INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR

SOIL MECHANICS AND

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

This paper was downloaded from the Online Library of

the International Society for Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). The library is
available here:

https://www.issmge.org/publications/online-library

This is an open-access database that archives thousands

of papers published under the Auspices of the ISSMGE and
maintained by the Innovation and Development
Committee of ISSMGE.

Geotechnical Properties of Lower Rhine Silt
Propriétés géotechniques du limon du Rhin inférieur
by E d g a r S c h u l t z e , P ro fesso r D r.-In g .
an d
P an ag h io tis K o t z i a s , A .B ., M .S c., A thens, T echnisch e H o ch sch u le A ach en , G e rm a n y
Summary
D u rin g th e last 12 years the In stitu t fu r V erkehrsw asserbau,
G ru n d b a u u n d B odenm echanik, T echnische H o ch sh u le A achen
has carried o u t a n extensive testing p ro g ram m e o f fo u n d a tio n
investigations in to th e com pressibility o f the silt deposits in the
low er R h in e R egion.
T hese silts are late diluvial norm ally consolidated deposits.
S tratig rap h ically a n d m ineralogically th ey presen t a typical Loess
form ation. T h eir c o lour, tex tu re, g rain size a n d p lasticity are
strikingly sim ilar to L oess fo rm atio n s in o th er p a rts o f the w orld.
H ow ever, th e ir b ulk density is greater a n d th eir degree o f
sa tu ra tio n is higher.
M an y results o f classification a n d com pression tests h av e been
com piled a n d c o m p a red w ith know n results fro m silt deposits
in o th er regions. T h e course o f settlem ent a n d its re la tio n to the
m ost im p o rta n t soil index values has been sta tistica lly evaluated,
revealing tendencies w hich w ould otherw ise h a v e rem ained
undetected.
B y m eans o f em pirical c o rre latio n betw een th e com pressibility
constants a n d sim ple soil index values it is possible to estim ate
the settlem ent ran g e o f the silt. T he e q u atio n s developed can be
used w ith sufficient accu racy fo r n o rm al settlem ent calculations
instead o f single com pression test results.
1. Introduction
T h e R h in e silt b e lo n g s to a n e x te n s iv e s tr a tu m o f loess
w hich c u ts a c ro s s E u ro p e . T h is o r ig in a te d m a in ly d u rin g th e
g lac ial sta g e s w h e n a r id c lim a te s a n d ste p p e s p r e d o m in a te d .
I t is a d e p o s it re s u ltin g fro m la rg e d u s t c lo u d s f o rm e d o f
w e a th e re d r o c k m a te ria l a n d h a s, th u s a fa irly u n ifo rm g ra in
size (F ig . 1). T h e R h in e silt, h o w e v e r, is a s e c o n d a r y loess in
th e sen se t h a t a f te r r e p e a te d w e a th e rin g , b lo w in g a n d w a sh in g
a w a y , it w as fin a lly d e p o s ite d . I n c o n tr a s t to p r im a r y lo ess, a
d ire c t w in d d e p o s it, it h a s r e la tiv e ly h ig h b u lk d e n s ity a n d a
low lim e c o n te n t, a n d is n o r m a lly c o n s o lid a te d . I t o r ig in a te d
in th e Q u a te r n a r y p e r io d d u r in g th e W iir m g la c ia tio n . I ts g r e a t­
