TECHNICAL NOTES

The influence of an undrained change in stress on the pore

pressure in porous media of low compressibility

A. W. BISHOP*

INTRODUCTION
In soil mechanics, and latterly in rock mechanics, considerable attention has been directed
towards the prediction and measurement of the pore pressure set up by changes in the state
of stress under undrained conditions. Some statement of the magnitude of this pressure
was a necessary starting point for Terzaghi’s classical theory of consolidation in which the
rate of decay of the initial pressure set up in the water filling the voids of a saturated soil
controls the rate of volume decrease following a sudden application of load. Though it is
clear that the magnitude of the pore pressure must be a function of the relative compressi-
bilities of the porous soil skeleton, of the pore fluid filling the voids and of the solid material
comprising the skeleton, together with the porosity and possibly the intergranular contact
area, Terzaghi himself did not apparently present an analytical derivation of the initial pore
pressure assumed.
In a formal presentation in ‘Theoretical soil mechanics’ Terzaghi (1943) makes the follow-
ing assumptions (p. 266)
(a) the voids of the soil are completely filled with water
(b) both the water and the solid constituents of the soil are perfectly incompressible
He also makes the further supplementary assumptions that
(c) the soil is laterally confined
(d) an increase in effective normal stress reduces the void ratio of the soil
(e) the effective normal stress u’ is given by the expression (using current terminology)
a’=o-U . . . . . . . . . - (1)
where (Tdenotes total normal stress and u denotes pore pressure.
Terzaghi then states (p. 273) ‘at the instant of load application, t = 0, the void ratio of the
clay has not yet changed, but the total normal pressure on every horizontal section has in-
creased by pl. Therefore at time t=O the excess hydrostatic pressure is equal to u=p,
throughout the layer’. This statement, as will be shown subsequently, is correct on the basis
of the assumptions madel, but does not adequately represent the behaviour of soils or porous
rocks of low compressibility. Terzaghi had made a more qualified statement at an earlier
date (Terzaghi, 1925) to the effect that ‘immediately after the surcharge is applied, the
compression of the clay is practically equal to zero, hence the hydrostatic pressure at this
time is almost equal to the surcharge’. It is possible that laboratory measurements of pore
pressure subsequently made by Rendulic (1937) Taylor (1944), and others on compressible

* Professor of Soil Mechanics, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London.

1 These assumptions are in fact more than adequate, since it can be shown (Bishop and Eldin, 1950 and Bishop, 1959)
that assumption (e) follows from the second part of assumption (6).

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 436 TECHNICAL NOTES

soils, which indicated how small was the departure from the prediction of the idealized assump-
tions, encouraged the use of the pore pressure equation without this qualification.
Before re-examining the problem from first principles it is of interest to note several other
contributions. Bruggeman et al. (1939) give an expression for the case in which water is
considered as compressible (using current terminology)
1
Au = Aul+n(K,Kw) . . . . . . . . .

where
K denotes bulk modulus of the soil skeleton
K, denotes bulk modulus of water
n denotes porosity (i.e. volume of voids per unit volume of soil or rock)
Au =4_(Aux + Au, + AaJ where suffixes x, y, z denote total normal stress components along
the co-ordinate axes
Bruggeman et al. (1939) assumed that the use of the effective stress equation (1) depended on
the acceptance of a value of zero for the intergranular contact area between the soil particles.
This is clearly a poor approximation at high stresses when the intergranular forces are large.
However, Bishop and Eldin (1950) showed that for soils with particles of zero compressibility
the effective stress equation for changes in volume is u’ = u - u irrespective of the magnitude
of the intergranular contact area and derived an expression, which is likewise valid irrespective
of intergranular contact area, relating change in pore pressure to change in equal all-round
stress
1
Au= Au~+~(~~,~) . . . . . . . - .

where
C denotes the compressibility of the soil skeleton
C, denotes the compressibility of the pore water
This expression is thus the same as that due to Bruggeman et al. for the particular stress
system, but is not restricted to soils of negligible intergranular contact area.
A further extension of this analysis was made by Bishop (1966) to include the influence of
the compressibility of the soil grains (or of the solid material of the skeleton of any porous
mass with intercommunicating pores) denoted C,, and this led to the expression

It is the purpose of this Note to show how this expression is derived from first principles,
though it is of interest to note that it can also be derived from an expression given by
Geertsma (1957) for the change in pore volume in porous rocks and that it leads to the same
expression for undrained compressibility as that obtained by Gassmann (1951). An expres-
sion for Au/Au given by Biot (1941) is related to experimental parameters other than C, and
CW

DERIVATION OF PORE PRESSURE RATIO Au/Au

The analysis in its simplest form requires the following assumptions
(a) the pores of the porous medium are inter-connecting
(b) the solid material forming the skeleton of the porous medium is elastic and isotropic
(c) the bulk behaviour of an element of the skeleton when subject to a change in boundary
stress with zero change in pore pressure is that of an elastic isotropic material

