Analysis of prefabricated vertical drains with surcharge preloading of Hiep Phuoc clay

Finite-difference analysis of soft ground treatment with prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) was performed using a newly developed consolidation model. The model uses the concept of multi-compression indices and coefficients of consolidation (CoCs) to investigate the behaviour of a soft ground deposit (pore water pressure dissipation, surface settlement and sub-layer ground settlement) and to validate the newly developed Consopro finite-difference procedure. The pre-consolidation pressures of the soft ground deposit were characterised using a combination of piezocone penetration profiling and constant rate-of-strain (CRS) consolidation tests (0.02%/min) on undisturbed samples that were retrieved from the Saigon premier container terminal in the south of Vietnam. After comparison of the back-calculated results with field-observed data, a correlation between the CoCs determined by CRS consolidation tests and the CoCs from piezocone dissipation tests, which were carried out after soil improvement, was determined.