A study on the engineering properties of sand improved by the Sand Compaction Pile method

In order to directly evaluate the effects of soil improvement by the Sand Compaction Pile (SCP) method on the density, deformation, and static and liquefaction strength characteristics of sandy soils, a series of field and laboratory tests were performed. Laboratory tests were performed on high-quality undisturbed samples obtained from sandy soils both before and after soil improvement by the SCP method. The high-quality undisturbed samples were recovered by the in-situ freezing sampling method. The drained shear strength (internal friction angle, (phi(d)), liquefaction strength (R-15: cyclic stress ratio needed to cause 5% double amplitude axial strain in 15 cycles), and cyclic deformation characteristics (G similar to gamma and h similar to gamma relations) were determined by performing a series of laboratory tests on the undisturbed samples. Both the in-situ density and the relative density were measured on the undisturbed samples used in the laboratory tests. A standard penetration test (SPT) and a suspension-type P-S wave logging test were performed to investigate the soil profile of the test site before and after the sand compaction. Both the static and the liquefaction strengths of the sandy soils obtained in the laboratory tests were also compared with those estimated by empirical correlations used in practice based on the SPT N-value and soil gradations.