Self-weight Consolidation on Impervious Bases

DELFT delft hydraulics This paper presents the study on the self-weight consolidation, which is referred to the consolidation problem of cohesive deposits in reservoirs and based on Gibson's theory of non-linear finite-strain consolidation. The analytical solution of the linearized equation is carried out. The so-lution shows that the consolidation is dominated by the dimensionless thickness of soil Zd. When Zd is large, consolidation progresses faster. A mathematical model based on the full equation is set up, which is veri-fied by data and can predict the self-weight consolidation with the thick-ness increasing with time. The final profile of void ratio is also obtained theoretically. Subsequent-ly, the final thickness of deposits and the final gradient of void ratio are obtained. The comparisons between the analytical solution of linearized equation an