An analytical solution of electroosmotic consolidation concerning effective voltage attenuation

The effective voltage of soil refers to the actual voltage which is acting on the soil. When electroosmosis is adopted to strengthen the soft foundation, the soil effective voltage is less than the applied power supply voltage. The effective voltage of the soil gradually decreases with the progress of electroosmosis and tends to reach a stable value. In this regard, based on the analysis of the experimental results that the soil effective voltage first undergoes a linear decrease over time and then remains unchanged, the classical electroosmotic consolidation theory proposed by Esrig is modified in this paper in order to obtain a new analytical solution of excess pore water pressure. Then, the analytical solution is verified by a specific experimental case and compared with Esrig's theory. The results indicate that the theoretical value of excess pore water pressure, which was obtained from the modified electroosmotic consolidation equation, is closer to the measured value and caters better to the actual situation in comparison with Esrig's theory. This provides evidence for the rationality of the analytical solution and further improves the existing electroosmotic consolidation theory.

Automated summary

In this study, an improved analytical solution for excess pore water pressure is proposed based on the analysis and verification of experimental results. The modified electroosmotic consolidation theory provides a closer approximation to the measured values and better matches the actual situation compared to Esrig's theory.