The Use of Various Sand in Foundation Engineering: Performance and Cost Comparison in Context of Bangladesh

Abstract

Sand pile technology is a method of ground improvement extensively used throughout Bangladesh to strengthen poor ground to achieve sufficient bearing capacity and minimize the settlement of foundations. One of the key advantages of the sand pile system is that it can be implemented to all forms of soil observed in Bangladesh, from sandy to clayey soils, and it has consequently been utilized as a liquefaction preventive measure. But the performance of the sandpile relies not only on the density of the soil, the space between piles but also on the size of the grain of the sand employed. This paper presents an experimental study examining the characteristics of various sand forms, namely Local Sand, Kushtia Sand, and Sylhet Sand, collected in Bangladesh from different geographical conditions. Effective particle size (D₁₀), mean particle size (D₅₀), Permeability, frictional angle has also investigated by combining different proportions of available sands. The test results were represented in terms of economic aspects with reference to market price analysis. The most economical sand mixture has been found to be 60 percent Sylhet sand with 40 percent Kushtia sand and it will save approximately 8.89 percent of the overall sand expenses for sand piling. However, the permeability value of 4.90 (cm/s) and the friction angle of 37.63 degrees were shown to be relatively lower than 100% Sylhet sand.