11423 JULY 1975

GD

JOURNAL OF THE
GEOTECHNICAL
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ENGINEERING DIVISION

NONLINEAR SETTLEMENT ANALYSIS

BY FINITE ELEMENT
By Leonard Domaschuk 1 and Palaniappan Valliappan 2

INTRODUCTION

Theories of elasticity and plasticity have been widel y used in geotechnical

engineering for problems involving small and large strains, respectivel y . In many
instances, the soil is subjected to a range of strains to which neither the theory
of elasticity nor plasticity are directly applicable. Moreover, actual boundary
conditions are often difficult to incorporate into theoretical solutions. Recent
developments of numerical methods, particularly the finite element method
have provided new computational capabilities making it possible to handle man;
complex boundary conditions and material nonlinearity . The accuracy of the
finite element method depends on the proper incorporation of nonlinear constitu-
tive equations for the soil. Unfortunately, research on the nonlinear properties
of soil has not kept pace with the fast developing techniques of the finite element
method.
Various attempts have been made to include soil nonlinearity in stress-deforma-
tion problems . Kulhawy, et al. (20) analyzed embankment stresses using a Young's
modulus obtained from standard triaxial tests and a variable Poisson's ratio
based on the hyperbolic relationship between major and minor principal strains.
Desai and Reese (6) in their analysis of axisymmetric footings on layered clays,
and Duncan and Chang (10) in their analysis of footings on sand a nd clay,
assumed a constant value of Poisson's ratio and made Young' s modulus dependent
on the state of stress . Skermer (22) analyzed Ellnfiernillo Dam using a Poisson's
ratio based on the relationship between axial and volumetric strains measured
in triaxial tests . Clough and Woodward (3) analyzed the Otterbrook Dam using
a constant bulk modulus and a variable distortion modulus based on Young's
Note .-Discussion open until December I, I975. To exte~d the cl?sin;ll date one mont~,
a written request must be filed with the EditOr of Techmcai Pubhcat~ons, . ASCE. This
· t f th · hted Journal of the Geotechmcal Engmeenng Division
paper 1s par o e copyng . . . . y 1 101 No GT7 1 '
Proceedings of the American Soc1ety of C1v1l Engmee~s, . 0 · ' · • uly, 1975.
· · · f
Manuscnpt was submitted for rev1ew or possl 'ble pubhcatJon
. . on October
M · b C' 25 1974 ·
1A p f f c· E Univ of Manitoba Wmmpeg, amto a, anada.
ssoc . ro . o IV . ngrg ., · .
2 Geotechnical Engr., Acres Consulting Serv1c~s,
C·
npp~n .
Acres Niagara Fall 0
M.
b C s , ntano,
·
Canada; formerly, Grad . Student, Univ. of Mamtoba, Wmmpeg, amto a, anada.

601

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 602 JULY 1975 Gn
modulus obtained from triaxial compression tests . Girijavallabhan and Reese
(13) converted axial stress-strain data into a relationship between the shear
modulus and octahedral strain which they used to analyze the load-settlement
characteristics of an axisymmetrical footing on saturated clay. Hoyaux and
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to I Principal S!rtu State t b I Compo~nh equollo lht tel Devrotoril: Cclrnponents

rneon normal slrt$s

~.,
1Tm•lt3ta1 + IT2 +a 3 I '' • CT;- crm

+
•z
•m~
Smqle
Hydrostatic
Corroonent
•m
Associated Strotns Unta strains produc~ ahtor strains producinc;!
\t)YOII.fT'oe thOnc;ll tt l distortion
liil d ilotoncy

FIG. 1.-Designation of State of Stress at Point

Moisturelpertentl
50 100 1:50
ClOy fr ll
Bloelti of'9l'lic topsoil
BrO'III'n sr11y clay. t.tltt!eel
10
Brown cloy
Fi!aurecl81omlnoltd
20

~
~
"
3Z
%
Blue clay
Silt i'ltrusions ~
~
30
water bearinQ &itt
g " !
Blue silty ctoy •o
Small pockets of silt
Boypsum
,.
57
Flnt(J'ev sondy sill.
50

0~>lcUm.t
G~y lilt 60
o.) SOli prol'rle otthelest aile b.) Voriolion of Alltrbarg hnu l5 with depth

FIG. 2.-Soil Profile and Variation of Atterberg Limits with Depth at Test Site (1
ft = 0.305 m)

