Assessment of the Elastic-Viscoplastic Behavior of Soft Soils Improved with Vertical Drains Capturing Reduced Shear Strength of a Disturbed Zone
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 16, Issue 1
Abstract
Soil disturbance induced by the installation of vertical drains reduces the horizontal soil permeability and shear strength in the disturbed zone. Thus, the soil disturbance contributes to the reduced overconsolidation ratio (OCR) of the soil in the vicinity of drains, influencing soil deformation. Although a significant amount of research has been conducted on the effect of permeability variations in the smear zone, the influence of the reduced shear strength in the smear zone on the ground behavior has not been investigated. In this study, a numerical solution adopting an elastic-viscoplastic model with nonlinear creep function in combination with the consolidation equations has been developed. Moreover, the effects of shear strength variation in the disturbed zone on the time-dependent behavior of soft soil deposits improved with vertical drains and preloading have been studied. The applied elastic-viscoplastic model is based on the framework of the modified Cam-clay model, capturing soil creep during excess pore-water pressure dissipation. Furthermore, nonlinear variations of the creep coefficient with stress and time as well as the permeability variations during the consolidation process are considered. The predicted results have been compared with available field measurements. According to the results, the OCR profile of the disturbed zone influences the viscoplastic strain rate, the creep strain limit, and consequently the soil deformation.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Baligh, M. (1985). “Strain path method.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 1108–1136.
Barden, L. (1965). “Consolidation of clay with non-linear viscosity.” Géotechnique, 15(4), 345–362.
Barden, L. (1969). “Time-dependent deformation of normally consolidated clays and peats.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 95(1), 1–31.
Barron, R. A. (1948). “Consolidation of fine-grained soils by drain wells.” Trans. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., 113(1), 718–742.
Basu, D., Basu, P., and Prezzi, M. (2006). “Analytical solutions for consolidation aided by vertical drains.” Geomech. Geoeng., 1(1), 63–71.
Basu, D., Basu, P., and Prezzi, M. (2010). “Analysis of PVD-enhanced consolidation with soil disturbance.” Ground Improv., 163(4), 237–249.
Basu, D., and Prezzi, M. (2007). “Effect of the smear and transition zones around prefabricated vertical drains installed in a triangular pattern on the rate of soil consolidation.” Int. J. Geomech., 34–43.
Bergado, D. T., Asakami, H., Alfaro, M. C., and Balasubramaniam, A. S. (1991). “Smear effects of vertical drains on soft Bangkok clay.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 1509–1530.
Bjerrum, L. (1967). “Engineering geology of Norwegian normally-consolidated marine clays as related to settlements of buildings.” Géotechnique, 17(2), 83–118.
Bozozuk, M., Fellenius, B. H., and Samson, L. (1978). “Soil disturbance from pile driving in sensitive clay.” Can. Geotech. J., 15(3), 346–361.
Casagrande, A., and Fadum, R. E. (1940). Notes on soil testing for engineering purposes, Graduate School of Engineering, Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA.
Conlin, B. H., and Maddox, W. P. (1985). “An assessment of the behaviour of foundation clay at Tarsiut N-44 caisson retained island.” Proc., 17th Offshore Technology Conf., Offshore Technology Conf., Houston, 379–388.
Crank, J., and Nicolson, P. (1947). “A practical method for numerical evaluation of solutions of partial differential equations of the heat-conduction type.” Math. Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc., 43(1), 50–67.
Crooks, J. H. A., Becker, D. E., Jefferies, M. G., and McKenzie, K. (1984). “Yield behaviour and consolidation. I: Pore water response.” Proc., Symp. on Sedimentation Consolidation Models, R. N. Yong and F. C. Townsend, eds., ASCE, New York, 344–355.
Fatahi, B., Le, T. M., and Khabbaz, H. (2013). “Soil creep effects on ground lateral deformation and pore water pressure under embankments.” Geomech. Geoeng., 8(2), 107–124.
