To evaluate the settlement of saturated clay ground under the time-dependent loading, the unified hardening (UH) constitutive model considering the time effect was used to describe the elastic visco-plasticity of the soil and Hansbo's flow equation was applied to reflect non-Darcian flow. Thus, the classical Terzaghi consolidation equation was modified considering the influence of gravitational stress of the ground. The finite volume method was introduced to solve the numerical solution of the modified equation, and the corresponding program was compiled based on the above algorithm. The applicability of the present program was validated by comparing with the existing results in the literature. Then the effect of some parameters on the consolidation behaviour was investigated. The calculated results showed that the excess pore water pressure in the ground is accumulated at the initial stage of loading. Furthermore, when the viscosity of the soil is considered, the maximum excess pore water pressure in the ground away from the permeable boundary can even exceed the load imposed on the upper surface of the ground. In addition, prolonging the construction period, thickening the soil layer, increasing the secondary consolidation coefficient and the parameters of Hansbo's flow will delay the consolidation process of ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]