Analytical solutions for the consolidation of unsaturated foundation with prefabricated vertical drain
Yuanchun Huang, Tianyi Li, Xian-Lei Fu, Zheng Chen
Abstract
Summary Based on the consolidation theory raised by Fredlund, the solutions for the equal‐strain consolidation of unsaturated foundation with the prefabricated vertical drain considering smear effect and drain resistance are analytically formulated in this paper. Firstly, governing equations for excess pore pressures (i.e., excess pore‐air and pore‐water pressures) under the equal‐strain hypothesis are derived with the introduction of radial boundary conditions. Afterwards, the obtained coupled equations are solved by applying general integration, decoupling process, and Fourier sine series expansion. The smear coefficients and factors of drain resistance corresponding to air and water phases are both captured explicitly in the final solutions. Furthermore, the degenerated solutions are employed to verify the reliability of the current solutions. Finally, a parametric study is conducted to study the consolidation characteristics of the proposed foundation model against modeling sizes ( S and N ), smear coefficients ( α a and α w ), and drain resistance factors ( G a and G w ).