50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”

Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

FULL SCALE TRIAL EMBANKMENT TEST – ACCELERATION OF

CONSOLIDATION USING THE RAMMED AGGREGATE PIER (RAP)
SYSTEM

Emilio M. Morales MSCE, F.PICE. F.ASCE, F.ASEP

ABSTRACT: A full scale instrumented trial embankment test was conducted to evaluate the
effects of the Rammed Aggregate Pier (RAP) System on the very soft clays underlying railway
a proposed embankment test site in the island of Luzon, the Philippines.

A 5.0m high trial embankment was on a Section of a 10 kilometer stretch of railway on

relatively very soft marshy ground to simulate embankment loads and the impact of train loads
on railway embankments of the NORTHRAIL Railway.

The study was initiated to prove that consolidation time in very soft clays could be accelerated
by the lateral prestressing and prestraining effects of the rammed aggregates piers on the
subgrade and the enhanced drainage effect of the RAP body.

This paper discusses the test embankment construction, instrumentation and monitoring and the
geotechnical exploration to gather soil parameters. The theoretical settlement calculations and
field observations served as the bases for the findings reported.

The results of the settlement monitoring program revealed that significant time savings could
be realized during railway embankment construction if the RAP System is utilized, because
time to full consolidation was accelerated to four (4) weeks instead of the calculated 6 to 8
months using other conventional ground improvement systems.

1. INTRODUCTION

There was a need to accelerate the time to consolidation and at the same time allow placement of
the Railway embankment along a 10 kilometer stretch underlain by very soft soils of the
NORTHRAIL almost concurrently. The available technology originally proposed was to use
conventional gravel piles but the time T 90 to 90 % consolidation of the soft clays was evaluated
to be approximately 6 months. In addition, collapses during installation of the gravel piles were
experienced in the soft clays during the actual augering and installation.

Subsequently, we were asked to demonstrate, by building an actual full scale trial embankment,
the benefits of using the Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Pile system to accelerate settlement
consolidation time and improve the engineering characteristics of the underlain very soft soils as
an alternative. This paper describes the methodologies employed and the results of the full scale
trial embankment test.

2. TRIAL EMBANKMENT TEST DESCRIPTION

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 50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

The constructed test embankment was 5.0 meters high and it was built with naturally sloping
compacted embankment materials on three sides while the fourth face was reinforced with
uniaxial geogrids to form an almost vertical face. The embankment was supported on 33
Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Piles overlain by a gravel drain layer. The embankment layers
on the vertical 4th face were reinforced by uniaxial geogrids at every 500 mm compacted lift.
This paper outlines the procedures for the conduct of the trial embankment test. Subsurface soil
investigation to establish reference soil parameters for soil compression and strength were also
conducted including field vane shear testing.

 Installation of 33 Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Piles for embankment support and

to accelerate consolidation by drainage and also for improvement of the ground.

 Ground settlement monitoring using settlement plates installed on the natural ground line
(NGL) immediately underneath the test embankment.

 Porewater pressure PWP monitoring using pneumatic piezometers.

 Monitoring of actual Groundwater table through observation wells and electric water
level sensors.

The test embankment was built 5.0 meters high, utilizing soils with oil = 18.0 kN/m3, which is
higher than the actual maximum design height of 3.5 meters for the actual railway embankment
sections. The purpose of this overload is to evaluate the performance of the Horizontally
Prestressed Aggregate Piles beyond the actual load demand and demonstrate the high capacity of
the RAP. This was replicated in a load test which simulated the weight of the 5.0 meter high
embankment plus 50% overload.

3. HORIZONTALLY PRESTRESSED AGGREGATE PILE INSTALLATION

Thirty three (33) Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Piles were installed underneath the
embankment to a depth of 14 meters, through the very poor subgrade soils consisting of clays and
silts. The Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Piles were driven in a triangular grid pattern
spaced at maximum 1.5 meters on centers.

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 50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

Figure 1. Shows the Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Pile Equipment in Retracted

Position

Figure 2. Shows the Test Embankment Section and Plan Layout

Table 1. Tabulated results of Theoretical Ultimate Settlement Calculations

Settlement Differential
Node Remarks
(Ultimate) Settlement
A 8&9 0.41 0 Excessive Settlement
B 15 0.16 0.25 Sloping Embankment
C 1 0.13 0.28 Geogrid Reinforced Vertical Face

One can easily observe that the calculated ultimate and differential settlements are excessive and
therefore these would not be acceptable to the NORTHRAIL. It was calculated that the time to 90
% consolidation without utilizing any ground improvement techniques or artificial drainage

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 50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

would take approximately four (4) years from embankment construction completion for a 5.0
meter high embankment.

