Geotextiles and Geomembranes 10 (1991) 235-248

The Flow Behaviour of Deformed Prefabricated Vertical

Drains

Faisal Haji Ali

Department of CivilEngineering, University of Malaya, 59100Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

(Received 9 January 1990;accepted 20 March 1990)

ABSTRACT

There are various factors which affect the longitudinal permeability of a

vertical drain and one of the most important is the soil deformation. As the
surrounding soil settles during consolidation each vertical drain deforms
since the drain is considerably less compressible than the surrounding soil.
This paper describes an investigation on the combined effect of lateral
pressure and the soil deformation on the longitudinal permeability of
prefabricated vertical drains. A few common types of prefabricated drains
were tested and variations in discharge capacities with soil settlement and
lateral pressure were determined. The results show that soil settlement gives
a significant effect on the discharge capacity.

1 INTRODUCTION

The objective of vertical drainage is to bring about a more rapid rate of

settlement and an increase in shear strength in highly compressible subsoil
with low permeability.
Since the seventies, prefabricated drains have largely replaced sand
drains. Most of the prefabricated drains are modelled after the original
Kjellman 'wick'; that is, they are band-shaped and have a rectangular cross
section of typically about 100 m m × 4 mm. The majority are composite
drains consisting of a plastic core with grooves, studs, or channels,
wrapped with a geotextile filter sleeve.
The performance of a band-shaped vertical drainage system is affected
235
Geotextiles and Geomembranes 0266-1144/91/$03.50(~) 1991 Elsevier Science Publishers
Ltd, England. Printed in Great Britain
236 Faisal Haft Ali

by the quality of the drains. One of the most important hydraulic

properties of the band-shaped drains is the longitudinal permeability or
the discharge capacity, qw, which is defined as
Q
qw = -7 (1)
l

where Q = discharge along the drain (m 3 s-l)

i = hydraulic gradient

The discharge capacity is a measure of the vertical drain's well

resistance. The vertical drain must provide low entry resistance to the flow
of water and discharge it with little well resistance.
When vertical drains are installed in the field and surcharge is placed,
excess pore water pressure is induced and this causes flow of water from
the surrounding soil into the drains (Figs la & b). The discharge into the
drains depends on the permeability of the subsoil and the rate of filling.
The flow of water into the drains is not uniform over the length of the
drains because the permeability of the soil varies with depth. If the drains
are open at one end where there is a top drainage layer, discharge along
the drains occurs upwards only. Discharge is minimal at the bottom and
increases gradually towards the top. However, if they are opened at both
ends discharge along the drains occurs in both the upwards and downwards
directions (Fig. lc): The discharge is then minimal at the point of water
division (point A in Fig. lc), from where the discharge increases gradually
as shown in the figure. The location of this point is determined by the
discharge capacity of the drain which is greater at the top than at the
bottom because of the influence of the horizontal ground pressure which
increases with depth. Therefore, the flow in the upwards direction is
greater than flow in the downwards direction. The discharge reaches a
maximum at the horizontal drainage layers (points B and C in Fig. lc).
In the case of a very compressible soil or the existence of a thin but very
compressible soil layer near the top of the subsoil (Fig. ld), the discharge
capacity of the drains may be reduced substantially due to drain
deformation because soil settlement is significant at this layer of soft soil.
Loss in discharge capacity of the drains at this location impedes the
upwards flow of water and the consolidation process may be retarded.
Flow in the downwards direction is impeded if the drains are susceptible to
lateral pressure. Discharge capacity of the drains is likely to decrease
further with time due to creep, clogging and deterioration of the drains.
The significant effect of drain deformation on the discharge capacity had
been observed in the field by some researchers. Kremer 1 and Veldhuijzen
Van Z a n t e n 2 reported case studies at Monickendam and Diemen. The
 (o) (b) (c) (d)
Net horizontal
soil pressure Vertical dischorge
on the drain along the drain

Discharge e~
li
F,, 7//////////////////~ Y/////////////////,
i
Permeable
layer "~'~ \ ~ i ~ \ \ \ \ Very soft layer
Soft
< ~ ' ~ ' ~ Drain
~! deformation
layers S Maximum lateral
pressure
Permeoble ": i:'.'::.'.'::::::::-'......:....:.. c
foyer : : ::.".'." :.'.'.'.'-'.'." : : :.'.'."
Depth Dq ~m
..v-v-- Ground water flow
O"h : Horizontal soil pressure

