Consolidation of a Cross-Anisotropic Soil Medium

Deformation of a soil medium subjected to surface loading will be time dependent, owing to the finite rate at which soil may expel water from its voids. Rapid loading gives rise to excess pore pressures which gradually dissipate with time as the soil consolidates. The rate of consolidation and the variation of excess pore pressures will depend on the deformation and flow properties of the soil, properties which will generally be anisotropic. The paper presents a solution, using integral transforms, for the consolidation of a soil medium with cross-anisotropic deformation and flow properties. Numerical results are presented for circular and rectangular surface loading of an infinitely deep medium. The results indicate a significant effect of the ratio of horizontal to vertical permeability of the soil, both in terms of the rate of consolidation and the lateral spread of excess pore pressures.