Variation of negative vacuum pressure in vertical drains with time and depth under variable well resistance

Abstract

AbstractMost solutions for the large strain nonlinear consolidation of soils with vertical drains are based on the assumption that the negative vacuum pressure only depends on the depth. In response to the shortcomings of this assumption, a large strain nonlinear consolidation model of soils with vertical drains under vacuum preloading is developed by considering the time‐and depth‐dependent well resistance. By fitting the data under different well resistances, the influence of well resistance parameters on the negative vacuum pressure variation in vertical drains is investigated, and the relevant empirical formulas describing the negative vacuum pressure variation in vertical drains are provided. The results obtained from the empirical formulas are in good agreement with the theoretical results as well as the experimental data, by which the reliability of the proposed empirical formulas is verified. The advantages of proposed empirical model can be identified by comparing it with the conventional model in which negative vacuum pressure is only linearly distributed with depth.