At the Ljubljana Marsh, the top soil layer consists of very soft lacustrine sediments (silt and clays), and covers the layer of mostly gravelly alluvial sediments lying on the pre-Quaternary rock base. Its depth varies and can reach over 150 m. From the geological and geotechnical point of view, the Ljubljana Marsh is a unique natural landmark in Slovenia and presents a great challenge in terms of planning and design of built environment. In the thesis, we analyzed and compared the effects of different ground improvement methods for the foundation of residential buildings on soft lacustrine sediments. In the first part of the thesis, we described the area of Ljubljana Marsh, with an emphasis on the geological and geotechnical conditions. Next, overview of scientific literature about past experience with the foundation and construction on the soft lacustrine sediments is presented. Two ground improvement techniques (wick drains and stone columns), which were used in numerical analysis, are also described. The second part deals with existing geotechnical data, obtained from field testing and analyzes newly acquired data of laboratory investigations carried out as part of this thesis (determination of water content, determination of particle density, oedometer test, fall cone test, determination of liquid and plastic limits). The results of field and laboratory investigations were compared and a typical marshland soil profile for further numerical analysis was designed. In the last (third) part of the thesis, numerical analysis was carried out for three types of ground improvement methods: preloading, wick drains and stone columns. Efficiency of each ground improvement techniques was analyzed in three different ways: two analytical (first with constant soil stiffness and second with variable soil stiffness) and one numerical procedure (software Plaxis). Since the soft lacustrine sediments exhibited significant secondary consolidation in oedometer, also secondary consolidation settlements were calculated using soft soil creep model (Plaxis). Based on the comparison of results of numerical analysis, advantages and disadvantages of the ground improvement techniques at the Ljubljana Marsh for the construction of residential buildings are highlighted.
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