Appl. Math. Mech. -Engl. Ed.

, 2008, 29(12):16171624
DOI 10.1007/s10483-008-1209-9
c
Shanghai
University and Springer-Verlag 2008

Applied Mathematics
and Mechanics
(English Edition)

A new analytical solution to axisymmetric Biots consolidation

of a finite soil layer

AI Zhi-yong (

),

WANG Quan-sheng (

)

(Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground

Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China)
(Communicated by GUO Xing-ming)

Abstract
A new analytical method is presented to study the axisymmetric Biots
consolidation of a nite soil layer. Starting from the governing equations of axisymmetric
Biots consolidation, and based on the property of Laplace transform, the relation of
basic variables for a point of a nite soil layer is established between the ground surface
(z= 0) and the depth z in the Laplace and Hankel transform domains. Combined with
the boundary conditions of the nite soil layer, the analytical solution of any point in
the transform domain can be obtained. The actual solution in the physical domain can
be obtained by inverse Laplace and Hankel transforms. A numerical analysis for the
axisymmetric consolidation of a nite soil layer is carried out.
Key words
axisymmetric Biots consolidation, nite soil layer, Laplace transform,
Hankel transform
Chinese Library Classification TU43, O343
2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 74F10

Introduction
Biot[1] rst developed a theory of three-dimensional consolidation which can consider the
coupling between the solid and the uid in saturated soil. Many research on how to solve the
Biots consolidation equations have been made afterwards. One of the most successful analytical
technique for solving Biots consolidation is the displacement function methods proposed by
McNamee and Gibson[23] , as well as Schiman and Fungaroli[4] . Numerical techniques such as
the nite element method[5] , the boundary element method[6] , and the nite layer method[79]
have been used to solve more complicated consolidation problems. In this study, a new analytical
method is proposed to solve axisymmetric Biots consolidation of a nite soil layer, which
can avoid introducing the displacement functions[24] , and obtain the analytical solution in
transform domain directly by using the technique of Hankel transform and Laplace transform.
Received Jun. 15, 2008 / Revised Oct. 27, 2008
Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50578121)
Corresponding author AI Zhi-yong, E-mail: zhiyongai@tongji.edu.cn

1618

AI Zhi-yong and WANG Quan-sheng

Governing equations
The governing equations of axisymmetric Biots consolidation are[1]
1
1
1 e

= 0,
ur +
2
r
1 2 r G r
1
1 e
2 uz +

= 0,
1 2 z
G z
e
k 2
=
,
t
w
2 ur

(1a)
(1b)
(1c)

where ur and uz are displacements in the r and z coordinate directions, respectively; e =

ur
ur
uz
2
1
2
2
r + r + z is the dilatation; = r 2 + r r + z 2 is Laplacian operator in the cylindrical
coordinate system; G and are the shear modulus and Poissons ratio of the soil, respectively;
k is the coecient of the permeability; w is the unit weight of water; and is the excess pore
water pressure (positive under compression). According to Darcys law, the ux Q in the z
direction is dened as Q = kw
z .
The constitutive equations of axisymmetric Biots consolidation are
r + = e + 2Gr ,
+ = e + 2G ,

(2a)
(2b)

z + = e + 2Gz ,
E
rz ,
rz = Grz =
2(1 + )

(2c)
(2d)

where r , and z are the normal total stresses acting on the plane normal to the r, and
z coordinate directions, respectively; and tensile stress is taken as positive; rz is the shear
uz
r
stress; r = u
r and z = z denote the normal strain components in the r and z coordinate
uz
r
directions, respectively; rz = u
z + r denotes the shear strain component; E is Youngs
modulus.

The analytical solution of a finite homogeneous saturated soil layer

The Laplace transform and its inversion[10] are dened as
f(r, z, s) =


0

f (r, z, t)est dt, f (r, z, t) =

1
2i

+i

f(r, z, s)est ds,

in which, s denotes the Laplace transform parameter corresponding to the variable t.

