Ground improvement or ground modification can be used to refer to a variety of construction techniques designed to solve problems using the ground, the soil, as a component of the solution. Ground improvement can be accomplished through rearranging the soil particles, controlling, or removing the groundwater, adding reagents or admixtures to the soil, or stiffening the soil mass through incorporation of rigid elements to create a soil-element system. Ground improvement is an old construction technique with an early example being the use of straw mixed with clay to form bricks. Ground improvement makes as much sense in modern construction as it did in ancient construction because the techniques inherently rely on modifying the existing soils for beneficial use. This generally results in a cost and schedule savings compared to removing or replacing the soils to accomplish the same objective, for example a deep foundation system for bearing capacity improvement or installation of concrete structures for earth retention. Geo-Solutions offers multiple techniques suitable to accomplish ground improvement objectives including soil mixing, slurry walls, jet grouting, and grouting. If you are interested in learning more about how our technologies can be used for ground improvement to solve your problem, contact us. If you are interested in learning more about the application of ground improvement, please check out the book “Fundamentals of Ground Improvement Engineering” co-authored by one of our Vice Presidents.
