Analytical Solution for One-Dimensional Thermal Consolidation of Saturated Soil with Non-Uniform Initial Excess Pore-Water Pressure Distribution

Based on thermoelasticity mechanics and the consolidation theory of saturated soil,problems of one-dimensional thermal consolidation of saturated soil were theoretically investigated by establishing and solving the thermal consolidation equations.The analytical solutions of excess pore water pressure,temperature increase were derived based on finite Fourier transform and its inverse transform,and the expressions of settlement,average consolidation degree were also given.A relevant computer program was developed,and one-dimensional thermal consolidation behaviour of saturated soil was investigated by comparing with traditional consolidation theory ignoring temperature effect.The results show that although excess pore-water pressure dissipates with time and it finally reaches to zero,it may appear negative value during thermal consolidation.The settlement is decreased due to temperature increase;Average consolidation degrees defined by settlement and by pore-water pressure are different and there is big difference of their evolution by comparing with traditional consolidation theory.