Analysis of the application results of the traditional vacuum preloading method: A case study

The traditional vacuum preloading method is a common way for enhancing the bearing strength of the soft clay layer. In general, a serious of plastic drainage boards are plugged into the soft clay foundation, and a sand layer is covered above the soft clay layer to establish a space for lateral drainage of the clay before applicating vacuum load. This paper analysed the application results of the traditional vacuum preloading method with the help of the data from an engineering case. The in-site testing data of the variation of the pore pressure in clay layer and the settlement are collected to evaluate the benefit of traditional vacuum preloading method