الفهرس 
IntrductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Port Said clay represent a well-known category of problematic
soils. The soil characterized by their low strength, high
compressibility and time-dependency of deformations. Studying the
behavior of soft clays in particular requires a thorough determination
of their geotechnical parameters. Hence, it is required to carry out
laboratory tests on extracted specimens from cored samples. This
research, at first, has explained soil improvement using vertical drains
as a kind of solution to improve soft clay. Second, the research
briefly discusses the geological properties and the classification of
Port-Said Clay. Three physical models were carried to investigate the
behavior of Port Said clay, the first case was with no drains, the
second was with sand drains and the third was with prefabricated
vertical drains (PVD). Two-dimensional finite element analysis was
carried out using PLAXIS 2D. The finite element results were
compared with the previous physical models results where good
compatibility was found. Parametric study was carried out with
considering these variables spacing, length and diameters of sand
drains. The length and spacing of PVD, smear zone diameter and
smear zone permeability were also studied. The results showed that
the PVD is more suitable to improve soft clay than sand drains
system. Finally, the integrated obtained results of the 2D finite
element and the three physical models recommended improving
Port-Said soft clay by both sand drains and PVD. They are highly
necessary to decrease the time of consolidation. Two empirical
equations were obtained from the research results to calculate the
time of consolidation using sand drains and PVDs.
Abstract.