Improvement of Soft Ground using Electric Heating Equipment

Abstract

: In this study, we developed the electric heating equipment and applied for soft ground improvement. The developed heat pipe is 4 m-length and consumes 1 kW/m, which is consisted of Ni-Cr wire. It was installed in 3.5～4.5 m below ground surface and heated for 96 hours (48 hours, 2 times). The temperature variation and vapor pressure caused by electric heating was measured by the thermometer and pressure gauge which were installed in the ground (5.0 m), and the tip resistances were measured by static electronic piezo-cone penetration test (CPT). As the results of experiments, 2-order polynomial curve was shown to adjust the variation of tip resistance and the temperature distribution with the horizontal distance from electric heater, whose R2 value is close to 1. In addition, in-situ pore-water pressure and water content was decreased.