Validation of a theoretical solution through in situ measurements of a consolidation process

摘要

The settlements induced by preloading with vertical drains have been frequently used to propose, or to validate, semi-empirical procedures able to back-calculate an operative value of the coefficient of horizontal consolidation C_h or to predict the consolidation settlements for a suitable value of C_h. In the paper, the measurements of the settlements induced on a heterogeneous cohesive soil deposit are adopted to validate a generalized theoretical solution which encompasses for radial and vertical consolidation, smear effect and hydraulic resistance of drains. Measurements were normalized with respect to the final consolidation settlement, estimated with the hyperbolic approximation, and compared with the average degree of consolidation provided by the theoretical solution. The comparison is discussed highlighting the effectiveness of the adopted solution despite the remarkable influence of the lithological and mechanical heterogeneity of the soil deposit.