Theoretical study and model test on consolidation of warping clay in the cracks of clay blanket

This paper focused on the mechanism of consolidation of warping clay under permeable pressure in the cracks of blanket.Fully considering the non-linear relationships between void ratio and effective stress as well as void ratio and coefficient of permeability,a differential equation with void ratio as a controlting variable was put forward for the large-deformation consolidation.To determine the unknown coefficient(which reflected the variation of initial void ratio,compressibility,permeability.) in the equation,a consolidation test was performed under seepage pressure firstly;and then,numerical method was adopted to solve the equation,so the variation of void ratio during the consolidation was determined.At last,in order to verify the result,both model test(which was designed to simulate the consolidation process of warping clay in the cracks of blanket) and test in-situ(in a reservoir with serious seepage) were carried out.