LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF COMPRESSIBILITY PARAMETERS

Ir Philip Chung
Chief Geotechnical Engineer
Geotechnical Engineering Office
1 2
SOME PRE-REQUISTES
1
3
Consolidation : is the gradual reduction in volume of a (fully
saturated) soil due to drainage of some of the pore water. he process
continues until all e!cess pore water pressure set up "y an increase in total
stress has completely dissipated.

water
Soil
grains
u


water
Soil
grains
u
+
+
water
Soil
grains
u+

+
Consolidation

Additional load
gradually transfers
to soil grains
e.g. 50 kPa
e.g. 20 kPa
30 kPa
e.g. 50 + 40 kPa
20 + 40 kPa
30 kPa
50 + 40 kPa
20 kPa
30 + 40 kPa
u
After time t,
: 50 + 40 kPa
u : 20 + 30 kPa
: 30 + 10 kPa
4
Preconsolidation pressure :
he ma!imum effective vertical
stress that has acted on the soil
in the past.
#hen a load is applied to a soil and the soil is allowed to deform$ there are
normally 3 types of compressions that contri"ute to the overall
deformation (settlements):

5
(a) Elastic deformation : it occurs immediately on the application of
load and is recovera"le on removal of the load. he deformation is
commonly referred to as the immediate settlement.
(b) Primary consolidation : his is the deformation most engineers
concern a"out. It results from the decrease in volume due to the
dissipation of e!cess pore water (see definition a"ove)
(c) Secondary compression : the continued deformation of soil even
after all the e!cess pore water has "een dissipated. he deformation is
sometimes called creep settlement.
6
wo types of soils can "e identified:
(a) Normally consolidated soil : soil with its preconsolidation
pressure e%uals the e!isting effective vertical over"urden pressure.
(b) Overly consolidated soil : soil with its preconsolidation pressure
greater than the e!isting over"urden pressure.
he ratio of the preconsolidation pressure (
c
) to the e!isting vertical
effective over"urden pressure (
&
) is 'nown as over(consolidation ratio
(OC))$ i.e.
OC) *
c
+
&
,uestion: -ow comes over(consolidation .
7
Over-consolidation

c
e

&/

&0

&1
2ormal consolidation line
or virgin compression curve
OC) *
c
+
&1
OC) *
c
+
&/
OC) * /
If
c
* 0&& 'Pa

&/
* /&& 'Pa

&1
* 3& 'Pa
OC) * 4
OC) * 0
8
Occurrence of over-consolidation
here are several natural or human processes that ma'es a soil in the
ground has an effective stress in its history greater that of the present
value. 5ome e!amples are given "elow:
9 10
11
z
I!"!a# e$%e&&
'()e ')e&&*)e
" + 0
+
" + "
1
C(,')e&&!-#e &(!#
u
i
Governing equation:
t
u
z
u
c
2
2
v

u - excess pore pressure, - !ept", t - time

c
v
- coefficient of conso#i!ation
.)a!age ,a"e)!a#
.)a!age ,a"e)!a#
12
z
t $ 0
+
t $ t
%
u
i
6ourier 5eries solution:
t
u
z
u
c
2
2
v

4
T ) 1 m 2 (
0 m
i
v
2 2
e
d 2
z ) 1 m 2 (
sin
1 m 2
u 4
u
+

+
+
=
where
2
v
v
d
t c
T =
v
is 'nown as the ime !actor
13
7egree of consolidation is
defined as:
i
i
z
u
u u
U

=
z
t $ 0
+
t $ t
%
u
i
7istri"ution of e!cess
pore water pressure
u
i
u
u * &
at initial
stage
( t * & )
at a stage
where
t * t
/
at final
stage
t *
5oil element at depth 8
14
7egree of consolidation is defined as:
9v. 7egree of consolidation:
-ence$ from 6ourier 5eries solution:
i
i
z
u
u u
U

