Geotechnical Engineering–I [CE-221]

BSc Civil Engineering – 4th Semester

Lecture # 17
27-Mar-2018

by
Dr. Muhammad Irfan
Assistant Professor
Civil Engg. Dept. – UET Lahore
Email: mirfan1@msn.com
Lecture Handouts: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/2016session-geotech-i
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CONSOLIDATION OF SOIL
Load/stress application on soil
→ causes soil compression

Reasons for soil compression

 Compression/expulsion of air in soil
voids
 Soil compaction (already discussed)
 Distortion/crushing of soil grains
 Negligible under normal structural loads
 Expulsion/compression of water from
the voids
 Soil consolidation
2
CONSOLIDATION OF SOIL

Which soils have high water holding ability ?

Phenomenon associated with saturated fine
grained soils only.

Consolidation → compression/volume
reduction of soil mass due to expulsion of
water when subjected to external load/stress.

3
CONSOLIDATION OF SOIL
Soil volume reduction due to expulsion of water upon
application of external load/stress.
fully saturated soil, so all voids filled with water only (no air)

Before Consolidation After Consolidation

Water
Water

Solids Solids

Saturated Fine-grained Soil 4

Consolidation Damages
Soil volume reduction due to expulsion of water upon
application of external load/stress.
→ Settlement of structures
→ Cracks in walls, foundations, etc.

5
 MECHANISM OF CONSOLIDATION
Spring-Cylinder Model / Hydro-mechanical Analogue

Piston
(Frictionless, water-tight)

Water

Cylinder
Pressure Cross-sectional area = A
Gauge

Spring
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Consolidation Model
(Spring-Cylinder Model / Hydro-mechanical Analogue)

Load (P) applied on the piston.

Load, P PS = Load carried by the spring

PW = Load carried by water
Piston
P = PS + PW

With the valve closed

PS = 0, &
PW = P

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 Consolidation Model
(Spring-Cylinder Model / Hydro-mechanical Analogue)
When the valve is opened → water flow outward
Decrease in excess hydrostatic pressure
Increase in compression of spring
Load, P PS = Load carried by the spring
PW = Load carried by water

P = PS + PW

With the valve opened

PS > 0, &
PW < P

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Consolidation Model
(Spring-Cylinder Model / Hydro-mechanical Analogue)

After some time → equilibrium is reached

Load, P PS = Load carried by the spring

PW = Load carried by water

P = PS + PW

With the valve opened; after some

time span.
Excess hydrostatic pressure, Δu = 0

PW = 0, &
PS = P

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 Spring-Cylinder Model – Summary
Time dependent response of saturated fine-grained soils.

Valve
Closed
Valve
open

With the valve closed With the valve opened After t >>> 0
PS = 0, & PS > 0, & PW = 0, &
PW = P PW < P PS = P

Spring-cylinder assembly In case of soil

Total load acting on the system = P
Load carried by water = PW
Load carried by Spring = PS
P = PS + PW OR PS = P - PW
Stress acting on soil mass → Total Stress = σ
Stress carried by water → Pore water pressure = u
Stress carried by soil particles → Effective stress = σ’
σ = σ’ + u OR σ' = σ - u
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Spring-Cylinder Model → Application to Soil
 Similar phenomenon occurs when load is applied on a saturated
clay deposit (very low permeability).
 Load is first taken by water only.
 Pore water pressure slowly dissipates,
 Soil particles start taking load gradually
 After some time excess water pressure is completely
dissipated through voids, and the load is carried only by soil
particles.

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Consolidation Model
(Hydro-mechanical Analog)
, u, ’
Initially Finally
u =  u = 0
’ = 0 ’ = 

 = ’ + u

Valve Valve Time

closed opened

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Consolidation vs Compaction
Compaction
Applicable to unsaturated soils.
Decrease in air voids (not water voids)
Applicable for both fine-grained and
coarse-grained soils
Instantaneous process
May be accomplished by rolling,
tamping, or vibration.
Consolidation
Applicable to saturated soils.
Decrease in water voids (air voids do
not exist).
Only applicable for fine-grained soils
Time-dependent process
Can occur over 100s of year.
In general, caused by static loading.
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Inferences from Spring-Cylinder Model
Magnitude of consolidation settlement
dependent on compressibility of soil (i.e. the stiffness of the spring)

 expressed in term of compression index (Cc)

Rate of consolidation/settlement
dependent on
i. permeability, &
ii. compressibility of soil.

 expressed in term of co-efficient of consolidation (Cv)

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 Inferences from Spring-Cylinder Model
Magnitude of consolidation → compression index (Cc)
Rate of consolidation → co-efficient of consolidation (Cv)
 Time required for consolidation can be determined?

