Axisymmetric Biot's consolidation of multi-layered soils with anisotropic permeability

The axisymmetric Biot's consolidation of multi-layered saturated soils with anisotropic permeability is studied. Based on the governing equations of axisymmetric Biot's consolidation, the transfer matrix for 6 basic variables between the ground surface and an arbitrary depth of z is obtained by taking Laplace transform with respect to t and z and Hankel transform with respect to r. Considering the continuity conditions between layers and boundary conditions, the solutions for the axisymmetric Biot's consolidation of multi-layered soils with anisotropic permeability in the Laplace-Hankel transformed domain are obtained, and the actual solutions in the physical domain can be acquired by inverting the Laplace-Hankel transforms. Numerical analysis is carried out by using the corresponding program based on the present theory. The results show that the anisotropic permeability of soils has a remarkable effect on the surface displacement in the process of consolidation.