Soil Improvement Techniques - PDF

Soil Improvement Techniques 1
Research Proposal on Soil Improvement Techniques during Construction
A Proposal Paper on Soil Improvement By
Student’s Name
Name of the Professor
Institutional Affiliation
City/State
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ABSTRACT
There are normally cases where the soil at a site of construction or at the foundation of an
already completed structure may not always be completely appropriate for supporting structures
in its current state. This research proposal proposes the techniques that can be used to improve
the soil when constructing and designing a foundation that would be used in the construction of
structures such as roads, bridges, or other superstructures such as stadia by considering the cost
of the technique, method of installation, and their functions. Soil improvement can be defined as
the alteration of the property of soil so as to improve its engineering performance through either
permanent measure to improve a structure already completed or temporary process to enable the
construction of a particular structure. Some of the soil improvement techniques that may be of
significance in the field of civil engineering include soil reinforcement, chemical stabilization,
grouting and injection, consolidation a precompression, vibration method, drainage method, and
surface compaction. The positive results of the soil improvement on the foundations of the
structures include improved water condition, reduced permeability, reduced compressibility, and
increased strength.
Keywords
Chemical stabilization, stone column, preloading, soil replacement, soil improvement, soil
reinforcement, precompression, consolidation, drainage, injection, and grouting

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INTRODUCTION
Background
An earth road is one whose wearing surface and foundation include specifically natural
soil present on a given site during the construction by Civil Engineers. Soils can be categorized
as cohesive soil and less cohesive soils depending on the engineering properties. It is noted that
areas that are clayey periodically do not normally have sandy materials. Clays are considered as
significant and normally determines the composition of the soil since it has dual qualities that are
objectionable that make it the most upsetting of the materials to be handled during the
construction of structures (Alfaro, 2009).
The clay soil swells when subjected to wetting and then shrinks during drying. It is for
these reasons why the foundation soft structures built on top of the clay soil normally collapse
during advanced weather conditions such as extreme rains and then followed by an extremely
dry period. This research proposal is about the techniques that can be used to improve the soil
when constructing and designing a foundation that would be used in the construction of
structures such as roads, bridges, or other superstructures such as stadia (Bell, 2012).
Aims and Objectives
The major objective of the during the construction of different research proposal is to
propose the techniques of soil improvement that can be used during the initial construction of
building foundations and also in the improvement of already existing foundations of structures
such as bridges. This proposal also seeks to evaluate the impacts of all the techniques of soil
improvement and then recommend the best soil improvement technique that can be applied by
civil engineers during the process of designing numerous structures (Braja, 2015). Some of the

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soil improvement techniques that may be of significance in the field of civil engineering include
soil reinforcement, chemical stabilization, grouting and injection, consolidation a
precompression, vibration method, drainage method, and surface compaction (Choa, 2010).
Significance
The soil improvement process is a very significant step during the initial construction and also
during the foundation improvement of the already completed structures. The general outcome of
the soil improvement may be improved water condition, reduced permeability, reduced
compressibility, and increased strength (Committee, 2009). The soil improvement techniques
seek to enhance the soft soil conditions through fixing soil particles and masses, reinforcing, and
compacting. There is also need for improving the soil under the heritage and historical buildings
without affecting the already damaged foundation bearing capacity. These historic buildings
form a major aspect of civilization hence cannot be demolished (Hansbo, 2010).
Definitions
Some of the technical terms used in this research proposal include chemical stabilization, stone
column, preloading, soil replacement, soil improvement, and jet grouting. Soil replacement
involves the replacement of poor soil such as soft and medium clay or organic soils with a more
competent material such as crushed stones, gravel, and sand. Precompression involves placing a
surcharge fill on the top of the soil that needs consolidation settlement (Hawkins, 2009). Soil
improvement involves the alteration of the property of soil so as to improve its engineering
performance through either permanent measure to improve a structure already completed or
temporary process to enable the construction of a particular structure. Stone columns are stone