Feng, T. (1991). “Compressibility and permeability of natural soft clays and surcharging to reduce settlements.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.
Hansbo, S. (1960). Consolidation of clay, with special reference to influence of vertical sand drains, Statens Geotekniska Institut, Stockholm, Sweden.
Hird, C. C., Pyrah, I. C., and Russell, D. (1992). “Finite element modelling of vertical drains beneath embankments on soft ground.” Géotechnique, 42(3), 499–511.
Hokmabadi, A. S., Fatahi, B., and Samali, B. (2014a). “Assessment of soil-pile-structure interaction influencing seismic response of mid-rise buildings sitting on floating pile foundations.” Comput. Geotech., 55(1), 172–186.
Hokmabadi, A. S., Fatahi, B., and Samali, B. (2014b). “Seismic response of mid-rise buildings on shallow and end-bearing pile foundations in soft soil.” Soils Found., 54(3), 345–363.
Holtz, R. D., and Holm, B. G. (1973). “Excavation and sampling around some sand drains at Ska-Edeby, Sweden.” Proc., 6th Scandinavian Geotechnical Meeting, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway, 79–85.
Hong, H. P., and Shang, J. Q. (1998). “Probabilistic analysis of consolidation with prefabricated vertical drains for soil improvement.” Can. Geotech. J., 35(4), 666–677.
Indraratna, B., Rujikiatkamjorn, C., and Sathananthan, I. (2005). “Radial consolidation of clay using compressibility indices and varying horizontal permeability.” Can. Geotech. J., 42(5), 1330–1341.
Kabbaj, M., Tavenas, F., and Leroueil, S. (1988). “In situ and laboratory stress-strain relationships.” Géotechnique, 38(1), 83–100.
Ladd, C. C. (1973). “Estimating settlements of structures supported on cohesive soils.” Research Rep. 2, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA.
Ladd, C. C., Foott, R., Ishihara, K., Schlosser, F., and Poulos, H. J. (1977). “Stress-deformation and strength characteristics.” Proc., 9th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Paris, 421–494.
Le, T. M., Fatahi, B., and Khabbaz, H. (2012). “Viscous behaviour of soft clay and inducing factors.” Geotech. Geol. Eng., 30(5), 1069–1083.
Leoni, M., Karstunen, M., and Vermeer, P. A. (2008). “Anisotropic creep model for soft soils.” Géotechnique, 58(3), 215–226.
Lo, D. O. K. (1991). “Soil improvement by vertical drains.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.
Lo, D. O. K., and Mesri, G. (1994). “Settlement of test fills for Chek Lap Kok airport.” Proc., Settlement ’94: Vertical and Horizontal Deformations of Foundations and Embankments, A. T. Yeung and G. Feaalio, eds., ASCE, New York, 1082–1099.
Madhav, M. R., Park, Y. M., and Miura, N. (1993). “Modelling and study of smear zones around band shaped drains.” Soils Found., 33(4), 135–147.
Massarsch, K. R. (1976). Soil movements caused by pile driving in clay, Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
MATLAB R2012a [Computer software]. Natick, MA, MathWorks.
Mesri, G. (2001). “Primary compression and secondary compression.” Proc., Soil Behavior and Soft Ground Construction, ASCE, Reston, VA, 122–166.
Mesri, G., and Feng, T. W. (1991). “Surcharging to reduce secondary settlements.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Geotechnical Engineering for Coastal Development: Theory and Practice on Soft Ground, Coastal Development Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 359–364.
Mesri, G., and Rokhsar, A. (1974). “Theory of consolidation for clays.” J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., 100(8), 889–904.
Mesri, G., Shahien, M., and Feng, T. W. (1995). “Compressibility parameters during primary consolidation.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Compression and Consolidation of Clayey Soils, Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1021–1037.
Mitchell, J. K. (1956). “The fabric of natural clays and its relation to engineering properties.” Highw. Res. Board Proc., 35(3), 693–713.
