Secondary consolidation properties of dredger fill with over liquid limit at primary consolidation stage

One-dimensional consolidation experiments are performed to study the secondary consolidation properties of remolded dredger soft soils from Wenzhou. The results show that the secondary consolidation occurs at the primary stage, and is influenced by both effective stress and pore pressure potential. When the moisture content is rather low, the former is the dominatant element, However, when the moisture content is much higher than the liquid limit, the latter is the dominatant element. The development of the secondary consolidation promoted by high pore pressure is further verified through the consolidation tests with different back pressure levels. Therefore, the secondary consolidation has different influences on the evolution of pore pressure and deformation. It causes the distinction between the consolidation degrees of pore pressure and deformation, as well as the compressive modulus changing with the effective stress.