O~o : Effective in-sifu horizontal soil pressure

/IU : Excess pore pressure due to fill

Fig. 1. Influence of lateral pressure and drain deformation on the performance of prefabricated band-shaped vertical drain in the field.
238 Faisal Haft Ali

unsatisfactory performance of the vertical drainage system in these

projects was linked to the effect of drain deformation.
The subsoil at Monickendam consisted of alternating layers of soft
alluvial peat and clay deposits to a depth of 2.4 m, underlain by sandy clay.
Prefabricated band-shaped drains (with impregnated paper filter) were
installed in a triangular pattern at 2 m spacing and o p e n e d at the top ends
only. Observation well measurements showed that about 60 weeks after
the last fill layer there was still an excess pore pressure in the sandy clay
beneath the peat layer. A b o u t two years after installation of these drains, a
trench was cut which exposed some of the drains in the peat layer. As a
result of high relative compression in this layer (30--40%), the drains
displayed sharp buckles in several places. After the drains had been
excavated to the lowest buckle, it was found that the drains started to flow
again. Consolidation in the sandy clay layer underneath the peat layer
could not be accelerated because of the buckling of the drains. The
conclusion derived from Monnickendam was confirmed by test results
from another test site near Diemen. 2
Back calculations on the test results in Diemen (where there was a top
layer of peat about 4 m thick) indicated that relative compression
exceeding 15% increased the consolidation time as a result of drain
deformation.

2 DRAIN DEFORMATION

As a result of vertical and lateral deformations of the surrounding soil,

vertical drains are deformed. The extent and type of drain deformation
d e p e n d on the bending stiffness of the core relative to the surrounding soil.
Two types of drain deformation can be distinguished; folds (gentle bends)
and buckles (sharp kinks). The occurrence of folds or buckles is d e p e n d e n t
on:
(i) Stiffness of the Drain Core. Drains which have relatively stiff cores
will tend to buckle (kink abruptly) at a few weak points. More
flexible cores will deform by regular and less abrupt folds.
(ii) Soil Type. Drains in thin soft soil layers tend to have a few, but sharp,
buckles which can block flow completely. In thick and h o m o g e n e o u s
soil structure, more regular and gentle folds will occur which can
cause a decrease in flow without complete loss of discharge capacity.
Figure 2 shows the various possible configurations for a drain to
accommodate soil settlement. 3
 Flow behaviour of deformed prefabricated vertical drains 239

'IAH Original ~ d l : ItXH

i,iii I ? | .i~,[] imiform soil 1r ;'.J~" L ~ I

(O) Uniform blinding (b) Sinusoidol binding

w~_k

(c) Localbending (d) Local kinking (e) Mult~le klnkir~

Fig. 2. Various possible configurations for vertical accommodation to soil settlement

(after Ref. 3).

3 TEST A P P A R A T U S A N D P R O C E D U R E S

The influence of drain deformation may be studied in two ways in the

laboratory. The first approach is by introducing a standard fold or kink to
the drain specimen. Examples of this type of test are found in References 3
and 4.
The second approach is to produce drain deformation by consolidation
of a soil sample containing a vertical drain. Figures 3a and b show the test
apparatus. It consists of a large consolidation cell (0.5 m diameter x 1.2 m
high) in which a band-shaped vertical drain specimen is centrally placed.
The drain specimen was embedded in a soft clay layer, 0.5 m thick.
There were two sand layers placed on both ends of the clay layer acting as
draining layers. For the discharge capacity test the constant head supply is
provided by a perspex tank that can be varied in elevation by sliding it
along a vertical pole. This water supply is connected to the base plate so
that the imposed direction of flow is upward.
A series of vertical pressure increments were applied to the clay sample
240 Faisal Haji Ali

psition
ring
nsolidmion

o
o

I q

(I ) Water supply 500

(2 ) Woler discharge
(3) CIQy
(4) Sand
(5) Bond - shoped drain
(6) Permeob4e cloth
(7) Hydraulic cylinder

Ah
i =

Fig. 3(a). S c h e m a t i c d i a g r a m o f test a p p a r a t u s .

by means of a hydraulic pressure system starting with 15 kPa. The

load-time schedule is shown in Fig. 4.
Settlement readings and discharge capacities at various stages of
consolidation of the drain specimen were observed at regular intervals.
Each test took about 15 days to complete. At the end of the test, the
consolidated clay sample was carefully cut to reveal the condition of the
vertical drain specimen.
Five types of band-shaped drains, denoted K, L, M, N and P, were
tested. Table 1 gives a brief description of the drains.
 Flow behaviour of deformed prefabricated vertical drains 241

mp
;honnel iron
i0.8 x 101.6
Top plal

Kaolin

:~127 ~ / ~:!li~on~
,oo,,,ron /t" 254 bsp

:' liro~n6. ~ - - ~ ~

Section A-A Section B-B

( Units in mm )
Fig. 3(b). Assembly drawing of test apparatus.

