Plane-Strain Modeling of Smear Effects Associated with Vertical Drains

The present study provides a methodology to include the smear effect of vertical drains in a two-dimensional (2D) plane-strain finite-element model, employing the modified Cam-clay theory. The analysis is conducted by converting the radius of the smear zone and its permeability (axisymmetric) into equivalent plane strain parameters. The introduction of smear effects improves the accuracy of the numerical model that is tested for a Malaysian soft clay, in this study.