MEASUREMENT OF IN SITU HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY AND COEFFICIENT OF CONSOLIDATION WITH PREFABRICATED VERTICAL DRAINS

Prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) are often used to improve soils by speeding up the rate of consolidation, and they are increasingly used for remediation of contaminated soils. When PVDs are installed in the ground, there is always a zone of disturbed soil surrounding them. The extent and the impact of this smear zone are difficult to quantify, and this uncertainty complicates the use of laboratory values in design. Consequently, obtaining in situ values for the hydraulic conductivity and horizontal coefficient of consolidation that include the effects of smear would be of great use to engineers who use PVDs in design. A method that utilizes PVDs to obtain in situ measurements of these parameters is described. The primary advantages of this method are its cost-effectiveness and the inclusion of smear in the results. A trial test was conducted on San Francisco Bay, California, mud. Some problems encountered during the initial phase of testing are described, and possible solutions are discussed. This promising method yields values that are logical and that compare well with published values for San Francisco Bay mud.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/1874-17
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=MEASUREMENT+OF+IN+SITU+HYDRAULIC+CONDUCTIVITY+AND+COEFFICIENT+OF+CONSOLIDATION+WITH+PREFABRICATED+VERTICAL+DRAINS&author=A.+Welker&author=B.+Devine&author=R.+Goughnour&author=J.+Foster&publication_year=2004
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/155397.aspx
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1874, Geology and Properties of Earth Materials 2004.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Welker, A L
  • Devine, B J
  • Goughnour, R R
  • Foster, J
• Publication Date: 2004

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 155-162
• Monograph Title: GEOLOGY AND PROPERTIES OF EARTH MATERIALS 2004
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1874
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cost effectiveness; Field tests; Mud; Permeability coefficient; Soil remediation; Vertical drains
• Uncontrolled Terms: Coefficient of consolidation; Smear zone (Disturbed soil)
• Geographic Terms: San Francisco Bay
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00983233
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309094690
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 7 2004 12:00AM