Analysis of one-dimensional consolidation of fractional viscoelastic saturated soils under continuous drainage boundary conditions

This paper presents the one-dimensional(1D)viscoelastic consolidation system of saturated clayey soil under continuous drainage boundaries.The fractional-derivative Merchant(FDM)model has been introduced into the consolidation system to simulate the viscoelasticity.Swartzendruber’s flow law is also introduced to describe the non-Darcian flow characteristics simultaneously.The generalized numerical solution of the 1D consolidation under continuous boundaries is given by the finite difference scheme.Furthermore,to illustrate the effectiveness of the numerical method,two simplified cases are compared against the current analytical and numerical results.Finally,the effects of boundary parameters and model parameters on the viscoelastic consolidation were illustrated and discussed.The results indicated that the boundary parameters have a significant influence on consolidation.The larger the values of boundary parameters,the faster the whole dissipation of the excess pore-water pressure and soils’settlement rate.Fractional-order and viscosity parameter have little effect on consolidation,which are primarily significant in the middle and late consolidation phases.With the increase of the modulus ratio,the whole consolidation process becomes faster.Moreover,considering Swartzendruber’s flow delays the consolidation rate of the soil layer.

One-dimensional nonlinear consolidation analysis of soil with continuous drainage boundary

Following the assumptions proposed by MESRI and ROKHSAR,the one-dimensional nonlinear consolidation problem of soil under constant loading is studied by introducing continuous drainage boundary.The numerical solution is derived by using finite difference method and its correctness is assessed by comparing with existing analytical and numerical solutions.Based on the present solution,the effects of interface parameters,stress ratios(i.e.,final effective stress over initial effective stress,N_(σ))and the ratio c_(c)/c_(k)of compression index to permeability index on the consolidation behavior of soil are studied in detail.The results show that,the characteristics of one-dimensional nonlinear consolidation of soil are not only related to c_(c)/c_(k)and N_(σ),but also related to boundary conditions.In the engineering practice,the soil drainage rate of consolidation process can be designed by adjusting the values of interface parameters.