Short aggregate piers defeat poor soils

Geopiers - short aggregate piers - have been used since 1988 to support footings and mats while controlling settlements of structures as tall as 16 stories with column loads from 200 tons to 900 tons. Geopiers can be described as stiff springs within a less stiff soil matrix; they enhance the soil t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Civil engineering (New York, N.Y. 1983) N.Y. 1983), 1994-12, Vol.64 (12), p.52-55
Main Authors: Lawton, Evert C, Fox, Nathaniel S, Handy, Richard L
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Building construction
Civil engineering
Methods
Piers
Reinforcements
Strategic planning
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Geopiers - short aggregate piers - have been used since 1988 to support footings and mats while controlling settlements of structures as tall as 16 stories with column loads from 200 tons to 900 tons. Geopiers can be described as stiff springs within a less stiff soil matrix; they enhance the soil through bottom densification and vertical and horizontal prestressing. Load transfer to the reinforced soil can be by a single footing of the same or larger diameter as the pier, or more typically a footing supported by 2 or more aggregate piers. To date, more than 1,000 footings, mats, and grade beams have been supported by more than 4,000 geopiers in 6 states. Aggregate-pier uplift anchors were used at a state-of-the-art hangar with massive doors that fold up like venetian blinds at Key Field in Meridian, Mississippi. Since construction was completed in 1993, windstorms in the area have reached 60 mph - 70 mph, yet no measurable uplift displacements have been recorded.
ISSN:0885-7024
2381-0688