INTRODUCTION

When soils are subjected to external loads due to buildings, embankments or

excavations, the state of stress within the soil in the vicinity changes. To study
the stability or deformations of the surrounding soil, as a result of the external
loads, it is often necessary to know the stresses within the soil mass fairly
accurately.
Elastic solutions are quite popular in geotechnical engineering. Here, the entire
soil mass is assumed to be a continuous elastic media, and the theory of
elasticity is applied to determine the state of stress at a point. Some special
cases such as the vertical stress increase beneath uniformly loaded square and
strip footings are given in most textbooks. Harr (1966), Poulos & Davis (1974),
Terzaghi (1943) and several others developed elastic solutions in geotechnical
engineering. These developments, with more refinements, have been
summarised in design handbooks (Canadian Geotechnical Society 1992; Fang
1991; Winterkorn & Fang 1975).
Nevertheless, soils do not deform elastically. Further, they are particulate
media. Therefore, the elastic solutions should only be used with caution.

EFFECTIVE STRESS CONCEPT

In saturated soils, the normal stress (σ) at any point within the soil mass is
shared by the soil grains and the water held within the pores. The component of
the normal stress acting on the soil grains, is called effective stress or
intergranular stress, and is generally denoted by σ'. The remainder, the normal
stress acting on the pore water, is knows as pore water pressure or neutral
stress, and is denoted by u. Thus, the total stress at any point within the soil
mass can be written as: 'u+=σσ
This applies to normal stresses in all directions at any point within the soil mass.
In a dry soil, there is no pore water pressure and the total stress is the same as
effective stress. Water cannot carry any shear stress, and therefore the shear
stress in a soil element is carried by the soil grains only.In other words effective
stress is the pressure in a soil between the points of contact of the soil grains.
In a soil system in equilibrium it is equal to the total pressure minus the neutral
pressure of the water in a pore space .It increases during the consolidation of
the soil to a maximum at complete consolidation .In conditions of hydrostatic
excess pressure the effective pressure is equal to the total pressure minus
(neural pressure plus hydrostatic excess pressure).

PRINCIPLE OF EFFECTIVE STRESS

Karl von Terzaghi first proposed the relationship for effective stress in 1936.For
him, the term ‘effective’ meant the calculated stress that was effective in
moving soil, or causing displacements. It represents the average stress carried
by the soil skeleton.

Effective stress (σ') acting on a soil is calculated from two parameters, total
stress (σ) and pore water pressure (u) according to:

Typically, for simple examples

Much like the concept of stress itself, the formula is a construct, for the easier
visualization of forces acting on a soil mass, especially simple analysis models
for slope stability, involving a slip plane.With these models, it is important to
know the total weight of the soil above (including water), and the pore water
pressure within the slip plane, assuming it is acting as a confined layer.

Effectve stress is defined as the equal to total stress sigma minus the neutral
stress μ.

The concept of effective stress ,even it is not a measurable parameter ,it is still
useful for geotechnical engineers .It can easily released that the mechanical
behaviour of a soil mass is linked with the effective stress rather than with the
total stress or neutral stress. Thus increase in neutral stress causes the
particles to pack more closely ,decreases the void ratio , leads to decrease in
compressibility and increases the shearing resistance of the soil. But in equal
increases in the total stress unchanged ,would have little or no effect on the
soil behaviour .This fact is borne out by experimental evidence as well.
The principle of effective stress can be spelt out as follows:

(a)The effective stress is equal to the total stress minus the pore water
pressure.

(b)The effective stress controls certain aspects of the behaviour of soil ,the
most important of which are the volume changes and shearing resistance.

Effectve stress is defined as the equal to total stress sigma minus the neutral
stress μ.