DGI-Menard pioneered Wick Drains (Prefabricated Vertical Wick Drains) in the US and further advanced the use of Wick Drains with the introduction of Menard Vacuum Consolidation^TM.

The Menard Vacuum Consolidation method is a proprietary system used for preloading and consolidating soft and very soft saturated fine-grained soils. The procedure consists of installing vertical and horizontal vacuum transmission pipes under an airtight impervious membrane and evacuating the air below the membrane producing an atmospheric pressure on the soil.

This loading process creates an accelerated isotropic consolidation in the soil mass in a relatively short time. This eliminates the need for long-term and potentially unstable surcharge loads.

Advantages of Menard Vacuum Consolidation:

• Significant time savings over other consolidation methods
• Loading and construction can proceed as early as two weeks after process has started
• Isotropic consolidation eliminates the risk of failure under additional loading of the permanent construction
• No risk of slope instability beyond boundaries
• Controlled rate and magnitude of loading and settlement
• Elimination of transporting massive amounts of surcharge fill materials