Building on Soft Soils

J. Van Mieghem, F. Aerts, G.J.L. Thues, H. De Vlieger and S. Vandycke

Building on Soft Soils

Abstract Introduction

The disposal of fine-grained contaminated sediments The volume of the maritime cargo traffic through the
inherent to maintenance dredging activities is an in- Port of Antwerp is steadily growing. In the last year
creasing problem. For various reasons, new disposal alone more than 110 million tonnes were handled.
sites are no longer the obvious solution. Therefore, the One of the fastest growing areas is container traffic
yet-available storage capacity must be used as efficient- (12% per year), obliging the Port Authority to create
ly as possible. Besides leading to the development of space for installing new container terminals at a rather
more advanced environmental dredging techniques, high rate of several tens of hectares per year.
this results in improved dewatering techniques for soft
material and in-situ techniques that ameliorate the On the other hand, this same Port Authority has to face
mechanical soil characteristics. a constantly growing number of regulations about land
use, not the least of which is an obligation to keep the
The Belgian-based DEME Group, together with the port activity within borders already defined in 1980.
Flemish Ministry of Public Works and the Port Authori- Many efforts to increase the productivity in tonnes per
ties of Antwerp, invest in the development of innova- square metre and per year have a positive result, but
tive techniques, which opens new options for the have to be accompanied by systematic and thorough
management of fine-grained material disposal sites and actions to enhance the optimal use of the available
for the reuse of areas otherwise difficult to access. space. Space has thus become one of the most
valuable commodities in the further development and
Since 1990 large-scale testing on dewatering lagoons survival of the port.
has taken place. Today, results show that the needed
storage capacity for dredged materials can be reduced For this reason, it became necessary, and even inevi-
by half, owing to the consolidation achieved in dewater- table, to spend rather large amounts of money in order
ing lagoons. Vacuum consolidation with horizontal to reuse the sites allocated for depositing sediments
drains has been developed and applied for dewatering which were the product of maintenance dredging.
silt stored underwater. Storage capacity, up to 20% of After making an inventory of all the available techniques
the already-stored volume, can be gained. The installa- able to improve the soil mechanical characteristics of
tion of gravel piles, in combination with vertical drainage this difficult material, i.e. silt, a short list of possible
and vacuum consolidation, ensured the stability of the solutions provided the technical basis for a call for
bedding for a railway link through a sludge disposal site. tender for this out-of-the-ordinary job.
A load of 3.8 tonne/m2 for several days induced a mere
3 cm settling.
D EWATERING L AGOONS
Soft Soil Improvement, an in-situ sanitation and stabili-
sation technique designed to improve the mechanical One of the most important problems in the storage of
characteristics of very soft soil, stabilises soft soil and fine-grained material and sediments in storage basins
immobilises the heavy metals and other soil contami- on land, is the very long natural dewatering and consoli-
nants. The stabilisation and immobilisation is realised dation period, even when the layer thickness is limited
by mixing the soft soil with cement and certain addi- and there are long time intervals between the succes-
tives. After treatment, no appreciable lixiviation is sive filling up operations. Therefore, when only a natur-
present and a modulus of compressibility of up to al process of dewatering is applied, very large surfaces
100 MPa is realisable. are required for on-land disposal. This presents a prob-
lem as at the moment these surfaces are no longer
This paper was originally published in the WODCON XV available within the Antwerp region.
Proceedings, Dredging into the 21st Century (Volume
1), Las Vegas, Nevada, June 28 through July 2 1998 The situation urgently demands techniques that stimu-
and is reproduced here in a slightly revised form with late the dewatering process, thus reducing the required
permission.

3
 Terra et Aqua – Number 75 – June 1999

surface for on-land disposal. This has led the Antwerp

Joris Van Mieghem graduated in 1971 Port Authorities and the Flemish Ministry of Public
with a MSc in Civil Engineering from Works to support pilot projects and test programmes
the University of Ghent, Belgium. concerning the development of new techniques.
Since then he has worked at the Since 1990, a large-scale testing and study programme
Flemish Ministry of Infrastructure has been operating. The aim is to increase the natural
where he is presenlty Chief Engineer- settling and consolidation phenomena as much as
Director of the Department Sea possible in specially designed dewatering fields, until a
Schledt, responsible for dredging and stable clay like material is obtained, which then can be
reclamation works on the Left Bank used for beneficial applications, such as landscape
Joris Van Mieghem harbour extension of Antwerp. projects, and such.

