Vacuum preloading consolidation of reclaimed land: a case study

This case study presents the design, operation, and results of a soil improvement project using the vacuum preloading method on 480 000 m 2 of reclaimed land in Xingang Port, Tianjing, China. The areas treated with vacuum ranged from 5000 to 30 000 m 2 . The effects of soil improvement are demonstrated through the average consolidation settlement of 2.0 m and increases in undrained shear strengths by a factor of two to four or more. The study shows that the vacuum method is an effective tool for the consolidation of very soft, highly compressive clayey soils over a large area. The technique is especially feasible in cases where there is a lack of surcharge loading fills, extremely low shear strength, soft ground adjacent to critical slopes, and access to a power supply.