Load tests on soil-cement columns : an alternative soil improvement method

Within the European Research project Innotrack, the SNCF, Keller Foundations and LCPC tested the feasibility of an alternative soil reinforcement technique, based on vertical soil-cement mixed columns. Field load tests have been carried out on two columns built in a silty soil. The columns have been instrumented, using the French extensometer technique, in order to estimate the distribution of load along the column. The results show the strong mechanical response of the column. Moreover, columns were excavated and samples were collected to perform laboratory tests. They show some heterogeneity of the new mixture and consequently on the distribution of unconfined compression strength and stiffness modulus