Menard Vacuum™ Consolidation is a ground improvement technique, created and developed by Menard, which is used to control long-term residual settlement in highly compressible soils.
Key Elements
WHAT IS IT?
A proprietary system that used the atmospheric pressure to preload and rapidly consolidate soft, saturated fine-grained soils.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
A network of vertical and horizontal vacuum transmission pipes are installed under an airtight membrane. The air below the membrane is evacuated producing a vacuum under the membrane and a pressure on the soils equivalent to a 14 ft soil preload.
WHY USE IT?
The procedure consists of installing a vertical and horizontal draining system combined with a vacuum pumping system under an airtight impervious membrane. The area is sealed by sealing the membrane into a network of peripheral trenches.
The Menard Vacuum™ Consolidation system consists of installing a vertical and horizontal drainage network combined with a vacuum pumping system under an airtight impervious membrane. The area is sealed by extending the membrane laterally and anchoring into a network of peripheral trenches.
Advantages of Menard Vacuum™ Include:
- Substantially reduce consolidation time
- Early pre-loading can be implemented as soon as the system is in place
- Alleviate the risk of bearing capacity failures by facilitating raid strength gains in underlying soils
