‫قسم هندسة الــطرق و النقل‬ ‫الجامعة المستنصرية‬

‫مختبر التــربة‬ ‫كلية الهندسة‬

EXPERIMENT 9

a- Test Name: CONSOLIDATION TEST

b- Purpose:

This test is performed to determine the magnitude and rate of

volume decrease that a laterally confined soil specimen undergoes
when subjected to different vertical pressures. From the measured
data, the consolidation curve (pressure-void ratio relationship) can
be plotted. This data is useful in determining the compression
index, the recompression index and the preconsolidation pressure
(or maximum past pressure) of the soil. In addition, the data
obtained can also be used to determine the coefficient of
consolidation and the coefficient of secondary compression of the
soil.

c- Equipment:

1. Consolidation device (including ring, porous stones, water

reservoir, and load plate),
2. Dial gauge
3. Sample trimming device,
4. Metal straight edge,
5. Clock,
6. Moisture can,
7. Filter paper.
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c- Test Procedure:
1. Weight the empty consolidation ring.
2. Measure the height (h) of the ring and it's inside diameter (D).
3. Extrude the soil sample from the sampler, generally thin-walled
Shelby tube. Determine the initial moisture content and the specific
gravity of the soil.
4. Carefully trim a sample to fit the consolidation ring and weight the
sample plus the ring.
5. Carefully place the soil sample in the consolidometer with a
saturated porous stone after filter paper on each face. Be sure the
porous stones will enter the ring so that the test can proceed
satisfactorily.
6. Being careful to prevent movement of the ring and porous stones,
place load plates centrally on the upper porous stone adjust the
loading device.
7. Adjust the dail gauge to a zero reading.
8. Soaking the soil sample in consolidometer with water.
9. At a convenient starting time, apply the first load increment and
simultaneously take deformation reading at elapsed times of
0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 120, min, then 4, 8,
16 hr,……….and 24 hr
Of elapsed time and until there is little change (plot DR vs. log t) or
(plot DR vs. t ) in the curve.
10.After 24 hr. or as directed or when the between two reading is
sufficiently small, change the load to the next value and again take
elapsed time interval reading as in step 9, above.
11.Continue changing loads and taking elapsed time vs. deformation
dial reading through the load range of consolidation.
12.Place the sample in the oven at the end of the test to find the weight
of soil solids (Ws) and to enable a computation of the final volume
of water (Vw), compare (Ws) with the compute value from step 3.
13. Plot curve of dial reading vs. log time. Find
, D100, D50, and the corresponding t50 for each load increment and
find (Cv).
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Cv =

Where: T= time factor (0.197 for U = 50%)

t = time for the corresponding time factor (t = t50)
H = average length of the longest drainage path during the
given load increment.

14. Or plot dail. reading vs. find , D100, D50, and the
corresponding t50. Calculated Cv or find t90 and calculated Cv
from:
Cv =

Where: T = 0.848 for U = 90%

Cv = mm2 / min

A) To obtain t50 from DR. vs. log time curve

1. At first obtain D100 by draw tangents to the middle and end parts
of the curve. At the intersection of the tangents, project
horizontally to the curve ordinate to read D100. to obtain t100
project vertically from the tangent intersection of the curve,
drawn to the abscissa for the time value.
2. To obtain (the theoretical dial reading at t =0 since one
cannot plot the logarithm of time for t = 0) on the
semilogarithmic plot, if the early part of the curve is parabolic,
select a time t1 and a time t2=4t1

Measure the ordinate (y) from t1 and t2 on the curve and lay this
same value of (y) off vertically above t1. Draw a horizontal line
through this point and call the intercept of this line on the DR.
ordinate with and D100 established one may obtain the dial
reading corresponding to 50% consolidation D50 as:

D50 =
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B) To obtain t90 from D.R. vs.

1. To make a plot of dial reading vs. obtain the time
corresponding to given dial reading ie. If t =25 min, = 5,
which is then plotted against the dial reading for 25 min. to find
Taylor recommended draw a straight line through the first
several (say 6 to 8) plotted point and extending this line until
in intersects the ordinate. This intersection of the ordinate
establishes .
2. Next, take an abscissa value 15% greater than the value
obtained by the intersection of the straight line plot of D.R. vs.
and time axis, and from draw straight line through this
points. Continue plotting values of DR vs. and draw a
smooth curve using a French curve for the curved part of the plot.
Where the plotted curve crosses the line B (1.15 offset line), the
ordinate value is arbitrarily taken as D90, we can now compute D100
as:
D100 = D - (D - D90)

D50 =
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d- Analysis:
Void ratio Volume compressibility Coefficient of consolidation
Load mv =
(P) e= (1+e) t90 H= Cv =
kPa (mm) (m2/MN) min (mm)
m2/year
0
25
50
100
200
400
800
1600
400
100
25
Where: Where: Where:
mm-1

mm2/year
= know
= know m2/ year
mv = volume of
H = 2d d=
compressibility
m2/year
‫قسم هندسة الــطرق و النقل‬ ‫الجامعة المستنصرية‬
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Consolidation Test Data Sheets

Type soil: silty clay diameter of ring =75mm
Water content: 24.32% height of ring = 19 mm
Specific gravity: 2.74 dial gage factor = 0.002 mm
e 0.666

loading
Time Reading Reading Reading Reading Reading Reading Reading
(min) 25 kPa 50kPa 100 kPa 200 kPa 400 kPa 800 kPa 1600kPa
0 0 175 322 531 833 1231 1670
0.25 72 215 380 620 940 1351 1751
0.5 76 219 387 630 955 1365 1769
1 79 224 394 641 985 1383 1782
2 82.5 228 401 656 1002 1407 1802
4 88.5 234 411 671 1023 1430 1832
8 93.5 241 422.5 687 1046 1461 1868
15 100.5 248 435 705 1075 1498 1910
30 110 259.5 452 731.5 1110 1548 1962
60 120.5 272 471 762 1153 1591 2006
120 132 285 490 789 1185 1625 2035
240 155 295 505 806 1205 1644 2052
24 hr 175 322 531 833 1231 1670 2077

Unloading
Load (kg) Load (kPa) Reading
16 400 1961
4 100 1762
1 25 1586
0 0 1508
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‫قسم هندسة الــطرق و النقل‬ ‫الجامعة المستنصرية‬
‫مختبر التــربة‬ ‫كلية الهندسة‬
‫قسم هندسة الــطرق و النقل‬ ‫الجامعة المستنصرية‬
‫مختبر التــربة‬ ‫كلية الهندسة‬
‫قسم هندسة الــطرق و النقل‬ ‫الجامعة المستنصرية‬
‫مختبر التــربة‬ ‫كلية الهندسة‬
‫قسم هندسة الــطرق و النقل‬ ‫الجامعة المستنصرية‬
‫مختبر التــربة‬ ‫كلية الهندسة‬
‫قسم هندسة الــطرق و النقل‬ ‫الجامعة المستنصرية‬
‫مختبر التــربة‬ ‫كلية الهندسة‬