Preliminary study
A preliminary study was done to define the main
Freddy Aerts graduated in 1982 with a aspects of interest for a pilot programme. An initial
MSc in Civil Engineering and Trans- theoretical evaluation of different possible techniques
port Mechanics from the Royal Mili- was made with the mathematical simulation model
tary Academy of Brussels, Belgium. CONSOL. This evaluation demonstrated three main
He then worked as a project engineer dewatering methods useful for consolidation, namely:
in the Ministry of Defence. In 1993 he – the under drainage techniques;
joined the Flemish Ministry of Infra- – the surface drainage techniques; and
structure where he is responsible for – the evaporation enhancement techniques.
large infrastructural works in the Port
Freddy Aerts of Antwerp. Dewatering fields and in situ consolidation
A pilot plant for the dewatering of fine-grained dredged
material, a so-called dewatering lagoon, was installed in
the harbour area of Antwerp, on the left bank of the
Gerard Thues has a degree in Elecro- River Scheldt. The project was realised by a joint ven-
Mechanical Engineering from the Free ture of Dredging International NV, NV Ondernemingen
University of Brussels, Belgium. Jan De Nul and NV Baggerwerken De Cloedt en Zoon
He has held a variety of positions with on behalf of the Flemish Government of Public Works.
the Port Authority of Antwerp over
the course of 40 years and is presently Different combinations of drainage and surface dewa-
CEO of the APEC-Antwerp/Flanders tering systems were applied to enhance the natural
Port Training Center. consolidation process (Table I). The dewatering fields
were filled in successive layers with dredged material
Gerard Thues from the River Scheldt (Table II). Approximately
286,000 m3 equivalent to 157,000 tonne dry solids
Hugo De Vlieger started his career (TDS) was dredged with a small cutter dredger.
with the Belgian-based DEME Group A general view of the silt level variations during the
in 1973. He has coordinated dredging filling period and the consolidation period in a dewa-
operations in Zeebrugge, as well as tering field is given in the Figure 1.
inMalaysia, Singapore and Venezuela.
In May 1989 as Managing Director he A continuous follow up of the silt layer thickness in the
started up SILT NV. Since July 1993 dewatering fields was executed during the consolida-
he has been General Manager at SILT. tion process. Periodic detailed campaigns of in-situ
density measurements were executed during the first
Hugo De Vlieger four months.

Stefaan Vandycke graduated with a Results of the consolidation monitoring

degree in Elecro-Mechanical Engi- The consolidation of the material in the deposit was
neering from the University of Leuven, monitored daily during the dredging operations and
Belgium in 1988. After working at afterwards on a weekly basis. The results illustrate the
Pauwels Industrial and De Cloedt, in quicker consolidation in fields L1, L2 and L5, where
1993 he joined Dredging International, under drainage techniques were applied. During the
where he is presently with the Depart- first four months the thickness in the drained fields was
ment of Innovating Technologies. reduced by 35%, whereas the reduction in the other
fields was limited to 25%.
Stefaan Vandycke

4
 Building on Soft Soils

Using the results of the density profiles combined with Table I. Applied drainage techniques in the dewatering fields.
the evolution of the mud thickness (Table III), the total
amount of dry solids in the fields was checked for each Field nr. Under drainage Evaporation enhancement
survey, resulting on average in 155,000 TDS to be
compared to the estimated initial dredged quantity of L1 gravitational ditches, dug with traditional earth-
157,000 TDS. The variation of the average density in moving equipment
the fields is shown in Table IV. L2 drains and vacuum vegetation (after 3 months)
L3 no + vegetation (after 3 months)
After four months mechanical techniques were applied L4 no + amphirol and discuswheel
to further enhance the dewatering process. First an (after 4 months)
amphirol was deployed, with poor results. Later ditches L5 gravitational + amphirol and discuswheel
were dug with traditional earth-moving equipment to (after 4 months)
generate horizontal pressure gradients which enhance
the drainage. The improvement of the evaporation by
vegetation was obtained by sowing a mixture of grass
species in fields L2 and L3. This operation was done Table II. Filling characteristics in the fields.
after three months of consolidation (beginning of
autumn). During the first (winter) months the effect Field nr. Surface (m2) # of fill operations Height (m) after the last
was limited but in spring, owing to the natural plant filling operation and
growth on the consolidating mud, the vegetation water evacuation
improved dramatically (Figure 2).
L1 42612 7 1.64
Further research and conclusions L2 42612 6 1.75
For a further evaluation and examination of the different L3 40216 6 2.09
dewatering techniques, last year another pilot dewa- L4 64056 6 1.93
tering lagoon was installed in the Antwerp harbour L5 44160 7 1.74
area. Considering the results of the former pilot project,
under drainage was provided over the whole area of
the dewatering field. The lagoon was filled in May 1997
with fine-grained dredged material from the River improved surface drainage, a density of 1.50 t/m3 was
Scheldt (17,000 TDS). The average density of the realised.
stored silt was 1.23 t/m3, with a layer thickness of
about 1.8 m. The field tests illustrate the effectiveness of a well-
planned and adequately realised treatment method for
Within four months of consolidation an average density the acceleration of the dewatering and consolidation of
of 1.35 t/m3 was achieved. Within eight months, thanks fine- grained dredged material on a large scale.
to the utilisation of different mechanical techniques and
Figure 1. Layer thickness in a dewatering field.

