Solution for one-dimensional consolidation with threshold gradient subjected to non-uniformly distributed initial pore water pressure

An analytical solution is obtained for the one-dimensional consolidation problem considering the threshold gradient. The proposed solution is compared with previous solutions. The results show that the proposed approach is reasonable. Based on the solution, the consolidation behaviors of the ground are discussed. The results show that when the initial pore pressure gradient is less than the threshold gradient, the flow will not occur throughout the whole layer instantaneously but rather gradually from top to bottom. The greater the threshold gradient is, the slower the boundary of seepage moves. The excess pore pressure will not be completely dissipated at the end of consolidation. The greater the threshold gradient is, the larger the residual excess pore pressure is. It is shown that, unlike without the threshold gradient, the average degree of consolidation defined by settlement considering the threshold gradient is different from that defined by pore pressure. The greater the threshold gradient, the larger the average degree of consolidation defined by settlement and the smaller that defined by pore pressure.