Centrifugal model tests on vertical strip drains in soft soil foundation

Centrifugal model tests are carried out to simulate the construction and operation of the dike on a soft soil foundation for the purpose of taxiway construction on the seashore. The vertical strip drains are adopted for the soft foundation treatment and they are simulated by a kind of model cylinder vertical drains in centrifuge models based on the principles of the same consolidation degree in the foundation in average for both types of drains. During the model tests, the construction processes are also simulated by loading dike materials layer by layer. Laser displacement sensors are installed for settlement measurement. Based on the test data, the final settlement of the dike is estimated by using the empirical hyperbolic method. The consolidation degree of the foundation over time is also calculated by getting the average consolidation degrees of the sludge and the sand under the dike. By comparing the simulated consolidation degree of the soft foundation after 5 years operation based on the test results of settlement with that of the theoretical calculation, it is shown that the proposed simulation method for vertical strip drains is feasible and acceptable.