Previous studies fail to provide consistent information on the division method of consolidation process of peat soil. Some scholars think that the consolidation process of peat soil is the same as that of common clay, which is two-stage consolidation. Some scholars also propose that the consolidation process of peat soil is three-stage or four-stage consolidation. In order to describe the consolidation process of peat soil accurately, this paper focuses on the peaty soil with high organic content in Dali, Yunnan Province, China. The unidirectional consolidation tests and consolidation- permeability tests were conducted. At the same time, water content, loss on ignition (LOI), and total nitrogen (TN) were measured at different time during the consolidation process. The results show that the consolidation process of peaty soil in Dali area of Yunnan Province should be divided into three stages. A method for dividing the three-stage consolidation process is proposed in this paper. The relationship between the consolidation completion time of the peaty soil at each stage and the load level is exponential function. When the load is greater than 50 kPa, the proportion of consolidation deformation of peaty soil at each stage under different load does not change with the load level. The results of water content, LOI, and TN content showed that deformation during primary and secondary consolidation stages was mainly caused by drainage, accounting for 99.67% and 98.39% respectively. The deformation during the tertiary consolidation stage was due to drainage and organic matter decomposition. Through the analysis of the relationship between deformation and permeability coefficient, the influence of permeability on the consolidation process of highly organic peaty soil mainly occurs in the primary and secondary consolidation stage, and has little effect on the tertiary consolidation process.

以往的研究未能提供关于泥炭土固结过程划分方法的一致信息。有学者认为泥炭土的固结过程与普通粘土的固结过程相同，为两阶段固结。也有学者提出泥炭土的固结过程为三阶段或四阶段固结。为了准确描述泥炭土的固结过程，本文以云南大理地区有机质含量较高的泥炭土为研究对象。进行了单向固结试验和固结渗透试验。同时，在固结过程中的不同时间测量了含水量、烧失量（LOI）和总氮（TN）。结果表明，云南大理地区泥炭土的固结过程应分为三个阶段。本文提出了一种划分三阶段固结过程的方法。泥炭土各阶段固结完成时间与荷载水平呈指数函数关系。当荷载大于50 kPa时，不同荷载作用下泥炭土各阶段固结变形比例不随荷载水平变化。含水率、LOI和TN含量结果表明，一次固结和二次固结阶段的变形主要是排水造成的，分别占99.67%和98.39%。三次固结阶段的变形是由于排水和有机质分解。