Analytical solution for the 1D consolidation of unsaturated multi-layered soil

The 1D consolidation of unsaturated multi-layered soil is studied based on the theory proposed by Fredlund and Hasan, and an analytical solution for a typical boundary condition is obtained by assuming all material parameters remain constant during consolidation. In the derivation of the analytical solution, the eigenfunction and eigenvalue for the multi-layered problem are first derived through the transfer matrix method. Then, by using the method of undetermined coefficients and the orthogonal relation of the eigenfunction, the analytical solution is obtained. The present method is applicable to various types of boundary conditions. Finally, numerical examples are provided to investigate the consolidation behavior of unsaturated multi-layered soil.