Location
St. Louis, Missouri
Date
02 Jun 1993, 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Abstract
The use of wick drains to accelerate the consolidation of soft clays is a cost effective alternative to the use of pile foundations. This paper presents a case history of using wick drains to accelerate the consolidation of a 5. 7 acre area in Metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Boston Blue Clay was encountered approximately 25 to 40 ft below existing grade with varied thickness and consistency. Wick drains were installed to a depth of 70 ft in a triangular pattern. Geotechnical instruments were installed to monitor the settlement of clay with time. As a result of the preconsolidation program, about $8 million was saved in construction cost.
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Meeting Name
3rd Conference of the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Publisher
University of Missouri--Rolla
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 1993 University of Missouri--Rolla, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Abedi, H.; Risitano, J.; Yamane, D.; and Chin, K., "Performance of Wick Drains in Boston Blue Clay" (1993). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 30.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/3icchge/3icchge-session07/30
Performance of Wick Drains in Boston Blue Clay
St. Louis, Missouri
The use of wick drains to accelerate the consolidation of soft clays is a cost effective alternative to the use of pile foundations. This paper presents a case history of using wick drains to accelerate the consolidation of a 5. 7 acre area in Metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Boston Blue Clay was encountered approximately 25 to 40 ft below existing grade with varied thickness and consistency. Wick drains were installed to a depth of 70 ft in a triangular pattern. Geotechnical instruments were installed to monitor the settlement of clay with time. As a result of the preconsolidation program, about $8 million was saved in construction cost.