e st s tr a tu m th ic k n e s s is 30 m . F r o m a so il m e c h a n ic s p o in t o f
view it is a s a n d y silt w ith a sm a ll p r o p o r tio n o f c la y , w h ic h
is a c tiv e . I t b e lo n g s to th e C L -M L g r o u p o f th e u n ifo rm
c la ss ific a tio n sy ste m .
S ince th is so il h a s o fte n b e e n in v e s tig a te d f o r c o n s tr u c tio n
p ro je c ts d u r in g th e p a s t tw e lv e y e a rs, 270 to 360 sa m p le s
h a v e b e e n s ta tis tic a lly e x a m in e d . T h e p u r p o s e o f th is w a s to
p ro v id e a c lo s e r a p p r e c ia tio n o f th e v a r ia tio n in its in d e x
p ro p e rtie s a n d to g a in a n in s ig h t in to th e law s g o v e rn in g
its c o m p re ss ib ility .
1/57
Sommaire
A u co u rs des 12 dernières années l’in s titu t de V erkehrsw asser­
b a u , G ru n d b a u u n d B odenm echanik, de la T echnische H och-
schule d ’A ix-la-C hapelle a effectué, c o n jo in tem en t à ses analyses
de terra in s à b âtir, des recherches a p p ro fo n d ie s su r les pro p riétés
de tassem ent des d épôts de lim on de la région du R h in inférieur.
L e lim on de la région d u R h in inférieur est un d é p ô t n o rm ale ­
m en t consolidé, d a ta n t de la fin d u diluvien. D u p o in t de vue
stra tig rap h iq u e et m inéralo g iq u e il p résente l’aspect ty p iq u e d ’une
fo rm atio n de loess. Sa couleur, sa tex tu re, sa g ran u lo m étrie e t sa
plasticité lui c o n fère n t u n e ressem blance fra p p a n te avec d ’autres
fo rm atio n s de loess qui se re n c o n tre n t dans différentes régions du
globe. C e p en d a n t il se distingue de ces fo rm atio n s p a r sa plus
gra n d e com pacité et son degré de sa tu ra tio n plus élevé.
Les n o m b reu x résu ltats donnés p a r les essais de classification
et de com pressibilité o n t été groupés et com parés à d ’au tres
résu ltats de recherches connus, p ro v e n a n t d ’au tres gisem ents.
L a com pressibilité de ce lim on et ses re la tio n s avec les princi­
pales c aractéristiq u es géotechniques o n t été évaluées à l’aide de
m éthodes statistiques. C ’est ainsi q u ’il a été possible de d écouvrir
des tendances inconnues a v a n t ces recherches
A l’aide de relatio n s tro u v ées em p iriq u em en t en tre les valeurs
c ara cté ristiq u e de la com pressibilité et les c o n stan tes sim ples du
sol, il est possible d ’estim er aisém ent l’o rd re de g ra n d eu r de
tassem ent des lim ons. Les é q u atio n s de d é te rm in a tio n s p eu v en t
être appliquées avec une ex ac titu d e suffisante p o u r des calculs
de tassem en t n o rm a u x et cela sans faire des essais de com pression.
2. Frequency distribution of soil index properties
B y m e a n s o f fre q u e n c y d ia g ra m m s th e in d iv id u a l so il in d e x
p r o p e rtie s h a v e b e e n p r e s e n te d (F ig s. 2-4). T h e flu c tu a tio n s
Fig. 1 R ange o f grain-size d istrib u tio n a n d plasticity c h a rt of
R hine silt.
-------- 70 per cen t o f all tests
-..... — 100 per cen t o f all tests
G ra n u lo m é trie et c arte de la plasticité d u lim on rh énan.
--------- 70 p o u r cent de to u s les essais
---------100 p o u r cent de to u s les essais
329
 P la s tic ity in d e x ^

