Nonlinear Finite-Strain Self-Weight Consolidation of Dredged Material with Radial Drainage Using Carrillo’s Formula

Estimation of the time-rate consolidation of dredged deposits is considerably complicated when vertical drains are installed to enhance the consolidation process of the soft-soil stratum, because the vertical drains are commonly installed before self-weight consolidation is complete. In this paper, two new methods are proposed to take into account both vertical and radial drainage conditions during the nonlinear finite-strain self-weight consolidation of dredged soil deposits (i.e., precise prediction of the self-weight consolidation behavior considering radial flow to the vertical drain). For one-dimensional nonlinear finite-strain consolidation in the vertical direction, the simplified Morris’s analytical solution and the primary consolidation, secondary compression, and desiccation of dredged fill (PSDDF) analysis are adopted. In addition, to consider the radial drainage, Barron’s vertical drain theory is used. The overall average degree of self-weight consolidation of the dredged soil is estimated using Carrillo’s formula, in which both vertical and radial drainage are considered. A series of large-scale self-weight consolidation experiments with consideration of a vertical drain were carried out to verify the simplified methods proposed in this paper. The use of the PSDDF results provides a more accurate estimation of overall average degree of self-weight consolidation considering the existence of a vertical drain than the use of the simplified Morris analytical solution.