=
" + 0
+
" + "
1
u
i
u
i
d 2
0
u
dz u
d 2
1
1 U

=
4
T ) 1 m 2 (
0 m
2
v
2 2
e
1 m 2
1 8
1 U
+

+
=
2ote that for small
v
$
the convergence of
this solution is slow
15
6rom assumption (h) of er8aghi:s /7
consolidation theory$ i
i
z
u
u u
U

=
i
d 2
0
u
dz u
d 2
1
1 U

=
4
T ) 1 m 2 (
0 m
2
v
2 2
e
1 m 2
1 8
1 U
+

+
=
e
&
e
/
e
0

&

/

0
7uring consolidation$ * (u
and total change in * u
i
U =
u
i
u
t
u
i
=
s
t
s
f

ry to prove it yourself
16
4
T ) 1 m 2 (
0 m
2
v
2 2
e
1 m 2
1 8
1 U
+

+
=
17
MA/OR COMPRESSIBILITY PARAMETERS FROM
OE.OMETER 01. CONSOLI.ATION1 TESTS
2
18
he following compressi"ility(related parameters may "e o"tained from
/7 consolidation test (i.e. oedometer test) :
19
5et(up of an
oedometer apparatus
Porous !iscs
Porous !iscs
&(!#
2-si!e !rainage
&ircu#ar stee#
ring
20
Consolidation test is normally carried out for fine(grained soils (why.)
;nder Geospec 1$ /7 consolidation test is applica"le only to soils with
ma!imum particle si8e < /+4 specimen height.
-igh %uality samples should "e used for oedometer tests (Class /
samples in accordance with Geoguide 0). he test is not suita"le for
soils containing large(scale fa"ric features$ e.g. laminations of silt in a
soft marine clay.
soil
Porous disk
Porous disk
/(!"2&ea, (3
%(a)&e !3!##
21
he end points (.) from a num"er of
loading and unloading increments of
an oedometer test may "e plotted as
shown where:
&"ange in vertica# strain
$ c"ange in samp#e t"ickness
initia# samp#e t"ickness
5ince the void ratio of the soil sample
at different stages of an oedometer
test can "e estimated$ it is common
practice to plot the results in a e (
space or e = log space.
2ote that the nature of the graph is
not affected "y the change in the
vertical a!is

2atural scale
2atural scale
>oading
;nloading
End points
22
#hat do we mean "y ?end points@ in the previous slide.
End of primary (EOP) consolidation
vs
End of est
0.48
0.52
0.56
0.6
10 100 1000
Applied pressure (kPa)
V
o
i
d

r
a
t
i
o
,

e
End of Primary (EOP) End of Test
GEO5PEC 1 adopts the End of Primary (EOP)
consolidation approach in the calculation of
consolidation parameters such as m
v
and c
v
.
he EOP approach is theoretically more
rational and correct as compared with the
traditional end of test procedure.
23

H
2
H
1
1+e
1
1+e
2
h
h
0
=
e
1 +e

'ater
'ater
so#i!s so#i!s
24
5I>+C>9A from Che' >ap Bo'
formation 04m "elow the
airport platform
&#('e + C
%
&#('e + C
)

