The composite system of stone columns reinforced soil overlaid by granular mattress (GM) has been given more attention as a hybrid improvement technique. This work presents 3D finite element analyses using PLAXIS 3D software for a composite system of floating stone columns group constructed in a deep soft clay deposit in Port-Said in Egypt. The limited area of loading was investigated in conjunction with the system key parameters, i.e., length, diameter, and the GM main properties. Results validated the effectiveness of the GM in settlement reduction and system behavior enhancement. The GM thickness results in considerable settlement reduction up to value of 1.5d where d is the stone column diameter. The thickness increase can be an economical substitution instead of increasing stone column length where a new factor named “Mattress improvement factor: Ƞgm” is defined to represent the occurring improvement due to GM existence. Results also show notable reduction of settlement with increasing the length to a limiting value of L = 1.8B where B is the footing width.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.