Geotechnical
Engineering - 2
COMPRESSIBILITY OF SOIL
PART 1
INSTRUCTOR : DR. YASIR ALHARTHI
Table of Contents
•Types of Settlement
•Elastic Settlement
•Consolidation Theory
•Primary Consolidation Settlement
•Degree of Consolidation
•Secondary Consolidation Settlement
Types of Loads imposed on Soil
1) Fill Placement
fill
Hfill
’
= fill H fill
Soil
2) External Loading
z’
Soil
3) Water Table Changes
Before (water table lowering)
Hw b
After ’ → b
’ z’ = w H w
Types of Settlement
(a) No Settlement (b) Total Settlement (c) Differential Settlement
Types of Settlement
(a) Uniform Settlement (c) Non-Uniform
(b) Differential Settlement Settlement
Differential Settlement in Foundations
http://www.griptite.com
http://www.geoconsult.co.nz/
Elastic (Immediate) •Elastic deformation without any change in
moisture content.
Settlement •It occurs immediately after the construction
Si @t=0
+ •Volume change in saturated cohesive soil
due to expulsion of water
Primary Consolidation •Takes long time
Settlement @t=infinity
SP
+ •Adjustment of soil fabric in saturated
cohesive soil
Secondary Consolidation •Due to the presence of organic material
SS After primary consolidation
=
Tot. Settlement St St = Si + Sp + Ss
Settlement Based on the
Theory of Elasticity
❑The elastic settlement
Settlement Based on the
Theory of Elasticity
❑The elastic settlement
Settlement Based on the
Theory of Elasticity
❑The elastic settlement
Settlement Based on the
Theory of Elasticity
❑The elastic settlement
Settlement of Saturated Cohesive Soils:
Si
Sp
Ss
Settlement of Building 10 in MIT over time
(settlement over 55 years)
Piston-Spring Analogy :
• Initially, the pore water takes up the
change in total stress so effective
stress does not change
• As excess pore water pressure
drains, the effective stress increases
(skeleton takes up load)
• Consolidation is complete when
excess pressure dissipates and flow
stops
• So consolidation is TIME
DEPENDENT because it is a
pressure dissipation (flow) process!
• Depends on hydraulic conductivity
(k) and length of drainage path
(Hdr)
Consolidation Definition
Consolidation is volume change due to pore water being
squeezed out (Dissipation of excess pore pressure)
GWL Pore Water
Sp
Saturated Clay Saturated Clay
Sand or Gravel Sand or Gravel
Effective Stress VS Pore
Water Pressure:
At time : t=0
= u
' ' = 0
At time : t =(0→∞)
= u + ' '
At time : t =∞
u = 0
= ' '
Consolidation Test
•Undisturbed saturated soil (clay, silt)
• Typical specimen size: h = 1”, diam. = 2”- 3”
• Specimen confined in rigid ring (no lateral deformation, “plane strain”)
• Drainage allowed on top and bottom via porous stones
• Apply increment of load and measure 1-D compression with time
Consolidation Test
V
Vvi
Vi
Vvf
Vf
Vs Vs
For 1-D compression → H = V
H V
e= =
H V
Plotting e-log curve
eo
e (void ratio) Loading
unloading
log ’
Plotting e-log curve
Casagrande (1936) suggested a simple graphic construction to determine the
preconsolidation pressure from the laboratory plot
1. By visual observation, establish point a, at which the
plot has a minimum radius of curvature.
2. Draw a horizontal line ab.
3. Draw the line ac tangent at a.
4. Draw the line ad, which is the bisector of the angle bac.
5. Project the straight-line portion gh of the plot
back to intersect line ad at f.
The abscissa of point f is the preconsolidation
pressure,
Plotting e-log curve
eo
Cs c’ : pre-consolidation pressure
1
e (void ratio)
Cc : compression index
Cc
1
Cs : swelling index
Cs
1
c’ log ’
Preconsolidation Pressure (’c ) : “stress history”
Is the largest magnitude of effective stress the soil has been consolidated to in
the past.
Over-consolidation Ratio (OCR) :
The magnitude of a soil’s existing state of stress relative to its maximum past
stress. '
OCR = c
'o
•If OCR = 1, ie: ’p = ’ and the soil is “normally consolidated”
(soft response – virgin compression)
•If OCR > 1, ie: ’p > ’ and the soil is “over consolidated”
(stiff response – it has been pre-compressed)
Calculating primary consolidation settlement Sp
For Normally Consolidated Clays: ’o ≥ ’c
Cc H o '+ '
Sc = log Where:
1 + eo o ' Cc : compression index
eo o’
c’
e (void ratio)
Cc
1
c’ o’ log ’
Calculating primary consolidation settlement Sp
For Over Consolidated Clays: o < c
A) o’ + < c’
Cs H o '+ ' Where:
Sc = log
1 + eo o ' Cs : Swelling index
o’
eo Cs
1 c’
e (void ratio)
o’ o’ + c’ log ’
Calculating primary consolidation settlement Sp
For Over Consolidated Clays: o < c
B) o’ + > c’
Cs H c ' Cc H o '+ '
Sc = log + log
1 + eo o ' 1 + eo c '
o’
eo Cs
1 c’
e (void ratio)
Cc
1
o’ c’ o’ + log ’
Compression Index (Cc) and
Swell Index (Cs)
❑Compression Index (Cc)
❑Swell Index (Cs)
Next Lecture
Time Rate of Consolidation
Coefficient of Consolidation
Calculation of Consolidation Settlement Under a Foundation
Secondary Consolidation Settlement
Methods for Accelerating Consolidation Settlement
