LAUSR

Abstract The consolidation mechanism of a system of vertical drains is complicated because many factors such as geometric nonlinearity, material nonlinearity and non-Darcian flow characteristics have paramount influences on the consolidation rate and surface settlement. In the current study, we propose a new scheme that applies Gibson's large-strain theory incorporating the unified hardening (UH) constitutive equation considering time effect. The vertical and radial flows obeying the non-Darcian flow described by the non-Newtonian index along with varying permeability coefficients are also captured in the analysis. The scheme was addressed through a program adopting the finite difference method and verified the effectiveness by comparison with the nonlinear theoretical simulation solution of present literature and a field monitoring case. The results of the parametric analysis showed that the increase in soil viscosity and initial degree of overconsolidation has the opposite influence on the rate of consolidation and the prediction of settlement, whereas the final settlement value is virtually independent of the effect of non-Darcian flow.