Vertical drains are used in soft clays and silts to accelerate primary consolidation. In this study a practical method for predicting the magnitude and rate of settlement and pore water pressure dissipation of soft clays under embankment type of loading is described. A computer procedure, ILLICON, was developed within the framework of the traditional concepts of soil mechanics for consolidation analysis of soft clays with or without vertical drains. ILLICON allows multi-layer analysis with each individual layer having its own compressibility and hydraulic properties which may vary during consolidation. The vertical drain may have well resistance and the effect of drain installation is taken into account by assuming a smear zone at the drain periphery.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign