9.5.

1 Preconsolidation Stress (pressure)

The preconsolidation stress, pc, is defined to be the maximum effective stress experienced by the
soil. For soil at state C this would correspond to the effective stress at point B in Fig. 5.

9.5.2 Normally consolidated soils

If the current effective stress, ', is equal (note that it cannot be greater than) to the preconsolidation
stress, pc, then the deposit is said to be normally consolidated (NC)

= pc (normally consolidated) (4a)

During deposition of a soil (which usually takes place through sedimentation), the weight of the soil
(which increases with depth below the surface) causes a decrease in void ratio. Suppose that at a
particular depth below the surface the soil is represented by point P in Figure 6. If the soil is now
subjected to an effective stress increase under 1-D conditions the path that will be followed in the e-
log10 plot will be along the extension of the deposition line as shown in Fig. 6. A soil which lies
at any point on this line is called normally consolidated, and the line is called the normal
consolidation line.

Normally consolidated soils are usually found as recent alluvial deposits, and are mainly composed
of silt and clay sized particles. It is extremely rare to find normally consolidated soils inland, away
from the rivers or lakes in which they were deposited.

e Impossible states
Normal
P Consolidation
Line

Over-consolidated
states

log10 ( ’)
Figure 6 The normal consolidation line

9.5.3 Overconsolidated soils

If the current effective stress ' is less than the preconsolidation stress, pc, then the soil is said to
be over-consolidated (OC).

< pc (over-consolidated) (4b)

Note
> pc (not possible) (4c)

9.5
If a soil after deposition, is normally consolidated to point P and then unloaded (perhaps because of
erosion of the surface layers of soil) it may exist in the state indicated by point Q in Figure 7. The
path QFR will be followed upon reloading of the soil.

It may be seen that for the same increase in effective stress, the change in void ratio will be much
less for an overconsolidated soil (from e0 to ef ) than it would have been for a normally consolidated
soil. Hence settlements will generally be much smaller for structures built on overconsolidated soils.

Most soils are overconsolidated to some degree; this can be due to the effects of shrinking and
swelling of the soil on drying and rewetting, changes in ground water levels, and unloading due to
erosion of overlying strata.

e = e0 Q
F
e = ef P

0 f pc logarithmic scale

Figure 7 Typical effective stress, voids ratio response

The distance from the normal consolidation line has an important influence on the soil behaviour.
This is described numerically by the overconsolidation ratio (OCR). The OCR is defined as the ratio
of the preconsolidation stress to the current effective stress

pc
OCR (5)

Note that when the soil is normally consolidated OCR = 1.

9.5.4 Estimation of the preconsolidation stress

A distinct change of slope is not generally observed at the preconsolidation pressure, making it
difficult to accurately determine its value. Empirical procedures are used to estimate the
preconsolidation stress, the most widely used being Casagrande's construction which is illustrated in
Figure 8.

9.6