Analytical solution for one-dimensional nonlinear consolidation of double-layered soil with improved continuous drainage boundary

Abstract

Following the assumptions proposed by Davis and Raymond, an analytical solution for one-dimensional nonlinear consolidation of double-layered soil under constant loading is derived by introducing an improved continuous drainage boundary condition. The effectiveness of the present solution is assessed by comparing against other existing analytical solutions and laboratory consolidation test results. A parametric study is then conducted to investigate the consolidation behaviour of double-layered soil for different interface parameters or stress ratios (i.e. final effective pressure over initial effective pressure, Nσ ). The results show that, the average consolidation degree defined by soil settlement U s increases with the increase of N σ, and the average consolidation degree defined by excess pore water pressure U p decreases with the increase of Nσ . The magnitude of U s is always larger than U p, and the difference between U s and U p increases with the increase of Nσ . Compared with the Xie's solution, the stress ratio Nσ has little effect on U p in the solution with continuous drainage boundary condition.