Consolidation solution and application of vacuum preloading technology using prefabricated horizontal drains in land reclamation

Abstract

For land reclamation of soft soil, common method include the use of prefabricated vertical drains combined with surcharge or vacuum preloading. However, these method are often time-consuming and risky. To improve efficiency and reduce costs, new technologies are needed. Recently, prefabricated horizontal drains(PHDs) combined with vacuum preloading have been developed and tested in field experiments. A a solution was proposed for soft soil consolidation using prefabricated horizontal drains, based on an elliptical cross-section and the equal strain condition. The method is compared with both the Chai's method and the finite element method(FEM). The result show a strong agreement between the proposed method and FEM result. Additionally, the nominal reduction coefficients of this method, f^*_a and f^*_p, align with the coefficients from Chai's method, f_a and f_b. Field experiment data are also used for comparison, demonstrating that the proposed solution effectively simulates the vacuum consolidation behavoiur using PHDs. The method offers a promising alternative to traditional ones by potentially saving time and reducing the risks involved in land reclamation.

Keywords

horizontal drainage boards / equal strain method / elliptical cross-section / reduction factor / finite element method / in-situ experiments