Ground Improvement Instead of Piling - Effective Design Solutions for Heavily Loaded Structures-Paper

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The paper argues that carefully designed ground improvement (GI) can replace piling for many heavily loaded or settlement-sensitive structures while meeting demanding performance criteria. Piling and GI have an overlapping range of applications, and GI may offer lower costs, shorter construction schedules, and reduced carbon emissions.<br /><br />Case studies demonstrate four methods across varied ground conditions. Vibro-compaction improved loose reclaimed sands beneath high-rise buildings in Gdynia and Vienna, helping control settlement and tilt; at Sea Towers, it cost over three times less than the original alternative. Vibro-replacement (stone columns) was used beneath a Warsaw office building founded partly on soft clay, achieving measured settlements below the 25 mm limit and costing substantially less than a proposed CFA-pile solution.<br /><br />Wet deep soil mixing (DSM) supported residential and commercial buildings, shopping-centre pad foundations, and a heavily loaded ash silo. At the shopping centre, DSM met bearing and settlement requirements while reducing overall costs by about 45% compared with piling. Combining DSM with stone columns enabled the silo to meet its operational settlement limit. Jet grouting supported a 156 m high-rise in Gdańsk through a slab-and-ground interaction system, avoiding conventional piling; testing confirmed the strength and stiffness of the columns.<br /><br />Carbon calculations for two projects found lower emissions for GI than for piling, including a 16% reduction for the shopping-centre design. The paper concludes that tailored GI schemes—used individually or in combination—are viable alternatives to piles for a broad range of demanding foundations, with potential savings in cost, time, and carbon emissions.

Keywords

ground improvement

piling replacement

vibro-compaction

stone columns

deep soil mixing

jet grouting

settlement control

load-bearing foundations

carbon emissions reduction

cost savings