Linear
a=O

L-~~---------------------~m
~me

-Use of Three Parameters (1 me' and n to Relate Stress and Strain

FIG. 3.
Eve •

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 G17 NONLINEAR SETILEMENT 603
Ladayni (14) followe d a similar approa ch for the analysis of gravitational
stresses
around a tunnel.
The advantage of using bulk and shear moduli instead of Young'
s modulus
and Poisson's ratio has been shown by the senior writer and Wade
(8,9). The
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basis of their approa ch is to express the constitutive equations

in terms of
hydrostatic and deviato ric compon ents of stress and strain related
by the bulk
and shear moduli which are determ ined by separate laboratory tests
.
The writers present herein a nonlinear analysis of the ultimate
settlement
of an oil storage tank, resting on a clay deposit using the approac
h suggested
by the senior writer and Wade (9). The bulk and shear moduli
of the clay
were obtained by laborat ory tests and were incorporated through an
incremental
solution techniq ue into a finite elemen t method . A comparison was made
between
observed long-term settlem ents of some oil storage tanks and the
settlement
predicted by the finite elemen t method .

STRESS-STRAIN RELATIONSHIP

For the purpos e of relating stress and strain, the state of stress is
separated
into hydrost atic and deviato ric compon ents (Fig. l). The stress
components
are represe nted by the mean normal stress, am, and the resultan
t deviatoric
stress, Sd. Similar ly, the strains are represe nted by a mean normal
strain, "m'
and a resultan t deviato ric strain, "d' comput ed by

. (l)

Ed= 2V (€1 - €m)2 + (€2 - €m)2 + (€3 - €m)2 . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (2)

The bulk modulu s, K, relates the hydrost atic str~ss component and
the mean
normal or volume tric strain compon ent, "•' accordmg to
am = Ke v. . . . . . . . . · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · (J)
•
while the shear modulu s, a, relates the resultant deviatoric stress
and stram
components accordi ng to
Sd=G€ d • • • • • • • • . • • • · • • •
. . . . . . . . . . • . . • . . . . (4)
. h' tress system and these deformation parameters
The advanta ge of us!ng t IS s
is that each deform ation parame ter can be determined independently by an
appropriate laborat ory test.

SITE INVESTIGATED

. . the northeast section of Metropolitan

The site of the Imperial Oil Refmer y 1?1 bi.ll'ty of long-term settlem
ent records
Winnipeg was chosen b ecau se of the .ava1'tuated
a
on glacio-lacustnn. · f
for the oil storage tanks. Winnipeg IS sl. deposit The lacustrine e deposits o
deposit has
silt and clay known as the Lake AgassiZ d an av~rage thickness
of 40 ft (12
a maximum thickne ss of 80 ft (24 m~ an d the geological features
of Lake
m) in the Winnip eg area. The .form~tiO:et~~l by Upham (24), Elson
(12), and
Agass1z. c lays have been descnb ed m f th sJ'lt and clay were taken
. mples o e at the
Render (21). Undistu rbed sol1 sa

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 604 JULY 1975
profile (Fig. 2) consists of two
site. with thin-walled Shelby tubes. The soil . overcon solidated clay which
major strata: (1) An upper brown highly plastiC .
is laminated; and (2) a lower blue silty highly plastic clay.
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EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF 8ULJ( MODULUS

The bulk modulus was investigated by means of isotropic compres.sion

te~ts
carried out in a standard triaxial cell. The tests were performe~ ~y mcreasm
g
the cell pressure in incremen ts to 100 psi (690 kN I m 2) and permittm g complete
drainage after each increment.
A three-parameter relationship develope d by Jennings ( 18) was used to repre~ent
the isotropic stress-strain data. The general form of the three-pa rameter relation-
ship (Fig. 3) is

~=..2_(1 +a ~~~n-1) .... .. ..... . ... . . ... .. .. . (5)

cr me E\IC EYe

in which rr and E =isotrop ic stress and strain, respecti vely; rr me and

Eve=
characte ristic valu~s of isotropic stress and strain, respectiv ely ; a = positive
constant indicating the degree of deviation from linearity ; and n = shape parame-
ter. A wide range of stress-st rain curves ranging between linearly elastic
and
elastoelastic can be represen ted by Eq . 5. A linear stress-st rain relationsh
ip
is described when a = 0 and an elastopla stic stress-st rain relations hip is
defined
when a > 0 and n = oo, All other values of n describe a nonlinea r stress-str
ain
relationship. The isotropic stress-st rain relations hip for soils is generally between
linearly elastic and elastopla stic. For the isotropic stress-st rain curves
of the
silts and clays investigated, a value of a = 1 was found to be satisfacto
ry.
The parameters, rr me' Eve' and n, for a given set of stress-st rain data
were
evaluate d by the method of least-squ ares adjustm ent de scribed by Deming
(4) .
An expression for the tangential bulk modulus , K,, was obtained by differen-
tiating the three-parameter relations hip defined by Eq. 5 (with a = I)

