Reliability of Settlement Prediction—Case History

A geotextile-reinforced embankment was built over soft ground. Staged construction and vertical prefabricated drains were used to obtain strength gain via consolidation of the foundation material. Settlement and pore pressure were measured as a part of construction control. Settlement, differential settlement, and rate of consolidation were predicted by simple models. Uncertainties in the predictions were evaluated to assess the reliability of the predictions. The estimated errors were compared with the measured values, and major contributors to prediction errors were identified.