Abstract
To study the bearing capacity of cemented layer overlaying dredged sediment, a series of plate load tests were carried out by bearing on double-layered systems formed by an artificially cemented top soil layer. And three different top layers overlaying an ultra-soft dredged sediment had been studied. Applied pressure-settlement behavior was observed for tests carried out using circular steel plates ranging from 50 to 150 mm diameter on top of 40 to 80-mm-thick artificially cemented layers. The effects of cemented layer unconfined compressive strength (UCS), thickness, plate size, and the sediment undrained shear strength on the ultimate bearing capacity (UBC) of this foundation were studied. Test results demonstrated the UBC increases linearly with cemented layer UCS strength, cemented layer thickness, DS undrained shear strength, and the ratio of cemented layer thickness to plate diameter. The UBC decreases linearly with the plate diameter. The pressure and settlement curves can be normalized in terms of pressure/pressure at 3% settlement (p/p 3%) versus settlement-to-diameter (δ/D). This result can be used to estimate the pressure-settlement curves for footings of different sizes on different thicknesses of a cemented upper layer by a single curve.
