Numerical analysis of electro-osmosis consolidation: A case study

A numerical model for the design and analysis of electro-osmosis consolidation in soft clay is used to study a well-documented full-scale field test. The large-strain model, which considers coupled electro-osmosis flow, hydraulic flow and electric density flow in a deformable elasto-plastic porous medium, is briefly introduced first. It is then used to analyse the field test, including a sensitivity analysis to study the uncertainty of the model in simulating the test. The results of the numerical analyses are found to be consistent with measurements of the ground settlement profile. Moreover, the sensitivity results illustrate that the soil improvement induced by electro-osmosis consolidation is sensitive to the electro-osmosis conductivity, and that consideration of the voltage drop that occurs at the electrodes during the test is necessary.Geoscience & EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience