Stone columns are a cost-effective ground improvement technique that is typically em-ployed for low-rise building and road embankments. However, they have a constraint related to loose in-teractions between column aggregates in the absence of sufficient lateral confinement. As a result, their performance is usually improved by inclusion of geosynthetics either in layers or as confinement. On the other hand, reinforced concrete piles are often regarded as the ultimate approach to ground improvement. In this study, the upper portion of the stone columns was replaced by different grades of unreinforced concrete in varying lengths. Having obtained the optimum configuration of the above, a geosynthetic rein-forced bedding layer was introduced on top of the stone columns and its effect investigated. Test results for the optimum hybrid stone column yielded only a 5.4 folds maximum increase in bearing capacity compared to the control. While the use of a reinforced bedding layer, a fold factor of 9.9 was obtained.
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