4 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The credibility of the test results depends on the ability to reproduce the
results under similar test conditions. Figure 5 shows a typical repeatability
test. It presents the plot of discharge capacity against relative compression
for two tests involving drain type L. The results show good agreement.
Relative compression of the clay layer indicates the extent of drain
deformation.

Vertical settlement x 100

Relative compression = Initial thickness of soil sample
242 Faisal Haft Ali

t00 I 1 I I I I I

350

n° 3 0 0
3 0 0 kPa

3
250

o 200
200]
8 1~O
7-

; loo
,2ol
50
60 ]
45 I
I i ] 1 I I I
2 4 6 8 10 t2 14 16
Time (cloy)

Fig. 4. Load-time schedule for the tests.

TABLE 1
Description of Vertical Drain Cores

Drain Properties Description

Type Material Dimension

K Monolith Polyolefine 95 x 2 mm A strip consisting of 24 parallel

rows of channels with tiny
perforations on the wall.
L Composite Polyester 100 x 5 mm Core is 3-dimensional, open mat-
(core) structure.
Polyester Non-woven filter jacket.
(ill. jacket)
M Composite Polypropylene 100 x 3 mm Core consists of 38 parallel rows of
(core) rectangular castle-shaped groove.
Polypropylene Filter jacket is non-woven
(ill. jacket) continuous filaments
N Composite Polyethylene 100 x 4 mm Core consists of sharp studs.
(core)
Polyethylene/ N1 - core is wrapped with Terram
Polypropylene 1000
(ill. jacket) N 2 - core is wrapped with Typar
3407
Composite Polyethylene 110 x 5 m m Core consists of very flexible
(core) mat-structure
Polypropylene The filter jacket is very flexible
(ill. jacket) non-woven geotextile
 Flow behaviour of deformed prefabricated vertical drains 243

100 I I i 1 I i I
E
' 80-
U.I
0

x 60-

"~ 40

~ 0 I 1 I I I 1 I
0 5 t0 t5 20 25 30 35 40
Relative compression (%)

--t-- 1st. ...El... 2rid.

Fig. S. Typical repeatability of test results o n drain type L.

10o I I I I I I I 40o

!
uJ 8 0
o
3oo~
x 60

200
-q
eg
Q.
0
U ,1DO
o 20

" O I I I 4. t 'L ' L~ '--:~ 0

5 t0 15 20 25 :30 35 40
i5 Relative compression (%)

Drain K -+- Drain L --o- Drain M

-~- Drain Nt - x - Drain N2 = Drain P

Fig. 6. Test results.

Figure 6 shows the results of all the tests. It presents the variation of qw
of the drains against relative compression of the clay layer. In general, the
discharge capacities of all drain specimens decrease with increasing drain
deformation. At the end of the test (vertical pressure = 300 kPa, relative
compression = 35%), drain L gives the highest discharge capacity,
followed by drain M. The discharge capacities of specimens K, N1 (drain N
244 Faisal Haft Ali