c
e = log curve showing
loading and unloading data
for the Che' >ap Bo' airport
proCect
25
Dany site o"servations reveal that the actual rate and magnitude of
consolidation settlements are greater than those predicted "y
la"oratory tests.
5ome of the possi"le reasons :
sample distur"ance
variations in the soil fa"ric
anisotropic drainage or 1(7 consolidation
(note that in general c
h
E c
v
)
"etter specimen #uality
26
Effect of sample
distur"ance and
one of the
suggested methods
to re(construct the
field e(log curve
(ie#! curve
)a*+ curve
&#('e + %
)
e
o
'
o
'
c
0.4e
o
&#('e + %
)
27
Dethod of determining the preconsolidation pressure
c
or
p
he Casagrande method of
o"taining the preconsolidation
pressure from consolidation
test is "ased on the point of
greatest curvature (i.e. 9)
,inimum possi*#e -.
p
,aximum possi*#e -.
p
,ost possi*#e -.
p
45
'
/. >ocate the point of greatest
curvature (point 9)
0. 7raw a tangent to 9
1. 7raw a hori8ontal line
passing 9
3. Fisect the angle "etween
the two lines in (0) and (1)
4. E!tend the straight line
portion until it intersects
with the "isector (point F)
28
9t least 3 ( G load increments are recommended with each applied
stress "eing dou"led that of the previous stage
)ange of pressure normally availa"le (in 'Pa):
G$ /0$ 04$ 4&$ /&&$ 0&&$ 3&&$ H&&$ /G&&$ 10&&
9s a designer$ how to specify the load increments. Is unloading and
reloading re%uired.
will "e discussed in class
(see also slide no. 1/)
25
50
100
200
400
600
29
Coefficient of volume compressibility (m
v
) is defined as the volume
change per unit volume per unit increase in effective stress
6or /7 consolidation$ area remains unchanged.
V

=
1
V
V
m
v
1 2 1
1 2
1
1 2
v
1
e 1
e e 1
H
H H 1
H
H
m
+

H
2
H
1
1+e
1
1+e
2
30
he normal range of m
v
for alluvial deposit$ clay and fine(grained volcanics
found in -B is appro!imately $.$% - % m
&
'(N depending on stress level.
wo important notes to the designers:
(/) m
v
of a soil is not constant$ it depends
on the stress and stress range over
which it is calculated. In general$ m
v
decreases as stress (or depth) increases.
0
2
4
6
8
10
10 100 1000
vertical effective stress (kPa)
m
v

(
m
2
/
M
N
)
kaolin 1 kaolin 2
clay 1 clay 2
31
(0) 9lthough Geospec 1 specifies that m
v
should "e calculated for each
loading increment and each la" report also follows as such.
In practice$ however$ the designer
should calculate the most
appropriate value "y himself
+herself according to the actual
stress range encountered in the
proCect.
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
10 100 1000
vertical effective stress (kPa)
v
o
i
d

r
a
t
i
o
e
%
e
2
'
1
'
2
'
1
MN / m 61 . 0
10 x
40 120
1
44 . 1 1
44 . 1 32 . 1
m
2
3
v
=
+

=

+60 kPa

1
+40 kPa
32
9part from m
v
$ the compression inde) (c
c
) can also "e used to estimate
the magnitude of consolidation settlement.
c
c
is the slope of the straight line portion of the
virgin compression curve in the e ( log plot$
0
1
log

=
e
c
c
c
c
has the limitation that it is only
applica"le for the stress range that
falls *it+in t+e strai,+t line portion of
the e( log plot.
9pplica"le stress range
33
ypical c
c
values for some -B soils are given "elow:
/oi# t0pe 1nitia# voi! ratio, e
0

0+4 2 0+3 0+3 2 %+2 %+2 2 2+0 42+0
,arine c#a0 0+% 2 0+2 0+2 - 0+4 0+4 2 0+3 0+3 - 4 %+0
A##uvia# !eposit 0+05 2 0+2 0+2 2 0+4 -- --
&56 0+05 2 0+%3 0+%3 2 0+25 -- --

34
he coefficient of consolidation c
v
is defined as:
(2ote that is is assumed constant in er8aghi:s theory)
c
v
also relates the actual time (t) and the time factor (
v
):
c
v
may "e calculated from root time plot or lo, time plot
from the oedometer test results for eac+ loadin,
w v
v
m
k
c

