Plane strain consolidation of a multi-layered soil with anisotrpic permeability and compressible constituents

This paper study the plane strain consolidation of a multi-layered soil, and the anisotropy of permeability and the compressibility of pore fluid are considered. Starting from the governing equations of plane strain Biot’s consolidation, taking the Laplace transform and the Fourier transform with respect to t, z and x, the transfer matrix relationship of basic variables in the transform domain between z = 0 and an arbitrary depth is obtained. The solutions of plane strain consolidation for the multi-layered soil with anisotropic permeability and compressible constituents can be acquired by using the transfer matrix method, continuity conditions and boundary conditions of the multi-layered soil and the inversion of the Laplace-Fourier transform. Numerical analysis is carried out by using corresponding program to investigate the influences of the anisotropy of permeability, the compressibility of pore fluid and the layered characteristic of soil on the consolidation behavior of soil.