Vacuum Preloading Incorporated with Electroosmosis Strengthening of Soft Clay-an Optimized Approach

Electric vertical drains (electrokinetic geosynthetics with filtration, drainage, reinforcement, and electrical conductivity function) have been used as electrodes and vertical drains in the treatment of soft clay by vacuum preloading combined with electroosmosis. A series of laboratory model tests was performed to investigate the possibility of optimizing the electroosmosis approach in terms of effectiveness and energy efficiency. The results show that the vacuum preloading and electroosmotic approaches have counteracting effects in the vicinity of the electric vertical drain anode when they are used simultaneously. By alternating the vacuum preloading and electroosmosis approaches, the dewatering process becomes more effective and energy-efficient.