An analytical solution for two-dimensional vacuum preloading combined with electro-osmosis consolidation using EKG...

Area of Science:

• Geotechnical Engineering
• Soil Mechanics
• Environmental Engineering

Background:

• Urbanization in China necessitates land reclamation, leading to challenges with soft clay consolidation.
• Existing analytical solutions lack thorough theoretical analysis for practical engineering guidance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel analytical solution for soft clay consolidation using vacuum preloading and electro-osmosis.
• To incorporate the smearing effect and rectangular arrangement pattern into the model.
• To validate the solution using experimental data.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a two-dimensional drainage plane model based on Terzaghi and Esrig consolidation theory.
• Derived an analytical solution incorporating electro-kinetic geo synthetics (EKG) materials.
• Compared analytical results with measured data from field tests.

Main Results:

• The analytical solution accurately describes pore-water behavior and consolidation.
• Measured vacuum degree exceeded applied values due to combined vacuum preloading and electro-osmosis effects.
• Trends between measured and analytical values showed good comparability.

Conclusions:

• The developed consolidation model effectively assesses pore-water pressure changes.
• The model provides accurate predictions for the consolidation process under combined treatments.
• This research offers valuable theoretical guidance for practical land reclamation projects.