Experimental Study on Complete Consolidation Behavior of Hong Kong Marine Deposits

The time-dependent feature of soft soils has gained intensive attraction in recent years. Due to the high water content and viscous property, the Hong Kong marine deposit (HKMD) frequently poses a challenge to geotechnical practice, particularly to the reclamation in Hong Kong. A key issue related to reclamation design, foundation construction and maintenance is excess settlement/deformation of the ground. Formation of HKMD typically goes through sedimentation and self-weight consolidation. A series of one-dimensional settling column consolidation tests, together with conventional oedometer tests were conducted on the HKMD. By normalizing parameter in settling stage, a unique global relationship of effective stress, σ_z′ and strain, ?_z could be established. Results reveal that the settling curve and settling rate are significantly affected by the sediment concentration in self-weight consolidation. After the primary self-weight consolidation, the settling rate is reduced in the “secondary self-weight consolidation.”