Behavior of Direct Tower Foundation on Improved Soil

The paper presents the foundation behaviour of a 146-m telecommunications tower situated near Verona in Italy, with foundation soils characterized as a thick deposit of alluvial gravels and sands. In order to limit total and differential settlements of the tower it was decided to improve the foundation soil with jet-grouting columns. Predictions on the behaviour of the structure and the foundation soil were performed with an axisymmetric finite-element model adopting an elastic linear constitutive law. Soil moduli were obtained from the results of a cross-hole test and from Standard Penetration Tests; jet-grouting columns behaviour was estimated from load and borehole tests. Calculated settlements in the construction stages are compared with the measured ones

Improvement of Mechanical Properties of Soft Soils by Use of a Pre-Loading Embankment

A preloading embankment, and its foundation soil, have been closely monitored in the Po river delta (Italy). After showing that the complete consolidation of the peaty and clayey soil has taken place, the shear strength increase measured with various tests has been considered and analyzed