Advancements in Ground Improvement Techniques for Soft Soils

Authors

  • M. Husaini Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • K. W. Gan Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • D. Z. Abang Hasbollah Centre of Tropical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • B. A. Othman Centre of Tropical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • F. Slamat Centre of Tropical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • M. N. Abdurahman Slope Engineering Branch, Headquarters of the Public Works Department of Malaysia, Sultan Salahuddin Road, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • R. Bhatawdekar Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/construction.v5i2.12567

Keywords:

Ground Improvement , Deep mixing, Jet Grouting, Preloading, Vertical Drain

Abstract

Ground improvement techniques are essential for enhancing the engineering properties of soft soils, which is typically characterized by low shear strength, high compressibility, and poor drainage characteristics. Over the years, several ground improvement methods have been developed and applied to mitigate the challenges posed by soft soils in construction projects. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the most widely used techniques for soft soil improvement, including deep mixing, jet grouting, preloading, and vertical drains. Each method is evaluated in terms of its feasibility, cost-effectiveness, application areas, and efficiency. Case studies from various regions are examined to highlight the practical implementation of these techniques in real-world scenarios, with particular attention to their performance in improving soil strength, accelerating consolidation, and reducing settlement. The findings indicate that while each method has its strengths and limitations, a combination of techniques often yields the best results, depending on site-specific conditions. This paper concludes by recommending optimal approaches for the use of ground improvement techniques based on soil characteristics, project scale, and environmental considerations, ultimately contributing to safer and more sustainable construction practices in soft soil environments.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] D. Bhardwaj, A. P. Yadu, and K. B. Keshava, “Ground improvement techniques: Recent trends and developments,” Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 42-58, 2015.

[2] A. Bezuijen, L. Van den Ende, and T. Luger, “Ground improvement in soft soils: Techniques and applications,” Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 23-35, 2013.

[3] M. Budhu, Soil Mechanics and Foundations, 3rd ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2010.

[4] B. M. Das, Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9th ed., Cengage Learning, 2013.

[5] M. Danziger and D. Muir Wood, “A study of soil stabilization methods for soft clays,” Geotechnical Engineering Journal, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 77-89, 2009.

[6] N. Ghani, S. Jeyaraj, and B. Moradian, “A comparative study of ground improvement techniques for soft soil stabilization,” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 10, p. 04016056, 2016.

[7] T. W. Lambe and R. V. Whitman, Soil Mechanics, John Wiley & Sons, 1969.

[8] S. Mitra, P. Ray, and D. Banerjee, “Comparative analysis of ground improvement techniques for foundation stability,” International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 95-111, 2018.

[9] M. S. Reddy, R. Siddharthan, and M. Kumar, “Geotechnical properties and challenges in soft soil stabilization,” Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 134-146, 2014.

[10] A. Somerville, Q. Zhao, and P. Smith, “Advances in ground improvement techniques and their applications in construction,” Soil Improvement Techniques Journal, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 22-41, 2019.

[11] F. Tatsuoka, M. Takahashi, and S. Iizuka, “Ground improvement and stabilization techniques for soft soils: An overview,” Geotechnical Engineering Review, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 67-80, 2018.

[12] W. F. Van Impe and J. De Belie, “The application of ground improvement techniques in soft soils,” Soil Mechanics and Foundations, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 27-39, 2008.

[13] A. Arulrajah, “Changi Airport Expansion: Use of preloading for soft soil stabilization,” Geotechnical Engineering Journal, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 45-60, 2009.

[14] B. Indraratna, C. Rujikiatkamjorn, and A. S. Balasubramaniam, “Vertical drains for soft soil consolidation,” Advances in Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 65-80, 2013.

[15] M. Kitazume, “Deep mixing for large-scale reclamation projects: Case study of Tokyo Bay reclamation,” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 112-130, 2022.

[16] H. Z. Rahman, “Jet grouting for urban soil stabilization: The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport expansion project,” International Journal of Ground Improvement Techniques, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 50-70, 2015.

[17] M. A. Alam, S. Akhtar, and L. Wang, “Economic viability of vertical drains in soft soil areas: A case study,” Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 101-116, 2020.

[18] D. Bhardwaj, S. Kumar, and S. Jain, “Effectiveness of deep mixing for soft soil stabilization in large infrastructure projects,” Geotechnical Journal, vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 315-328, 2016.

[19] M. M. Fattah, “Assessment of deep mixing effectiveness in land reclamation projects,” International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 23-35, 2021.

[20] M. M. Fattah and D. Bhardwaj, “Synergistic use of vertical drains and preloading for soft soil stabilization: A review,” Journal of Ground Improvement, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 210-225, 2021.

[21] B. Indraratna, “Ground improvement for coastal infrastructure projects: Case studies and applications,” Coastal Engineering Journal, vol. 39, no. 5, 317-331, 2021.

[22] Y. Li, S. Zhang, and X. Li, “Jet Grouting in urban soil stabilization: A review and case study,” Geotechnical Research, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 123-135, 2020.

[23] H. Z. Rahman, “Jet grouting for urban soil stabilization: The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Expansion Project,” International Journal of Ground Improvement Techniques, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 50-70, 2015.

[24] P. Sahoo, “Accelerated consolidation of soft soils using preloading and vertical drains: A case study in coastal areas,” Geotechnical Engineering Journal, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 80-92, 2019.

[25] W. Zhang, Q. Li, and S. Zhao, “A comparative analysis of jet grouting versus deep mixing in urban soil stabilization,” International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 66, no. 4, pp. 481-497, 2020.

