Consistent Class A & C predictions of the Ballina test embankment

A holistic methodology for incorporating advanced constitutive models in engineering design is used for the settlement prediction of the Ballina test embankment. The advanced model used considers anisotropy, structural degradation and rate dependency. The model is complemented with a systematic procedure for the consistent parameter derivation from the laboratory data. The selection and calibration of model parameters is simplified when an advanced constitutive model is used. The discrepancies between the field measurements and the Class A predictions are shown to mainly comprise of poor estimations of the apparent pre-consolidation pressures and the uncertainty in the hydraulic properties.