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Consolidation Test PDF
Consolidation Test PDF
Lecture No. 12
October 24, 2002
What is Consolidation?
Air
Air
Water
Water
Solids
Solids
Compaction
Reduction in the
volume of the water
Water
Solids
Water
Solids
Consolidation
OneOne-dimensional Consolidation
Initial Condition
Valve Closed
No loading on
the piston
Time t = 0
Time t = t1
Time t = tfinal
Valve Closed
Loading on
the piston
Valve Open
Valve Open
Water flows out
No water flow
Pressure reading Pressure gauge
drops
at zero
Pressure gauge Pressure gauge
Spring
takes
Spring takes all
at zero
at maximum
some load and
the load;
compresses;
maximum
piston sinks
compression
7
Vertical Load
Water Bath
Soil Sample
Confining Ring
10
Stress
Settlement
= + u
11
12
ult
v (kPa)
The nature of the graph
is not affected by the
change in the vertical
axis.
15
v
e
100
200
v (kPa)
16
Ice
Erosion
Clay
Several million years ago
Clay
Present
Vertical
Effective
Stress is v
OCR =
At present
vmax
v
Preconsolidation Pressure
Start of the test
An oedometer test of an undisturbed
c
sample of an OC soil shows an ee
log(v) curve as shown in the figure on
the right.
The slope of the e-log(v) curve is
fairly flat until a vertical effective
stress equal to the preconsolidation
pressure (c) is reached.
log(v)
Beyond this point, the slope of the elog(v) curve becomes steeper, i.e.
the soil becomes more compressible.
The preconsolidation pressure is like a
yield stress for soil.
c
This fact can be appreciated by rotating
the curve by 90 in anti-clockwise
direction. Doesnt this curve resemble a
load-extension curve for a metal rod?
20
e
log(v)
Maximum
Past Vertical
Effective
Stress is
vmax
19