Nonlinear Consolidation Analysis of a Saturated Clay Layer with Variable Compressibility and Permeability under Various Cyclic Loadings

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical solution for one-dimensional nonlinear consolidation of a saturated clay layer with variable compressibility and permeability under various cyclic loadings. Based on the assumption that the initial effective stress was constant with depth and the nonlinear variations of compressibility and permeability were expressed by the logarithm relations (e − log σ′ and e − log kv), two new variables were introduced to the 1D nonlinear consolidation equation. The analytical solutions were derived for trapezoidal, rectangular, and triangular cyclic loadings. The presented solution could degenerate into all of the existing solutions for nonlinear consolidation, which showed the analytical solution proposed in this paper was the most general one for nonlinear consolidation. The validity of the proposed solutions was verified against the numerical results from the finite difference method (FDM). The effects of different parameters on nonlinear consolidation behavior of the saturated clay layer subjected to various cyclic loadings were investigated using the solutions developed. The proposed solutions could be effectively utilized in the analysis of nonlinear consolidation of a saturated clay layer under various cyclic loadings.