Large‐strain consolidation of vacuum preloading combined with partially penetrating prefabricated vertical drains

Abstract A system of vacuum preloading combined with partially penetrating prefabricated vertical drains (PP‐PVDs) is an effective solution for promoting the consolidation of the dredged marine clay. However, a significant and traditionally challenging‐to‐predict amount of deformation or settlement occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce a three‐dimensional large‐strain consolidation model to consider the length of the vertical drain to determine the consolidation time and degree of consolidation (DoC), and associated settlement. The predictions using the proposed analytical model provide fair agreements with the field data and those in the literature. Parametric studies reveal that to achieve a 90% DoC within 100 days in soft soil, the optimal penetration depth for PP‐PVDs would be 0.7 times the depth of the soil layer. With the increase of DoC, the ratio of excess pore water pressure to applied vacuum pressure ( u / P ) in the whole soil layer moves toward 1.0. With the increase of PVD penetration ratio ( H 1 / H ), more DoC is required to dissipate the excess pore water pressure in the top improved soil layer.