Deformation effects of porosity variation on soil consolidation caused by groundwater table decline

Soil consolidation has been widely analyzed using the poroelastic theory. As soil consolidation proceeds, porosity variation leads to the changes in hydraulic conductivity, Young’s modulus, and body force. However, the combined deformation effect of porosity variation on soil consolidation is rarely examined. In this study, a poroelastic consolidation model used to simultaneously consider the changes in hydraulic conductivity, Young’s modulus, and body force was developed to investigate the combined deformation effect of porosity variation on soil consolidation caused by groundwater table decline. The results indicate that the deformation effect of porosity variation on soil consolidation is negligible when the body force number is <0.01. For body force numbers >0.01, soil displacement could be overestimated or underestimated if the combined deformation effect of porosity variation is not completely considered. The misestimation of soil displacement increases as the body force number increases. In addition, the combined deformation effect of porosity variation also affects the transmission of pore water pressure. Therefore, it could be concluded that a reliable analysis of soil consolidation must simultaneously account for the variations in hydraulic conductivity, Young’s modulus, and body force.