3. Conclusion

Flexible and rigid inclusions can be used to improve and strengthen poor-quality soils in a much shorter time than preloading methods. They are mainly used as settlement reducers, meaning that they do not cancel out all settlement as would a much more expensive pile foundation. The settlement reduction factor is much higher for rigid than for flexible inclusions.

The use of rigid inclusions has been strongly developed thanks to the ASIRI National Project (2005 – 2012). A new ASIRI PLUS Project (2019 – 2023) will focus on the study of load-transfer platforms, the behavior of quasi-static and/or inclined structures – and under dynamic and seismic loads, and will complete our understanding of the mechanisms by which the rigid inclusion foundation system works.