Monitoring of consolidation behaviour of marine clay treated with vacuum and surcharge at the Port of Brisbane

Authors: Indraratna, B; Balasubramaniam, AS; Poulos, H; Rujikiatkamjorn, C; Ameratunga, J; Perera, D Download Paper

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1508_46_Indraratna

Cite As:
Indraratna, B, Balasubramaniam, AS, Poulos, H, Rujikiatkamjorn, C, Ameratunga, J & Perera, D 2015, 'Monitoring of consolidation behaviour of marine clay treated with vacuum and surcharge at the Port of Brisbane', in PM Dight (ed.), FMGM 2015: Proceedings of the Ninth Symposium on Field Measurements in Geomechanics, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 647-655, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_rep/1508_46_Indraratna



Abstract:
Over the past decade, the application of vacuum preloading for stabilising reclaimed soil and other low-lying estuarine soils has become popular in Australia. Its cost effectiveness is a governing factor in view of the reduced consolidation time to achieve a relatively high degree of consolidation. Due to demand in trade activities at the Port of Brisbane, new port facilities have been constructed on reclaimed land. A vacuum and fill surcharge, in conjunction with prefabricated vertical drains, was selected to accelerate consolidation time of the thick layers of subsoil. A performance comparison of a combined vacuum and fill surcharge loading system with a standard surcharge fill highlights the clear advantages of vacuum consolidation. Field data demonstrate how the embankment performed during construction. This paper also assesses the relative performance of the two contrasting preloading systems (i.e. vacuum and non-vacuum system).

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