CE 548 Prof. L.M.

Star
Advanced Soil Mechanics Spring 2021
Assignment 5

Due March 24, 2021

Purpose: This assignment has the following learning objectives for skills and knowledge that are
essential to understanding the engineering behavior of soils.
Skills:
1. Calculation of time-rate consolidation settlement estimates for engineered sites
2. Update consolidation parameters and engineering calculations based on measured field
data

Knowledge:
1. Techniques used to mitigate consolidation conditions to meet engineering design objectives
2. Equations and charts to be used for Terzaghi consolidation with radial drainage

Tasks:

Based on your calculations from Assignment 4, you observe that it will take an unacceptably
long time for settlement to occur before you can start construction. In order to speed the
process you decide to place 10 ft of fill on your site, which includes a surcharge load, and to
install vertical drains. The drains have an effective diameter dw=4 in.

1. Calculate ultimate settlement for the case with 10 ft of fill.

2. What drain spacing is required to achieve 90% consolidation by the end of 1 year? You
will have to assume a value for cv-h based on cv.

Six month after the placement of your surcharge you measure 1.6 feet of settlement that has
occurred, and consolidation is 85% complete.

3. Use this data to calculate field calibrated cv-h.

4. Use same data to update your estimate of ultimate settlement.

5. Assume that the surcharge is removed at t=1yr. Confirm (using the calibrated cv-h) that
after 1 year the primary consolidation will be practically complete. What is the effective
OCR following the surcharge removal?

6. Estimate the new cαε following surcharge removal. Use the updated cαε to calculate the
amount of settlement between year 1 and 51.
Figure 1