The mth order Hankel transform and its inversion[11] are dened as




f (, z, s) =
f (, z, s)Jm (r)d,
f (r, z, s)Jm (r)rdr, f (r, z, s) =
0

(3)

(4)

where Jm (r) is the mth order Bessel function.

Applying the Laplace transform with respect to variable t to Eq. (1a) yields
2 u
r

1 
1
1 
e

= 0,
u
r +
2
r
1 2 r G r

(5)

where u
r is the corresponding variable of ur in the Laplace transform domain with respect to
t, etc.

A new analytical solution to axisymmetric Biots consolidation of a nite soil layer

1619

Taking the rst order Hankel transform of Eq. (5), we have

duz
1
d2 ur
2(1 ) 2
1
ur

+ = 0,

dz 2
(1 2)
(1 2) dz
G
r in the Hankel transform domain, etc.
where ur is the corresponding variable of u
The Laplace transform and its inversion[10] of z domain are dened as
 +i

1
pz

f (, z, s)e dz, f (, z, s) =
f(, p, s)epz dp,
f (, p, s) =
2i i
0
in which, p denotes the Laplace transform parameter corresponding to the variable z.
Taking the Laplace transform of Eq. (6) with respect to variable z yields


2(1 ) 2
1
1
1
2
p
u
p
uz + 
= pur (0) + ur (0)
uz (0),
r
(1 2)
(1 2)
G
(1 2)

(6)

(7)

(8)

where u
r is the corresponding variable of ur in the Laplace transform domain of z, etc. ur (0)
denotes dierentiating with respect to z and has its value at z = 0. ur (0) and uz (0) are the
values of ur and uz at z = 0, respectively.
Application of the Laplace transform with respect to t of Eq. (2d) yields



ur

uz
+

rz = G
.
(9)
z
r
Taking the rst order Hankel transform with respect to r of Eq. (9) yields


dur
uz .
rz = G
z
Let z = 0, we have
ur (0) = uz (0) +

1
rz (0).
G

Substituting Eq. (11) into Eq. (8) yields



M 2
M G
1
M 2G
1
u
p
uz + 
= pur (0)
uz (0) rz (0),
r
p2
G
G
G
G
G
E(1)
.
where M = (1+)(12)
Based on Eq. (1b), the following equation can be obtained similarly:


M 2
M G
1
M
1
p 2 u
p
ur p
= ur (0) +
puz (0) + z (0).
z +
G
G
G
G
G

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

Taking the Laplace transform with respect to t of Eq. (1c), and assuming that the initial
dilatation e is zero everywhere, we have

 2



ur

u
r

uz
2
k
+
+
s
+

.
(14)
=
r
r
z
w r2
z 2
Taking the zero order Hankel transform with respect to r of Eq. (14) yields
d2
sw
sw duz
ur
= 0.
2
2
dz
k
k dz

(15)

1620

AI Zhi-yong and WANG Quan-sheng

Taking the Laplace transform with respect to z of Eq. (15) yields

2
sw
sw
sw
p
uz

ur = p(0) +  (0)

p 2
uz (0).
k
k
k

(16)

Taking the Laplace transform with respect to t and the zero order Hankel transform with
respect to r of the ux Q yields
k
.
(17)
Q=
w z
Let z = 0, we have

 (0) =

w
Q (0) .
k

(18)

Substituting Eq. (18) into Eq. (16) yields

2

sw
sw
sw
w
p 2
p
uz

ur = p(0)

uz (0) +
Q (0) .
k
k
k
k

(19)

Eqs. (12), (13) and (19) are three simultaneous equations in three variables of u
r ,
uz and
.
Solving these equations and applying the inversion of the Laplace transform with respect to p
leads to
ur (z) = 11 ur (0) + 12 uz (0) + 13 (0) + 14 rz (0) + 15 z (0) + 16 Q(0),

(20)

uz (z) = 21 ur (0) + 22 uz (0) + 23 (0) + 24 rz (0) + 25 z (0) + 26 Q(0),

(21)

(z) = 31 ur (0) + 32 uz (0) + 33 (0) + 34 rz (0) + 35 z (0) + 36 Q(0).