2,5
Filling period Consolidation period
2
Thickness silt layer (m)

1,5

0,5

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Days

5
 Terra et Aqua – Number 75 – June 1999

Table III. Evolution of the mud thickness. utilisation as fill material for landscaping projects or as a
raw material for the construction industry.
Field nr. Initial height Height (m) after n days Reduction
The policy of the Flemish Government consists in the
(m) 30 75 90 120 (%) installation of about 2 km2 of dewatering lagoons.
The next few years, the annual production of consolida-
L1 1.64 1.33 1.10 1.07 1.07 35 ted dredged material will be very important. Therefore,
L2 1.75 1.33 1.18 1.16 1.15 35 large-scale utilisation projects will be required.
L3 2.09 1.86 1.61 1.58 1.58 24
L4 1.93 1.66 1.47 1.47 1.45 25
L5 1.74 1.30 1.11 1.10 1.09 36 V ACUUM C ONSOLIDATION WITH
H ORIZONTAL D RAINS

General description
Table IV. Evolution of the mud density. This technique was developed for the extraction of
water from silt, stored under water (Figure 3). When
Field Initial density Density (t/m3) after n days the water is extracted the density of the silt increases
and the volume decreases. This results in a gain in
(t/m3) 30 75 90 120 storage capacity and a better stability of the soft soil.

Average 1.223 1.272 1.314 1.318 1.318 Since it is impossible to put a surcharge on the silt,
Drainage 1.223 1.285 1.333 1.345 1.345 pressure has to be created in another way. By inserting
No drainage 1.223 1.255 1.290 1.293 1.295 a horizontal drain network in the silt layer and connec-
ting the network to a vacuum installation, an underpres-
sure is created inside the drain network. The difference
The volume can be reduced by 35% within four in pressure between a drain and the silt makes the
months and by up to 50% in less than nine months. water flow towards the drain. This way a large amount
This means that the consolidation process in a dewa- of water is gradually drawn out of the silt, in an area
tering lagoon, inclusive the filling and emptying, can be around the drain tube.
repeated on a yearly base.
When executing this technique, special attention is
Important details of such a treatment method are the paid to the following two points. First, the drains have
following: to be tested on clogging and pore size. When a drain
– The installation of a solid under drainage system is starts to clog, further extraction of water is impossible
essential when creating a dewatering lagoon. and when the pore size is too big, silt is drawn into the
– The under drainage system has to facilitate the drain tube. Secondly, the drain tubes have to be inser-
dewatering of the lowest silt layer. ted at least 1.0 m underneath the top of the silt to
– During the dewatering process, special attention assure a minimum of leaks (water from above the silt,
needs to be paid to the daily evacuation of rain and drawn into the drain tube).
rising interstitial water, by means of ditches in the
silt surface and canals along the surrounding dike. To determine the possible gain in volume and the rise
– For the same reason, the width of the dewatering in density, some samples are taken. From these sam-
lagoons must be kept within 100 m, while the length ples, soil mechanical facts are determined and from
may be 500 m or more. these results the theoretical gain can be calculated.
– Furthermore, in order to minimalise the consolidation This makes it possible to determine the most effective
period, the initial density of the dredged material number of drains to insert, the period the vacuum has
must be as high as possible. to be maintained and the friction, while inserting the
– Improved dredging techniques, already make it drains.
possible to fill up a dewatering lagoon with silt at a
density of up to 1.30 t/m3. The advantage of using horizontal drains lays in the fact
that no cover is needed on top of the silt. The top layer
Strategy for the future of 0.5 m to 1 m silt provides a cover and seal from the
The installation of dewatering lagoons is an important, water above. This makes the technique easier to exe-
though intermediate step, towards a global solution of cute and less expensive than the use of vertical drains.
the problems of ports where a shortage of reclamation
areas exists, especially for fine-grained material. Technical execution
Additionally it is necessary to look for projects where To insert the drains in the silt a special construction
the obtained product (soft clay) can be applied. was designed, which can be used in water depths
Different solutions can be suggested, such as the varying from 1 m to 25 m. For the pilot project this

6
 Building on Soft Soils

Figure 2. Layout of the dewatering fields.

construction was mounted on the ladder of a converted inserted 1 to 1.5 m below the silt surface and a second
bucket dredge, while the top of the silt layer was situ- one 3 to 3.5 m below the silt surface. This was taken
ated 19.5 m under the water level. into account when designing the plough construction.
The number of drains to insert, is a factor which deter-
mines the speed and the degree of consolidation that The plough construction
can be reached. Therefore, before executing the The construction consists of several parts. The plough
project a cost-benefit analyses must be made to deter- construction is the part mounted at the end of the
mine the most economical combination of drains to ladder. It consists of two hollow blade constructions,
insert. In this particular case a grid of 2 m x 2 m was which are pushed into the silt by the weight of the
maintained for inserting the drains. A first drain was ladder. Through each plough two drain tubes are

Figure 3. Principle of vacuum consolidation.

