Soft soil consolidation using Prefabricated Vertical Drains: Case study of “Radès la Goulette” bridge project

Soft soil consolidation using Prefabricated Vertical Drains: Case study of “Radès la Goulette” bridge project | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Soft soil consolidation using Prefabricated Vertical Drains: Case study of “Radès la Goulette” bridge project wissem Frikha, Zeineb Ben Salem, BenKhalifa Marwa This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5782587/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 11 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Transportation Infrastructure Geotechnology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examined the consolidation settlement of Tunisian soft soil at the Radès la Goulette bridge project using prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) installed to a depth of 10 meters, combined with incremental preloading. Extensive field instrumentation monitored settlement throughout construction. Laboratory model tests replicated field conditions, using two setups: a single vertical drain model and a multiple vertical drains model with three drains in a triangular arrangement. Barron’s radial consolidation theory and Asaoka’s observational method were adopted for consolidation settlement predictions and the estimation of the radial coefficient of consolidation. The multiple vertical drains model showed faster consolidation compared to the single vertical drain model, with reduced time to achieve 50% settlement. Field data closely matched laboratory results, with discrepancies attributed to soil heterogeneity and smear zone effects. The study found that optimized drain spacing and accurate selection of consolidation coefficients significantly improved prediction reliability. Results demonstrated the effectiveness of combining prefabricated vertical drains with preloading to accelerate settlement, reduce post-construction deformation, and enhance ground stability, offering valuable insights for future soft soil improvement projects. Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15 Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Tables 1 to 4 are available in the Supplementary Files section Supplementary Files listoftable07042025.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 11 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Transportation Infrastructure Geotechnology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5782587","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":447476590,"identity":"96d2deab-57bc-4b98-a7d1-678da7fce7d9","order_by":0,"name":"wissem 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09:55:57","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":454591,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eConsolidometer apparatus\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5782587/v1/a79f4e61ba64e9a53a1cefe1.png"},{"id":82051656,"identity":"547940a2-7927-4af4-9305-387c9f5d56a1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-06 10:03:57","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":20971,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eGradation curve of tested Tunis soft soil used for the reduced model\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"8.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5782587/v1/45e1fb038fc636f051a24110.png"},{"id":82044896,"identity":"d404071c-6dbb-4f4e-bf65-db2324e52d59","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-06 09:31:57","extension":"png","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 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14","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":19384,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003es\u003csub\u003ej\u003c/sub\u003e versus s\u003csub\u003ej-1\u003c/sub\u003e plot for settlement of field measurement according to Asaoka method\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"14.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5782587/v1/43864f3e6698310de239ccf3.png"},{"id":82044887,"identity":"68b3c6c6-fb08-45fc-a465-e3c1ee3e14ba","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-06 09:31:57","extension":"png","order_by":15,"title":"Figure 15","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":25670,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eComparison between Asaoka’s prediction method and field 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project","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research 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Extensive field instrumentation monitored settlement throughout construction. Laboratory model tests replicated field conditions, using two setups: a single vertical drain model and a multiple vertical drains model with three drains in a triangular arrangement. Barron\u0026rsquo;s radial consolidation theory and Asaoka\u0026rsquo;s observational method were adopted for consolidation settlement predictions and the estimation of the radial coefficient of consolidation. The multiple vertical drains model showed faster consolidation compared to the single vertical drain model, with reduced time to achieve 50% settlement. Field data closely matched laboratory results, with discrepancies attributed to soil heterogeneity and smear zone effects. The study found that optimized drain spacing and accurate selection of consolidation coefficients significantly improved prediction reliability. Results demonstrated the effectiveness of combining prefabricated vertical drains with preloading to accelerate settlement, reduce post-construction deformation, and enhance ground stability, offering valuable insights for future soft soil improvement projects.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Soft soil consolidation using Prefabricated Vertical Drains: Case study of “Radès la Goulette” bridge project","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-05-06 09:31:52","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5782587/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"426297a5-5836-471b-9f12-6e0ed87df01a","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 6th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-07-14T15:58:28+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-5782587","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40515-025-00619-3","journal":{"identity":"transportation-infrastructure-geotechnology","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Transportation Infrastructure Geotechnology"},"publishedOn":"2025-07-11 15:56:53","publishedOnDateReadable":"July 11th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-05-06 09:31:52","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s40515-025-00619-3","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40515-025-00619-3","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5782587","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5782587","identity":"rs-5782587","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}