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 TECHNICAL NOTES 437

(d) the distribution of pore space within the skeleton is statistically random
(e) the fluid (usually water) filling the pore space is linearly compressible
Consider an element of volume V of the saturated porous medium. The volume of the
pore fluid is nV and the volume of the solid material forming the skeleton is (1 - n) V.
Apply an equal all-round increment of total stress do and let du be the value of the pore
pressure change under conditions of zero drainage. i.e. zero flow of fluid across the boundary
of the element and no cavitation (if the change is negative).
Following the approach adopted by Bishop and Eldin (1950) the strains and volume changes
may be considered to be the sum of those obtained by imposing, (a) a total stress and pore
pressure change equal in magnitude to du and (b) an additional total stress at constant
pore pressure, of magnitude do - du.
For the stage (a) the following terms may then be considered.
(i) The decrease in volume of the pore fluid is given as
(nv>CJu . . . . . . . . . . (5)
(ii) The decrease in volume of the solid material is given as
(1-n)VCJu . . . . . . . . . . (6)
(iii) The decrease in the overall volume of the element is
VCJU . . . . . . . . . . (7)
as the components of strain along any continuous path across the solid skeleton within the
element are equal to those within the solid material of the skeleton.
For stage (b) two terms must be evaluated.
(iv) A decrease in the overall volume of the element which is given by
VC@- du) . . . . . . . . . . (8)
where C is the bulk compressibility measured under drained conditions with u constant.
(v) A decrease in the volume of the solid components of the skeleton due to the excess of
the total stress over the pore pressure. As the pores are assumed to be statistically random
in distribution, the area porosity on a plane intersecting the element at any level or orien-
tation is equal to the volumetric porosity2 iz. The average normal stress in the solid
material of the skeleton in any plane intersecting the element is thus [l/(1 -n)](da-du).
The volume decrease in the solid component is then

(1 - 4vc”(~!n)
-(Au-Au) = VC,(Aa-Au) . . . . . .

For zero drainage the decrease in volume of the element given by summing terms given in (iii)
and (iv) must equal the decrease in volume of the pore fluid (term (i)) and of the solid material
of the skeleton (terms (ii) and (v)). Thus
VC&+ VC(da-du) = nVCJu+(l -n)VCJu+ VcS(du-du) (10)
rearranging
du(C- C,) = &[(C- C,) +n(C,- C,)]
and thus
AU 1
KG= 1+n(C,-C,)/(C-C,) - . * - * . . (11)

a This theorem, which is accepted by Bruggeman et al. (1939) and demonstrated to be valid by Biot (1955), can be
proved by summing the volumetric porosities of infinitesimally thin plane slices intersecting the porous medium (Fig. 1).

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 438 TECHNICAL NOTES

Fig. 1. Simplified ‘thin’ slice through porous medium

It will be noted that the derivation of this expression does not involve any assumption about
the intergranular contact area.
The same expression may be obtained by using the equation relating the change in volume
of pore space dV, to the changes in total stress and pore pressure, obtained by Geertsma
(1957)
ov,
VP
=c ’ du+l(C-C)(Au-Au)
n ’
. . . . . . (12)
for zero drainage
“VP& Au (13)
VP w’ ******.**
substituting
n(C,-C,).Au = (C-C,)Au-(C-C,)Au

AU 1
and -= . . . (14)
Aa 1 +n(C,-CJ(C-C,) ’ ’ . ’
Gassmann (1951) carried out a closed system analysis of a saturated elastic porous medium,
but expressed his conclusion in the form of an undrained compression modulus

where

(16)
and the modulus K is the reciprocal of the coefficient of compressibility C with the appropriate
suffixes.
The undrained compressibility c is given by
&-AVl
-- . . . . . . . . . (17)
V Au
where d V is the sum of the two terms forming the left hand side of equation (10). Substi-
tuting the value of Au given by equation (11) we obtain the expression given by Bishop (1966)
c = n.&+(l--n)C,-C,2/C
w
l+nC,/C-(1 +n)C,/C ’ ’ . * ’ . *
This expression can likewise be obtained by substituting l/C for Kin equations (15) and (16).
The methods of analysis adopted by Gassmann (1951), Geertsma (1957) and the Author
are thus shown to lead to consistent conclusions.

