GEOPIER IS GROUND IMPROVEMENT®
GEOPIER'S QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

Geopier's ground improvement systems provide economical liquefaction mitigation solutions. The installation of Geopier elements within liquefiable soils replaces loose soil with dense (dilatent) Geopier elements and increases the density of granular  soils. 
Geopier ground improvement solutions reduce the potential for liquefaction by: 
  • Providing a stiff, non-liquefiable inclusion in the liquefiable soils,
  • Improving the matrix soil between the piers by increased lateral stress and soil densification,
  • Providing drainage elements for rapid drainage of excess pore water pressures that develop during seismic shaking
  • Reducing shear stresses in the matrix soil. 

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Project Experience

An approximate 18,000 square foot gaming room expansion with café and food court is proposed for the existing Swinomish Casino & Lodge. Static column loads are on the order of 300 kips, and predicted liquefaction settlement of the unimproved soil due to the design earthquake is approximately 6 to 12 inches. The borings encountered 40 to 52 feet of loose to medium dense silty sand, sand with silt, and poorly graded sand with fines content of 2 to 18 percent, with occasional low plasticity sand silt layers. Groundwater was encountered at a depth of about 6 feet below existing grades. The Geopier Impact® system was chosen to mitigate predicted liquefaction settlements and to increase the static bearing pressure to 5,000 psf.  Read More

Construction consisted of a four-story apartment complex and parking structure, supported on a mat foundation with an applied bearing pressure of 750 psf. Large predicted liquefaction settlements due to the design earthquake are the primary geotechnical design concern. Soil conditions consisted of 10 feet of loose silty sand and medium stiff sandy silt over discontinuous, interbedded layers of loose silty sand, medium stiff sandy silt, and soft to medium stiff lean to fat clay to depths of about 30 feet, underlain by older marine sand and silt deposits. The historic high groundwater level was established at 7 feet below grade. The design team was concerned about liquefaction of the silty sand and sandy silt in the upper 30 feet during a magnitude 7.2 design earthquake with a peak ground acceleration of 0.64g.  Read More 
Installation Videos
        
Visit Geopier's YouTube page to learn more about Geopier  Rammed Aggregate Pier®, rigid inclusions, and slope reinforcement systems.  Watch Geopier Videos

A Word from Kord
Early in my career, I was startled to hear one of our best clients refer to our geotechnical work as "GMS" (Geotechnical Magical S...tuff), implying our best advice was pulled out of a magician's hat. I thought, "GMS?! This is technical stuff!" But as the years have gone by, I'm increasingly seeing his point. We geo-professionals issue our geo-reports chock full of parameters with caveats that they should be applied for one set of conditions but not for another. And if the conditions do change, well then, the formulas and parameters are recanted and magically reconstituted in a supplemental report to be interpreted in a different way.   Read More
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Geopier Foundation Company
(704) 439-1790 | [email protected]