An Alternative Solution for the Effect of Embankment Submersion on Settlement Prediction in Soft Clays

Soil settlement depends directly on effective stress increase. If the increase in total stress is known, the long term effective stress can be easily estimated. On the other hand, sedimentary clay deposits are usually completely saturated and as settlement occurs the embankment progressively submerges, affecting the actual variation of the effective stress. Such effect is known as submersion effect. The present paper suggests a simple method to consider the submersion effect in primary settlement estimation and also in its development with time. The method is mathematically reliable and aimed at reproducing the actual phenomenon.