Analytical solution for one-dimensional chemo-hydro-mechanical coupled consolidation under time-dependent loading in buffer clay layer

An analytical method is developed for solving the coupled chemo-hydro-mechanical consolidation in a clay buffer layer under time-dependent loading. The coupled governing equations for the chemo-hydro-mechanical process are established in the time and spatial domain first. Then, the governing equations are decoupled into two partial differential equations by introducing two variables. The analytical solutions corresponding to ramp and exponential loadings are finally derived based on the initial and boundary conditions. The developed analytical solutions are verified via comparing with the numerical results simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics. Based on the developed solutions, selected parametric study is carried out to investigate the influence of major parameters and hydraulic boundary conditions on the contaminants transport and pore water pressure dissipation in buffer clay layer. The results show that the major parameters have effects on the generation and dissipation of pore pressure, while only effective coefficient of diffusion, coefficient of ultrafiltration, and relative change of total density of pore liquid significantly affect the contaminant migration process. Compared with a single drainage boundary, the pore pressure dissipation and contaminant migration in a double drainage soil layer are much faster. The longer the loading time of mechanical loading, the more significant the negative pore pressure caused by the concentration gradient.