Semianalytical Analysis of Creep and Thermal Consolidation Behaviors in Layered Saturated Clays

Abstract

The creep and consolidation behavior of clays subjected to mechanical or thermal loads is of fundamental interest in the applications of energy piles, geothermal extraction, and geological waste disposal. This paper presents a semianalytical method to analyze the creep and thermal consolidation behaviors of layered saturated clays due to surface loads. With the aid of typical viscoelastic models (e.g., Kelvin, Maxwell, or Merchant), the correspondence principle, and the Laplace-Hankel transform, viscoelastic solutions for the long-term behavior of clays are derived analytically. Typical examples are shown to verify the method and compare the results of the presented solutions in describing creep behaviors. It is evident that the method is able to predict the given examples accurately. Compared with the elastic, Kelvin, and Maxwell models, the Merchant model simulates the creep and thermal consolidation behaviors of clays appropriately.