No abstract

The pivotal aim of this research is to investigate the radial consolidation behavior of unsaturated soil by vertical drains under various cyclic loadings. Based on Fredlund and Hasan's consolidation theory for unsaturated soil, the governing equations for radial consolidation of unsaturated soil are converted into a set of conventional diffusion equations by introducing two new variables. Then, the general solutions for time-dependent loading are derived under free-strain condition and equal-strain condition. Furthermore, the complete analytical solutions are proposed for different cyclic loadings such as haversine cyclic loading, trapezoidal cyclic loading, rectangular cyclic loading, and triangular cyclic loading.The proposed solutions are verified by comparing with those available in the literature as a limiting situation and the results show a quite good agreement. Finally, the effects of different parameters on the radial consolidation of unsaturated soil subjected to various cyclic loadings are graphically presented and examined.