MODELING UNANTICIPATED PORE-WATER PRESSURES IN SOFT CLAYS

Field observations in thin soft clay layers may show pore-water pressu res that increase for some time after the loading is applied. Reasons for these observations are not well understood. The paper shows how an elastic viscoplastic constitutive model incorporated into the consoli dation equation can predict these pore-water pressure increases in soi ls that exhibit significant creep behaviour (or secondary compression) . The phenomenon has been related to relaxation in regions of the prof ile from which drainage has not yet begun.