Development of Discharge Capacity Testing Apparatus and Numerical Analyses of Test Results

A discharge capacity testing apparatus able to reconstruct in the laboratory the condition of installing vertical drains in a field was built to investigate the discharge capacity of prefabricated vertical drains (PVD). The apparatus, with a mandrel, was designed to insert PVD into the ground. While changing the method of preparing the ground and installing drains, preliminary tests were carried out to investigate the discharge capacity of PVD in clay. Test results are discussed and analyzed with a numerical approach.