F ig . 4 Fre q u e n cy d ia g r a m fo r p la s t ic it y in d e x .

N u m b er o f s a m p le s N = 236

M ean v a lu e X= 0- 114
04 06 0,8
St a n d a r d d e v ia t io n c = 0- 061
Vo i d s r a t i o e
V a r ia n c e R = 0- 02 — 0- 26
Fig . Fr e q u e n c y d ia g r a m fo r in it ia l v o id r a t io in an u n d is ­
tu rb ed state.
D ia g r a m m e de la fréq u en ce p o u r la p la s t ic it é .
N u m b er o f s a m p le s N = 334
N o m b r e d e s é c h a n t illo n s N = 236
M ean v a lu e X = 0- 651
V a le u r m o yen n e X = 0 ,1 1 4
St a n d a r d d e v ia t io n cr = 0- 186
Éc a rt m o yen a = 0 ,0 6 1
V a r ia n c e R = 0- 30 — 1- 75
V a r ia t io n R = 0 ,0 2 — 0 ,2 6
D ia g r a m m e de la fréq u en ce p o u r le s in d ic e s d es v id e s
d an s l ’é tat n o n r e m a n ié .
N o m b r e d es é c h a n t illo n s N = 334

V a le u r m o yen n e X = 0 ,6 5 1

Ec a r t m o yen a = 0 ,1 8 6 T a b le 1

V a r ia t io n R = 0 ,3 0 — 1 ,7 5
A v e r a g e v a lu e s f o r in d e x p r o p e r t ie s o f R h in e s ilt

C a r a c t é r is t iq u e s g é o t e c h n iq u e s m o y e n n e s d u li m o n r h é n a n

Number
Index Dimens. Symbol. of Average Standard
property samples Deviation

A verag e g r a in s i­
ze m m D 50 258 0- 03 0,02
E f f e c t iv e g r a in s i­
ze m m D 10 229 0- 005 0 ,0 0 3
U n if o r m it y co ef­
f ic ie n t 1 U 272 13 12
Sp e c if ic g r a v it y g / cm 3 G, 316 2 ,6 6 0- 04
N a t u r a l b u lk d e n ­
s it y g / cm 3 T 409 1- 97 0-12
D e g re e of s a tu r a tio n s N atu ral v o id ra­
Fig . 3 F r e q u e n c y d ia g r a m f o r t h e d e g r e e o f s a t u r a t io n o f u n d is ­ t io 1 334 0- 65 0- 19
tu rb ed s o il. N atu ral w ater
N u m b er o f s a m p le s N = 334 co n ten t % Wn 419 21 5
D eg ree o f satu ra­
M ean v a lu e X = 0-845
t io n % s 334 85 16
St a n d a r d d e v ia t io n a = 0-163
L iq u id lim it % Ll 236 29 7
V a r ia n c e r = l-o — 0-225 P la s t ic it y in d e x Pi 236 11 6
%
F lo w In d e x % If 192 9 3
D ia g r a m m e d e la f r é q u e n c e p o u r le d eg ré d e s a t u r a t io n
du s o l r e m a s s ié . T o u g h n ess In d e x 1 K 185 1- 35 0- 62
C o n s is t e n c y In ­
N o m b r e d es é c h a n t illo n s N = 334
V a le u r m o yen n e X = 0,845
d ex y/o c, 262 73 32
A c t iv it y l A 171 1- 9 1- 5
Éc a r t m o yen a = 0 ,1 6 3 M o d u lu s o f
V a r ia t io n R = 1,0 — 0,225 c o m p r e s s ib ilit y 186 96 35
{p = 0- 65- 2- 60 k g / cm 2 Es = —
mv
o f th e v a rio u s so il p r o p e rtie s a re g iv e n b y th e ir a v e ra g e a n d C o e f f . o f c o n s o li­
t h e s ta n d a r d d e v ia tio n ( T a b le 1). d a t io n c m 2/ s cv 80 0- 004 0-002
En d t im e o f p r i­
m a r y c o n s o li­
3. Time/settlement curve d a t io n (H e i g h t
o f s a m p le
A n a n a ly s is o f th e tim e -c o m p re s s io n c u r v e in d ic a te s th a t
1- 4 c m ) m in tv 317 3
f r o m th e t o ta l c o n s o lid a tio n , 4 7 p e r c e n t is in itia l, 28 p e r c e n t

330
is prim ary and 24 per cent is of a secondary nature. In a sample
o f 1-4 cm height the prim ary consolidation is com pleted
after 3*3 ± 2 - 1 minutes.
The load is therefore m aintained for only a short time.
O n the average, the load was increased every hour in the
com pression test.
From the tim e-compression curve it was further estim ated
th at the perm eability o f this soil is o f the order of m agnitude
k — 10~8 cm/sec instead o f 10-5 to 10~7 cm/sec as obtained
from perm eability tests. 0J 01S02 Op 0.5
The coefficient of perm eability, estim ated indirectly from Stress p kg/cm2
the tim e/settlem ent curve, is evidently too low.

4. Stress-strain curve
In contrast to m any A m erican silts which display relatively
high settlements when w ater is added, the R hine silts are
stable upon saturation (Fig. 5). This is due to the fact that their
initial void ratio is generally less than 0-85. In agreem ent
with the geological history o f this form ation, the com pression
tests reveal a preconsolidation pressure consisting only o f the
weight of overlying soils which is generally very small (Fig. 8).
The m ost significant p a rt o f the stress-strain curve for
investigation, is therefore the virgin com pression curve.

