Settlement analysis of floating stone columns

In recent years, stone columns have been used to support footings and embankments constructed on soft soils. Several design methods have been developed, including theoretical and numerical solutions to address several design issues. However, more research is needed to develop a simple yet robust design method. A new analytical method is proposed to assess stone column performance under applied external loads. Pile critical length is derived to estimate column length required to resist applied load by a floating stone column only. This method is used together with the numerical analysis to investigate the effectiveness of floating stone columns using relative settlement reduction ratio. The results of numerical parametric study were compared to the derived analytical solutions in order to examine stone column behavior. Despite the simplicity of the analytical approach adopted in this study, the proposed solution enhances the understanding of the stone column performance and can be used for estimating the critical length of the columns.