LAUSR

Abstract This Technical Note addresses an issue of vertical drains simulation using linear drain elements for radial consolidation. A new method is proposed which enables the application of linear drain elements while maintaining acceptable accuracy. The robustness of the proposed method is examined satisfactorily through the simulation of a unit cell representing a single drain and the application of multi-drain condition for the Ballina Embankment considering both elastic and elasto-plastic soil domains. The proposed model shows that the settlement and excess pore pressure predictions are almost the same as those determined for the ideal. The effectiveness of this method is also demonstrated through the reduction of the numerical convergence time for both unit cell and multi-drain conditions.