wrapped with Terram 1000), N2 (drain N wrapped with Typar 3407) and P
all reduce to nearly zero at the end of the tests.
On inspecting the drain specimens after the tests, Drain K accom-
modated the soil settlement by a few sharp kinks. Drain L showed several
more gentle folds but drain M produced sharper kinks. The folds were in
greater number and closer spacing in drains N1, N2 and P. All the drain
specimens, except drain K, did not show any significant clogging in their
cores.
The discharge capacities of both drains L and M are approximately
equal until 21% relative compression. The difference grows as relative
compression increases further. Drain type L has a 3-dimensional, open
structure so that the flow paths, which are interconnected, are less
affected by deformations in the drain. Drain M, on the contrary, has
straight, longitudinal, and not interconnected flow channels. Deforma-
tion of the drain will pinch the flow channels causing loss in discharge
capacity. Furthermore, drain M, being more rigid, accommodates soil
settlement by means of sharp buckles.
The discharge capacity of drain specimen N1 reduces to nearly zero at a
relative compression of 30%. Drain N2, with a stiffer filter jacket,
produces a higher discharge capacity at all values of relative compression.
This indicates that a stiffer filter sleeve, which provides a better lateral
support against soil pressure as well as a better bridging support across the
deformed parts of the core, improves the discharge capacity. Even though
the cores for drains N1 and N2 have 3-dimensional structure with
interconnected flow paths, they do not perform as well as drain L which also
has interconnected flow paths. This is because drains N1 and N2 have cores
with sharp studs which can give a punching effect to the filter jacket. When
this happens the filter jacket will be squeezed further into the flow channels
and hence reduce significantly the discharge capacity.
Yong s carried out tests on straight samples of similar drains by applying
lateral pressure directly on samples which were surrounded by soil without
subjecting them to buckling. The results show that the reduction in
discharge capacity depends on the physical properties of the filter jacket
and the core, as well as the geometry of the core. The reduction is also time
d e p e n d e n t because of the creep effect which is quite significant in polymer.
It has been shown in long-term tests that the studs on drains N1 and N2
punch, or even puncture if the stress is high enough, the filter jacket which
results in a significant reduction in discharge capacity.
Drain P which consists of core and filter jacket which are very flexible
produces the least discharge capacity at all values of relative compression.
The core is too flexible to be effective in overcoming the effect of lateral
pressure. The drain might have been compressed severely both laterally
 Flow behaviour of deformed prefabricated vertical drains 245

TABLE 2
Comparison of Discharge Capacities of Vertical Drains Tested in Straight and Deformed
Conditions

Drain type Rigidity Discharge capacity

(core) ( × 10 -6 m3/s)

24 h after load 48 h after load

application application

straight ~ deformed b straight ~ deformed b

K (monolith) Rigid 66.7 2.6 66-7 2.5

L (comp.) Semi-rigid 98-0 51.9 96.2 51.7
M (comp.) Semi-rigid 161-3 41-4 155.0 38.8
N1 (comp.) Flexible 78.8 1.1 75.5 1-0
N2 (comp.) Flexible (the filter 74.9 10.5 74.9 10.5
jacket is less
flexible than N1)
P (comp.) Very flexible core not 0.25 not 0.25
and filter jacket measured measured

"Lateral pressure = 10 psi (69 kPa), i = 0.5.

bVertical pressure = 120 kPa (lateral pressure = 66 kPa assuming Ko = 0.55), i = 0-5,
relative compression = 30%.

and vertically during the tests. At a relative compression of about 8%,

when the first reading was taken, the discharge capacity is only 7.5% of
that of drains L and M.
Even though drain K has a rigid core the discharge capacity is still
relatively low. This is due to the intrusion of clay particles into the flow
channels because of the absence of a filter sleeve. Due to the drain's
rigidity it deforms by means of sharp buckles. The discharge capacity
reduces steadily with relative compression and stops at about 35%
compression.
Table 2 compares the test results in this investigation with the results of
tests where the drains were subjected to lateral pressures directly on
straight specimens. 5 The vertical pressure in this investigation is converted
to lateral on the drain specimen by assuming a Ko value of 0-55 for
normally consolidated clay. The results of tests on straight drains are much
higher than those in this study for all drain types. At a relative compression
of 30%, the differences in discharge capacity of all the drain types, in
246 Faisal Haft Ali

