Vacuum preloading is an effective and common method used for clay soil improvement. However, the smear zone generated by the installation of prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) hinders additional efficiency improvements. PVD combined with heat is applied to overcome this problem. This study presents a series of model tests conducted on clayey soil improved by vacuum preloading with different rectangular-wave temperature circulation modes to investigate the effects of cyclic temperature on vacuum consolidation. During the test, the settlement, pore-water pressure, and drainage were monitored. The degree of consolidation was analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of this method, and the coefficient of energy consumption was used to quantify the energy consumption at different cyclic temperature modes. The results indicated that the rectangular-wave temperature circulation mode of 30–75–30 °C was the most effective. The results of this study contribute substantially to the state of knowledge regarding the cyclic temperature effects on dredged slurry performance subjected to vacuum preloading. Concurrently, a novel approach is introduced for the determination of the optimal soil consolidation.

真空预压是粘土改良的一种有效且常用的方法。然而，安装预制垂直排水管 (PVD) 所产生的涂抹区阻碍了进一步的效率提高。PVD 结合加热可以解决这个问题。本研究对不同矩形波温度循环模式下真空预压改良的粘质土进行了一系列模型试验，以研究循环温度对真空固结的影响。在测试过程中，对沉降、孔隙水压力和排水进行了监测。分析固结程度以评价该方法的有效性，并利用能耗系数量化不同循环温度模式下的能耗。结果表明，30-75-30℃的矩形波温度循环模式最有效。这项研究的结果大大有助于了解循环温度对真空预压下疏浚泥浆性能的影响。同时，介绍了一种确定最佳土壤固结的新方法。