CONSOLIDATION TEST INSTRUCTED BY: Prof. 8.A.S KULATHILAKA NAME :G.RAMANAN, INDEXNO__ ; 090416L DATE OF EXP: 08.08.2011 DATE OF SUB: 22.08.2011 LEVEL 7OBJECTIVITY This test is performed to: > Estimate the amount of consolidation settlement > Estimate the rate of consolidation settlement in the field INTODUCTION (fa ay t Semple pea sae > Consolidation is a time-related process of increasing the density of a saturated soil by draining some of the water out of the voids.Consolidation is generally related to fine-grainedsoils such as silts and clays. Coarse-grained soils (sands and gravels) also undergo consolidation but at a much faster ratedue to their high permeability. Saturated clays consolidate at a much slower rate due to their Jow permeability. THEORY Spring Anology > The container is completely filled with water, and the hole is closed. (Fully saturated soil) I > A load is applied onto the cover, while the hole is still unopened, At this stage, only the water resists the applied load. (Development of excess pore water pressure) WAAAY WV > As soon as the hole is opened, water starts to drain out eta through the hole and the spring shortens. (Drainage of excess pore water pressure) i > After some time, the drainage of water no longer occurs. a | 4 Now, the spring alone resists the applied load. (Full = dissipation of excess pore water pressure. End of consolidation) ‘ter ete Leadstovonee an Same way, when soil (saturated) is initially loaded, water will bear all the loads applied, however when times goes up water leaks out due to the pressure gradient. Then there will be a situation where the applicr load will be bared partly by soil and partly by water. After some time pore water pressure reaches the initial value at that time all load will be beared by the soil.APPARATUS AND CONSOLIDATION TEST SETUP v SNANN Porous plate: pervious than the specimen of soil should be used to permit effective drainage. For routine testing, stones of medium porosity are satisfactory. Loading cap Consolidation cell Dial gauge ‘Timing device — watch Loading device Consolidation Test Setup ‘The undisturbed sample of the soil of 20mm thickness was intruded into the consolidation cell and one with two porous plates onbothside, ce ns filed wif, male System is initially loaded normally with SOKN and then increased to 100kN.. taihial dial gauge Wnt in Wes necordedl , During the stress increment, the reduction in the height of the Sample at different elapsed times (1min, 2mins, 4mins, 8mins, 1Smins, etc) was observed with the help of dial gauge. Observations-are tabulated and selealtions are made to determine coefficient of consolidation. |? BeLaboratory Consolidation Test and Analysis Data obtained from one increment in a conventiional multi increment Consolidation Test Sample Diameter (mm) 50.00 Initial Sample tickness (rr) 20.00 Dial gauge reading at the stat of the test (mm) = 0.000 Dial gauge reading at the stat of the = current increment (rom) Initia! Moisture content of the sample % - Specific gravity of the particles = Current ioad increment - trom 5O km? to \CO kim? Dats [Time ime Root Dial Readin, ial iMlement Elapsed fri Major Minor }Reading (mm) (nin) ren) also | Oy Th [ere [rote] oO 3-25 13 [eros [Csu4 [ones o-8 is o.094 |b O73) L 1.962) 0 -age =O5A) Oo. 2162 | O.et zn 220] © -54 B.2zah| 9-690 2-A92) oO. T1E 2.306 | or 780. 2-356 ee UNIVERSITY GF 2 MORATUWA | Deoget-nent of Civil Engineering Seon viachanics, ‘Date 28Cor it of Consolidation (C,) By the Square Root Time (Taylor’s) Method dn .83 min"? tog = 8min Ty xd? _ 0.848 x(18.424/2) 995 mm?/min = 4.73 m/year xonset noe oo'st ooo ay UE ( @UUEL ) 200K) {poureyy siojAey ) yo} eu JOON os ooCoefficient of Consolidation (C,) By the Log (Time) ~ Casagrande’s Method 6, =0.142mm, Syqo = O.F3mM Ty xd? _ 0.197% (18.424/2) bo le (ovK5 mm?/min =5-49 m’/year00001 00°01 OOF (uj - aun ) So} poULeW S,epuBIBESED - J0}d ( auf) 507 (wu) yueweReS oro ‘ oS 3Specimen Calculations Coefficient of Volume Compressibility(m,) Ah __0.780 =< = 8.467 x 10% m/KN AoxH s0xig4ge 8407 x10 m m, = Coefficient of Consolidation (C,) a) By the Square Root Time (Taylor's) Method fp = 2.83min"? ty = 8min Ty xd? _ 0.848% (18.424/2)* = 8.995 mm?/min = 4.73 m°/year b) By the Log (Time) — Casagrande’s Method 6, = 0.142mm Sop = OF, Sy = =. 