Design and Modelling Process of Soil Improvement with Concrete Strengthening Elements

In recent decades due to the development and diversification of construction technologies, soil improvement procedures became a competitive and cost-effective alternative to increase the load-bearing capacity of the subsoil, while reducing deformations of the structure. Attributed to urbanization, lands with insufficient soil bearing capacity are becoming construction sites, for which it is essential to influence or increase the bearing capacity of the subsoil for the safety and compatibility of structures. Soil reinforcement with concrete elements is used in more and more construction project in Hungary. The structural behavior of traditional pile foundation is well known, and adequate standards are available during the planning process. On the other hand, soil improvement procedures, in our case for the design of rigid inclusion foundation no standards are available only guidelines and recommendations. Because of that in almost all cases, the design phase includes numerical modelling, which is used to prove the efficiency of the system and receive a more accurate picture of the real structural behavior.