A closed-form solution for axisymmetric electro-osmotic consolidation considering smear effects

This study presents a fully explicit closed-form solution for axisymmetric electro-osmotic consolidation considering smear effects. Different soil properties within and outside the smear zone are fully considered. The analytical solution is obtained through the method of separation of variables based on the orthogonal relationship of the eigenfunction. Subsequently, the solution is verified by comparing the proposed degraded solution with the existing analytical solution and finite element simulation. Both sets of verifications demonstrate the great agreement of the proposed analytical solution with the established solution. Moreover, a parametric study is performed to illustrate the smear effects on electro-osmotic consolidation. The radial distribution of excess pore water pressure shows a bilinear pattern due to the smear effects. The smaller the electro-osmosis conductivity in the smear zone, the larger the excess pore pressure. Meanwhile, the larger the water permeability coefficient in the smear zone, the larger the excess pore pressure. If the smear effects of the water permeability coefficient within the smear zone are ignored, the calculated pore water pressure is overestimated. Besides, the coefficient of volume compressibility within the smear zone has fewer influences on the excess pore pressure. It is acceptable to ignore the smear effects of compressibility in the analytical model for axisymmetric electro-osmotic consolidation.