K, = ~ ( 1 + 11 I-E
(J' •
:-
In-1 ·) ••. • . . . • •. •. • • . •• • • • • • • . (6a)
Eve vc

which was expressed in a dimensio nless form as

K, = K;(l + nE~,;- 1 ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... (6b)
in which K; = rrmcf Eve =initial bulk modulus ; and E = IE / E 1 =normal
• ' ized
volumet nc stram. WI V VC

The physical significance of the three paramet ers are illustrate d by Eq.
6b.
The values, rr me and Eve' are used to define the initial bulk modulus
and n
indicates the rate of increase in bulk modulus with increase in volumetr ic
strain.
Typical isotropic compres sion stress-st rain curves and the associat ed solutions
obtained for bulk modulus are shown in Figs. 4(a) and 4(b ). The solutions
obtained for bulk .modulus ~ay b~ broadly classifie d accordin g to Janbu 's
modulus
concept \15,17) mto ~lasti~ .[Fig. 4(a)] ~nd elastopl astic [Fig. 4(b)]
types .
The plastic type of sOil e~hibits a well-def med linear variation of bulk
modulus
with isotropic stress at hig~ stress levels and a nearly constan t bulk modulus
at low stress levels. Accordm g to Janbu (16), the intersec tion of the two
tangents

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 G17 NONLINEAR SETILEMENT
605
shown in Fig. 4(a) is defined as the preconsolida tion pressure. In the C<tse
of an elastoplastic type of soil, the variation of modulus with isotropic stress
is nonlinear and the variation may be approximate d by a power function.
Solutions for bulk modulus were obtained for samples taken at the depths
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wo r-------------------------~----------------------~

100
Syfi'Ool Tet!ro.
0 131
>0
11 132
- TI'Itory

' • • I O: (i
~ 1600 a"'c • 7~ 0 42
i>I" f vc
II
•0 192 1
1 ~ 79 19

m • 12 2 8<;
IZOO

~
i 800

~
~ 40 0

~ 00 o~
o --,~,o~~~~o~~,,~o--,~o~
o --,~,o---~+o--
,~-oLooo--~,oo
~-,o~oo---"~oo--
(a)

,~
ooo---+,,
(b)

ISOTROPIC STRESS Cl'm lp$11

FIG. 4.-Typical Isotropic Stress-Strain Curve and Solution for Bulk Modulus for:
(a) Plastic Type Soil; (b) Elastoplastic Type Soil (1 psi = 6.9 kN / m 2 )

2000 ~---------------------------------.
Symbol Deplh e, Pt BROWN CLAYS

16 00 "tO 079 73
23 I 44 69

15 1 52 72
1200
- - - -- - 13 1 4 6 91

/
800 / /.

<oo ~=::'-:-~~:-~ - -:-c-c·.:.. :::__::-:-

Symbol Depth Cj Pl BL UE S ILT Y C L AYS

1126 I 09 38
1600 36 099 29
40 t 34 4 0
50 I 53 4 6

12 5 250 375 50 0 625 75 0 87 5 100.0

ISOTROPIC STRESS O"m ( p si)

{ · - 69 kN / m 2 )
Fl G . 50 -Solutions or Bulk Modulus 1 ps• - .

1 . d in composition, macrostructu re, void

indicated in Fig. 2( b). The samp es dva,ne lutions for the upper brown clah
. . . The bulk mo u us so
ratio, and plasticity. . F 5 An examination of the two sets
and lower blue clays are shown m Ig. ·

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 GD
606 JULY 1975
of curves shows that for soils with the same plasticity, the b~lk mod~lus increases
with a decrease in void ratio for a given magnitude of Isotropic .stress, .a?d
for a given void ratio the bulk modulus increases with a decrease m plasticity
index.
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EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION oF SHEAR MoouLus

The shear modulus was investigated through drained constant-mean-normal

ii. 20.00
;;;..,
~.... 15.00
"'u
0: 5d "o .ootta • o.o3B22 E"d
0
10 .00
It
~ Test nu troer = 50 10
....z 0 0 Expe rimental points

" by hyperbolic r e gr e~sion

~
w
0:
0 02 0 .04 0 .06 0 00 0. 10 0 .12 0. 14

RESULTANT OEVI ATOR IC ST RAI N Ed

FIG. 6.-Typical Stress-Strain Curve for Constant-Mean Normal Stress Triaxial Com·
pression Test (1 psi = 6.9 kN / m 2 )

200
~ltf

~~
000

~ ~
~i <O

~~ 30

~· ~
~ 20

~
i 00
0 0 2 0.4 oe 0 0 0 0
REOU::EO CONSO~IOATtO N RATIO crm
INITIAL. VOID RA TIO ;;-;;;-

FIG. 7 .-Effect of cr m I cr c and Initial Void Ratio on Initial Tangent Shear Modulus
for Blue Silty Clays

!:J 3 T------1--~-.,...-t---t--1--!-+-l-,.

