When estimating the time-rate of settlement for foundation soils treated with vertical drains, understanding the horizontal drainage behavior of the soil is important because the time of consolidation settlement may be critical to the overall construction schedule and sequencing. This paper explains the process for obtaining the horizontal properties of soft soils in the laboratory using a Rowe cell, a laboratory device that directly measures the horizontal drainage of soft soil samples through a radial consolidation test. The Rowe cell further allows for back-saturation of test specimens and the ability to replicate in situ lateral stress conditions with an applied cell pressure. This paper summarizes how challenges associated with specimen preparation, test setup and procedure, and data analysis and interpretation can be overcome. Finally, this paper demonstrates that this is a viable method that should be considered more often for obtaining horizontal drainage design parameters.
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