Settlement Prediction Method Using Observed Settlement Velocity

This paper presents a new method for prediction of consolidation settlements of soft grounds. The method is based on the theoretical result which shows that the settlement velocity of soft grounds non-improved or improved with sand drains decreases exponentially with time. Final settlements can be easily derived from the regression analysis for the relationship between the elapsed time and the observed settlement velocity. The method has advantages of its simplicity and capability to give the satisfactorily good estimate of the consolidation settlements, and also the support of the theoretical background.