IiiII! Sdt•IO
1.333 { (]'
_m_
}0.601
u ~ 2 O"c · 8ic
li!-
~~ ol!i. Depth 40°
> . 0 Depth
l!l ~ 1091
,_ ..J

~ 0! ~
~!;,; 6
a: 5 16rS:r1-----:t--~--~~-+-4-4-.+J
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10'
REDUCED CONSOLIDATION RATIO
INITIAL VOID RATIO

FIG. B.-Relationship Between Result 0

blned Variable cr .. /(cr (1 psi = 6 .9 ~';!/ ,:~latorlc Stress at Failure Sdl and
ce,c> eom·

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 GT7 NONLINEAR SETIL EMEN T 607
stress triaxial compr ession tests carrie d out on undist
urbed samples taken from
the same depths as those used for the bulk modul us
study . The sampl es for
each ~epth were isotro picall y conso lidate d to the precon
solidat~on pre_ssure as
estabhshed by oedom eter tests. Follow ing conso lidatio
n , the tsotroptc stress
was decreased to a stress level corres pondi ng to reduce
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d consolidation ratios
cr .) cr c of 1.0, 0.8, 0 .6, 0.4, and 0.2 for indivi dual tests and
each sample was
allowed to come to equili brium under the reduc ed
stress. The samples were
then sheared to failure under increm ents of axial
stress while maintaining a
constant mean- norma l stress by simult aneou sly decrea
sing the cell pressu re.
The stress and strain relatio nship was expre ssed in terms
of resultant deviat oric
components and was repres ented by a basic two-p arame
ter hyperbolic relationship
developed by Kondn er (19) and define d by

sd = Ed Ed G.
, . ... . . . . . (7)
a + bed 1 + bed G 1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

in which 1 I a= G 1 = initial tangen t shear modul us; and

b =' I I Sd"'' = reci~roc~l
of the ultimate value of result ant deviat oric stress . A
typical resultan~ devl_a tonc
stress-strain curve and the associ ated hyper bolic stress-
strain relatiOnship are
shown in Fig. 6.
Since the relatio nship betwe en the result ant deviat
oric stress and strain
components was nonlin ear, the tangen tial shear modul
us, given by Eq. 8 • was
obtained by differ entiat ing Eq. 7:
G, = G l (l - bSd)2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . (8)

a functional r~latiodnshi~
Eq. 8 forme d the basis for the establ ishme nt of
for shear modul us. The depen dency of the param eters,
G 1, and b, on t ere 1 ~~e
consolidation ratio, a I a , and void ratio was investi
gated . By norma 1 ~ 1 ng
. g them on a sem1 1 og
. • m c
the vanab les to y1eld G) am, and am I a c elc' and
plotttn . d for the initial
plot as shown in Fig. 7, a functi onal relatio nship was
estabhshe
tangent shear modu lus :

G1) am )(
log ( - = A- B -- . . . . . . . . . . (9)
.. . · · · · · · · · · · · ·
am acek
· . . ts· a f a =redu ced
in which A and B = semilo garith mic regres sion coeff1c
1en • m c
consolidation ratio; and e1 = initial void ratio.
The relatio nship expre ssed by Eq. 9 was 0 b tame
c . d for eac h set of samples .
For the brown clays, the values of coeffi cients A and sentially consta nt.
B were es but coeffi cient A
For the blue silty clays the coeffi cient, B, was consta
. . . d . nt,log plot.
Jog-
was found to decre ase linear ly wit~ pla~tiC ity _m ex m a 7 yielded asymp totic
The use of the hyper bolic relatto nshlp defme d by
Eq: t deviat oric stresse s
values of stress S which were not equal to the resuJt anrela ted by a failure
dull
at failure S determ ined by test. The two va1ues were
df • h
ratio, R,, in accor dance w1t
. . . . . . . . . (10)
S df = R t S dul• = R f b1 . . . . . ..........
. . . b the resulta nt deviatoric
The test result s indica ted a linear relatw nshtp etwee n

