Consolidation analyses of soils underneath Haarajoki test embankment using elastic-plastic and elastic visco-plastic models

Abstract

This paper presents results of consolidation analyses of the clay layers underneath the Haarajoki Test Embankment in Finland using a 3-D Elastic Visco-Plastic (3-D EVP) finite element model and a soft soil model (the Modified Cam-Clay model) in the FE PLAXIS program. The two analyses consider a multi-layered soil profile, different drainage boundary conditions, and equivalent consolidation modelling of in-situ vertical drains as a plane strain problem. In addition, the elastic visco-plastic finite element analysis considers the stress induced anisotropy and the coupling effects between creep of the clay skeleton and consolidation of the clay layers with and without vertical drains installed. Numerical results from the two FE analyses are in good agreement with field measured values. The comparison clearly demonstrates that the finite element approach with the adoption of the 3-D EVP model for soft clays is adequate for the consolidation analysis of multi-layered clayey soils exhibiting creep.