Introduction
Because ground improvement techniques have gained widespread acceptance in the marketplace, engineers are more often choosing them in lieu of traditional deep foundations to provide economical foundation systems at sites with poor soil conditions. One technique in particular, Controlled Modulus Columns (CMC)® rigid inclusions, offers a sustainable and cost effective ground improvement solution that transmits load from the foundation to a lower bearing strata through a composite interaction between the rigid element and the softer soil matrix.
CMC rigid inclusions have been installed in a variety of soils, including uncontrolled fills, organics, peat, soft to stiff clay, loose silts and sands, and municipal solid waste. Typically the CMC rigid inclusion is installed through soft, compressible soils into a dense sand, stiff clay, glacial till, or other competent material that serves as a bearing stratum.