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 608 JULY 1975 GT7
. . At 1·cal relationship (Fig. 8)
stress at failure and the vanable, am /a c eic' YP

sdf = 10a (.2_)1l

c e,c
(I
0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ° 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
•
0
(11)
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in which a and 13 =linear regression coefficients. Expressions for . b and .sdf

given by Eqs. 10 and 11, respectively, were incorporated into the basiC equation
for the tangential shear modulus, Eq. 8, to yield:
2
G - G [ 1_ R Sd ] •• • •••••••• • •• • (12)
t - I f lOa ( (I m ) ll , , , , , ,

(I c e,c

Eq. 12 expresses the shear modulus as a function of degree of overc~nsolidati?n,

initial void ratio, imposed stress system, and failure criterion. A .ty~1cal solu.tJon
for the shear modulus is shown in Fig. 9 for one soil layer. Similar solutions
were obtained for the other layers.

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

The solutions for the bulk and shear moduli of the soil were employed in
a finite element analysis of the settlement of an oil storage tank for which
long-term settlement records were available. Solutions of various axisymmetric
problems by the finite element method have been developed by several investiga-
tors (1,2,5,6,7,11,13,23,26,27) . The writers' method differs from the others in
that each element was characterized by a set of deformation parameters, K 1
and G ~' which varied with the state of stress in the element as well as the
soil type.
The soil and the finite element idealization used is shown in Fig. 10. The
soil profile was divided on the basis of common soil index properties into nine
layers. The soil layers were generally subdivided into quadrilateral elements
comprised of four constant strain triangles. Triangular elements were used at
some boundary locations. Initial values of deformation parameters were assigned
to each element consistent with the soil a nd the initial in-situ mean normal
a nd resultant deviatoric stresses.
Two different boundary conditions were considered at the tank-soil interface.
In the one case, the tank bottom was considered to be perfectly flexible and
in the second case the tank bottom was assumed to be perfectly rigid .
For the perfectly flexible case, a uniform load increment was applied over
the tank-soil interface, and the associated displacements, strains, and stresses
were computed using the initial bulk and shear moduli values. This gave rise
to a new set of bulk and shear moduli values which were used in computing
the displacements, strains, and stresses associated with the next load increment.
The procedure was continued until the desired magnitude of load was reached.
The magnitude of vertical displacement as a function of applied uniform pressure
is shown in Fig. 11 . The displacement profile which represents ultimate settlement
is bowl-shaped for all magnitudes of applied pressure. The nonlinearity of the
solution is illustrated by the fact that the displacements for equal increments
of applied pressure increase with pressure and the rate of increase in displacement

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 GT7 NONLINEAR SETILEMENT
609

700
Test number 5010
600 "'m • 25.0 po l
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"'c • 25.0 pol

..
·~
500 OJ • 1.38
Rt • 0.82
.J -
A • 2.032
""
;::.,
Z:::>
400
8 '0. 8 11
I!I.J
z2: 300 a • 1.333
}'!~ {3 '0.601

..
a:
w
X
200

100
U)

0
0 0 .2 0 .4 0.6 0 .8 1.0
RESULTANT DEVIATORIC STRESS S
REsulTANT bEVIATORic sTRESS AT FAIWRE ~

FIG. 9.-Typical Solution for Shear Modulus (1 psi= 6.9 kN / m2)

Num!xlr el element• • t96

N\111bctr of ncdal fl)flls • 220
I , 0, JX lnd iVII!ual SOli LOylf 5
NYrl'lbctrt w•ltl•n Ina eltmant rt cnnt!'ll t lamont /'\limber•

..t:im~W1=Pr1f
1----+- -fl 60'

= I

a:::::~~~~~~~~~~l
FIG. 10.-Finite Element Idealization of Soil Supporting Circular Tank on Ground
Surface (1 ft = 0.305 m)
OtSTANC E FROM THE CENTER OF TANK I fee t !

0 24 32 40 48 ,.
0 <l'lPl•
G• 4p10

(1 • 8 p t•

l
!i
CI • IO ptl

Cl•l2.pt l

~ Q• 14pt o

~ CI• IGp.~l
:I
~
0
l2 i
~
E dQt OIIOIIk-i
CI= A&!Pi itd bOU prusurl 1

~
.
20

. . f Tank Bottom under Various Applied

FIG. 11.-Theoretical Vert1cal Dlsp~acement 0 2 . 1 in = 25.4 mm; 1 ft = 0.305
Pressures-Tank at Surface (1 ps1 = 6.9 kN / m ' ·
rn)