T H2  Derivation
t    – SELF STUDY –  u 
2

 CV  (next two slides) T   ; for u  60%

4  100 
where,
t = time required for any degree of T  1.781  0.933  log10 (100  u );
consolidation for u  60%
CV = coefficient of consolidation
H = length of the drainage path T 50  0.197; for u  50%
(H = t → for one-way drainage
T90  0.848; for u  90%
H = t/2 → for two-way drainage)
t = thickness of consolidating soil layer
T = constant known as ‘Time Factor’
u = degree of consolidation 16
 Inferences from Spring-Cylinder Model
Magnitude of consolidation → compression index (Cc)
Rate of consolidation → co-efficient of consolidation (Cv)
 Time required for consolidation can be determined?
Permeability / Velocity of Volume of water required
flow through soil to be squeezed out
t 1 v tV
Darcy’s equation → v  ki t    mv  H  (2)

ih H h    w t = time required for any degree of consolidation

Δσ = change in stress
k   Next Chapter mV = coefficient of volume compressibility
v (Permeability & Seepage) H = length of the drainage path
w H (H = t → for one-way drainage
 1  H = t/2 → for two-way drainage)
t     (1) t = thickness of consolidating soil layer
 (k   ) ( w  H )  17
 Inferences from Spring-Cylinder Model
Magnitude of consolidation → compression index (Cc)
Rate of consolidation → co-efficient of consolidation (Cv)
 Time required for consolidation can be determined?

 1 
t     (1)  k 
CV   
 (k   ) ( w  H ) 
 mv   w 
t    mv  H  (2)
Replacing CV in (3);
 H2 
Combining (1) and (2). t   
 CV 
 mv   w  H 2 
t     (3)
 k  T H2 
t   
 CV 
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Consolidation Time (t)

T H2   k 
t    & Cv   
 CV   mv   w 
where,
t = time required for any degree of
consolidation
CV = coefficient of consolidation
H = length of the drainage path
 T  H 2  mv   w 
t    T = constant known as ‘Time Factor’
 k  u = degree of consolidation

Time required for consolidation (consolidation time) is

independent of the magnitude of stress change (Δσ).
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 Consolidation Settlement in the Field


G.W.T Sand

H Clay

depth Sand

External stress (Δσ) applied on a soil stratum in the field.

 SAND→ Quick drainage of water → Immediate settlement
 CLAY → Slow drainage → Consolidation settlement (time dependent)
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One-Dimensional Consolidation

Drainage and deformations occur in vertical direction only.

(none laterally)

A reasonable simplification for solving consolidation problems

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1-D Consolidation Theory
(Terzaghi, 1936)

Assumptions of one-dimensional consolidation theory

1. Soil is homogenous.
2. Soil is fully saturated.
3. Coefficient of consolidation (CV) remains constant throughout the soil
mass and also remains constant with time.
4. Coefficient of permeability (k) is constant throughout.
5. Darcy’s law for flow of water through the soil mass is valid,
i.e., v = k.i
6. Consolidation is a one-dimensional problem i.e., water flows in only
one direction and the resulting settlement also occur in one direction
only.
7. Soil particles are assumed to be incompressible i.e., all the settlement
is due to the expulsion of water.

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 1-D Lab Consolidation
Lab
NSL Undisturbed soil
specimen

metal ring

Field
Porous Stones

Consolidometer / Oedometer
SOIL
Stopwatch

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1-D Lab Consolidation
 Devised by Carl Terzaghi. Porous
 The apparatus is called Consolidometer / Stones
Oedometer
 Soil specimen placed inside a metal ring
 Two porous stones, one at the top and SOIL
other at the bottom of specimen
 Diameter of specimen = 50-75 mm (2”-3”)
 Diameter/Height: between 2.5 & 5
 Specimen kept submerged in water throughout the test
 Load is applied through a lever arm
 Each load is usually applied for 24hrs (or till deformations become
negligible)
 Each loading increment is usually double the previous load.
 After complete loading, unloading is done in steps.
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Deformation ~ Time Plot

Stage–I: Initial compression →

mainly due to preloading.

Stage–II: Primary Consolidation

→ due to dissipation of pore
water pressure (expulsion of
water)

Stage–III: Secondary
Consolidation → due to plastic
readjustment of soil fabric.

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REFERENCE MATERIAL
Principles of Geotechnical Engineering – (7th Edition)
Braja M. Das
Chapter #11

An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering (2nd Edition)

By R. D. Holtz, W. D. Kovacs and T. C. Sheahan
Chapter #8 & 9

CONCLUDED
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 Consolidation Settlement in the Field

Remember
Δσ = Δu + Δσ’

Immediately after load application (t = 0)

All the applied stress carried by pore water only, Δu = Δσ
Effective stress, Δσ’ = 0

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 Consolidation Settlement in the Field

Remember
Δσ = Δu + Δσ’

Some time after load application (0 < t < ∞)

Pore water pressure starts dissipating, Δu < Δσ
Additional stress start getting transferred to soil particles,
Δσ’ > 0
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 Consolidation Settlement in the Field

Remember
Δσ = Δu + Δσ’

Long time after load application (t = ∞)

Pore water pressure dissipated completely, Δu = 0
All the applied stress being taken by soil particles, Δσ’ = Δσ

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