[26] J. Chu, B. Indraratna, S. Yan, and C. Rujikiatkamjorn, “Overview of preloading methods for soil improvement,” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Ground Improvement, vol. 167, no. 3, pp. 173–185, 2014.

[27] R. D. Holtz and O. Wager, “Preloading by vacuum: Current prospects,” Transportation Research Record, vol. 548, pp. 26–79, 1975.

[28] D. T. Bergado, A. S. Balasubramaniam, R. J. Fannin, and R. D. Holtz, “Prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) in soft Bangkok clay: A case study of the new Bangkok International Airport project,” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 304–315, 2002.

[29] B. Indraratna, C. Bamunawita, and H. Khabbaz, “Numerical modelling of vacuum preloading and field applications,” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 1098–1110, 2004.

[30] J. Chu and S. W. Yan, “Estimation of degree of consolidation for vacuum preloading projects,” International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 158–165, 2005.

[31] J. Chu, S. W. Yan, and W. Guo, “Vacuum preloading methods: An update,” Geotechnical Engineering Journal of the SEAGS & AGSSEA, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 62–69, 2016.

[32] J. Wu, Y. Xuan, Y. Deng, X. Li, F. Zha, and A. Zhou, “Combined vacuum and surcharge preloading method to improve lianyungang soft marine clay for embankment widening project: A case,” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 452–465, 2021.

[33] J. Chu, S. W. Yan, and H. Yang, “Soil improvement by the vacuum preloading method for an oil storage station,” Geotechnique, vol. 50, pp. 625–632, 2000.

[34] Y. Zhou, S. Chen, W. Guo, Y. Ren, and G. Xu, “Recent developments in the vacuum preloading technique in China,” Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 21, p. 13897, 2022.

[35] C. Rujikiakamjorn, B. Indraratna, and J. Chu, “Numerical modelling of soft soil stabilized by vertical drains, combining surcharge and vacuum preloading for a storage yard,” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 326-342, 2007.

[36] B. Indraratna, “Recent Advances in the Application of Vertical Drains and Vacuum Preloading in Soft Soil Stabilisation,” EH Davis Memorial Lecture – Australian Geomechanics Society, 2009

[37] M. Rosdi, Z. Fadhadli, and N. Gofar, “Performance of ground improvement by precompression and vertical drain,” in Proceedings of International Conference on Geotechnical and Highway Engineering, Geotropika2008, Kuala Lumpur, 26-27 May 2008.

[38] R. D. Susanti, M. Waruwu, and A. Waruwu, “Bearing capacity improvement of peat soil by preloading,” ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 121-124, 2017.

[39] Kh. Mehrshahi and H. A. Elahi, “Estimating geotechnical design parameters of improved soil by the preloading method using instrumentation results and numerical approach- A case study,” Journal of Ferdowsi Civil Engineering, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 13-29, 2017.

[40] L. G. Lam, D. T. Bergado, and T. Hino, “PVD improvement of soft Bangkok clay with and without vacuum preloading using analytical and numerical analyses,” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, vol. 43, no. 6, pp. 547–557, 2015.

[41] Z. Zhang, G. B. Ye, and Y. Xu, “Comparative analysis on performance of vertical drain improved clay deposit under vacuum or surcharge loading,” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 146–154, 2018.

[42] J. Ding, X. Wan, C. Zhang, Z. He, and L. Zhao, “Case study: Ground improvement of yangtze river floodplain soils with combined vacuum and surcharge preloading method,” International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 19, no. 12, p. 05019008, 2019.

[43] N. López-Acosta, A. L. Espinosa-Santiago, V. Pineda-Núez, A. Ossa, M. J. Mendoza, E. Ovando-Shelley, et al., “Performance of a test embankment on very soft clayey soil improved with drain-to-drain vacuum preloading technology,” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 618–631, 2019.

[44] L. Fan, Z. Xun, and S. Peng, “A comparative case study on drainage consolidation improvement of soft soil under vacuum preloading and surcharge preloading,” Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 9, p. 5782, 2023.

[45] H. L. Liu, and J. Chu, “A new type of prefabricated vertical drain with improved proper-ties,” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 152–155, 2009.

[46] J. H. Park, J. Yuu, and H. Y. Jeon, “Green Geosynthetics Applications to Sustainable Environmental Fields from the Viewpoint of Degradability,” Proceedings International Symposium and Exhibition on Geotechnical and Geosynthetics Engineering: Challenges and Opportunities on Climate Change, 7-8 Dec. 2010, Bangkok, pp. 43–50, 2010.

[47] B. Indraratna, C. Rujikiatkamjorn, and A. Attya, “Prefabricated vertical cross drain,” Trailblazer Competition, Wollongong, 2006.

[48] C. Rujikiatkamjorn, and B. Indraratna, “Performance of different shapes of vertical drains,” G´eotechnique Letters, 2012.

[49] O. Hwang and L. Park, “Preloading techniques for improving soft soils,” Geotechnical Engineering Journal, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 245-252, 2016.

[50] P. Arora and R. Bhattacharya, “Cost-effectiveness of deep mixing techniques for soft soil stabilization,” Geotechnical Journal, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 313-322, 2018.

[51] M. S. S. Almeida, M. E. S. Marques, M. Riccio, D. F. Fagundes, B. T. Lima, U. F. Polido, et al., “Ground improvement techniques applied to very soft clays: state of knowledge and recent advances,” Soils and Rocks, vol. 46, p. e2023008222, 2023.

Downloads

Published

2025-11-18

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

[1]
M. Husaini, “Advancements in Ground Improvement Techniques for Soft Soils”, Constr., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 180–189, Nov. 2025, doi: 10.15282/construction.v5i2.12567.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 43

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)