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 610 JULY 1975 GT7
with pressure decreases from the center of the edge of the tank . In a linearly
elastic solution, the displacement of a point is directly proportional to the applied
pressure and there is a constant relationship between the displacement of any
two points.
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The variations in the magnitudes of the bulk and shear moduli with applied
pressure are shown for several elements in Fig. 12(a). The locations of the
elements are indicated in Fig. 10. It is seen that the bulk modulus undergoes
only a relatively small variation with applied pressure, whereas the shear modulus
varied by a factor greater than four in two of the elements. This implies that
most of the nonlinearity is the result of the response of the soil to shearing

Tonk otthllurloce Numblr& wnrun Tht

POT1n 111Un reprnenl Tilt tlerNnl numbtn

(a}
0
o•

04

ii :;
0
~ 0.3

~!!I 02
!(

~
"' ~ 0 I

(b)
0
0 10
APPL.IED PRESSJRE Q I PI~ I
" 20

FIG. 12.-Typical Variation with Applied Pressure of: (a) Shear and Bulk Moduli;
(b) Young's Modulus and Poissons' Ratio (1 psi = 6.9 kN / m2 )

deformation rather than compression. The bulk and shear moduli were converted
to Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio and the variations of the latter parameters
with applied pressure are shown in Fig. 12(b) for the same elements. As can
be seen from the figure, Young's modulus decreased and Poisson's ratio increased
with applied pressure. Both parameters varied by factors as large as three.
For the case of a rigid base, uniform displacements were applied at the interface
nodal points and the strains, stresses, and deformation parameters were computed
for each displacement increment. The tank load corresponding to each displace·
ment increment was computed on the basis of the stresses in the elements
at the tank-soil interface. The relationship between load and displacement was
nonlinear.

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 NONLINEAR SETTLEMENT 611
GT7
CoMPARISON OF THEORETICAL SETnEMENT WITH F1ao REcoRos

The field settlement data consisted of elevations taken at quart~: points along
the edge of the tank base and along eight equally space~ radn of the tank
b ttom. The settlement records for three tanks having a diameter of 90 ft (27
:i
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and a height of 48 ft (15 m) were used for a compa:ison. of_ theoretic~!

and field settlements. A typical time-edge settlement relat1onsh1p 1s shown m
Fig. 13. It is seen that after a period of 17 yr, settlement has not been completed
but the rate of settlement is small enough so that the present settlement may
be considered to be the ultimate settlement without appreciable error.
168

i 144

120

z
0
96
Mo"m{
edt;ltHtfltmWII
•041ns

~..,
72

48
~

2.4 - bes! flt lln. · Htlltm.-rt 0.1M

~
00
0 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16
" 17

YEARS

FIG. 13.-Typical Field Time-Settlement Relationship (1 in. = 25.4 mm)

OISTAP«:E FROM THE CENTER Of THE TANK ( 11, IUI)

O 5 JO 15 20 25 30 l:i 40 4' 30 35 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 ,0 55
0

Toflkno 62

(b/

FIG. 14.-Comparison of Field Settlement Data with Finite Element Analysis Based
on (a) Uniform Pressure; (bl Uniform Displacement (1 in. = 25.4 mm; 1 ft = 0.305
m)

In carrying out the finite element settlement analysis , two levels of oil were
used in computing the tank load. In one analysis the tank was assumed to
be full while in the other the tank was assumed to be filled to two-thirds of
its capacity. These levels represented the normal range of storage levels . The
applied loads included the weight of the tank and the weight of a 2-ft (0.61-m)
surface gravel pad which was assumed to be incompressible.
Fig. 14(a) shows a comparison between the theoretical and field settlements
considering the base of the tanks to be perfectly flexible. The observed settlements
lie within the bounds predicted by the finite element method up to a radial
distance of 0.8 times the radius of the tank. Beyond that distance, the field

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 JULY 1975
612
settlements were higher than those predicted by the finite element method .
This deviation from the theoretica l at the edges indica tes that either the base
of the tank is not flexible or there was some additiona l settlemen t of the tank
edge due to a Jack of confinem ent of the gravel beneath the tank . A displacement
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of the gravel had in fact been observed .

The comparison of field settlemen t with the predicted displacem ents considering
the base of the tank to be rigid is shown in Fig. 14(b ). The figure shows close
agreement between the field observati ons and the settlemen ts predicted by the
finite element method . Out of the 44 observed points only three points were
outside the bounds predicted by the finite element method.
It appears from Figs. 14(a) and 14(b) that the behavior of the tank is better
approximated by . consideri ng the base of the tank to be rigid . Although the
base is a thin plate which implies a flexible behavior , the walls of the tank
provide considerable restraint to deformat ion of the base, and thus the behavior
of the tank is neither perfectly flexible nor rigid.