Fig. 6 T ypical stress-strain curve fo r silt.

a) dou b le logarithm ic scale
b) single logarithm ic scale.
C ourbes typiques de com pression du lim on.
a) rep ré se n tatio n do u b lem en t log arith m iq u e
b) re p ré se n ta tio n sem i-logarithm ique.

lo g ce = lo g e a + k • lo g e p (2a)
Fig. 5 Influence o f w ater a d d itio n on th e stress-strain cu rv e o f
R h in e silt fo r vario u s initial void ratio s. W ater add itio n
a t a degree o f sa tu ra tio n o f 0-45 — 0-98. for w = 1 : e = — loge p + C .... (3)
Influence de l’a d jo n c tio n d ’eau su r la co u rb e de com ­
p ression des lim ons rh é n an s avec l’indice des vides
initial e t different. A d jo n c tio n d ’eau à u n degré de s a tu ­ p = l : e = C = e1
ra tio n de 0,45 — 0,98.

5. Equation of the stress-strain curve e = — lo g e p + £j .... (3a)

5.1. Initial compression.
F rom the results of the investigation the initial p a rt of The relationships between the various constants (Figs. 6a,
the stress-strain curve (Fig. 6) can be given with sufficient 6b) are as follows :
accuracy by the equation :
v = — w = 1 —k (4)
E s = — = vp" ak

1
Es = — = M odulus o f com pressibility (confined compres- k = 1 —w (5)
tnv v(l-w)
sion test) p = stress (kg/cm 2).
From this equation for the m odulus of com pressibility the The constants v, w, and a, k respectively were estim ated
following equations for the settlem ent are derived. by means of correlation analysis.
F o r the estim ation of the exponent w, it was found suitable
r,l—W + C = a p k + C to use a coordinate system in which the abscissa gives the
... (2) relative com pression ep under a load p and the ordinate
v(l —w)
gives the corresponding com pression under a double loap
p = 0 : z = 0 : C = 0 eap. In this coordinate system the test results are plotted as
p = 1: e = a points. In a linear scale a very good relationship is attained
p = 1: e = a for the various loading increm ents (Fig. 7).
331
 re la tio n s h ip b e tw e e n th e c o m p re s s io n s in a c c o r d a n c e w ith
e q u a tio n ( 6). T h is c a n b e in fe rre d f ro m th e h ig h co efficien ts
o f c o r r e la tio n w h ic h a r e all m o re th a n 0-95 th u s in d ic a tin g a n
a lm o s t fu n c tio n a l re la tio n s h ip .
I t c a n b e c o n c lu d e d th a t in e q u a tio n (1) th e e x p o n e n t w— in
c o n tr a s t to th e s a n d d isc u sse d in th e p a p e r o f S c h u ltz e r—
M o u s s a , is a lm o s t c o n s ta n t. I t lies m id w a y s b e tw e e n w a n d
w' a n d is 0-62 f o r th e u s u a l ra n g e o f lo a d in g . I t is p o ssib le ,
in a d o u b le lo g a rith m ic sc a le to g iv e th e stre s s -m o d u lu s o f
c o m p re s s ib ility e q u a tio n o f th is silt a s a s tr a ig h t lin e w h ich
h a s th e sa m e slo p e fo r all so il sa m p le s. T h e in d iv id u a l silt
sa m p le s d iffer o n ly in th e c o efficie n t v.

5.2. R ebound an d recompression.

2 3 i S 6 7 8 9 10
S tra in £ % at p= 2.60 k g lc m * A ll r e b o u n d c u rv e s, a n d w ith a g o o d a p p r o x im a tio n th e
re c o m p re s s io n c u rv e s , a r e s tr a ig h t lin e s. T h is m e a n s t h a t th e
Fig. 7. T he in te rrela tio n betw een the stra in u n d e r the stress
1-3 and 2-6 k g /cm 2. e x p o n e n t w = 1, w h ic h c o r re s p o n d s to th e p r e s e n ta tio n
g iv e n in F ig . 7 a t a n a n g le o f 4 5 °. E q u a tio n (3), th e re fo re ,
R a p p o r t en tre la com pression a la pression de 1,3 et
2,6 k g /cm 2. g iv es th e c u r v e o f c o m p r e s s io n a n d r e b o u n d .