0 0.2 1 Pressure (abs) [bar]

Water level

0.8

Pressure inside the drain

Top of silt
Pressure in the silt

Bottom of silt
Depth [m]

7
 Terra et Aqua – Number 75 – June 1999

guided, which exit the plough at a different depth. The two collectors are then connected to the pump
This way four drains are inserted simultaneously, with a installation. On every collector a flow meter is installed
distance of two metres between them. This construc- to measure the amount of water pumped. The collector
tion can be rotated around the end of the ladder so at tubes are hard PVC tubes, which can resist the under-
every depth, it is always in the right position. When pressure in the system and which are easily connected
passing through harder soil layers, the jet nozzles at the with glue.
cutting edge can be used to limit the cutting and fric-
tion forces. The vacuum pump installation
The vacuum pump installation (Figure 5) must create a
The drain drums maximal underpressure (80 to 90%) in the drain net-
The drains are guided through four separate tubes over work and pump away the water that is extracted.
the ladder coming from four drums mounted on the The vacuum has to be as high as possible to provide a
ladder at the same height of the main deck, which maximal extraction. The pump capacity has to be
makes them easy accessible. sufficient to pump away all the water.

Inserting the drains The pump installation is built up as follows. First,

When inserting the drains the following actions take a tank, which is put under vacuum by a vacuum pump.
place: In the drum, a submerged pump is installed, to pump
– The lay-barge is positioned on the starting line. away the water that is extracted. An automatic control
As the installation of the drains must be very accura- system controls the water level and the vacuum inside
te (every 2 m) an accurate positioning system has to the tank.
be used.
– After the positioning the drains are inserted through Results
the plough construction and connected with the As the project has just come to an end a further analy-
shore. sis of the results has to be executed. This means
– Then the ladder is lowered and the plough is inser- taking samples of silt for further tests to determine
ted in the silt. water contents and other soil mechanical parameters.
– By pulling on the back-winch the lay-barge is pulled A further analysis of the amount of water pumped
on one line to the other side. The barge is kept on during these six month will show us the evolution of
line by using the side wires. the flow of water extracted from the silt and a constant
– At ca. 40 m before the end of the track the drains are flow which gives us an idea of the leak that occurred.
cut.
– The barge is pulled further to the end to make sure In the pilot project the thickness of the silt layer was
that all drains are out of the plough and the ladder is about 5.2 m. As the expected efficient radius is about
hoisted. 1 m around the drain, this results in only a 4 m thick
– The lay-barge moves back to the start line for the layer that is treated. The other 1.2 m is treated much
next track. less efficient owing to border effects. On thicker layers,
the border effects would become less important.
Collector tubes
On the shore all the drain tubes are connected to a Gain in storage capacity
collector tube (Figure 4). For monitoring reasons the The storage used for the pilot project has completely
upper and the lower drains are collected separately. been filled since 1991 and contained about 600,000 m3

Figure 4. The collector tubes and pump installation.

