Nonlinear consolidation model incorporating pore water effects on microstructural evolution of marine soft soil

The traditional Terzaghi consolidation theory cannot accurately describe the structural evolution and settlement mechanism of marine soft soil. Therefore, this paper utilizes a self-developed optical testing system for soil microstructure and image recognition technology to analyze changes in microstructural parameters during the compression of marine soft soil, revealing the mechanism of settlement in marine soft soil. Based on the Terzaghi and Gibson consolidation theories, we proposed a modified consolidation equation suitable for describing the settlement characteristics of marine soft soil, and validated using experimental results. For the modified consolidation equations, the Crank–Nicolson difference scheme was used to achieve numerical solutions. The applicability and accuracy of the modified consolidation equations were then validated by calculating consolidation degrees and settlement values for a practical case study.