0.436 mm tent Ow a 0.197 x (18.424 /2) = gene fonin 9 myer 1.6DISCUSSION WHAT IS CONSOLIDATION OF SOILS % Consolidation is the removal of water from soil. In other words, itis the squeezing out of water from the soil to make it more dense. > Incase of coarse grained soils like sands and gravels, the removal of this pore water is easy since water freely moves from one region to another within these soil types. However. in casc of fine grained soils like silty or clayey soils, consolidation is a time consuming process. > Incase of fine grained soil on which a structure is to be built, high water content is not desired as the weight of the structure may cause sinking (consolidation settlement) of the structure in due time. Typically the permeability (ability of water to move through the soil voids) of fine grained soils is low, hence it takes a long time for consolidation process. So two aspects of consolidation settlement are important: ¥ The rate at which the consolidation is taking place ¥ The total amount of consolidation. > Ifthe soil is such that it has never experienced pressure of the current magnitude in its entire history, it is called a normally loaded soil. The soil is called pre-consolidated (or over-consolidated) if at any time in history, it has been subjected to a pressure equal to or greater than the current pressure applied to it. In case of normally consolidated soils, the consolidation will be greater than that fora pre-consolidated soil. That is because the pre-consolidated soil has previously experienced greater or equal pressure and has undergone at least some consolidation under that pressure, So a pre-consolidated soil is preferred ‘over a normally consolidated soil, > The rate at which consolidation will take place, will depend on following factors: The nature of soi The degree of saturation (how many percent voids are filled will water) ‘The amount and nature of the load on the soil. The soil history (normally or over -consolidated. a8 NEED FOR CONSOLIDATION TEST > Consolidation theory is required for the prediction of both the magnitude and te rate of consolidation settlements to ensure the serviceability of structures founded on a compressible soil layer. Differential settlements that can lead to structural failures duc to tilting should be avoided. Otherwise, one will need extreme measures to save the structure. > Soil consolidation is often a concern during construction when contractors are worried about whether or not the soil will hold the weight of the structure. Structures built on soil that cannot bear the weight of the structure can sink into the soil, Therefore, construction companies often want to increase the soil consolidation of the land that the structure is built on in order to prevent sinking. Heavy equipment such as a compaction roller is used in order to increase soil compaction if the soil consolidation test reveals that the soil is not compact enough. > Pissa tower is one of the examples for differential settlement of structures,POSSIBLE ERRORS IN THE PRACTICLE AND WAYS OF IMPROVING THEM > REFERE! Specimen disturbance is the largest errors are caused by changing the natural structure of the soil, while preparing the test specimen; disturbance will affect the time deformation relation and will obscure the pre consolidation pressure. Specimen not completely filling ring. The volume of the specimen must be exactly that of the consolidation ring, otherwise there will not be complete lateral confinement. Galvanic action in consolidometer, To prevent changes in the consolidation. characteristics of the specimen due to galvanic currents, all metal parts of the consolidometer should be of the same non corrosive materials; it is preferable that all such parts consolidometer should be made of plastic, Permeability of porous stones is too low. The measured rate of consolidation can be markedly affected by the permeability of the porous stones; the stones should be cleaned after every test to remove embedded particles. Friction between specimen and consolidation ring. Tests shows that 20% of the load applied to specimen can be lost by side friction in a fixed — ring consolidometer and about a one-half of this amount in a floating ring consolidometer. The effect of side friction can be reduced by - Using a larger diameter specimen, - Using a thinner specimen, ~ Lining the consolidation ring with Teflon, ICES http://construction.asu.edu/courses/cee450/Consolidation_Test.pdf Lecture notes http://wordpress.com soil mechanics by T. H WU