Improvement of peaty clay with vertical drains

Abstract

Sri Lanka, being a tropical country, has peat or peaty clay layers in many areas. Such areas are normally associated with marshes, some of which might have existed in its geological past. Peat is normally a product of dead vegetation subjected to decomposition in a moist atmosphere like a marsh. In these peaty clay layers, one of the most problematic characteristics is the time-dependent consolidation. Structures built on these peaty layers are generally subjected to significant time-dependent settlements, unless appropriate foundation designs are carried out.