Reducing liquefaction risk potential at Nauka Marina Beach Club Residential Development Featured

The primary geotechnical challenge affecting the project area is liquefaction, which leads to the loss of soil strength during seismic activity. Therefore, the decision was made to employ the Geopier® DX1® ground improvement system specifically designed to densify loose to medium-dense sandy soils, reducing the liquefaction risk potential. The project's location and geotechnical conditions required careful consideration of ground improvement measures. Considering seismic design parameters such as Mw= 8.4 and PGA (a0) of 0.5 g in the project location and geotechnical conditions, ground improvement was necessary to a depth of up to 6.0 meters (20 feet).

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The foundation system consists of isolated footings, with loadings ranging from 10 tons to 130 tons (20 to 260 kips) per column.

The general soil conditions consist of very loose to medium-dense clean sand to about 4m (13 feet) depth, underlain by medium-dense to dense sand up to the maximum explored depth of 10m (33 feet). Groundwater was encountered at about 4m (13 feet) depth.

A total of 1,910 elements were installed using the dX1® system. The pier’s layout was such that both static and seismically induced settlement limits criteria were satisfied and ensured optimal structure performance.

Post-installation verification borings revealed soil strength increases of 2 to 3 times the initial conditions, confirming the satisfactory performance of the dX1® system.

The solution using Geopier® elements was installed within 8 business days, accelerating the construction schedule and resulting in cost savings of approximately 18% compared to the dynamic compaction option.

The Geopier® DX1® displacement ground improvement system densifies the soil, controlling settlements within allowable limits, and rapidly dissipates excess pore water pressure during seismic events, consequently reducing the liquefaction risk potential.

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