Experiment on the Consolidation Property of Dredger Soft Soil under Different Moisture Contents in Tianjin

Abstract

To determine the influence of the initial moisture content on the consolidation characteristics of dredge soft fill in Tianjin, a detailed study has been carried out with a series of consolidation tests on remolded specimens under different moisture contents. The relationship of stress, strain, void ratio,and time were observed. The results showed that the stable strain value of the soil got larger with the increase of the moisture content, and the curves of stable strain value with moisture content presented a set of parallel curves at different loading levels. The void ratio and the proportion of the variation ratio of void ratio to total variation increased with the increasing moisture content. The coefficient of secondary consolidation increased as the load applied and then decreased, finally tending towards stability. The peak value of the coefficient of secondary consolidation decreased with the decreasing of moisture content. Meanwhile, the reduction of the peak value of secondary consolidation was more obvious when the moisture content was greater than 36.6%. The coefficient of consolidation increased accordingly with the growth of initial moisture content accordingly at the same load level. Based on the results and analysis, a modified hyperbolic model associated with void ratio, moisture content, and vertical effective stress in one dimentional condition was given, and the correctness of the model had also been validated.