5.3. Estimation o f the preconsolidation pressure.

T h e re s u ltin g s tr a ig h t lin e s c a n b e g iv e n b y th e e q u a tio n s :
T h e u s u a l m e th o d o f e s tim a tin g th e p r e c o n s o lid a tio n
p re s s u re in c la y s th r o u g h th e s tre s s -s tra in c u rv e , su c h a s th a t
1 —2 fc o f C a s a g r a n d e m e th o d is n o t a p p lic a b le to th e e q u a tio n
— Eon — C ( 6)
2k
E, = — = vp °-62. T h e s tre s s -s tra in c u r v e is in th is case
+ n' ( 6a) im
nv
a lr e a d y c u r v e d w ith o u t a n y p r e c o n s o lid a tio n p re s s u re . I t
1 is p o ss ib le , h o w e v e r, to e s tim a te th e p r e c o n s o lid a tio n p re s s u re
21-m (7) b y p lo ttin g , fo r th e sa m e so il sa m p le , th e d ia g r a m m Ej,/e2j)
Yk o f F ig . 8. T h e in te rs e c tio n o f b o th s tr a ig h t lin e s g iv e s th e
p r e c o n s o lid a tio n p re s s u re , w h ic h c o r re s p o n d s to th e o v e r b u r ­
d e n p re s s u re o n th e soil.
l o g e m = l o g el - ( 1 - w ) l o g e2 (7a)

lo g el l o g ew lo g e( l /w )
Ic = \ —w = ( 8)
l° g «2 l o g e2

lo g e( l /w )
w = 1— (9)
l o g e2

S im ila rly w' is o b ta in e d f r o m m'

T h e v a lu e s o f w d iffer o n ly s lig h tly f o r th e in v e s tig a te d
lin e s fo r lo a d in g in c re m e n t a n d th u s f lu c tu a te irre g u la rly
in d ic a tin g n o r e la tio n s h ip w ith th e stress.
T h e sa m e h o ld s tr u e a ls o fo r w' ( T a b le 2). T h e re is a s tr o n g

T able 2
R esults o f c o rre latio n analysis betw een et - p = stress,
N = N u m b e r o f sam ples, R = coefficient o f c o rre latio n Fig. 8 D e term in a tio n o f the p re -c o n so lid atio n pressure p f a silt.
R é su lta ts de la c o m p a ra iso n e n tre e„ et 32v - p = pression, D é term in a tio n de la pré-co n so lid atio n d ’u n lim on.
N = n o m b re des échantillons, R = coefficient de c o m p a raiso n .

6. E stim a tio n o f th e coefficient v

p 2p R N m w m' w' Wm w
F r o m e q u a tio n (2) a n d f o r a n y p o in t th e m a g n itu d e o f th e
kg/ kg/ co efficie n t v c a n be d e riv e d a s fo llo w s (F ig . 7).
cm 2 cm 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
= aP
= a 2 kp k
0162 0-325 0-963 267 0-736 0-56 1-261 0-65 0-60 t z 2 p ~ z i> + a p k{2 1 —\) = £„ + £> ( 10)
0-325 0-65 0-971 264 0-749 0-58 1-258 0-67 0-62 0-62
0-65 1-3 0-974 272 0-748 0-58 1-267 0-64 0-61 I t fo llo w s th e r e f o r e : th a t
1-3 2-6 0-951 259 0-769 0-62 1-185 0-71 0-65
2-6 5-2 0-956 239 0-744 0-57 1-129 0-70 0-63 _ D
5-2 10-4 0-973 154 0-784 0-65 1-208 0-74 0-69 (ID
“ ' p k -(2 k 1)

