Measurements and predictions of settlements induced by preloading and vertical drains on a heterogeneous soil deposit

The paper describes a comparison between in situ measurements and theoretical predictions of the ground settlements induced by preloading and vertical drains on a heterogeneous soil deposit. Settlement measurements, normalized with respect to the final value of the consolidation settlements computed using the hyperbolic approach, were compared with an average degree of consolidation predicted by a rigorous theoretical solution accounting for radial and vertical consolidation induced by a time-dependent loading history and including the smear effect. The comparison allowed estimating proper values of the diameter describing the smeared zone and revealed the remarkable influence of the lithological and mechanical heterogeneity of the soil deposit.