Vacuum preloading consolidation of reclaimed land: a case study

This case study presents the design, operation, and results of a soil impro vement project using the vacuum preloading method on 480 000 m(2) of reclai med land in Xingang Port, Tianjing, China. The areas treated with vacuum ra nged from 5000 to 30 000 m(2). The effects of soil improvement are demonstr ated through the average consolidation settlement of 2.0 m and increases in undrained shear strengths by a factor of two to four or more. The study sh ows that the vacuum method is an effective tool for the consolidation of ve ry soft highly compressive clayey soils over a large area. The technique is especially feasible in cases where there is a lack of surcharge loading fi lls, extremely low shear strength, soft ground adjacent to critical slopes, and access to a power supply.