One-dimensional consolidation of visco-elastic aquitard due to withdrawal of deep-groundwater

One-dimensional consolidation of visco-elastic aquitard due to withdrawal of deep-groundwater was studied. Merchant model was used to simulate visco-elastic characteristic of aquitard. General solutions of the governing equation were obtained by applying Laplace transform with respect to time, and then the pore-pressure, strain and deformation of the aquitard could be calculated by Laplace inversion. A case was analyzed to validate the correctness of the present method. Finally, some consolidation properties of the problem were analyzed. Comparison of the average degree of consolidation defined by pore pressure with that defined by settlement shows that they are different and the maximum difference is 22.8%. The influences of parameters of Merchant model and the rate of the water level on the consolidation are great. The smaller the viscosity coefficient is, the later the rate of consolidation decreases. The rate of consolidation is decreased with the decrease of the rate of the water level fall. Therefore, the lagged effect of land subsidence should be considered in the actual project.