PUMP
INSTALLATION
Upper drains

Lower drains
Total length ca 400 m

8
 Building on Soft Soils

Water VACUUM PUMP

outlet
SUBMERGED
PUMP
Air outlet

DRAINS

Figure 5. Working principle of the vacuum pump installation

of silt. The size of the underwater storage is 300 m This technique has the possibility to insert a drain-
wide, 400 m long and 5 m deep. network in a silt storage after the storage has been
During a period of six months pumping, several sound- filled. This means that every existing storage facility for
ings were executed. In this period the level of the silt silt can maximise its capacity by using this vacuum
dropped about 0.8 m. As only 4 metres was efficiently consolidation technique.
treated, we can assume the decrease of 0.8 m on a
layer of 4 m thick, which is about 20%, without remov-
ing any silt. The area that was covered with drains was C ONSTRUCTION OF A R AILWAY T HROUGH
about 120,000 m2, so the total gain in storage capacity A S LUDGE D ISPOSAL S ITE
was about 100,000 m3.
To keep its competitive position in the container traffic,
Gain in density the construction of a new container quay along the
The treated silt has been dumped there since 1991. River Scheldt was a necessary and urgent investment
Presumably it has reached a natural consolidation level for the Port of Antwerp. The location of the terminal
in the period of five years proceeding the test project. was chosen taking into account the fact that good
Before inserting the drains some samples were taken hinterland connections are essential for the operation of
over the complete thickness of the layer. The density the terminal. Therefore, a new inland navigation
of the silt varied from 1.25 t/m3 at the top, to 1.35 t/m3 terminal also had to be built in the harbour docks near
at the bottom of the silt layer. When assuming an the sea terminal. A good connection to the European
average density of 1.30 t/m3 at the start and taking into highway network was already available, but extra
account the gain in storage capacity, an increase in railway infrastructure had to be installed. To make this
density up to 1.37 t/m3 after consolidation is calculated. possible a part of a very difficult to access disposal site
This will be controlled on the samples taken after for dredged materials near the North Sea terminal had
consolidation. to be stabilised.

Features and advantages The execution of the work was granted to a joint venture
The use of the vacuum consolidation technique to of the Belgian contractors SILT NV and Dredging Inter-
realise a fast dewatering of soft soil has several advan- national NV. The stabilisation of a surface of 67,000 m2
tages. The dewatering results in a reduction of the had to be realised in a time span of six months.
volume and an increase of the density and stability of
the soft soil. No surcharge is needed, as the water is Description of the site
extracted from the soil, creating an underpressure in The depot has been used since 1975 for the storage of
the drain. Neither is a sealing foil needed, as the seal is fine-grained sediments coming from the harbour docks
created by the soil itself. The technique can be used in on the right bank of the River Scheldt. The depot was
almost every location, even submerged. installed starting on the “Polder” level +2.50 TAW and
is now reaching a level of +10.00 TAW in the part
The use of horizontal drains, rather than vertical drains, where the job was done. The railway bedding however
results in several advantages, especially when used had to be installed on the level +7.64 TAW. A stable
together with the vacuum technique. When the right dike needed to be constructed to bridge the difference
tools are used the time of inserting the horizontal drains in height between the bedding and the rest of the
is much less than the time needed to insert vertical disposal site. The dike had to be strong enough to
drains. allow the depot to be filled up to the level +11.50 TAW.

9
 Terra et Aqua – Number 75 – June 1999

Soil investigation programme – finally, old quaternary sands containing clay.

For this type of project knowledge of the subsoil is
essential. To this end the Geotechnics Division of the The working area was divided into three zones,
Environment and Infrastructure Department was com- depending on the topography and the availability of the
missioned and they implemented a programme of natural sand layer (Stroomzand) underneath the sludge.
borings and cone penetration tests. All the investiga- The fact that this sand layer was not present in one part
tions were carried out with light portable equipment as of the working area, resulted in the application of two
the site was very difficult to access. Most of the inves- different techniques to stabilise the site.
tigations were done from a small dike, which was
placed between the actual depot in use and the zone Description of the works
that had to be stabilised. This small dike prevented
fresh sludge from entering the working zone in the six Zones 1 and 2
months proceeding the actual stabilisation. Before the real stabilisation started a hydraulic fill with
sand in a layer of about 2 m thick took place. The sand
The geological profile which was built up from this came from the dredging activities to clear the new
campaign was as follows: quay and served as a working platform on the site.
– on top a layer of recent reclamation (harbour sludge), It brought in place the sand needed for the work with a
with a thickness of about 8 m; minimum of costs and thanks to this overload, the
– then a layer of soft “Polder” clay, whose thickness consolidation process already started slowly (Figure 6).
varied as it had filled all underlying creeks in recent
history; The actual stabilisation started with the construction of
– a more sandy layer, with clay inclusions, called a stable dike between the future railway and the rest of
“Stroomzand” (natural sand), with a thickness of the disposal site (also in zone 3). This was done with
about 2 m and absent in certain areas; sand on which the dynamic consolidation method
– below this, a layer of peat and soft clay with a thick- “Menard” was applied. The method consists of drop-
ness from zero to some 5 m with an average of 3 m; ping several times a heavy weight (15,000 kg) from a
and height of about 15 m. As the sand went down into the

Figure 6. Stabilisation by vacuum consolidation (zones 1 and 2).

