Research Projects

Highway and railway infrastructures rely on soft clays, which can cause geotechnical issues due to their properties. Improving soft clay is crucial for infrastructure development to achieve stable foundation systems. PVD/ePVD/stone columns have gained attention as a soil modification method for speedy construction of geostructures. However, the consolidation behavior of column reinforced foundation beds depends on the permeability ratio and direction of flow, leading to longer waiting periods for final settlement. To address this issue, stone columns may be encased with conductive geosynthetic material to achieve the combined effect of column reinforcement and electrokinetic treatment (EK-ESC). However, there is a need for systematic understanding of the importance of electrokinetics in stone columns encased by conductive encasement material for enhancing consolidation and stress-strain responses of soft clays. The proposed work will be divided into five modules. The first module focuses on selecting model materials, determining basic index properties and engineering properties of chosen soil and other materials. The second module examines the consolidation characteristics of soft clay reinforced with EK-ESC, assessing the influence of soil consistency, conductive geosynthetic materials, electrodes, voltage gradient, column length, and length of conductive encasement. The third module assesses the performance of soft clay reinforced with EK-ESC using instrumented small-scale load tests and physico-chemo-mineralogical studies on treated soft clay. The fourth module evaluates the stress-strain response of treated and untreated soft clays under drained and undrained conditions.