CoNCLUSIONs

The stress system can be readily separated into hydrostat ic and deviatoric
components both in the laborator y and in field computat ions. The use of bulk
and shear moduli instead of Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio in solving
nonlinear stress-def ormation problems is advantag eous because both the bulk
modulus and shear modulus may be evaluated independ ently through laboratory
tests and may be more readily related to the state of stress in the field .
The bulk modulus solutions were of the "plastic" and "elastopl astic" types
according to Janbu 's modulus concept. The bulk modulus was found to increase
with a decrease in initial void ratio or a decrease in plasticity , or both.
Solutions for the shear modulus of the clays investiga ted were a function
of initial void ratio, imposed state of stress relative to failure stress, and the
degree of overconsolidation.
The solutions for the deformat ion paramete rs were incorpora ted into a finite
element program which was applied to the load-settl ement relationsh ip of an
oil storage tank. The finite element program indicated that the deformat ion
parameters varied considera bly under a normal range of working loads.
A comparison of the long-term settlemen t of oil storage tanks with that obtained
by the finite element method showed good agreemen t.

AcKNOWLEDGMENTS

The study was carried out under the sponsors hip of the National Research
Coun~il ~f Canada. !he
~ield settlemen t data of the oil storage tanks was provided
by Wmmpeg lmpenal 01l Enterpris es.

APPENDIX I.-REFEREN CES

I. Clough,~· '.'The Finite Element Method in Structural Mechanics," Stress Anal sisk,
W.·,
0. C. Zienk1eW1Cz and G. S. Holister, eds. ' John Wiley and Sons • Inc ·• Ne w yyor ,
N.Y., 1965.

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 GT7 . NONLINEAR SETILEMENT 613
2 Clough, R. W., and .Ras~Id, Y., "Fi~ite Element Analysis of Axisymmetric Solids "
· ]oumal of the Engmeermg Mechamcs Division, ASCE v 1 91 N E '
paper 4229, Feb., 1965, pp. 71-85. ' 0 · • o . Ml, Proc.
J. Clough, ~· W,;• and Woodward: R. J., '_'Analysis of Embankment Stresses and
Deformations, Journal of the Soli Mechamcs and Foundations Divis' ASCE V I
93 , No. SM4, Proc. ~a~er 5329.' July, 1967, pp. 529 _549 .
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by HANYANG UNIVERSITY on 10/18/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