Mitchell, J. K., and Houston, W. N. (1969). “Causes of clay sensitivity.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 95(3), 845–871.
Nash, D. F. T., and Ryde, S. J. (2001). “Modelling consolidation accelerated by vertical drains in soils subject to creep.” Géotechnique, 51(3), 257–273.
Onoue, A., Ting, N.-H., Germaine, J. T., and Whitman, R. V. (1991). “Permeability of disturbed zone around vertical drains.” Proc., Geotechnical Engineering Congress 1991, ASCE, New York, 879–890.
Rowe, R. K., and Li, A. K. (2002). “Behaviour of reinforced embankments on soft rate-sensitive soils.” Géotechnique, 52(1), 29–40.
Rujikiatkamjorn, C., and Indraratna, B. (2009). “Design procedure for vertical drains considering a linear variation of lateral permeability within the smear zone.” Can. Geotech. J., 46(3), 270–280.
Schiffman, R. L., Chen, A. T.-F., and Jordan, J. C. (1969). “An analysis of consolidation theories.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 95(1), 285–312.
Seah, T. H., and Koslanant, S. (2003). “Anisotropic consolidation behaviour of soft Bangkok clay.” J. ASTM Geotech. Test., 26(3), 266–276.
Sharma, J. S., and Xiao, D. (2000). “Characterization of a smear zone around vertical drains by large-scale laboratory tests.” Can. Geotech. J., 37(6), 1265–1271.
Suklje, L. (1957). “The analysis of the consolidation process by the isotache method.” Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Butterworths Scientific, London, 200–206.
Tabatabaiefar, S. H. R., Fatahi, B., and Samali, B. (2013a). “Lateral seismic response of building frames considering dynamic soil-structure interaction effects.” Struct. Eng. Mech., 45(3), 311–321.
Tabatabaiefar, S. H. R., Fatahi, B., and Samali, B. (2013b). “Seismic behavior of building frames considering dynamic soil-structure interaction.” Int. J. Geomech., 13(4), 409–420.
Walker, R., and Indraratna, B. (2006). “Vertical drain consolidation with parabolic distribution of permeability in smear zone.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 937–941.
Whittle, A. J., and Aubeny, C. P. (1993). “The effects of installation disturbance on interpretation of in situ tests in clay.” Proc., Wroth Memorial Symp.: Predictive Soil Mechanics, Telford, London, 742–767.
Xie, K., Li, C., Liu, X., and Wang, Y. (2012). “Analysis of one-dimensional consolidation of soft soils with non-Darcian flow caused by non-Newtonian liquid.” J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng., 2012(3), 250–257.
Yin, J.-H. (1999). “Non-linear creep of soils in oedometer tests.” Géotechnique, 49(5), 699–707.
Yin, J.-H. (2006). “Elastic visco-plastic models for the time-dependent stress-strain behaviour of geomaterials.” Modern trends in geomechanics, Springer, Berlin, 669–707.
Yin, J.-H., and Graham, J. (1989). “Viscous–elastic–plastic modelling of one-dimensional time-dependent behaviour of clays.” Can. Geotech. J., 26(2), 199–209.
Yin, J.-H., and Graham, J. (1994). “Equivalent times and one-dimensional elastic viscoplastic modelling of time-dependent stress–strain behaviour of clays.” Can. Geotech. J., 31(1), 42–52.
Yin, J.-H., and Zhu, J.-G. (1999). “Elastic viscoplastic consolidation modelling and interpretation of pore-water pressure responses in clay underneath Tarsiut Island.” Can. Geotech. J., 36(4), 708–717.
Yin, J.-H., Zhu, J.-G., and Graham, J. (2002). “A new elastic viscoplastic model for time-dependent behaviour of normally and overconsolidated clays: Theory and verification.” Can. Geotech. J., 39(1), 157–173.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 16 • Issue 1 • February 2016
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 17, 2014
Accepted: Sep 2, 2014
Published online: Oct 1, 2014
Published in print: Feb 1, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.