The one-dimensional consolidation process of nonlinear saturated soils affected by temperature was investigated. Based on the assumption that the change in void ratio is caused by effective stress and temperature

a one-dimensional nonlinear consolidation equation considering thermal effects was established according to the heat balance equation and the continuity equation. An analytical solution for the one-dimensional thermal consolidation problem considering soil nonlinearity under continuous drainage boundary was derived by utilizing separated variable method and Laplace transform

and the reasonableness of the present solution was assessed by comparing with two existing analytical solutions. On the basis of the present solution

the influences of the ratio of thermal diffusion coefficient to consolidation coefficient

as well as the temperature increment

interface parameter

and nonlinear parameter on the consolidation behavior of soil were analyzed in detail. Results show that the larger the temperature increment or the larger the interface parameter was

the faster the consolidation rate of soil was. The consolidation rate defined by settlement increased with the increase in nonlinear parameter

while that defined by pore pressure decreased with the increase in nonlinear parameter. When the ratio of thermal diffusion coefficient to consolidation coefficient was large

the early thermal consolidation rate was obviously faster than that without considering temperature. Therefore

it is necessary to first measure the thermal diffusion coefficient and consolidation coefficient to determine whether the thermal consolidation method is suitable for foundation treatment.