Soil Swell Accommodation by Compressible Inclusions

This manuscript documents an exploratory study aimed towards the development of a mix-less technique to reduce heave caused by soil swell. The technique involves the placement of compressible inclusions in the soil mass, such that the swell deformation that would otherwise displace or distort a proximate structure is accommodated by the inclusions (i.e., is consumed in compressing them). Experimental results have confirmed that the swell-induced displacements of a free boundary in the vicinity of an inclusion are reduced in proportion to the extent to which the soil compresses the inclusion and in proportion to the inclusion's compressibility. Simulation results have indicated that swell accommodation can produce stress reductions on fixed boundaries and reductions in the heave experienced by a slab resting on an expansive soil layer that houses compressible inclusions. Stress arching around inclusions emerges as a potential contributor to the minimization of settlements incurred by susceptible structures upon the retrofitting of their foundation soils with inclusions horizontally trenched at depth.