Consolidation Theory for a Stone Column Composite Foundation under Multistage Loading

The consolidation theories considering instant load cannot fully reveal the consolidation mechanism of a stone column composite foundation used in the expressway embankments due to the time effect of loading; that is, the expressway embankments are often constructed in several stages for a long time. Meanwhile, owing to the special property that the pile-soil stress ratio is larger than 1, the consolidation theory for sand drain well foundation cannot be used directly in the consolidation analysis of stone column composite foundation. Based on the principle that the vertical load applied on the composite foundation is shared by the stone column and the surrounding soil, the governing solutions for the stone column composite foundation under a multistage load are established. By virtue of the separation of variables, the corresponding solutions of degree of consolidation for loading stage and maintaining load stage are derived separately. According to the Carrillo theorem, the solution for the average total degree of consolidation of entire composite foundation is also obtained. Finally, the reasonableness of the present solution has been verified by comparing the consolidation curve calculated by the present solution with that measured by site test.