Powerful Software to Simulate Soil Consolidation Problems with Prefabricated Vertical Drains

• Main Authors: Gonzalo García-Ros, Iván Alhama, Manuel Cánovas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-02-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: consolidation software; vertical drains; heterogeneous soils; smear; drain resistance
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/3/242

The present work describes the program Simulation of Consolidation with Vertical Drains (SICOMED_2018), a tool for the solution of consolidation processes in heterogeneous soils, with totally or partially penetrating prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) and considering both the effects of the smear zone, generated when introducing the drain into the ground, and the limitation in the discharge capacity of the drain. In order to provide a completely free program, the code Next-Generation Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (Ngspice) has been used as a numerical tool while the Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) code was used to program and create an interface with the user through interactive screens. In this way, SICOMED_2018 is presented as an easy-to-use and intuitive program, with a simple graphical interface that allows the user to enter all the soil properties and geometry of the problem without having to resort to a complex software package that requires programming. Illustrative applications describe both the versatility of the program and the reliability of its numerical solutions.