Experimental studies on vacuum preloading incorporated with electro-osmosis consolidation for dredger fill

The dewatering effect of dredger fill using the vacuum preloading incorporated with electro-osmosis in different ways is evaluated by implementing six laboratory tests. The test results show that the asynchronous consolidation effect of the vacuum preloading incorporated with electro-osmosis is better than that of the other tests. However, the vacuum preloading and electro-osmosis will not be able to give full play to the drainage effect if the alternate time is too short. Alternatively, the energy provided by the vacuum preloading and electro-osmosis will not be able to make full use if the alternate time is too long. There are some advantages when using the vacuum preloading and electro-osmosis asynchronous reinforcement. The alternate time of vacuum preloading and electro-osmosis has to be constantly adjusted according to the water discharge or drainage rate in engineering application.