Application of Prefabricated Vertical Drains in Soft Clay Improvement

Mahmoud S. Hammad, Ayman L. Fayed, Yasser M. El-Mossallamy

A numerical study is performed to investigate the behavior of embankments built on soft soil deposits improved by the combination of preloading and prefabricated vertical drains. The study utilizes the three-dimensional finite element technique for the back analysis of two embankments in the Changi East reclamation project in Singapore. Different constitutive models are considered and yielded that the soft soil creep model (SSC) is most appropriate to model the behavior of the soft clay deposits. A parametric study is performed to investigate the various factors affecting the required improvement duration and the anticipated residual settlement. The study results show the significant influence of the variation of the PVDs length ratio (PVD depth to soft layer thickness) and spacing on both the duration of the consolidation process and the residual settlement, while the PVDs configuration is found to be of minimal importance.

https://dx.doi.org/10.31873/IJEAS.6.10.26