An observational method for consolidation analysis of the PVD-improved subsoil

Surcharge preloading together with prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) have been widely used to improve properties of thick clay deposits. To assess the performance of soil improvement works, the average degree of consolidation needs to be estimated. A curve fitting formula is proposed in this paper to simulate the degree of consolidation versus a non-dimensional time factor relationship. The proposed formula fits the theoretical consolidation solutions well with a regression coefficient R² larger than 0.9996 and an error of less than 1.2%. Based on the formula, a modified Asaoka's observational method is proposed to predict the ultimate settlement and calculate the coefficient of consolidation using field settlement monitoring data. The effectiveness of the proposed observational method has been verified using some well-documented case histories. Comparisons between the proposed method and the Asaoka's method indicate that the proposed method will give a less than 1.0% higher ultimate settlement than that by the Asaoka's method and the proposed method is able to predict the c_h value with the consideration of both vertical and horizontal flow through the ratio of time factor in horizontal and vertical direction ν_hv.