=
2
v
v
d
t c
T =
35
Log time method (figure taken from R.F Craig Soil Mechanics
2
50 v
d
t c
196 . 0 =
&16)7088 Groun! investigation an! soi# testing
D5c$ -B;
36
Calculation of rate of consolidation settlement = c
v
root time method (figure taken from R.F Craig Soil Mechanics
2
90 v
d
t c
848 . 0 =
37
he normal range of c
v
for -B soils varies from a"out $.- to %$ m
&
'year.
9 typical c
v
value for marine clay in -B is around / m
0
+year
Geospec 1 re%uires c
v
to "e calculated from bot+ log time and root time
methods.
-owever$ Geospec 1 also recognises that in some cases$ only either root
time or log time plot is feasi"le.
38
Ialues of c
v
measured "y root(time method are almost al*ays +i,+er
than those measure "y log(time method
Coefficient of consolidation calculated from
log time and root time
0.1
1.0
10.0
100.0
0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0
log time
r
o
o
t

t
i
m
e
E%uality
line
Foth methods are attempts to fit a
model of "ehaviour to actual
performance and they "oth have
theoretical "asis.
he designer has to decide which
method to "e used in his+her design.
39
Comparison of root(time and log(time methods :
40
Is c
v
a constant as assumed "y er8aghi .
#e found that c
v
in fact varies with loading JJ
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 200 400 600 800 1000
vertical effective stress (kPa)
c
o
e
f
f
.

o
f

c
o
n
s
o
l
i
d
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
2
/
y
e
a
r
)
kaolin 1 kaolin 2
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
0 200 400 600
vertical effective stress (kPa)
c
o
e
f
f
.

o
f

c
o
n
s
o
l
i
d
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
2
/
y
e
a
r
)
clay 1 clay 2
Kaolin
(SILT)
Olive gray clay
from East Sha
Chau (CLAY)
41
5econdary compression = c
sec
Geospec 1 defines t+e coefficient of secondary compression (C
sec
) as :
the ratio of the change in height$ -
sec
$ to the initial height$ -
i
$ of a
test specimen at the start of the primary consolidation under a
particular vertical stress increment over one log cycle of time during
the secondary compression phase
i
sec
10 i
sec
sec
H
H
t log
1
H
H
C

=

=
6or one log cycle
!or one lo, cycle
7
&e%
.
i
under a
particular
vertical stress
his definition has the "eauty that you
may calculate the settlement due to
secondary compression directly
42
Geospec 1 specifies that the compression curve should cover at least
one complete cycle of log time. e.g. from /&& min to /&&& min or from
/&&& min to /&&&& min
(/$&&& min K /G.L hours
/&$&&& min K L days)
i
sec
10 i
sec
sec
H
H
t log
1
H
H
C

=

=
9n e!ample for an alluvial
clay at Chep >ap Bo' airport
is shown. (why 3/ months
were re%uired..)
43
E8AMPLES OF APPLICATIONS
4
44
9s discussed$ when a load is applied to a soil and the soil is allowed
to deform$ there are normally 1 types of compressions that
contri"ute to the overall deformation (settlements):
elastic settlement
primary consolidation
secondary compression
45
Consolidation test in the la"oratory can provide information on :
ma,nitude of consolidation settlementM and
rate of consolidation settlement
46
E!ample : Calculation of consolidation settlement using m
v
he amount of total (final) consolidation settlement is calculated from the
following simple formula:
s
c
/ m
v
.
e.g. if m
v
* / m
0
+D2 $ * 4& 'Pa$ total thic'ness of the compressi"le layer
- * /& m
then$ total settlement due to primary consolidation
* / ! 4& ! /& * 4&& mm
47
E!ample : Calculation of consolidation settlement using c
c
9part from m
v
$ the compression inde) (c
c
) can also "e used to estimate
the magnitude of consolidation settlement.
9s c
c
is the slope of the straight line portion of the
virgin compression curve in the e ( log plot$
otal (final) settlement from primary consolidation (s
c
) :
0
1
log