Z ONES 1 AND 2

Start consolidation After consolidation After excavation

+11,00 TAW
Work-platform (sand)
Settin (1,5 m) +10,00 TAW
Drain seal +9.50 TAW
Work-platform (sand) Recuperation of sand
2.75 m +8.50 TAW
Excavation of sludge (1,36m) +7.64 TAW
Toplayer of sand +7.14 TAW
H2O H2O H2O
H 2O
Fine disposal sediments (Sludge)

Vertical sand drains

f = 30 cm
H2O H2O H2O

+2.50 TAW
H2 O
H2 O H 2O
Polder-clay + Peat
+1.00 TAW

H2O H2O 0.00 TAW

Natural sand layer
-1.00 TAW

Polder-clay + Peat
Vacuumpump
-3.00 TAW

10
 Building on Soft Soils

sludge, consequently the foundation characteristics of site where, by the use of bulldozers, it was stored
the soil underneath the dike construction were amelio- below +11.5 TAW. From the sand platform, in zone 3,
rated. In some, more wet areas, sand drains were the stabilisation of the railway bedding was done with
added under the dike. gravel piles (Ø 80 cm, length 7.5 to 12 m) with a spac-
ing of 2.50 m. The imposed short time span for execu-
In the meantime the work on the future railway bed tion and the lack of additional material sets, obliged the
took place. Vertical sand drains (Ø 30 cm, length 12 m) use of two different techniques for installation of gravel
with a spacing of 2.70 m were drilled in from the wor- piles, both giving sufficient results (Figure 7).
king platform, reaching the sand layer of “Stroom-
zand”. The drilling holes were sealed with clay and silt. With the first technique, thanks to its own weight and
an additional vertical force, a cylindrical vibrator was
Two rows of vacuum pumps were installed along the brought into the sludge until it reached a sand layer
future railway bedding, lowering the water level in the with sufficient bearing capacity. Then the vibrator was
Stroomzand from +6.50 TAW to +1.00 TAW. Through lifted for 0.5 m and while the shaft was kept open with
this forced vertical drainage (50 km of vertical sand compressed air, gravel was added under pressure and
drains), a settlement of 1.5 m of the sludge took place forced into the sludge until saturation was achieved.
(dry matter > 55%). Afterwards a layer of 1.3 m of Then the vibrator was lifted again and again, doing the
consolidated sludge was excavated and a top layer of same operation until the surface was reached.
sand (0.5 m thick) was compacted. This brought the
railway bed to its finished design level of +7.64 TAW. The other technique consisted of vibrating a hollow
tube (ø 80 cm) into the sludge, using a vibrohammer.
Zone 3 The tube had a certain overlength and a valve at the
Here a layer of 2.9 m of sludge was excavated and a bottom that was closed when reaching down and
1.0 m thick layer of sand was put on the remaining opened when the tube was pulled up. Once the foun-
sludge to serve as a working platform. The whole dation level was reached, the tube was filled with
operation still required a sludge transport of about gravel. While lifting the tube, using the vibrohammer,
125,000 m3 (zones 1, 2 and 3) to the adjacent disposal the gravel stayed in place, creating a gravel pile.

Figure 7. Stabilisation with gravel piles (zone 3).

Z ONE 3

Original situation Installation of Gravel piles Final profile

+10,00 TAW
Initial ground level

Excavation (2,86 m)
+8,14 TAW
Excavation & Compactation +7,64 TAW
Work-platform (sand)
Compacted sandlayer +7,14 TAW

2,50 m
Fine disposal sediments (Sludge)
Gravel pile
f = 80 cm

+2,50 TAW

0,00 TAW

Polder-clay + Peat

-4,00 TAW

Natural sand layer

11
 Terra et Aqua – Number 75 – June 1999

Testing The technique

After the stabilisation, the site was transferred to the The SSI set (Figure 8) incorporates three main units:
National Railway Company for the installation of the – first, a computerised grout mixing unit, with storage
track. The requirements they had for the area were a facilities for binding agents, and such;
modulus of compressibility of more than 17 MPa and – then, a high pressure pump unit;
differential settlements of less than 50 mm on a – and finally, a computerised injection unit mounted on
distance of 10 m. Every 1500 m2 of the railway bedding a swamp crane (the swamp excavator).
was tested with a plate loading test (750 cm2) with
good results. For all the units of the SSI set conventional equipment
was used; only the technology and the mixing blades
The standard test method for bearing capacity gives are protected by knowhow and world-wide patents.
information on the soil only to a depth equal to about
two times the diameter of the bearing plate. The stan- The three units of the SSI set and the storage facilities
dard bearing plates are varying in diameter from 305 to are fully transportable by containers. A surface of about
762 mm, so the bearing capacity could only be estima- 300 m2 (12 m x 24 m) is required for the installation.
ted to a depth of 1.50 m. As the railway track was to be In three days time, with a minimum of auxiliary equip-
used quite intensively and heavy loads were to be ment, the mobile plant is installed. The SSI set can be
expected another test was added. erected and operated by a maximum of three workers.