332
 1 pk . ( 2 * — 1 )
(12)
ak kD
T h e v a lu e o f D is e s tim a te d g ra p h ic a lly f ro m F ig . 7. E a c h
p o in t o f th e p r e s e n ta tio n o f F ig . 6 h a s a d iffe re n t v.
T h e c o efficie n t v sh o w s c o n s id e ra b le s c a tte rin g a n d d e p e n d s
u p o n th e so il p r o p e rtie s . B y m e a n s o f c o r re la tio n a n a ly s is ,
th e fo llo w in g re la tio n s h ip s h a v e so fa r b e e n in v e s tig a te d .
B e tw ee n lo g 10v a n d n a tu r a l w a te r c o n te n t wn w e h a v e :
lo g 10v = 2 - 1 3 - 0 ,0 1 8 wn
T h e c o efficie n t o f c o r re la tio n is 0,488. A n o th e r r e la tio n s h ip
w as o b ta in e d g r a p h ic a lly a n d is :
lo g 10v = 3 - 0 , 8 5 lo g 10w„
B e tw ee n lo g 10v a n d th e liq u id lim it L l th e re is a c o r re la tio n
c o efficie n t o f 0-277. S im ila rly , b e tw e e n lo g 10v a n d th e p la s tic
lim it P l th e c o efficie n t o f c o r re la tio n if 0-289 a n d b e tw e e n v
a n d th e c o n s is te n c y in d e x C i th e coefficien t is 0-380. A ll th e se
co efficien ts o f c o r re la tio n a re to o lo w to e n a b le v to b e e s tim a ­
te d th r o u g h a sin g le in d e x p r o p e r ty o f th e soil.
T h e r e la tio n s h ip b e tw e e n v a n d th e so il in d e x p r o p e rtie s
is e s tim a te d m o s t a c c u r a te ly th r o u g h a m u ltip le c o r re la tio n
b e tw e e n v o r lo g 10v a n d th e fo llo w in g . I n itia l v o id r a tio e,
d e g re e o f s a t u r a t i o n s, a n d p la s tic ity in d e x P i. T h e in v e s tig a ­
tio n s o f th is r e la tio n s h ip h a v e n o t so fa r b e e n c o m p le te d .
Conclusion
T h e ty p ic a l s tre s s -s tra in c u rv e o f th e c la y is n o t o b s e rv a b le
in silts. I n c la y s w is u s u a lly ta k e n a s 1 a n d th e p r e c o n s o lid a ­
tio n p re s s u re is e s tim a te d th r o u g h a ta n g e n t c o n s tr u c tio n . In
th e c a se o f silt th is le a d s to in a c c u r a te re su lts . T h e r e b o u n d
c u r v e re v e a ls c o n d itio n s s im ila r to th e s e fo u n d in o th e r soils.
T h e e x p o n e n t o f th e e q u a tio n E, = — = vpw is a lm o s t c o n s-
mv
t a n t in silt a n d is in d e p e n d a n t o f th e p r o p e rtie s o f e a c h sa m p le .
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e c o efficie n t v is q u ite d e p e n d e n t fro m
th e p o r o s ity , th e n a tu r a l w a te r c o n te n t, a n d th e g ra in size
p a r tic u la r ly f o r th e a m o u n t o f c la y (p la s tic ity in d e x ) p re s e n t
a s w ell a s th e a c tiv ity o f th e in d iv id u a l c la y p a rtic le s . T h e
e s tim a tio n o f th is c o efficie n t fro m o th e r so il p r o p e rtie s h a s n o t
s o fa r b e e n a tte m p te d .
8. Acknowledgment
M r. H o llm a n n c a n d . in g . a n d M r. S c h m e rb itz c a n d . ing.
h a v e c o n tr ib u te d to th e s ta tis tic a l e v a lu a tio n o f th e te s t
re s u lts a n d in th e p e r f o r m a n c e o f th e c o m p le m e n ta r y te s ts .
T h e ir c o lla b o r a tio n is fu lly a p p r e c ia te d .
9. References
[1] K (1959). D e r rheinische Schluff als B augrund. M it­
o t z ia s
teilungen aus dem In stitu t fü r Verkehrswasserbau, Grund­
bau und Bodenmechanik der Technischen Hochschule Aachen,
H eft 20 : B au g ru n d k u rsu s 1959, pp. 82.
[2] — (1960). D ie Z u sa m m e n d rü c k b a rk eit des rheinischen Schluffs
D r Thesis. Technische Hochshule Aachen.
333