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 TECHNICAL NOTES 439
THE PRINCIPLE OF EFFECTIVE STRESS
Particular equations expressing the principle of effective stress have not been explicitly
invoked in deriving the expression for Au/Au given in equation (11) or the expression for c
given in equation (18). However, if the effective stress u’ is defined as the function of total
stress and pore pressure which produces the same volume change in the element, when asso-
ciated with the relevant value of bulk compressibility, as the particular combination of 0 and
u, and if the elemental volume change is taken from the left-hand side of equation (10) it
follows that
VCAa’ = VC,Au+ VC(Aa- Au) . . . . . . (19)
C
or Aa’ = Au-Au I-2 (20)
( c 1 ***.***
Equation (20) is the expression for effective stress in the case of volume change given by Bishop
(1953) and discussed in detail by Skempton (1960). However, as pointed out by Bishop and
Blight (1963), equation (20) has important limitations when applied to non-Hookean materials.
In the present context it may be noted that the strains represented by the coefficient C, are
fully reversible and almost linearly elastic,3 while those represented by C are not always fully
reversible even in the case of rocks and do not obey a linear stress-strain law except for small
changes in stress, the value of C varying by a factor of 5 or more within the range of experi-
mental observations (for example Zisman (1933), Bruhn (1972)). The stress level which con-
trols the magnitude of C is not the effective stress relating to overall volume change given by
equation (20) but, to a very close approximation, 4 the excess of total stress over pore pressure
(CJ- u). This distinction is of great importance when predicting or interpreting the undrained
behaviour of rock in cases where the magnitude of the pore pressure is very large.
In terms of the volume change-stress space illustrated in Fig. 2, the value of C is not deter-
mined by the magnitude and sign of the overall volume change A V/V but by the stress path
as projected in the direction A0 on to the (o--u), AVjV plane. Thus the effective stress with
respect to compressibility of the skeleton is given by the expression
&=a-u . . . . . . . . . (21)

PREDICTED RANGE OF VALUES OF Au/Au

It is of interest to note the probable range of values of Au/Au. In the limiting case of
C, =0 and C’, =0 assumed by Terzaghi (1943), equation (11) leads to Au/Au= 1. If C, is
equated to zero but not C,, then Au/Au will be greater than unity, which indicates the caution
which must be exercised in making simplifying assumptions. The possibility that C, is
greater than C, is slight in real soils and rocks which are fully saturated, but might be con-
trived in artificial two-phase systems or result from the crushing of particles containing oc-
cluded gas (such as are found in pulverized fuel ash).
The influence of the value of the compressibility C and of the porosity n are illustrated in
Fig. 3. It will be noted that for values of the skeletal compressibility greater than that of
water the difference between the values of Au/Au given by equations (11) and (3) is not sig-
nificant. For C=C, the values of Au/Au are identical. However, as the value of C ap-
proaches C, major errors arise from the use of the simplified expression. A wide range of
values of C has been reported for porous and fissured rocks, but taking as a typical value

3 C, and C, vary slightly with pressure if accurately

measured over a wide pressure range (see for example Bridgman
(1928) and Adams and Williamson (1923)).
4 An estimate of the error has been made by Skempton (1960).

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 440 TECHNICAL NOTES

Fig. 2. Volume change-stress space for porous media where C. is constant but C is stress path dependent

08

05

0.3

0.2

01

0
I.0 IO 100 IOOOXIO."

Compressibility: C per kg/cm 2

Fig. 3. Variation of d&lo with value of compressibility C

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 TECHNICAL NOTES 441

C= 10.5 x lo+ per kg/cm2 reported by Bruhn (1972) for Berea Sandstone at a stress level
(a-u) of approximately 650 kg/cm2, we obtain values of Au/Au of 0.53 and 0.77 for values
of n = 0.15 and 0.05 respectively. The reported initial porosity of this particular sandstone
was 0.187, indicating a value of Au/da of about 0.48 subject to a small error due to differences
in the assumed value of C,.
For values of C approaching C,, Au/da may be of the order 0.1 but will be very sensitive
to the value of n.
Few observations are currently available to confirm these predictions, and a truly ‘un-
drained’ observation is indeed difficult to obtain. In their earlier series of tests Bishop and
Eldin (1950) included a special test where it was ensured that no water flowed from the base
of the specimen by continuously adjusting the zero of the null indicator to allow for the com-
pression of the water and expansion of the tubes and valve forming the measuring system. A
value of Au/Au for saturated sand of approximately 0.997 was obtained. This technique was
not adopted in tests reported by Bruhn (1972), and the value of O-17 obtained for Berea
Sandstone must be considered as partly drained.
The problem of system compressibility has been discussed by Bishop and Henkel (1962),
Wissa (1969) and Bruhn (1972). The various factors make a convincing undrained value
difficult to achieve in porous materials of low compressibility except with very specialized
equipment.