(22)

From the Eqs. (2c), (10) and (17), and combined the Eqs. (20), (21) and (22), the following
equations can be obtained:
rz (z) = 41 ur (0) + 42 uz (0) + 43 (0) + 44 rz (0) + 45 z (0) + 46 Q(0),

(23)

z (z) = 51 ur (0) + 52 uz (0) + 53 (0) + 54 rz (0) + 55 z (0) + 56 Q(0),

(24)

Q(z) = 61 ur (0) + 62 uz (0) + 63 (0) + 64 rz (0) + 65 z (0) + 66 Q(0),

(25)

in which, kj (k = 1, 2, 6, j = 1, 2, 6) are functions of and s.

Equations (20)(25) can be expressed in form of matrix as follows:
B(, z, s) = (, z, s)B(, 0, s),

(26)

in which, B(, z, s) = [ur , uz , , rz , z , Q]T

z=z , (, z, s) is the transfer matrix of 6th order,
which establishes the relationship between the ground surface (z = 0) and an arbitrary depth
z in Laplace and Hankel transform domain. The elements of kj are listed in Appendix.
Based on Eq. (26) and combined with boundary conditions,
we can obtain the solutions for displacements, stresses, excess
a
a
pore water pressure and ux of any point in the transform domain.
q
r
As shown in Fig. 1, we consider a nite homogeneous satuh
rated soil layer subjected to a uniform circular loading q, which
occupies the area 0 r a and may be supposed to have
been
applied at time t = 0+ , and then held constant. A more
z
complex loading case can be analyzed in the same way.
Taking the Laplace transform of the load with respect to t
Fig. 1 A nite homogeleads to
neous
saturated

q
soil layer
(27)
q(r, 0, t)est dt = .
q(r, 0, s) =
s
0

A new analytical solution to axisymmetric Biots consolidation of a nite soil layer

Taking the zero order Hankel transform of the above equation yields

qaJ1 (a)
q
J0 (r)rdr =
.
q(, 0, s) =
s
s
0

1621

(28)

Supposing the surface of the soil is permeable, then

z (, 0, s) = q(, 0, s),

rz (, 0, s) = 0,

(, 0, s) = 0.

(29)

If the base of a nite homogeneous saturated soil layer is xed, there are two possible
drainage conditions as follows:
When the base is permeable, then
ur (, h, s) = 0,

uz (, h, s) = 0,

(, h, s) = 0.

(30)

uz (, h, s) = 0,

Q(, h, s) = 0.

(31)

When the base is impermeable, then

ur (, h, s) = 0,

All components of B(, 0, s) and B(, h, s) can be derived from Eq. (26) combined with the
boundary conditions. So the solution for any point in the transform domain in the layer can
be expressed as
B(, z, s) = (, z h, s) B(, h, s).
(32)
Equation (32) is the solution of axisymmetric consolidation of a nite homogeneous saturated
soil layer in the transform domain.

