Effect of eucalyptus pellita timber-pvd hybrid pile as a vertical drain on soft soil.

The innovative technique of a hybrid PVD timber pile as a vertical drain can be implemented to reinforce and improve soft soil. In this case, the acceleration of pore water dissipation could increase shear strength. The at soil of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a hybrid eucalyptus pellita-PVD timber pile as a vertical drain. The test method applied is a laboratory model test, consisting of the installation of a hybrid pile on soft soil in a rectangular pattern with a spacing of 10 cm. Then by a static loading test was subjected on soft soil with an initial load of 10 kg and subsequent loads of 20 kg and 40 kg. Daily dial monitoring of the increase in pore water dissipation was performed during the preloading test. The results show that the hybrid pile could accelerate the process of pore water dissipation to the surface compared to using timber piles alone. The increase of soil density before and after the loading indicated that the hybrid piles enhanced the density by 3.9%, whereas the reinforcement using only timber pile just increased by 2.4%.