=
e
c
c
H
e
c
s
c
c
0
0
1
1
log
+

H
H
e
e
=
+

1
e.g. if c
c
* &.3$ change of from 4& to /&& 'Pa$
e
&
* /./$ total thic'ness of the
compressi"le layer - * /& m
otal settlement due to primary consolidation
$ 90+4x#og:%00;50< = x %0;:%+%+%< $ 583 mm
48
In practice $ two types of %uestion related to the rate of consolidation
are commonly as'ed :
(/) 6or how long will a particular consolidation settlement "e reached
(or will a particular degree of consolidation "e reached).
(0) #hat will "e the magnitude of consolidation at a particular period of
time.
remaining e!cess pwp 0
v
time (t)

amount of settlement
2
v
v
d
t c
T =
E!ample : Calculations related to the rate of consolidation
4
T ) 1 m 2 (
0 m
2
v
2 2
e
1 m 2
1 8
1 U
+

+
=
49
E.g. 5uppose the final consolidation
settlement of the clay layer due to
e!ternal load * 4&& mm
,/ : how long will it ta'e to complete
N&O of the total settlement.
,0 : #hat will "e the settlement after
/ year from the application of the
e!ternal load.
Granular fill
clay
/& m
c
v
$ %m
2
;k>
Impermea"le layer
50
,/ : how long will it ta'e to complete N&O
of the total settlement.
Granular fill
clay
/& m
c
v
$ %m
2
;k>
Impermea"le layer
? $ 0+@, (rom c"art, A
v
$ 0+35
As A
v
$ :c
v
<t;:!
2
<,
0+35 $ % x t ; :%0
2
< , t $ 35 0ears
,0 : #hat will "e the settlement after /
year from the application of the
e!ternal load.
t $ % 0ear,
A
v
$ :c
v
<t;:!
2
< $ %x%; :%0
2
< $ 0+0%
(rom c"art, ? $ 0+%2
sett#ement $ 0+%2 x 500 $ 70 mm
51
Geospec 1 distinguishes c
sec
from the secondary compression inde)1 C

which is defined as e + log t (i.e. the slope of the compression curve)
9n important %uestion to the designer: how do I 'now whether
secondary compression is significant in my proCect+design.
5ome hints:
(a) past e!perience on similar soils
(") highly sensitive soils
(c) soils with high organic contents
(d) soils with high c
c
value also has high c

value (most practical +int)

E!ample : Calculation of secondary compression
52
It is %uite surprise to note that the ratio c

+ c
c
is appro!imately a constant
for most soil (e.g. see Desri and Godlews'i /NLL)
he following ta"le gives you some information:
Ma"e)!a#& C

2 C
%

9)a*#a) &(!#& !%#*:!g )(%k3!## 0.02 0.01
S;a#e a: ,*:&"(e 0.03 0.01
I()ga!% %#a<& a: &!#"& 0.04 0.01
O)ga!% %#a<& a: &!#"& 0.05 0.01
Pea" 0.0= 0.01

53
he graph shows an e!ample of an alluvial clay
from Chep >ap Bo' formation (>o et al):
54
SOME REMAR>S
55
2emar3 No. -
In practice $ under what condition(s) that /7 consolidation theory is
applica"le.
i.e.
how do we 'now our site condition is in favour of /7
consolidation and not other types of consolidation.
56
2emar3 No. &
End of primary (EOP) consolidation vs End of est
If EOP is not used$
occurrence of secondary
compression may affect
the determination of
preconsolidation pressure.
Other factors such as >oad
Increment )atio suggest
that there is no uni%ue
e(log curve for a soil

c
pseudo

c
10 year
100 year
1000 year
1 year
57
2emar3 No. 3 = other consolidation tests
est Dethod /3.0 of Geospec 1 specifies the isotropic compression test in
a tria!ial cell.
he test provides information on m
vi
$ c
vi
$ e(log p: relationship. 5aturation
is provided to the specimen and pore pressure within the specimen can
"e measured.
2o*e cell test may also provide useful information on soil compressi"ility.
It has the following features:
(a) saturation and pore pressure measurement of the specimen are
provided
(") preconsolidation pressure more easily identified
(c) hori8ontal drainage is possi"le and hence c
r
(or c
h
) can "e o"tained
(d) Constant )ate of 5train (C)5) test possi"le.
58
test consol idation properties 2emar3s
%5 conso#i!ation test
:oe!ometer test<
e-#og p#ot, m
v
, c
v
,
preconso#i!ation pressure,
&
c
, &
r,
&
sec

