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Geotechnical Engineering 2

Chapter 1

Consolidation
References:
Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering by: Braja M. Das
An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering by: Robert Holtz, William
D. Kovacs, and Thomas C. Sheanan

Dr. Marcos
Civil Engineering LOGO

Key Terminology
consolidation primary consolidation
compression secondary compression
dissipation surcharge load
pervious compression index
impervious secondary compression index
clay degree of consolidation
compression curve Time rate
consolidation curve coefficient of consolidation
coefficient of consolidation preconsolidation pressure
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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Examples of buildings that have settled

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Consolidation
⚫ Consolidation –refers to the compression or settlement that
soils undergo as a response of placing loads onto the
ground.

Consolidation is a time-dependent process, in some soils it

may take long time (100 years ?) to achieve complete
settlement

In general: Clay: undergoes consolidation with time

Sand: settles very quickly
In general: we consider consolidation in clay
Cause: consolidation
Manifestation: settlement LOGO

Significance
❑ The amount of soil volume change that will occur is often
one of the governing design criteria of a project

❑ If the settlement is not kept to tolerable limit, the desire use

of the structure may be impaired and the design life of the
structure may be reduced

❑ It is therefore important to have a mean of predicting the

amount of soil compression or consolidation

❑ It is also important to know the rate of consolidation as well

as the total consolidation to be expected

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Consolidation
❖The compression is caused by:
◼ Deformation of soil particles

◼ Relocations of soil particles

◼ Expulsion of water or air from void spaces

Compaction vs. Consolidation

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Consolidation
⚫ During consolidation, pore water or the water in the voids of
saturated clay gets squeezed out – reducing the volume of
the clay – hence causing settlement called as consolidation
settlement

The spring analogy to consolidation.

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Types of Consolidation
There are three types of consolidation:

❑ Immediate consolidation: caused by elastic

deformation of dry soil or moist and saturated soil without
change in moisture content

❑ Primary consolidation: caused as a result of volume

change in saturated cohesive soils due to exclusion of water
occupied the void spaces

❑ Secondary consolidation: occurs in saturated cohesive

soils as a result of the plastic adjustment of soil fabrics

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Types of Consolidation

❑ Clayey soils undergo consolidation settlement not only

under the action of “external” loads (surcharge loads) but also
under its own weight or weight of soils that exist above the
clay (geostatic loads).

❑ Clayey soils also undergo settlement when dewatered (e.g.,

ground water pumping) – because the effective stress on the
clay increases

❑ Coarse-grained soils DO NOT undergo consolidation

settlement due to relatively high hydraulic conductivity
compared to clayey soils. Instead, coarse-grained soils
undergo IMMEDIATE settlement
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Fundamentals of Consolidation

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Fundamentals of Consolidation

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1-D Consolidation
The main purpose of consolidation tests is to obtain soil data
which is used in predicting the rate and amount of settlement
of structures founded on clay.

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1-D Consolidation

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1-D Consolidation

The four most important soil properties determined by a

consolidation test are:

❑ The pre-consolidation stress, sp’, This is the maximum

stress that the soil has “experienced” in the past.
❑ The compression index, Cc , which indicates the
compressibility of a normally-consolidated soil.
❑ The recompression index, Cr , which indicates the
compressibility of an over-consolidated soil.
❑ The coefficient of consolidation, cv , which indicates
the rate of compression under a load increment.

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1-D Consolidation

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Pre-consolidation (sp’) &

Over-consolidation Pressures
The soil particle could have
been subjected to higher
loads then such a soil is
over-consolidated (OC).
During sampling, the soil
will experience a release of
stress, and expands; the soil
in that state is under-
consolidated. A soil whose
present effective overburden
pressure is the same as the
maximum pressure, the soil
is said to be normally
consolidated (NC).
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Determination of Pre-consolidation (sp’)

1. By visual observation, establish
point a at which the e - log σ’ 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 e - log σ’ plot back to intersect
ad at f . The abscissa of point f is
the pre-consolidation pressure, σp’
σp ’ OCR = overconsolidation ratio
s
'
OCR = c
so
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Effect of Disturbance on Void Ratio –

Pressure Relationship

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Calculation of Settlement from

One-Dimensional Primary Consolidation

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Calculation of Settlement from

