IMU331 – Soil Mechanics I

CONSOLIDATION THEORY
What is Consolidation?
Consolidation is the gradual reduction in volume of a fully saturated soil of low permeability due
to drainage of some of the pore water.
The process continues until the excess pore water pressure set up by an increase in total stress
has completely dissipated.
The simplest case is that of one-dimensional consolidation, in which a condition of zero lateral
strain is implicit.
The process of swelling, the reverse of consolidation, is the gradual increase in volume of a soil
under negative excess pore water pressure.
Short term:
Ds
Ds

Effective Stress, s¢

Ds
Ds

Long term:
Ds
Ds

Effective Stress, s¢

Ds
At the end (Long Term)
Consolidation settlement is the vertical settlement of surface correspondingto the volume
change at any stage of consolidation process.
The characteristics of a soil during 1D consolidation or swelling can be determined by
oedometer test.
 Oedemeter test
Test procedure:
• An initial load is applied.
• Then a sequence of loads are applied by doubling
the load each time.
• Each load is kept for 24 hours.
• At the end of each periof, when the excess pore
water pressure has completely dissipated, the
applied pressure equals to the effective vertical
stress in the specimen.
•Deformations are measured by a dial gauge
attached to the upper porous stone.
Consolidation Settlement
∆" ∆%
=
#$"! %!

∆𝑒
∆𝐻 = 𝐻! $ $
1 + 𝑒!

mv: coefficient of volume change

mv: coefficient of volume compressibility
It depends on the stress margin and not constant.
Has the units of inverse of pressure (m2/kN)

∆𝐻 = 𝐻! $ 𝑚" $ ∆𝜎 Consolidation Settlement

Void ratio – Effective stress relationship
Void ratio – Effective stress relationship
A clay in overconsolidated state will be much less compressible than the same clay in normally
consolidated state.
# $# ∆#
CC= Compression Index=%&' (#!$ %&'
"
(#
= %#"
" $ %&'
%#$

Cr= Re-compression Index=Swelling Index

1 + 𝑒! 𝜎+,
∆e = $ ∆𝐻 = 𝐶* $ log ,
𝐻! 𝜎!
𝐶* 𝜎+,
∆𝐻 = 𝐻! $ $ log ,
1 + 𝑒! 𝜎!
Preconsolidation Pressure
The maximum effective vertical stress that has acted on the clay in the past is referred as the
preconsolidation pressure (s’c).
If the present effective stress is the maximum to which the clay has ever been subjected to, the
clay is said to be normally consolidated (NC).
If the effective stress at sometime in the past has been greater than the present value, the clay
is said to be over-consolidated (OC).
&'"#$%,'#(
𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = 𝑂𝐶𝑅 = &'")*$*+%

OCR=1 à Normally Consolidated Clay

OCR>1 à Over Consolidated Clay
Overconsolidation is usually the result of geological process.
Determination of Preconsolidation
Pressure
Example: If mv=0.35m2/kN, assume 70 kPa increase in pressure due to the
construction, find the consolidation settlement in the clay layer.
Degree of Consolidation
Consolidation is a long process. It may take months/years. The degree of consolidation process
under a particular total stress increment can be expressed in terms of void ratio, effective stress
or in terms of pore pressure.
()*+,"-".
𝐷𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 =
/)-0,
A) In terms of void ratio e0
"! 2" e
𝑈1 = 0≤Uz ≤ 1
"! 2",
e1
Degree of At the At the end
consolidation beginning
s’0 s’1
Degree of Consolidation
B) In terms of s’ e0
&'2&'!
𝑈1 =
&', 2&'! e1

s’0 s’1

C) In terms of u
3- 23 3
𝑈1 = =1−
3- 3-

During consolidation the increase in s’ is numerically equal to the decrease in excess pore water
pressure.
Terzaghi’s 1D Consolidation Theory
Assumptions:
1) The soil is homogenous.
2) The soil is fully-saturated.
3) The solid particles & water are incompressible.
4) Compression & flow are 1D (vertical).
5) Strains are small.
6) Darcy’s Law is valid. (v=i.k)
7) k & mv remains constant during consolidation.
8) There is a unique relationship independent of time between e & s’.
Terzaghi’s 1D Consolidation Theory
The theory relates the following:
1) The excess pwp (ue)
2) The depth (z) below the top of the clay layer
3) The time (t) from the instantaneous application of a total stress increment.
Differential Equation for Consolidation:
43 4. 3
= 𝐶5 7 .
4- 41
6
𝐶5 =
*/ 780
(/ 7- Tv à time factor (Dimensionless)
𝑇5 =
.. dà length of longest drainage path
These lines showing the variation of pore
pressure at a specific time are called
ISOCHRONES.
 ui

@t=0 à Tv=0 à UZ=0 𝑢 Shaded area

𝑈- = 1 −
𝑢.

ui

𝑢 Shaded area
@t=? à Tv=0.1 à UZ=0.35 𝑈- = 1 −
𝑢.
𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
=1−
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
Consolidation Settlement
As consolidation takes place, s’0às’1, e0 à e1 Total consolidation settlement
is found by adding
settlements of all layers

𝐶* 𝜎+,
∆𝐻 = $ 𝐻 $ log ,
1 + 𝑒! ! 𝜎!