Generally suited towards weaker and more compressible soils with a high deformation auger, or using CFA augers in the ground with harder, less compressible soils.

Depending on the application, rigid inclusions can be installed under a load transfer platform or pad foundations, and directly casted onto the rigid inclusions. Thus, ideally suited towards warehouses, supermarkets, large retail parks and some residential projects.

Advantages

• Increased bearing capacity in soils
• Improved settlement performance
• Up to 510mm Diameter columns installed
• No cropping or pile caps required
• Improved ground conditions allows for savings in ground-bearing slabs/rafts
• Can be installed using displacement systems reducing spoil arisings.

We are currently installing Rigid Inclusions as part of a commercial development at Colchester, this has involved installing 1900No., 300mm diameter columns up to 7m long, to support a new bowling alley, retail units, cinema and leisure facility. The ground conditions of fill and made ground for 3m made unsupported pads unviable. Using Plaxis and FLAC modelling, we designed rigid inclusions as settlement-reducing columns, founding the columns into the underlying sand and clay strata to limit all the pads to a max 25mm settlement. To install the columns, our Soilmec SR45 and our Mecbo tracked agitator and pump were utilised, so no special equipment is required.

This enables us to offer an effective alternative to proprietary systems such as CMC.