Reclamation of a containment area. Measurements and back analysis of the height of dredged mud

The expansion project of the Port of Gaeta (Italy) included a 6 ha diked containment area to be reclaimed and developed into container depot using fine-grained materials dredged from Gaeta’s gulf. A system of prefabricated vertical drains, horizontal drainage pipes combined with vacuum pressure and surcharge preloading was designed to ensure both the feasibility of the project and the future serviceability of the area. A well-structured sequence of operations was devised to increase storage capacity during hydraulic filling. The height of the dredged mud was monitored at all stages. The paper compares Class A numerical prediction, modified to consider the real filling procedure and construction timeline, back-analyses and field monitoring data. The study emphasizes the importance of modelling every phase of the sedimentation-consolidation process to accurately account for the change in volume of the dredged material, and shows that even a relatively simple numerical model can be used to this aim.