How does wick drain work?

Wick drains, also known as Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVD) are prefabricated geotextile filter-wrapped plastic strips with molded channels. These act as drainage paths to take pore water out of soft compressible soil so it consolidates faster, often from decades to months.

Are wick drains removed?

The drain is fed down through a hollow mandrel mounted on an excavator or crane mast, connected at the bottom to an expendable anchor plate. A vibratory hammer or static method is used to insert the mandrel to design depth. It’s then removed, leaving the wick drain in place.

Where are wick drains used?

Wick drains are typically used in soft saturated fine- grained soils, such as silts, clays, organic silts, organic clays, peat, sludges, mine tailings, and dredge fills. The geotechnical investigation should include continuous sampling to identify any sand drainage layers that may contribute to faster consolidation.

How does a prefab vertical drain work?

The prefabricated vertical drains are made up of a core material, usually of plastic that is wrapped with the spun-bond non-woven geotextiles as an outer layer and acts as a filter fabric. The geotextile filters the soil from entering the water channels and flooding the drain.

What is a blanket drain?

A blanket drain is a drainage structure used to accommodate seepage zones on the road cut. The objective is to disperse low-velocity flows over the hillslope rather than concentrating them in cross-ditches.

What are prefabricated vertical drains?

Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVDs) are a type of geocomposites which has got application in railway embankment. PVD can be defined as any prefabricated material or product consisting of a synthetic filter jacket surrounding a plastic core (Fig. 01).

What is sand drain?

The sand drain system uses to reinforce good to poor soils, including soft to stiff clay and silt, loose to dense sand, organic silt and peat. Sand drains are used to reinforce and stiffen compressible foundation soils and increase the time-rate of settlement in order to control post-construction settlement magnitudes.

What is a sump drain?

a drain consisting of an outer tube vented to the outside with a smaller tube within it that is attached to a suction pump; both have multiple perforations that allow fluid and air to be carried away through the suction tube.

What are geo drains?

Geodrains are geocomposites manufactured to evacuate infiltrating water and filter fine particles. They replace and reduce to a minimum conventional and natural underground drainage systems.

What are the advantages of wick drains over sand drains?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wick Drains Comparison to sand drains: Economic competitiveness, less disturbance to the soil mass compared to displacement sand drains, and the speed and simplicity of installation. Also feasible to be installed in a nonvertical orientation.

What factors affect the effectiveness of wick drains?

The rate of soil consolidation or settlement is controlled by how rapidly the pore water can escape from the soil. The controlling variables are the spacing between the wick drains and the permeability of the soil.

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