/tan!ar! test in Geospec 3+
Besu#ts strict#0 speaking
app#ie! to %5 con!ition on#0
1sotropic
conso#i!ation test
using triaxia#
apparatus
e-#og p p#ot, m
i
, c
i
/tan!ar! test in Geospec 3+
Besu#ts app#ie! to axia#
s0mmetr0 con!ition+
1n!ex tests &
c
etc+ Cmpirica# corre#ation on#0
Bo'e ce## /ame as oe!ometer test *ut
ma0 a#so give conso#i!ation
properties in "orionta#
!irection, e+g c
"

(requent#0 use! 'it" *an!
!rain;san! !rain construction
or anisotropic soi# stratum+
59
End
60
5upplementary 5lides
61
he following ta"le summari8es the difference "etween compaction and
consolidation
Compaction Consolidation
5ue to input of mec"anica# energ0 5ue to an increase of externa# #oa!
Be!uction of t"e air voi!s in t"e soi# :an!
"ence an increase in !r0 !ensit0<
(or fu##0 saturate! soi#s '"ere 'ater is
squeee! out :i+e+ !issipation of excess of pore
'ater pressure<
>o or ver0 #itt#e re!uction in moisture
content
Be!uction in moisture content :an! "ence
re!uction in vo#ume<
62
4ssumptions of er5a,+i6s -7 consolidation t+eory:
(a) soil is fully saturated
(") soil grains and water are incompressi"le
(c) 7arcy:s law is valid
(d) soil compression and water flow in /7 only
(e) coefficient of consolidation is constant
(f) compressi"le soil layer is homogeneous$ hori8ontal and of
uniform thic'ness
(g) initial e!cess pore pressure due to the application of load is
uniform throughout the depth of the soil layer
(h) a change in effective stress in the soil causes a corresponding
change in voids ratio and their relationship is linear during any
stress increment and is independent of time.
63
9nother approach to solve er8aghi:s /7 consolidation e%uation is "y
means of the Error function:
#here
2ote that for small
v
$
the contri"ution from
the 0nd part of the
solution is very small

=
1 n
v
1 n
v
v
)
T
n
( ) 1 ( T 4
T
2 U

=
x
dx ) x erf 1 ( ) x (
64
6ourier series solution
Error function solution

=
v
T
2 U
(or 0 A
v
0+22
(or A
v
4 0+22
4
T
2
v
2
e
8
1 U

=
65
Comparing the two solutions:
R e
8
1 U
4
T
2
v
2

Fourier series solution Error function solution

R
T
2 U
v

=
At T
v
0.22 (i.e. U = 0.53)
R ~ R
Tv R R
0.1 < 0.02 < 0.000002
0.2 < 0.002 < 0.0008
0.3 < 0.0002 < 0.008
66
4
T ) 1 m 2 (
0 m
2
v
2 2
e
1 m 2
1 8
1 U
+

+
=
Relationship between Degree of consolidation (U) and Time factor (Tv)
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10
Time factor, Tv
A
v
e
r
a
g
e

d
e
g
r
e
e

o
f

c
o
n
s
o
l
i
d
a
t
i
o
n
,

U
One side drainage
7rainage at top
at base
at 1/2 depth
at 1/4 depth
a?e)age
Aime factor, A
v
Be#ations"ip *et'een 5egree of conso#i!ation :?< an! Aime factor :A
v
<
5
e
g
r
e
e

o
f

c
o
n
s
o
#
i
!
a
t
i
o
n
,

?
:)a!age
S(!#
&")a"*,
!,'e)?!(*&