Section 2.

1
Introduction to
Soil Settlement Calculations

2.1-1
1.1-1
 Introduction to Soil Settlement Calculations
• When a soil layer is subjected to loading (e.g. application
of surface loads), the soil will compress and settle.
• Depending on the site geometry and the loading area,
the soil settlement can be one-dimensional, two-
dimensional or three-dimensional.
• The loading conditions and settlement profiles
associated with 1-D, 2-D and 3-D conditions are shown
below:

1-D 2-D 3-D

2.1-2
 Introduction to Soil Settlement Calculations

• Also, depending on whether the soil is a sand or a clay, the

settlement may take place very quickly (almost instantaneously,
or a matter of days) or very slowly (months or even years).

• In sands, because of the high permeability, water can drain

out very quickly due to the applied loading, and hence the
settlements will take place very quickly.

• In clays, because of the very low permeability, water drains out

very slowly in response to the applied loading, and hence the
settlements will take place very slowly.
In clays, the settlement process is commonly referred to as
‘consolidation’, or otherwise known as time-dependent
settlement.
• Note that, in clays, there can also be some immediate or short-
term settlement due to the undrained response of the clay.
2.1-3
 Introduction to Soil Settlement Calculations

In this module, we will study how to perform

calculations related to

(i) the long-term consolidation settlement of

clayey materials
The key parameters to carry out such calculations
are the compression index Cc and swelling index Cs.
(see Slides 1.5-18 and 1.5-19)

(ii) the immediate drained settlement of sandy

materials
The key parameters to carry out such calculations
are the Young’s modulus E, shear modulus G, etc.

2.1-4