Study on the Deformation Index of Soft Soil in Guangzhou Coastal Area

The primary parameters involved in settlement calculation include coefficient of compressibility, modulus of compressibility, compression index, and swelling index. This paper conducted a substantial number of consolidation tests based on the research background of soft soil in the Guangzhou coastal area, analyzed soft soil’s consolidation state, and performed correlation analysis on physical indexes (water content), initial void ratio, natural density, liquid limit and deformation indexes (coefficient of compressibility), modulus of compressibility, compression index, and swelling index. The validity of the proposed formula is demonstrated through a practical example. The results show that: (1) The soft soil in the coastal area of Guangzhou has high compressibility and under-consolidation, but there is still a lot of over-consolidation in the shallow part of the surface 5 m buried depth. This paper establishes the empirical model of over consolidation ratio OCR and buried depth of soft soil. (2) The compressibility coefficient, compression index, and swelling index are positively correlated with The water content, initial void ratio, and liquid limit, but negatively correlated with natural density. (3) The modulus of compressibility is negatively correlated with water content, initial void ratio, and liquid limit, but positively correlated with natural density. (4) The empirical formula presented in this paper contains certain inaccuracies; therefore, it is essential to select the appropriate calculation formula based on the intended application.