Abstract: Blasting is one of the commonly used methods to improve the thick, soft peaty silt soils, especially for the embankment construction over the thick, soft soils in the coastal intertidal zone. The main technical aspect is to evaluate the improvement depth in the thick and soft cohesive soils. This paper presents a case of an engineering project using the blasting compaction of peaty silty soils in coastal Fujian Province. The effect of the blasting compaction and stone filling for the embankment over thick and soft soils is evaluated by the combination applications of ground penetrating radar and long-term settlement observation methods. Through comparative analysis, it is concluded that the change of bottom depth of rock filling layer examined by the ground penetrating radar is also reflected in the cumulative settlement report of the long-term settlement observation, indicating that the ground penetrating radar detection and settlement observation results confirm each other, which can better meet the purpose of evaluating the improvement effect of the blasting improvement method.

Key words: Blasting Compaction, Embankment Settlement, Ground Penetrating Radar