The tender document asked for testing of the bearing The mixing unit prepares the grout mixture to be injec-
capacity on six different locations, spread across the ted. Up to four different products can be mixed in
entire area, by constructing a 40 cm thick reinforced predefined quantities through a controlled measuring
concrete slab with a width of 4.5 m and a length of system. According to the required object, different
10 m (this equalled a load of 10 kPa). Each slab had types of agents can be used, such as cement,
to be loaded with 28 kPa for several days, while bentonite, fly ashes, lime polymers and so on.
the settlements on the edge of the slab had to stay The mixing process is executed according to a precon-
less than 50 mm. The six tests were successfully ceived recipe, after which the grout mixture is delivered
executed. ready for use to the production line. The control of the
mixing unit is fully automated and computerised, but it
The installation of the concrete slab (with a total weight can also be used manually.
of 45 tonnes) caused, in all cases, a settling of less than
15 mm, after 20 days. The additional load of 28 kPa (an After that a high pressure pump sends the prepared
additional weight of 126 tonnes) was installed and mixture with a pressure of up to 400 bar to the injection
caused, in all cases, an additional settling of maximal unit. In order to control the production and the quality of
15 mm, within the first day. After three days a steady injection, a flow meter has been placed on the produc-
state was achieved and over the entire area the total tion line. The computerised injection unit controls and
settling stayed well beyond the prescribed 50 mm. registers all the injection parameters: injection time,
operational depth of the mixing blade, torque for the
Nowadays the treated part of the disposal site is rotation of the mixing blade, down/up speed, rotation
bearing the weight of freight container trains heading speed and the flow of the injected mixture. All those
for the Scheldt container terminal. data are collected on a memory card (PCMCIA stan-
dard) and at the end of the week they are transmitted
to a standard PC with memory card reader to write the
S OFT S OIL I MPROVEMENT production report. Data for every single executed
column is recorded separately.
The properties of soft soil, such as large deformation,
low strength, high water content and, recently, con- The injection unit is mounted on a crane, equipped with
tamination by human activity are often responsible for a large and floating undercarriage (the swamp excava-
the problems that occur in modern building projects. tor), which allows the unit to work on the very soft soil
Soft Soil Improvement is an in-situ technique, invented, particular conditions for which the equipment was
developed and patented within the DEME Group, that designed.
can help to overcome these problems.
A homogeneous mixture of grout, binding agents and
Primarily the technique was designed for soil stabilisa- the soft soil, is created in a mechanical way by the
tion in relation to dredging activities. In a further field of mixing blades and in a hydraulic way by the turbulence
application SSI can also be used for the immobilisation of the very high pressure injection. The mixing blade
of heavy metals or other contaminants in the soft soil itself is prepared in relation to the type of soil to be
and even to enhance bio-remediation in contaminated treated. The blades can have a different length accord-
soil layers. ing to the consistency of the soft soil. They are equip-

12
 Building on Soft Soils

High pressure tube Water tank

M
Chemicals

M
yy
y
;;
;
yy
y
;;
; y
;
y
;
yy
y
;;
; y
;
Buffer Capacity Turbo mixer

S ilo 3

S ilo 2

S ilo 1
Production
Computer

;;
yy
;
y ;
y
High
Pressure
pump Diesel
Engine

;;
yy
y;y;
Computerised Swamp excavator
drilling rig with
mixing blade

Figure 8. The Soft Soil Improvement set.

ped with injection nozzles of different diameters which So executed, the blades create a column of treated
can be oriented in different directions. The injectors soil. A computer registers the precise position of the
fulfil two specific goals. When put in a vertical position, column by using the data from the K.A.R.T.-D.G.P.S.
they will literally cut the soil, and thus facilitate the The Kinematic Accuracy Real Time Differential Global
penetration of the mixing blades. Secondly in a more Positioning System is a satellite system which allows
horizontal position, they will create a deeper penetra- the operator to position the drilling rig with a very high
tion of the injected grout mixture into the soft soil and accuracy. Each column realised is marked on a laptop
thus create a more homogeneous mixture. screen to distinguish the performed work (Figure 9).

By orienting the injection nozzles more horizontally, Fields of application

a wider spread of the grout mixture is achieved and By varying the binding agents, their concentrations and
thus a column with a bigger diameter (up to 60%, the column configuration, different objectives can be
according to the consistency of the soil) than the length achieved. To stabilise soft soils, a mixture, consisting
of the mixing blade is realised. The mixing blade also mainly of cement, is injected. The columns can be
can be divided into high and low pressure sections, placed following a predefined configuration according
where high pressure sections fulfil above-mentioned to the expected load on the soft soil. Soils, which can
specific goals and low pressure sections allow us to practically resist no load, show an acceptable stability
vary the volume of the injected grout in a wide range after treatment. The technique has already been tested
according to the requirements of the contract. with this purpose.

