Soil improvement to counter liquefaction using colloidal silica grout injection

Abstract

Soil liquefaction due to earthquakes is a major reason of damage to buildings and other structures. This study deals with soil improvement against liquefaction by injection of a particular stabiliser, colloidal silica, which is nontoxic and stable. Laboratory experiments were performed to determine the effects of colloidal silica grout injection regarding soil strength and deformations. The experiments involved static and dynamic triaxial tests on untreated and treated soil samples. The variables used in the tests are the relative density (loose - 40%, medium - 60% and dense - 80%), the confining pressure (100 and 300 kPa), and the curing period of silica treated samples (7 and 28 days). The results clearly indicate the significant increase in strength of the soil with colloidal silica injection. Furthermore, the relative increase is the highest in the sand of the lowest relative density which is the most probable candidate for soil improvement. The observations that the increase in the strength of colloidal silica treated sands with curing time is gradual and continuous add to the advantage of this method for use in soil improvement works. By using the dynamic test results, the equivalent Young modulus (or shear modulus) and the hysteretic damping ratio of untreated and treated soils are compared. © 2019, Scibulcom Ltd. All rights Reserved.