1011 • • o·
4· Deming, W. 3.
E., StatiStical Adjustment of Data, Dover Publications I nc., New y or k ,
N.Y., 194
5. Desai, C. S., and Abel, J. F., Introduction to the Finite Element Method, Van Nostrand
Reinhold Co., New York, N.Y., 1972.
6. Desai, C. S., and. Reese, I:· C., "Analysis of Circular Footing on Layered Soils "
Journal of the Soli Mechamcs and Foundations Division ASCE Vol 96 N sM'4
Proc. Paper 7408, July, 1970, pp . 1289-1310. ' ' · ' 0· •
1. Doherty, .w. P:, Wilson, E. L., ~nd Taylor, R. T., "Stress Analysis of Axisymmetric
Solids Usmg Higher \)rde~ Quadnla~eral Elements," Structural and Materials Research
Report No. 69-3, Umvers1ty of California, Berkeley, Calif., 1969.
8. Domaschuk, L., "A Study of Static Deformation Characteristics of A Sand " thesis
presented to the Georgia Institute of Technology, at Atlanta, Ga., in 1965, i'n partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
9. Domaschuk, L., and Wade, N. H., "A Study of Bulk and Shear Moduli of Sand"
Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE, Vol. 95, No. SM,2,
Proc. Paper 6461, Mar., 1969, pp. 561-581.
10. Duncan, J. M., and Chang, C-Y., "Nonlinear Analysis of Stress and Strain in Soils,"
Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, Vol. 96, No. SM5, Proc.
paper 7513, Sept., 1970, pp. 1629-1653.
II. Ellison, R. D., D'Appolonia, E., and Thiers, G. R., "Load-Deformation Mechanism
for Bored Piles," Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE,
Vol. 97, No. SM4, Proc. Paper 8052, Apr., 1971, pp. 661-678.
12. Elson, J. A., "Geology of Glacial Lake Agassiz," Life, Land and Water, Occassional
Papers, No. I, Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada,
1967.
13. Girijavallabhan, C. V., and Reese, L. C., "Finite Element Method for Problems
in Soil Mechanics," Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE,
Vol. 94, No. SM2, Proc. Paper 5864, Mar., 1968, pp . 473-496 .
14. Hoyaux, B., and Ladanyi, B., "Gravitational Stress Field Around a Tunnel in Soft
Ground," Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Vol. 7, No.
I, 1970, pp. 54-61.
15. Janbu, N., "Soil Compressibility as Determined by Oe~ometer .and !riaxia~ Tests,"
European Conference on Soil Mechanics and FoundatiOn Engmeermg, W1esbaden,
Germany, Vol. I, 1963, pp . 19-25. . . , .
16. Janbu, N., "The Resistance Concept Applied to DeformatiOn of SOil.s , Pro~eed1.ngs
of the Sixth International Conference 011 Soil Mechanics and Foundatwn Engmeermg,
Mexico City, Mexico, Vol. I, 1969, pp. 191-196. . , .
17. Janbu, N., "Methods of Settlement Computation of Various Typ~s of Sod, S01l
~echanics and Foundation Engineering (Translated from Osnovamya, Fundamenty
I Mekhanika Gruntov), Vol. 7, No. 3, 1970, pp . 201-20<;i. . ,
18. Jennings, P. c., "Periodic Response of a General Yzeldmg Structure, Journal of
the Engineering Mechanics Division, ASCE, Vol. 90, No. EM2, Proc. Paper 3871,
Apr., 1964, pp. 131-166. . S .1 " J 1 f
19. Kondner, R. L., "Hyperbolic Stress-Strain Response: Cohestve OI s, ourna o
'I M h · d d · D'
the S01 ec ames an roun atwns !VI 1011 ,
r::o ·s • ASCE •
Vol ·
89 '
No. SMI, Proc. Paper
20 3429, Feb., 1963, pp. 131-166. B "F' 'te Element Analyses of
· Kulhawy, F. H., Duncan, J. M., and Seed,, H. ., 11!1 .. Re ort S-89-68, U.S.
Stresses and Movements in Embankments Dunng Cons~ructv 10 :"•k b P M'
A c · E ·ment Statzon IC s urg, 1ss., 1969 ·
21 rmy orps of Engmeers Waterways xpen I' w' . eg Area as Related to
· Render, F. W., "Geohydrology of t.he ~etropod~tan G ~~~~nical Journal, Toronto,
Ground Water Supply and Construction, Cana wn e
22 Ontario, Canada, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1970, pp. 243-~74 ·f El 1 f'ernillo Dam" Canadian
· Skermer, N. A., "A Finite Element Analyszs 0 n~ 2 !973 ~ 129-144.
Geotechnical Journal, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Vol. 10, 0 · ' ' P ·

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614

 614 JULY 1975 GT7
23. Smith, I. M., "A Finite Element Approach to Elastic Soil-Structure Interaction,"
Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Vol. 7, No. 2, 1970, pp.
95-105.
24. Upham, W., "The Glacial Lake Agassiz," U.S. Geological Survey Monographs, Vol.
25, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. , 1896.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by HANYANG UNIVERSITY on 10/18/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

25 . Valliappan, P., "Nonlinear Stress-Deformation Analyses of Lake Agassiz Clays Using

Finite Element Method," thesis presented to the University of Manitoba, at Winnipeg,
Canada, in 1974, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy.
26. Wilson, E. L., "Structural Analysis of Axisymmetric Solids," Journal of the American
Institute of Aerospace and Aeronautics, Vol. 3, No. 12, 1%5, pp. 2269-2273.
27. Zienkiewicz, 0. C., The Finite Element Method in Engineering Science, McGraw-Hill
Book Co. Ltd., London, England, 1971.

APPENDIX IJ.-NOTAnON

The following symbols are used in this paper:

A,B semilogarithmic regression coefficients;

b = 1/Sdult reciprocal of asymptotic value of resultant deviatoric stress;
E Young's modulus;
E, tangential Youngs modulus;
eic initial void ratio;
G shear modulus;
G; initial tangent shear modulus;
o, tangential shear modulus;
K bulk modulus;
K, initial tangent bulk modulus;
K, tangential bulk modulus;
n = shape parameter;
q uniform applied pressure;
Rt failure ratio;
sd resultant deviatoric stress;
sdt resultant deviatoric stress at failure ;.
positive constant indicating degree of deviation from linearity;
regression coefficients referred to as failure criterion parame-
ters;
Ed resultant deviatoric strain;
e. mean normal strain;
Eve characteristic mean normal strain-
e •• normalized volumetric strain · '
v = Poisson's ratio; '
v, tangential Poisson's ratio;
rrm mean normal stress;
rr me characteristic mean normal stress; and
rrm/rre reduced consolidation ratio.

Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, 1975, 101(7): 601-614