Consolidation of Soft Clays with Large Strains

This paper develops some fully explicit analytical solutions of one-dimensional large strain consolidation. These solutions are useful in their own right while also providing an efficient method to validate numerical solutions of large strain consolidation analyses. A few numerical examples are given comparing the results of large and conventional small strain theory. Parametric studies have been undertaken showing that unlike in conventional small strain theory, the average degree of consolidation defined by stress (i.e. Up) and that defined by strain (i.e. Us) in large strain theory are not identical. The studies show that the settlement predicted by large strain theory is smaller than that given by small strain theory, and both the development of settlement and the dissipation of excess pore water pressure in large strain consolidation are faster than in small strain consolidation. It is also found that the discrepancy between the consolidation theories of large strain and small strain decreases with decreasing compressibility of soil and magnitude of applied load.