Ricerc@Sapienza

Fine-grained dredged sediments can be efficiently and sustainably handled by hydraulically filling containment facilities, which can then be reclaimed. This study presents two numerical modelling strategies, characterized by markedly different levels of complexity, that simulate the gradual filling and subsequent consolidation process. Both numerical models employ hydro-mechanical constitutive relations apt to cover wide state ranges, starting from very low effective stresses.

An efficient and sustainable way to handle dredged sediments is to re-use them to fill coastal containment facilities and then reclaim their areas. When large volumes of fine-grained soils are involved, the dredging is usually carried out hydraulically. Adopting this technology, the soil is transported as a slurry and deposited in containment facilities, where it initially sediments at high void ratios before experiencing great deformations during consolidation. The paper presents a numerical model able to simulate the distinctive features of this class of boundary value problems.