Sand Compaction Pile Method and Its Applications

A unique ground improvement method developed in Japan, the sand compaction pile (SCP) method, improves soft ground by using vibration to install sand or any other similar material into soft ground via a casing pipe and forms sand piles in the ground. The vibratory SCP method is applied to not only cohesive ground, but sandy ground as well and is the most typically used liquefaction countermeasure method in Japan. This report gives an outline of non-vibratory SCP and injection-type SCP, which were developed from the vibratory SCP method to meet current requirements such as environmental friendliness and downsizing, and how they are used, what materials are used, and case studies regarding their application. In addition, as a result of analyzing the improvement effect as a liquefaction countermeasure, the improvement effects of non-vibratory SCP and injection-type SCP are equivalent to that of vibratory SCP. From these, it is confirmed that the SCP method can be applied in various execution conditions as a liquefaction countermeasure and it is expected that the method can be widely utilized in countries all over the world.