Large‐strain consolidation of PVD‐improved soils considering depth‐dependent initial void ratio and initial effective stress due to soil self‐weight

Abstract

A governing equation for large‐strain consolidation of PVD‐improved soil is developed based on the equivalent elliptical cylindrical model, which accounts for depth‐dependent initial void ratio and initial effective stress induced by soil self‐weight, well resistance with variable discharge capacity, time‐dependent load, and nonlinear variations of compressibility and permeability. Then, a numerical solution is obtained by means of COMSOL Multiphysics and is validated through comparisons with existing solutions and measured data. The parametric studies show that the difference between large‐strain consolidation and small‐strain consolidation reduces with the decreases of the compression index and applied load. Although the soil self‐weight has little effect on the degree of consolidation in some cases, the soil settlement will be significantly overestimated if the self‐weight is ignored. The development of consolidation slowed as the ratio of compressibility over horizontal permeability increased.