ABSTRACT
To consider the effects of stiffness of the interface layer, between the superstructure and the composite ground, formed by columnar inclusions, on settlement, and to widen the scope of use of columnar inclusions under varied situations, a simple theoretical model has been developed and discussed in this paper. The model incorporates the compressibility of granular fill, nonlinearity of the material properties, interaction as well as the stress transfer between the column and the surrounding soil along the depth and the possible slip along column-soil interface. Evaluations are to illustrate the influence of various parameters on the predicted settlements. This analysis reveals that the compressibility of the granular fill has an appreciable influence on the settlement response of the column-reinforced ground as long as the modulus of the granular fill is less than the optimum value. For the validation of the proposed model, predicted results are compared with those obtained from finite element analysis, with the approaches in vogue and with laboratory and field test results.
