The iterative layerwise summation method of embankment-toe for settlement calculation of soft ground

Owing to the shortcoming of traditional layerwise summation method, for dealing with the large deformation problem in deep soft ground, a new method called iterative layerwise summation method (ILSM) of embankment-toe is proposed to calculate the final settlement of soft ground and the traditional layerwise summation method is improved. In order to reduce calculation error of settlement, by means of the proposed method, the calculation height in the center of the embankment is modified by iterating the settlement in embankment-toe. Combined with the soft ground treatment engineering in Lingni seawall project in Wenzhou shoal, the calculation results are compared with on-site settlement monitoring data and ILSM of embankment-toe is proved to be accurate and feasible. The optimum iteration times are determined for different primary consolidation settlement calculation methods. The research results show that the proposed method can solve the problem for selection of settlement correction factor; the consolidation settlement for each iteration calculation can be obtained by compression data. This method is potential to be used for calculating settlement of soft ground by its simple principle, reliable parameters, convenient calculation and accurate results; the intermediate calculation results could provide data for calculation of step loading thickness, filling rate and engineering quantity.