Consolidation Properties and In-Situ Stress of the Marine Clay in Southern Korea

A very soft ground constructed by dredging and hydraulic fill has characteristics such as high water content, high initial void ratio, and very little effective stress. Estimating, with thorough considerations about consolidation properties and the initial stress associated with each layer's distinctive stress history, is essential in order to predict a reasonable consolidation settlement of soft ground. By investigating a construction project for national industrial complexes at a coastal area in southern Korea that experienced reclamation and ground improvement adapting PVD, various laboratory tests to find consolidation properties were performed with undisturbed samples collected from the entire depth of the marine clay fill layer and original clay layer. Through the investigation, this report suggests relationships of heterogeneity of permeability in both vertical and horizontal directions, void ratio-effective stress, and void ratio-permeability. Considering the fact that the original clay layer was under the process of consolidation by load due to hydraulic fill from the top, estimating the appropriate initial stress of each layer is critical to predict the future process of consolidation settlement determined by time. In order to obtain the initial stresses of two layers with different stress histories related to consolidation, cone penetration and dissipation tests were conducted.