Response of soft clay improved with electrokinetic-assisted encased stone column

The improvement of marginal sites requires both technically appropriate and sustainable ground modification techniques to mitigate the geotechnical issues associated with the site encountered. This study evaluated the response of soft clay improved with an electrokinetic-assisted encased stone column. In this study, the stone columns were encased with conductive natural geotextile to incorporate electrokinetic coupling, enhancing the clayey soil performance. The prepared electrokineticassisted encased stone column acts as a cathode during the coupling process, and mild steel bars were used as an anode material. The electrokinetic process was initiated by applying a voltage gradient across electrodes (i.e., anode and cathode). The research highlights the impact of combining electrokinetics with an encased stone column (ESC) on the strength, deformation, and physicochemical and structural response of clayey soil. During the experiment, the discharge of pore water, vertical deformation, and current were continuously monitored to evaluate the method's effectiveness. At the culmination of the test, the reduction in soil moisture, improvement in undrained shear strength, anode deterioration, and changes in the soil's physicochemical, mineralogical, and structural properties were assessed. The results indicate that coupling electrokinetics with an ESC significantly accelerates pore water removal efficiency, and approximately 14% higher settlement was observed for the 0.15 V/mm compared to the ESC case. The time to remove 95% of the total pore water was reduced by approximately 87% with a voltage gradient of 0.15 V/mm compared to the ESC. The undrained shear strength increases with an increase in applied voltage gradient and with depth. As compared to the ESC case, the undrained shear strength increases by 1.23, 1.43, 1.58, and 1.80 times for applied voltage gradients of 0.025, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.15 V/mm. This study also shows significant changes in moisture content, physicochemical properties, mineralogy, and soil structure.