particular K and N, are considerable, showing that the effect of drain

deformation is very significant.
The effect of drain deformation on the discharge capacity of prefabri-
cated band-shaped drains has been investigated by Lawrence & Koerner. 3
They used an apparatus that introduced an artifical kink in the drain,
either a 90 ° wedge or a circular arc. They showed that the discharge
capacity of all drain specimens in their tests decreased significantly even at
the lowest kinking load. In addition, tests performed with a 90 ° wedge,
which corresponds to a sharp buckle, produced the greater reduction in
discharge capacity than tests performed with a cylindrical object which is
like a gentle bend. This is in accordance with the results of this study.
The p h e n o m e n o n of a considerable delay in excess pore water pressure
dissipation in many sites installed with vertical drains may be attributed to
the use of certain types of prefabricated drains which show a pronounced
decrease in discharge capacity due to creep and drain deformation.
Clogging of the filter fabric and the core further delays the process of
consolidation.
Many of the minimum requirements of the discharge capacity of a
vertical drain that have been proposed by researchers were based on tests
on straight drains. ~''7'~-~
Kremer et al. 10 attempted to take into account the effect of buckling by
stating that the discharge capacity of a deformed drain must at least be
30% of the discharge capacity of the straight drain. They limited their
criterion to the Delft Discharge Test where a standard flattened-S buckle
was introduced in the drain specimen. It has been shown in Table 2 that
depending on the type of drain, stress level and relative compression the
discharge capacity of the deformed drain, expressed as percentage of the
discharge capacity of the straight drain, varies widely.
It is, therefore, not enough to specify the discharge capacity of a vertical
drain based on a straight drain alone. It is necessary to carry out
deformed-drain tests on each individual drain e m b e d d e d in clay by
subjecting it to the range of pressures to be expected in situ in order to
ascertain its suitability, especially for sites where a relatively large degree
of settlement is expected.
Finally, it should be emphasized that the value of the discharge capacity
determined in the laboratory is probably higher than the actual value for
drains installed in the field. Certain factors affecting the discharge capacity
in the field cannot be fully reproduced in the laboratory; these include
smear during installation, siltation in the drain, and deterioration of the
core and filter jacket. Hence, a factor of safety should be introduced into
the discharge capacity measured in the laboratory to account for these
effects.
 Flow behaviour of deformed prefabricated vertical drains 247

5 CONCLUSION

F r o m the above investigation it may be concluded that:

(i) The decrease in discharge capacity due to drain deformation is

related to the bending rigidity and the geometrical structure of the
drain core, and the stiffness of the filter jacket. Slightly flexible
drain cores with 3-dimensional, interconnected, open flow chan-
nels as in the case of drain L, should better resist reduction in
discharge capacity due to drain deformation. However, a core with
sharp studs, corners or any points of high stress concentration which
can give a punching effect to the filter jacket is not suitable even
though it has a 3-dimensional structure with interconnected paths.
Stiffer filter jackets perform better because they cannot be easily
squeezed into the flow channels.
(ii) Discharge capacity of a vertical drain cannot be based only on
results of tests on straight drain samples especially for sites where
large settlement is expected because the performance of buckled
drains is not directly related to that of straight ones.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The financial support for this study was obtained from Universiti Malaya
Vote F Grant and Nylex (M) Sdn. Bhd. The authors wish to express their
sincere thanks for all invaluable assistance.

REFERENCES

1. Kremer, R. H. J. Recent findings in the field and laboratory on the integrity

and durability of prefab drains. In Proc. 8th ECSMFE, Helsinki, Vol. 3, 1983,
pp. 1235-7.
2. Veldhuijzen Van Zanten, R. The guarantee of the quality of vertical drainage
systems. In Proc. of 3rd. Int. Conf. on Geotextiles, Vienna, Vol. 3, 1986, pp.
651-5.
3. Lawrence, C. A. & Koerner, R. M. Flow behaviour of kinked strip drains. In
Proc. Symposium on Geosynthetics for Soil Improvement, Geotechnical
Engineering Division, ASCE, 1988, pp. 22-39.
4. Oostveen, J. P. Research activities on vertical drainage in the Netherlands.
Contribution to the informal Seminar on Vertical Drainage, Milan, 1986.
5. Yong, K. W. A study on some factors affecting the performance of
prefabricated band-shaped vertical drains, M.Eng. Sc. Thesis, Universiti
Malaya, 1989.
248 Faisal Haft Ali

6. Jamiolkowski, M., Lancellotta, R. & Wolski, W. In Proc. 8th ECSMFE,

Helsinki, General Report, Speciality Session 6, Vol. 3, 1983, pp. 1201-26.
7. Koerner, R. M., Luciani, V. A., Freese, J. S. T. & Carrol, R. G. Jr.
Prefabricated drainage composites: evaluation and design guidelines. In
Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on Geotextiles, Vienna, Vol. 2, 1986, pp. 551-6.
8. Holtz, R. D. & Christopher, B. R. Characteristics of prefabricated drains for
accelerating consolidation. In Proceedings of the 9th European Conf. on Soil
Mech. and Found. Engng, Dublin, 1987.
9. Holtz, R. D., Jamiolkowski, M., Lancellotta, R. & Pedroni, S. Performance
of prefabricated band-shaped drains. Report, CIRIA Research Project 364,
Lo.ldon, 1987.
10. Kremer, R. H. J., Oostveen, J. P., Van Weele, W. F. & Meyvogel, I. J. The
quality of vertical drainage. In Proceedings of the 8th Europ. Conf. on Soil
Mech. and Found. Engng, Helsinki, Vol. 2, 1983, pp. 721-6.