Settlements and Consolidation Rates under Embankments in a Soft Soil with Vertical Drains

In this paper, a study was carried out in order to estimate settlements and consolidation rates under embankments constructed on Moroccan soft soils.  Settlement measurements in several embankments in High Speed Railway project between two Moroccan cities, Tangier and Assilah,  were analyzed. The objective of this study is to estimate settlement values and settlement rates, with sufficient precision, in soft soils under embankment loadings. It was found  that the elastic method using  the pressuremeter modulus results in more accurate settlement values than the oedometric method. Furthermore, settlement rates could be determined with fair accuracy by using a correlation between the vertical coefficient of consolidation and the liquid limit, and also by considering an isotropic behavior of soil.