Table 2. Theoretical Calculations of Settlement of Improved Composite Ground

Table 3. Soil Parameters for Design of Radial Drainage

4. GROUNDWATER AND POREWATER PRESSURE MONITORING

The porewater pressure (PWP) monitoring started immediately upon installation of the
pneumatic pressure transducers on March, 2009 and prior to installation of the Horizontally
Prestressed Aggregate Pile elements. The static groundwater table was likewise monitored using
depth gages and an electric water level.

The PWP transducers were installed at the center of the triangular grid pattern of the Horizontally
Prestressed Aggregate Piles to be able to determine the effects of the RAP installation on the
PWP, particularly the PWP rise during the ramming of the RAP and the subsequent rapid decay
to hydrostatic levels, as a result of the installed highly permeable gravel columns acting as
chimney drains.

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 50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

The PWP transducers were initially installed at elevation -5.0 and -7.18 meters. Subsequently, an
additional pneumatic transducer was installed at elevation of -12 m at the request of the Geopier
Foundation Company, the technology licensor, to further monitor the PWP at deeper levels. A
plot depicting the PWP observations is shown in Figure 3, where one can observe the following:

 There is a rapid rise in PWP to a maximum of 120 kPa at depth -5.0m during 1st RAP
installation up to t=38 hours. This elevated PWP from the hydrostatic level of 32 kPa to
120 kPa, i.e. by an additional 88 kPa, is due to the lateral prestressing effect of the
Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Pile installation on the surrounding saturated soils.
Rapid decay of the elevated PWP to near static groundwater table is observed at t=60
hours or two days (48 hrs) post installation of the Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate
Piles.

 An elevation in PWP readings was also observed during a 7 day period of heavy rainfall
from April 23rd to May 5th 2009.

 PWP pressure dissipation soon after the end of the continuous heavy rainfall period was
observed, slowly returning the PWP to near static ground levels on June 30th 2009.

The results of the PWP monitoring clearly illustrate the drainage enhancing effects of the
Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Piles on stabilizing the ground by virtue of the initial lateral
prestressing effects which raises the existing PWP and subsequently promotes rapid drainage
through the highly permeable gravel columns acting as chimney drains.

In addition, the PWP record also demonstrated the sensitivity of the readings to rainwater
infiltration as well as the resulting increased loading and subsequent settlement due to the
embankment from the prolonged and 7 days rainfall (from April 30th to May 5th, 2009 with a two
day interruption).

Figure 3. Plot of PWP Decay with Time

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 50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

The chart above shows the record of PWP over time starting with the Horizontally Prestressed
Aggregate Pile installation through the end of the embankment testing on May 18th, 2009. It can
be seen that the PWP dissipation at the tail end of the test is still ongoing due to intermittent
rainfall after the period of continuous rainfall ending on May 6, 2009.

5. RESULTS OF SETTLEMENT MONITORING

Four settlement plates were installed at the level of the natural ground line (NGL) prior to the
laying of the embankment fill material. Three (3) permanent benchmarks were laid on very stable
ground in a triangular layout to ensure the robustness of the horizontal and vertical controls and
allow checking and recovery of measurements in case of errors in any observation. The
settlements were observed using a laser total station and were recorded on a daily basis until
completion of the test approximately five (5) weeks from completion.

The results were recorded in the field notes and plotted as a chart showing the settlements of the
four settlement plates recorded. All settlement curves have been stabilized and are asymptotic to
the horizontal line signaling attainment of primary consolidation to at least U90. This asymptotic
settlement condition was initially reached at about 4.7 weeks and continued well beyond up to
the official test completion on May 18th, 2009.

It can be observed that additional settlements have been experienced by settlement plates PL3
and PL4 which were at the rear of the test embankment, where higher influence stresses were
experienced nearest to the sloping sides in contrast to recorded settlements in PL1 and PL2 which
are located nearest to the vertical Geogrid reinforced wall. The abrupt additional settlements are
within the period of continuous heavy rainfall from April 26th to May 6th, 2009.

Figure 4. Results of Settlement Observations

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 50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

A transient seepage analysis was performed to plot the development of porewater pressure over a
12 day period, starting with a saturated embankment top surface using SEEP/W. The analysis
indicated that the locations of PL3 and PL4 were saturated with water over a longer period and
experienced a higher water load than PL1 and PL2. This is due to the relatively higher or
elevated water levels at the location of PL3 and PL4.

Figure 5. Chart Showing Profile of PWP Decay through the Embankment

The seepage pattern and the transient shape of the phreatic surface due to rainwater infiltration
and saturation of the embankment, clearly indicates that the area of PL3 and PL4 were saturated
for a longer period of time and with more elevated water load than the area of PL1 and PL 2.
This has resulted in a larger settlement due to additional load from water saturation equivalent to
almost 50% of the embankment weight.

The load test on the RAP was requested to be included by the client. This consisted of subjecting
the RAP to a conventional Pile load test using tension RAP elements as reaction load anchors.
The load test commenced on April 29th, 2009 and was completed on the next day.