Figure 9. The K.A.R.T.-D.G.P.S. system.

Differential
GPS
antenna
antenna

Correction

GPS
Differential antenna
antenna
Columns treated Position of the drilling rig

Industrial Laptop PC
GPS Reference Station
Xref, Yref, Zref.

Position
X, Y, Z.

13
 Terra et Aqua – Number 75 – June 1999

Before treatment, the stability of the soil layer to be

treated was determined by means of cone penetration
0
tests (Figure 10). This choice was made, taking into
account that a plate loading test is practically not
executable with such soft soil (Figure 11). The cone
-1 penetration tests showed that the sludge layer offered
practically no resistance (qc < 0.4 MPa) to the
penetration of the cone. After treatment, a cone
depth (m)

-2 penetration test was no longer executable, thus the

stability was tested with plate loading tests (200 cm2),
with a good result (Modulus of compressibility =
99.75 MPa).
-3
For the immobilisation of heavy metals or other conta-
minants in soft soil, agents such as bentonite are used.
-4 The diameter of each column is calculated so that each
of them interacts with its neighbours. In this way, the
0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1
entire volume of soft soil is treated and thus the
qc (MPa) method prevents any lixiviation of contaminants.
The technique has already been tested with the pur-
Figure 10. A cone penetration test. pose of immobilising heavy metals in river sediments.

Some analyses were performed before and after

applying the technique in order to evaluate the lixivia-
1,0 tion of heavy metals in the river sediments. Four heavy
metals (As, Cd, Hg, Pb) were determined. The results
show explicitly the binding of the four metals into the
0,8 sludge, owing to the reaction of the particular binding
agents (Figure 12).
setting (mm)

0,6 The method described before can also be used to

create a vertical shield to isolate contaminated sedi-
ments from the environment. The columns are placed
0,4 in one line and each of them intersects with its neigh-
bours.
0,2
For yet another field of application, the unit can easily
be used to insert a consortium of bacteria into contam-
0,0 inated soft soils. The technique stays the same,
0,00 0,05 0,10 0,15 0,20 0,25 but instead of using a mixture of cement and binding
agents, bacteria are implemented to enhance bio-
pressure (MPa) activities for degradation or immobilisation of contami-
nants.
Figure 11. A plate loading test.
Features and advantages
Soft Soil Improvement is an in-situ technique, so in
contrast to classic sand replacement methods practic-
ally no contaminated material need be transported to
other locations. This results in a reduction of time and
money. Furthermore, the environment is preserved
because no disposal site is required for excavated silt.

Owing to the easy transportation and installation of the

equipment and the mobility of the swamp crane on the
very soft soil, no site is inaccessible for the technique.
And owing to the automated control systems,
the execution of the technique is not complicated.

14
 Building on Soft Soils.

Lixiviation of As

5,0
4,5
4,0
concentration (mg/l)

3,5
before treatment
3,0
2,5 after treatment
2,0 legal criteria
1,5
1,0
0,5
0,0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sample

Figure 12. Immobilisation with Soft Soil Improvement.

Furthermore, the fact that the whole installation con- techniques for stabilisation were applied. One zone
sists of conventional, easy to install equipment, makes was stabilised by vacuum consolidation with vertical
the technique, even in very small projects, profitable. sand drains; an other zone was stabilised with gravel
piles.
By using primarily the cutting force of the fluid injected • Soft soil, contaminated with heavy metals or other
at a high pressure the wearing of cutting tools and total pollutants, can be treated by an in- situ, high pres-
installed power is reduced. sure mixing of the soft soil with cement and certain
additives (Soft Soil Improvement). Soil, initially resis-
In varying the agents and the column configuration ting practically no load, shows after treatment a
every objective can be achieved. This makes the tech- modulus of compressibility of 100 MPa. The lixivia-
nique far more flexible than the classic methods for tion of heavy metals can be reduced easily to a
stabilising soft soil. minimum, far beyond the legal criteria.

The in-situ sanitation of contaminated soft soil, using All these results demonstrate that the recently devel-
the described technique, offers a durable and stable oped techniques, or a combination of these, can bring
solution. a solution to the actual problems encountered by the
Antwerp Port Authorities and the Flemish Government.

Conclusions

• Large-scale pilot projects on dewatering lagoons

confirm that, on a yearly basis, this technique results
in a 50% volume reduction in the finally needed
storage capacity for fine-grained dredged material.
• Vacuum consolidation of silt, stored underwater,
creates a large amount of new storage capacity.
The technique, tested in the harbour of Antwerp,
showed a gain in storage capacity of 20%.
• For the construction of a bedding, through a fine-
grained sediments disposal site for the railway link to
Antwerp’s new container terminal, two different

15