1515110564) and the Foundation of Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tongji University (KLE-TJGE-B2105).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China

    Chong Zhou, Kai Yao, Yu Rong, Hongguang Jiang, Chenjun Yang & Zhanyong Yao

  2. School of Transportation Engineering, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China

    Chong Zhou

  3. Suzhou Research Institute, Shandong University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Yao

  4. Shenzhen Research Institute of Shandong University, Shandong University, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Yao

  5. Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Yao & Dongming Zhang

  6. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Fook Hou Lee

  7. Shandong Hi-Speed Group, Jinan, People’s Republic of China

    Luchuan Chen

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  1. Chong Zhou
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Zhou, C., Yao, K., Rong, Y. et al. Numerical investigation on zone of improvement for dynamic compaction of sandy ground with high groundwater table. Acta Geotech. 18, 695–709 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-022-01638-x

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