Consolidation of Unsaturated Drainage Well Foundation with Smear Effect under Time-Dependent Loading

In real practice, the construction of drainage wells is always accompanied by smear effect, whereas it is scarcely discussed in the field of unsaturated soils. In this case, on the basis of the widely-accepted consolidation theory for unsaturated stratum by Fredlund, this paper studies the equal strain consolidation characteristics of unsaturated foundation with drain wells affected by smear effect under time-varying loading (exponential loading as a case). Firstly, with the consideration of corresponding boundary conditions, the governing equations under the equal strain hypothesis are obtained. Afterwards, decoupling process, constant variation method and Fourier series expansion theory are utilized to get the analytical solutions, which are then verified to be credible by means of the finite difference method. Finally, the consolidation patterns of the drainage well foundation modeling in unsaturated soils are studied against hydraulic coefficients, modeling sizes and loading parameter. It reveals that the smear effect can significantly restrain the consolidation process of the foundation by drain wells, while different parameters will lead to various results.