Research Projects

Infrastructure development on soft soil is often unfeasible due to low bearing capacity and excessive ground settlement. Vertical drains, such as sand drains, prefabricated vertical drains, and stone columns, are commonly used for improving soft soil properties. However, prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) are preferred over sand drains due to their high-end heavy machinery and high costs. stone columns are even more expensive, as they require quarrying of hillocks, which can disturb the local ecosystem and cause pollution. PVD is suitable only for very soft soil, while stone columns are suitable for soils with higher consistency. To address this issue, an eco-friendly material, such as bamboo, can be used as a vertical drain without high-end instruments and semi-skilled manpower. Bamboo can be converted into a perforated structure by drilling the surface to allow radial flow of pore water from soft soil into it. This method can also improve soils with any consistency. This research proposes assessing the usefulness of sand-filled perforated bamboo as a vertical drain for improving soft soil. The goal will be achieved through experimental and numerical studies, with experimental results serving as the basis for validation of a numerical model. The results will be combined to identify significant parameters and their optimum value, forming design and implementation guidelines for a new vertical drain method.