The Necessity of Consideration of the Safe Distance for Infrastructures in the Vicinity of Weak Clay Soil Treatments Including Surcharge

In this literature a case study that includes surcharge and prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) was introduced and verified using finite element program Geostudio 2018R2. Based on the verified model, the lateral displacement and horizontal strains were calculated. It was shown that the safe zone for this special case study is 40 m that is approximately equal to the length of the constructed embankment. In urban areas as a result of the existence of water and wastewater pipes, optical fibers, oil and gas transition lines or trenches and excavations, these infrastructures are in serious danger due to the lateral displacements and horizontal strains. The same case is true for constructions in industrial areas. Since the mentioned infrastructures do have special importance in passive defense doctrine, exclusive attention should be considered by the owners, consultants and contractors in such projects all phases including preliminary investigation, during the construction and after the compilation of the treatment process in the case of permanent embankment. It was shown that due to the obstacles related to surcharge and PVDs treatment, this method is not suitable in urban areas.