The details of the Load Test are as follows:

Maximum Test Load = 21.5 Metric Tons (47.4 kips)

test = 7 Hours
Maximum stress at top of RAP = 726.0 kPa (15,163 psf)
Deflection of top of RAP at design stress of
9,549 psf = 8.516mm  0.335 inch
Maximum Deflection top of RAP
at Maximum Stress of 15,163 psf = 24.96 mm 0.98 inch

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 50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

Figure 6. Picture above shows the Load Test Setup at the Embankment Test Site

Load Test are shown in a chart form below:

Figure 7. Pile Load Test Results

It is important to call attention to the deflection measurement from the telltale settlement device
at the tip of the Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Piles which showed almost very minimal

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Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

settlement. This indicates that the very high level of stiffness of the RAP element and the
relatively high skin friction developed by the matrix soil due to the lateral prestressing effect, has
significantly reduced the load at the tip of the RAP and has resulted in a reduced observed
settlement.

Thus, the load test clearly establishes the adequacy of the RAP system to safely accommodate
even higher loads than the anticipated service loads from the embankment and the train load with
very minimal settlements. Please note that at the design stress of approximately 10,000 psf, the
deflection of the top of the RAP is less than 10.0 mm which is negligible as measured in the load
test.

6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The results of the trial embankment tests have satisfactorily demonstrated the effectiveness of the
Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Piles system in accelerating primary consolidation
settlements and also reducing the measured total settlement of the improved ground.

The main objective of attaining almost primary consolidation (U90) in 4 to 6 weeks was
successfully attained in 4.7 weeks. This fact corroborated by settlement observations, porewater
pressure monitoring records, was witnessed by NORTHRAIL project personnel. The load test,
which was performed at the site upon the request of the client also supports the effectiveness of
the RAP ground improvement system in providing a superior load carrying capacity with very
minimal settlement under the design load. The load carrying capacity of the test RAP is
calculated to be well over 13.6 metric tons (30 kips) with less than 10.0 mm settlement.

This paper outlines the embankment construction and loading procedure and the results obtained
in compliance with the requirements of the client, for the acceptance of the Horizontally
Prestressed Aggregate Pile Technology as an alternative for the stabilization of the very soft soils
underneath the proposed Northrail Railway Embankment.

The trial embankment monitoring results revealed the following:

 Primary consolidation U90 was achieved in less than 5 weeks after construction
completion of the 5.0 m high test embankment.
 The total settlement recorded as a result of the weight of the 5.0 meter embankment was
reduced vs. the theoretically estimated settlement, due to the strengthening effect of the
high stiffness columnar gravel piles and the precompression imposed upon the
surrounding matrix soils.
 Rapid drainage of pore water due to the installation method of the Horizontally
Prestressed Aggregate Pile system. This causes lateral prestressing of the matrix soil
forcing water through the highly permeable gravel columns and trigger settlement
initiation even prior to embankment construction.
 As a result of all this, stabilization of the composite ground was successfully achieved.

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 50th ASEP Anniversary International Convention & Exposition, “Safer, Smarter & Greener”
Technical Proceedings ISSN 1656-7757, September 28-30, 2011 Makati City, Philippines

The PWP monitoring records have demonstrated the beneficial prestressing effect of the
Horizontally Prestressed Aggregate Pile system installation on the surrounding matrix soils
which causes a rapid elevation of the PWP followed by a rapid decay as well as the very efficient
drainage provided by the RAP acting as chimney drains.

The observed settlements are corroborated by the PWP and rainfall records. These records
showed that embankment saturation due to continuous rainfall for 7 days has resulted in an
increase in embankment loads and an increase in settlements in the vicinity of PL3 & PL4.

REFERENCES

Adama Engineers. FOSSA – “Foundation Settlement & Stress Analyses” Software.

Bergado, D.T. (2005). “Soil Mechanics with Applications” School of Civil Engineering, Asian Institute
of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand, 178 – 201

Bowles, J.E.(1988). "Foundation Analysis and Design." 4th Ed Mc Graw Hill International, NY, NY
276 – 301

GEO-SLOPE International, Ltd. “SLOPE/W” Version 3. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Part of the Suite of
Three Programs GeoOffice (includes SEEP/W & SIGMA/W).

Morales, E. M. (2009). "A report on the Results of the Northrail trial Embankment” Testing”, EM2A
Partners & Co., Quezon City, Philippines,1 – 33.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Emilio M. Morales CE, Principal of EM2A Partners & Co., Master of Science in Civil Engineering,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh Pa., Fellow ASCE, PICE, and ASEP and a PhD Candidate at the
Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok Thailand.

Formerly Senior Lecturer, UP Graduate Division, School of Civil Engineering, Diliman, Quezon City.
He can be contacted at EM2A Partners & Co., No. 17 Scout de Guia corner Scout Reyes Streets, Diliman,
Quezon City. Telephone Nos. 371-1804 & 06. E-mail address: em2apartners@gmail.com.

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