Numerical results

In order to obtain the actual solutions in the physical domain, we take the inversion of
Laplace transform and Hankel transform to the variables with respect to s and in the transfom domain, respectively. In this study, the inverse of Laplace transform is obtained by the
numerical scheme proposed by Talbot[10] , because the feasibility and eciency of this scheme
for the consolidation problems had been successfully demonstrated by Booker and Small[79] .
The inverse of Hankel transform is obtained by the technique which can be found in the paper published by Ai et al.[12] . For the convenience of analysis, the dimensionless parameters
c = 2Gk/w and = ct/a2 are introduced, and all the results are obtained by considering the
surface of the nite homogeneous saturated soil layer is permeable and the base of the soil is
xed and impermeable.
To verify the reasonableness and accuracy of the proposed solutions from this study, the
numerical results for the axisymmetric consolidation of a nite homogeneous saturated soil
layer are presented to validate against the existing results suggested by Booker and Small[9] .
The parameters and results of calculation are shown in Fig. 2. The comparisons in Fig. 2 show
that the results obtained using the solution from this study are in good agreement with those
by Booker and Small[9] .
In this study, we consider the inuence of Poissons ratio on the vertical displacement and
excess pore water pressure due to axisymmetric consolidation. The parameters and results are
schematically in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the reduction of Poissons
ratio ( from 0.49 to 0.0) increases the vertical displacement uz of the soil, and decreases
the dissipation of excess pore water pressure.
The distribution of excess pore water pressures within a nite homogeneous saturated soil
layer along the centerline (r/a = 0) at dierent time factor due to axisymmetric consolidation
is considered in this study. The parameters and results are shown schematically in Fig. 4. It

1622

AI Zhi-yong and WANG Quan-sheng

is shown that the excess pore water pressure decreases with the increase of time and increases
with the increase of depth z.
Meantime, the inuence of thickness of the nite soil layer on excess pore water pressure
due to axisymmetric consolidation is considered in this study. The parameters and results are
shown schematically in Fig. 5. It is shown that the excess pore pressure decreases with the
increase of thickness h, and there exists a peak value when thickness h increases.
0

0.1

0.49

r/a = 0
z/a = 0
h/a = 1

0.3
0.4
0.5
0.001

Fig. 2

0.4

0.3

The authors
Booker and Small [9]
0.01

0.1

0.2

0.6

0.1

0.8

1.0
0

10

Inuence of Poissons ratio on surface

displacement of a nite soil layer

=0.01

0.4

Fig. 3

0.2
0.4
z/h

z/a

=0.055

0.3

0.1

0.2

0.3

/q

0.4

v=0.3
h/a=1
0.8
r/a=0

=0.2
0.2

=0.1

0.4
/q

0.2 0.1 0.0

0.6

0.8

Variation of excess pore water pressure with time of a nite soil layer

Fig. 5

0.6

0.7

v=0.3
r/a=0
=ct/a2=0.1

h/a=10
h/a=5

h/a=1

0.8
1.0
0

0.5

Inuence of Poissons ratio on excess

pore water pressure of a nite soil

0.6

0.6

0.4

0.2

Fig. 4

0.49

0.0

1.0
0

=0.1
r/a=0
h/a=1

0.2

0.4

z/a

Guz
aq

0.2

h/a=2
0.1

0.2

/q

0.3

0.4

0.5

Inuence of thickness h on excess pore

water pressure of a nite soil layer

Conclusions

In this paper, a new method is developed for solving axisymmetric Biots consolidation of a
nite soil layer. Starting from the governing equations of axisymmetric Biots consolidation, and
based on the property of Laplace transform, the relation of displacements, stresses, excess pore
water pressure, and ux for a point of a nite soil layer is established at between the ground
surface (z = 0) and the depth z in the Laplace and Hankel transform domain. Combined
with the boundary conditions of the nite soil layer, the analytical solutions for displacements,
stresses, excess pore water pressure and ux of any point in the transform domain can be
obtained. The actual solutions in the physical domain can be obtained by inverse Laplace
and Hankel transforms. The numerical analysis for the axisymmetric consolidation of a nite
homogeneous saturated soil layer is carried out. The results of calculation show that the method
proposed in this study is accurate and ecient to solve the consolidation problem. Meanwhile,
the inuence of Poissons ratio on the progress of settlement and the excess pore water

A new analytical solution to axisymmetric Biots consolidation of a nite soil layer

1623

pressure, the distribution of excess pore water pressures with time, and the inuence of soil
thickness on excess pore pressure are examined in this paper. This method presented in this
paper can be extended to the Biots consolidation of a multilayered soil by using the transfer
matrix concept[1213] . Additionally, the analytical technique presented in this paper can be
used to solve more complicated Biots consolidation problems, such as the Biots consolidation
with anisotropic permeability and the Biots consolidation with compressible constituents, in
those problems it is dicult to obtain the displacement functions, the relative research results
will be reported by the authors in the next future.