PORE PRESSURE PARAMETERS

In the case of an ideal elastic porous material the equal all-round pressure do in equation
(11) may be replaced by Aa=4_(Ao, + Au, + Au,) where the suffixes denote principal stresses.
For the axial compression test in which Au, = Aus, equation (11) reduces to the form
1
Au = l+n~c,_c,~,~c_c~~[A~,+~(A~~-A~~)l . . . . (22)

and the pore pressure parameter B defined by Skempton (1954) becomes

1
B = l+n(C,-C,)/(C-Cs) - * * - * - *

REFERENCES
Adams, L. H. & Williamson, E. D. (1923). The compressibility of minerals and rocks at high pressures.
Jnl Franklin Inst. 195, 475.
Biot, M. A. (1941). General theory of three-dimensional consolidation. Jnl Appl. Phys. 12, 155-164.
Biot, M. A. (1955). Theory of elasticity and consolidation for a porous anisotropic solid. Jnl Appf. Phys
26, 182-185.
Bishop, A. W. (1953). Private communication.
Bishop, A. W. (1959). The principle of effective stress. Tek. Ukebl. No. 39, 859-863.
Bishop, A. W. (1966). Soils and soft rocks as engineering materials. Znaug. Lect. Imp. Coil. Sci. Technol.
6,289-313.
Bishop, A. W. & Blight, G. E. (1963). Some aspects of effective stress in saturated and partly saturated
soils. GPotechnique 13, No. 3, 177-197.
Bishop, A. W. & Eldin, G. (1950). Undrained triaxial tests on saturated sands and their significance in
the general theory of shear strength. Gt!otechnique 2, No. 1, 13-32.
Bishop, A. W. & Henkel, D. J. (1962). The measurement of soilproperties in the triaxial test. London:
Edward Arnold (2nd edition).
Bridgman, P. W. (1928). The compressibility of thirteen natural crystals. Am. Jnl Sci. 15,287-296.
Bruggeman, J. R., Zanger, C. N. & Brahtz, J. H. A. (1939). Memorandum to Chief Designing Engineer:
notes on analytical soil mechanics. US Department of the Interior Technical Memorandum No. 592.

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Bruhn, R. W. (1972). A study of the effects of pore pressure on the strength and deformability of Berea
Sandstone in triaxial compression. US Department of the Army Technical Report, Engineering Study
No. 552.
Gassmann, F. (1951). Uber die Elastizitat porijser Medien. Mitteilungen aus dem Institut fur Ceophvsik,
No. 17.
Geertsma, J. (1957). The effect of fluid pressure decline on volumetric changes of porous rocks. Sot.
Petrol. Engrs, Los Angeles, October 14-17.
Rendulic, L. (1937). A fundamental law of soil mechanics and its verification by experiment. Bauing. 18,
459-467.
Skempton, A. W. (1954). The pore pressure coefficients A and B. Ge’otechnique 4, No. 4, 143-147.
Skempton, A. W. (1960). Effective stress in soils, concrete and rocks. Conf: Pore Pressure and Suction in
Soils, 4-l 6.
Taylor, D. W. (1944). Cylindrical compression research program on stress-deformation and strength
characteristics of soils. MIT 10th Progress Report to US Engineer Department.
Terzaghi, K. (1925). Principles of soil mechanics: VII-Friction in sand and in clay. Engineering News
Record 95, No. 26, 1026-1029.
Terzaghi, K. (1943). Theoretical soil mechanics. New York: John Wiley.
Wissa, A. E. Z. (1969). Pore pressure measurement in saturated stiff soils. JnZ Soil Mech. Fdns Div.
Am. Sot. Civ. Engrs 95, SM4, 1063-1073.
Zisman, W. A. (1933). Compressibility and anisotropy of rocks at and near the earth’s surface. Proc.
Natn Acad. Sci. 19, 666-679.

A note on the interpretation of Coulomb’s analysis of

the thrust on a rough retaining wall in terms of the limit
theorems of plasticity theory

I. F. COLLINS”

INTRODUCTION
This note is concerned with the interpretation, in the light of the modern theory of plasticity, of
Coulomb’s classic analysis (1773) of the earth pressure on a vertical retaining wall. It was
prompted by Heyman’s commentary (1972) on Coulomb’s notes. Coulomb obtained an
expression for the thrust on a retaining wall by considering the overall static equilibrium of a
family of triangular wedges of soil. In the case of a smooth wall, his formula is identical to
that obtained by applying the upper bound theorem of limit analysis. However, the conven-
tional limit theorems cannot be applied when the wall is rough; so it would appear, as noted by
Heyman, that Coulomb’s expression for this situation cannot be interpreted in terms of plasti-
city theory and that the corresponding thrust estimates are not strict bounds.
The main purpose of this Note is to demonstrate that in fact, in the rough case also, Cou-
lomb’s results can be interpreted in terms of upper bounds by using a generalized limit theorem
given by Collins (1969) which does apply in the presence of rough boundaries. As will beseen
this result follows simply from the assumption of Coulomb’s criterion for yield; it does not
depend on assuming any specific form for the flow rule.

*Department of Mathematics, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology

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