Stochastic Investigation of Consolidation Process in Spatially Correlated Heterogeneous Soils

Soil consolidation as the dissipation of excess pore water pressure is mainly affected by the relative hydraulic conductivity among the layers. Geostatistical parameters such as the mean, the standard deviation, and the correlation length are physical indicators for each sedimentation and formation history. The effects of spatial variability on the excessive pore water pressure dissipation during consolidation process are investigated using numerical parametric studies, where multiple realizations are tested for selected hydraulic conductivity parameter using lognormal distribution. Numerical simulations show that the greater heterogeneity in hydraulic conductivity distribution applied, the longer time taken for the excess pore water pressure to dissipate, and the longer correlated variability encourages the greater variation in consolidation time. Such differences can be reduced significantly with the coupled drainage allowed by vertical drain method.