Geosynthetic Encased Stone Columns under Unsaturated Soft Soil Conditions

Geosynthetic Encased Stone Columns under Unsaturated Soft Soil Conditions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Geosynthetic Encased Stone Columns under Unsaturated Soft Soil Conditions Shakeel Abid Mohammed, Ashray Saxena, Jorge Zornberg This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9317410/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The design of geosynthetic encased stone columns often relies on the conventional framework of saturated soil mechanics, neglecting the influence of in-situ unsaturated soil conditions. Such an approach results in unrealistic or overly conservative designs. For this purpose, this study evaluates the performance of stone columns with and without geosynthetic encasement under unsaturated soil conditions, focusing on the role of matric suction in the surrounding soil. A series of laboratory plate load tests were conducted to examine the mechanical behavior and load-carrying capacity of geosynthetic encased stone columns in saturated and unsaturated soils. The results indicate that matric suction in the surrounding soil significantly enhances the load-carrying capacity of stone columns. Geosynthetic encasement further improves performance by reducing radial deformation and promoting uniform stress distribution and effective load transfer. These improvements result in greater load-carrying capacity and structural stability of stone columns, particularly under varying unsaturated soil conditions. In summary, this study provides valuable insights into the interaction between unsaturated soils and geosynthetic encasement, offering a rational framework for designing stone columns in geotechnical applications where unsaturated soil behavior is critical. Civil Engineering Stone Columns Unsaturated Soils Soft Soils Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9317410","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":617395166,"identity":"ab78f097-e841-4264-95c4-fed60175cc49","order_by":0,"name":"Shakeel Abid Mohammed","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCBDYGhgMMDHwMPAwHeCqAAszMDcRpYQNrOQPSwkiCFgbeNpAIAS267enPHvw4YyPHxn724IG382qj+duBWn5UbMOpxezMG3PDnhtpxmw8eQkH5247njvjMGMDY8+Z27i13Mhhk+D5cDixjSHH4DDvtmO5DUAtzIxt+LSkP5P88+F/fRv/G6CWOcdy5xPWkmAmzXPjQAKbBMiWhprcDQS1nHljJi1zJtmwTeJdwsE5xw7kbgRqOYjXL8eBDntzzE6enz/38Ic3NXW5884fPvjgRwVuLejgMJg8QLR6IKgjRfEoGAWjYBSMEAAA7GtjcTiWteYAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Texas at Austin","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shakeel","middleName":"Abid","lastName":"Mohammed","suffix":""},{"id":617395239,"identity":"53c9969b-195b-4533-936e-18b618224229","order_by":1,"name":"Ashray Saxena","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Texas at Austin","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ashray","middleName":"","lastName":"Saxena","suffix":""},{"id":617395240,"identity":"c697ac1a-f094-4f3f-b934-db731ddc87f2","order_by":2,"name":"Jorge Zornberg","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Texas at Austin","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jorge","middleName":"","lastName":"Zornberg","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-04 04:28:05","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9317410/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9317410/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106404581,"identity":"a13aeead-e89b-4122-ace4-a33e620cb680","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 09:16:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":575457,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PanAmUnsat202569.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9317410/v1_covered_bad320fc-3286-4b1f-a8fe-e27eede0d8cc.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eGeosynthetic Encased Stone Columns under Unsaturated Soft Soil Conditions\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"The University of Texas at Austin","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Stone Columns, Unsaturated Soils, Soft Soils","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9317410/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9317410/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe design of geosynthetic encased stone columns often relies on the conventional framework of saturated soil mechanics, neglecting the influence of in-situ unsaturated soil conditions. 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