Analytic solution of consolidation equation for soft soil with vertical drains subject to non-uniformly distributed initial pore water pressure

The consolidation of soft soil with vertical drains subject to non-uniformly distributed initial pore water pressure was studied and a general analytic solution was obtained under equal strain condition.The exact analytic solutions corresponding to trapezoidal distribution,triangular distribution and inverse triangle distribution of initial pore water pressure were deduced consequently.The consolidation theory for vertical drains under equal strain condition so far available was just a special case of the general solution.The computation programs for these solutions were developed and the consolidation behavior of soft soil with vertical drains subject to non-uniformly distributed initial pore water pressure was investigated.A case study was carried out and the result was compared with the observation data.It shows that the distribution form of initial pore water pressure obviously influence the consolidation behavior,and the influence is more significant on excess pore water pressure in soil than on consolidation degree.In condition of single-drainage,the rate of consolidation is fastest when the distribution of initial pore water pressure is in inverse triangular pattern,while it will be the slowest when the distribution is in a regular triangular pattern.For the condition of double-drainage,the rate of independent is independent of the distribution form of initial pore water pressure.