One-Dimensional Primary Consolidation

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Calculation of Settlement from

One-Dimensional Primary Consolidation

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Calculation of Settlement from

One-Dimensional Primary Consolidation
⚫ For NC clays that exhibit a linear e – log σ’ relationship

e = C C log  s'o + s'  − log s'o 

   

 s' + s' 
log  o 
CC H
SP =
1 + eo  s' 
 o 

Sp = primary consolidation settlement

Cc= compression index
eo=in-situ void ratio
H=thickness
σo‘= effective pressure
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Calculation of Settlement from

One-Dimensional Primary Consolidation
⚫ For OC clays that exhibit bi-linear e – log σ’ relationship
For s'o + s'  s'P e = C S log  s'o + s'  − log s'o 
   
 s' + s' 
log  o 
CS H
SP =
1 + eo  s' 
 o 
For '
so + s'  s'P e = CS log s'c − log s'o  + C C log  s'o + s'  − log s'c 
     

 s'  C H  s' + s' 

SP =
CS H
log  c 
+ C
log  o 
1 + eo  s'  1 + e o  s' 
 o  c 
Cs= swell index
σc‘= pre-consolidation pressure LOGO

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Compression Index (Cc) and Swell Index (Cs)

⚫ Compression Index – can be determined by graphic
construction after obtaining the laboratory test results for
the void ratio and pressure.
Empirical formula (Skempton, 1994)

C C = 0.009 (LL − 10 ) LL = liquid limit

⚫ Swell Index – smaller in magnitude than compression index

and generally can be determined from laboratory tests.
Typically, Cs ≈ 0.2 to 0.30 Cc.

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Settlement from Secondary Consolidation

Following the primary consolidation, some settlement
continues due to the re-arrangement of the solids in the soil.
This stage is called secondary consolidation.

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Settlement from Secondary Consolidation

Once the secondary compression index
Cα is found from the plot, the magnitude of the secondary
consolidation is given by:
e C H t
C = Ss = log( 2 )
log( t 2 / t1 ) 1+ ep t1

Cα = secondary compression index

Δe= change of void ratio
t1 = time for completion of primary settlement
t2 = time after completion of primary settlement where settlement is
required
ep= void ratio at the end of primary consolidation, ep = eo- Δe
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Examples

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Time Rate of Consolidation

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Time Rate of Consolidation

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Time Rate of Consolidation

⚫ Time Factor cv t non-dimensional number
Tv = 2
H dr

uz
⚫ Degree of Consolidation U z = 1 −
uo
Tv=time factor
t = time rate of consolidation
cv=coefficient of consolidation
Hdr= thickness of drainage layer ( Hdr/2 for two
way drainage, Hdr for one way drainage)
Uz=degree of consolidation
uo=initial excess pore water pressure
uz=excess pore water pressure at time t
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Time Rate of Consolidation

U% 2
For U = 0 to 60% Tv = 4 ( )
100

For U > 60% Tv = 1.781 − 0.933 log(100 − U %)

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Time Rate of Consolidation

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Time Rate of Consolidation

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Time Rate of Consolidation

⚫ The time factor Tv provides a useful expression to estimate
the settlement in the field from the results of a laboratory
consolidation
t field ( H dr field ) 2
=
tlab ( H dr lab ) 2

also: t1 (U1 ) 2 t1 = time to reach a consolidation of

= U1 (%)
t 2 (U 2 ) 2
t2 = time to reach a consolidation of
U2 (%)
⚫ Degree of Consolidation
S pt
u=
Sp
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Coefficient of Consolidation (cv)

⚫ Two graphic methods
⚫ Logarithm-of-time method (Casagrande and Fadum 1940)
⚫ Square-root-of-time method (Taylor 1942)

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Coefficient of Consolidation (cv)

⚫ Square-root-of-time method
0.848( H dr ) 2
cv =
t90

⚫ Logarithm-of-time method

0.197( H dr ) 2
cv =
t50

t90 = time for 90% consolidation

t50 = time for 50% consolidation

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Coefficient of Volume Compressibility (mv)

av
mv =
1 + eave

e + e0
eave =
2
⚫ The hydraulic conductivity of the layer for the loading
range is
k = cv mv w

k = hydraulic conductivity
mv = volume compressibility
γw=unit weight of water

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Examples

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