References
[1] Biot M A. General theory of three-dimensional consolidation[J]. Journal of Applied Physics, 1941,
12(2):155164.
[2] McNamee J, Gibson R E. Displacement functions and linear transforms applied to diusion
through porous elastic media[J]. Quarterly Journal of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics, 1960,
13(1): 98111.
[3] McNamee J, Gibson R E. Plane strain and axially symmetric problem of the consolidation of
a semi-innite clay stratum[J]. Quarterly Journal of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics, 1960,
13(2):210227.
[4] Schiman R L, Fungaroli A A. Consolidation due to tangential loads[C]. In: Proceedings of the
6th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol 1. Montreal,
Canada, 1965, 188192.
[5] Christian J T, Boehmer J W. Plane strain consolidation by nite elements[J]. Journal of the Soil
Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE, 1970, 96(4):14351457.
[6] Cheng A H D, Liggett J A. Boundary integral equation method for linear porous-elasticity with
applications to soil consolidation[J]. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering,
1984, 20(2):255278.
[7] Booker J R, Small J C. Finite layer analysis of consolidation I[J]. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 1982, 6(2):151171.
[8] Booker J R, Small J C. Finite layer analysis of consolidation II[J]. International Journal for
Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 1982, 6(2):173194.
[9] Booker J R, Small J C. A method of computing the consolidation behavior of layered soils using direct numerical inversion of Laplace transforms[J]. International Journal for Numerical and
Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 1987, 11(4):363380.
[10] Talbot A. The accurate numerical inversion of Laplace transforms[J]. Journal of Institute of Mathematics and Its Application, 1979, 23(1):97120.
[11] Sneddon I N. The use of integral transform[M]. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972.
[12] Ai Z Y, Yue Z Q, Tham L G, Yang M. Extended Sneddon and Muki solutions for multilayered
elastic materials[J]. International Journal of Engineering Science, 2002, 40(13):14531483.
[13] Ai Z Y, Cheng Z Y, Han J. State space solution to three-dimensional consolidation of multi-layered
soils[J]. International Journal of Engineering Science, 2008, 46(5):486498.
Appendix A
2G 2 C
(chz chqz) + (chz + zshz) = 44 ,
Ms
2

2G C
(shz shqz) + zchz = 54 ,
=
Ms
q
C
C26
C31
C35
C46
53
62
64
=
(chz chqz) =
=
=
=
=
=
=
,
Ms
M
2GM s
Ms
2GM
2G
2Gs
s

11 =
12
13

1624

AI Zhi-yong and WANG Quan-sheng

C

1
(shz shqz) +
(shz + zchz),
Ms
q
2G
1
42
C
51
(chz chqz) +
zshz =
=
= 2 2 = 24 ,
Ms
2G
4G2 2
4G
1

32
34
56
= (shz shqz) =
=
=
,
s
q
2Gs
s
2G
2GC
=
(qshqz shz) zchz = 45 ,
Ms
2
2G C
=
(chqz chz) + (chz zshz) = 55 ,
Ms
C
43
61
65
=
(qshqz shz) =
=
=
,
Ms
2G
2Gs
s
C
1
=
(qshqz shz) +
(shz zchz),
Ms
2G
= chqz = 66 ,

14 =
15
16
21
22
23
25
33

M 2 63
M
shqz = 2 2 ,
qC
q C
2G 2 C
(shz qshqz) + (shz + zchz)],
41 = 2G[
Ms
3
2G C
52 = 2G[
( shqz shz) + (shz zchz)],
Ms q
p
, q = 2 + s/C.
where C = 2Gk(1)
w (12)
36 =