Allowable Settlements

1. Uniform Settlement

A structure that has undergone uniform settlement is one where all

points within the structure have moved vertically the same amount.
This type of settlement does not result in structural damage if it is
constant across whole structure.

2. Tilt

Tilt is usually measured by its angular distortion. Tilt is visible at

about 1/250 or 0.4%.

3. Differential (Distortion) Settlement

If smax is the maximum total settlement anywhere in the structure

than Dsmax is the maximum difference in total deformations between
adjacent foundations. This is called differential settlement. Distortion
is then defined as: Dsmax/L.

Field evidence indicates that architectural damage occurs when

Dsmax/L = 1/300 and structural damage occurs when Dsmax/L =
1/150.
4. Maximum Allowable Settlement

In general, foundations are limited to a specified amount of

settlement. This settlement is called the design or maximum
allowable settlement. For isolated foundations that support individual
columns or small of columns on clay:

Since Dsmax/L = 1/300, smax = 4 in (10 cm)

For isolated foundations that support individual columns or small

groups of columns on sand:

Since Dsmax/L = 1/300, smax = 2 in (5 cm)

Therefore we must design for total settlements of isolated foundation

less than 2 – 4 in (5 – 10 cm).
Foundations on Expansive Soil, Day, Robert W.

1. Introduction

Expansive soils are a worldwide problem, causing extensive damage

to civil engineering structures.

Consolidation of clay is based on the compression of soft clays that

have a high water content. Expansive clays are different in that the
near-surface clay often varies in density and moisture condition from
the wet season to the dry season.

For example, near-or at-surface clays often dry out during periods of
drought but then expand during the rainy season.

There are many factors that govern the expansion behavior of soil.
The primary factors are a change in water content and the amount
and type of clay size particles in the soil. Other important factors
affecting the expansion behavior include the type of soil (natural or
fill), condition of the soil in terms of dry density and moisture
content, magnitude of the surcharge pressure, and amount of
nonexpansive material such as gravel or cobble size particles.
2. Expansion Potential
3. Expansion Index Test

The purpose of this laboratory test is to determine the expansion

index, which is then used to classify the soil as having a very low,
low, medium, high, or very high expansion potential (see Table 9.1).

The expansion index test basically consists of compacting a soil

specimen so that it has a degree of saturation of approximately 50
percent and then placing the soil specimen in an oedometer
apparatus and allowing it to swell. The test procedures are as
follows:

- Soil specimen
A disturbed soil specimen or a bulk sample can be used for this
test (pass the No. 4 sieve).

- Compaction of the soil

The soil specimen is compacted into a ring having internal
diameter of 4.0 in and height of 1.0 in.
- Calculation of degree of saturation

Gs w = S e (49% – 51%)

dimana: Gs = specific grafity

w = water content
S = degree of saturation
e = void ratio

- Loading device

Figure 9.6 Example of a loading

device for the
expansion index test.
 A load equivalent to a vertical pressure of 144 psf (6.9 kPa) is
then applied to the soil specimen and a dial gauge reading is
taken.
Because the soil specimen has been compacted, there should be
negligible vertical deformation when the vertical stress of 144 psf
(a very light load) is applied to the soil specimen.

- End of test
After the soil specimen has swelled, it is removed from the
apparatus and the final water content of the soil is determined.
The final saturation of the soil specimen can also be calculated
using basic phase relationships.
The final step in the expansion index test is to calculate the
expansion index.
Another approach is to calculate the expansion index (EI) based
on the end of primary swell, defined as (Day, 1993):

dimana: EI = expansion index (dimensionless)

hp = height of the soil specimen at the end of primary
swell (in. or mm).
ho = initial height of the soil specimen (1.0 in., 25.4
mm).

Suppose a clayey gravel has 40 percent by dry mass passing the

No. 4 sieve and for the particles passing the No. 4 sieve, the EI is
100. The according equation above, the corrected EI would be 100
times 0.4, or 40 (low expansion potential).
4. Basic Expansive Soil Principles

4.1. Depth of Seasonal Moisture Change

Near surface clay deposits will often have different values of water
content depending on the time of year. During a hot and dry period,
the water content will be significantly lower than during a rainy
period. The greates variation in water content occurs at ground
surface, with the variation decreasing with depth.
Figure 9.14 shows the water content versus depth for two clay
deposits located in Irbid, Jordan (Al-Homoud et al, 1997). Soil
deposit A has a LL of 35 and a PI of 22, while soil deposit B has a LL
of 79 and a PI of 27 (Al-Homoud et al, 1995).

During the summer, the lowest water contents are recorded near
ground surface, and the water contents are below the shrinkage limit
(SL). A near-surface water content below the shrinkage limit (SL) is
indicate of severe desiccation of the clay.

Below a depth of about 3.2 m for soil deposit A and a depth of about
4.5 m for soil deposit B, the water content is relatively unchanged
between the summer and winter monituring period, and this depth is
commonly known as the depth of seasonal moisture change (depth
of the active zone/active depth).

Soil deposit B has a greater variation in water content from the dry
summer to a wet winter and a greater depth of seasonal moisture
change. This is probably because soil deposit B has a higher clay
content than soil deposit A.
4.2. Soil Suction

The total suction of an unsaturated soil is the sum of the matric

suction sm and the osmotic suction so, as follows (Fredlund and
Rahardjo, 1993):

dimana sT = total suction of the soil (psf or kPa)

sm = ua – uw = matric suction (psf or kPa)
ua = air pressure in the soil voids (psf or kPa)
uw = pore water pressure acting between the soil particles
(psf or kPa)
so = osmotic suction (psf or kPa)

The matric suction and osmotic suction are due to the following:

- Matric suction (sm = ua – uw)

For unsaturated soil, the air pressure in the soil voids is usually
atmospheric and hence ua = 0. But soils can have positive or
negative pore water pressures u.
In cases where the soil is saturated and the pore water pressure
are positive, such as soil located below the groundwater table, the
matric suction is assumed to be equal to zero.
 For soils above the ground water table that are saturated due to
capillary rise, the matric suction can be calculated from:

dimana gw = the unit weight of water

h = distance above the groundwater table

- Osmotic suction so
The role of osmotic suction is equally applicable to both
unsaturated and saturated soils. In a general sense, osmotic
suction is due to the salt content of the pore water which is
present in both saturated and unsaturated soils.
As the water content of clay decreases, the total suction increases.
For example, Fig. 9.15 presents laboratory test data that shows
values of matric suction and osmotic suction versus the water
content of the soil.
4.3. Identification and Swelling of Desiccated Clay

The geotechnical engineer can often visually identify desiccated clay

because of the numerous ground surface cracks, such as shown in
Fig. 9.17 below,
1. Primary swell
The first phase of swelling of the desiccated clay was primary swell.
The primary swell occurs from time equals zero (start wetting) to
about 100 min. The end of primary swell (100 min) was estimated
from the log-of-time method, which as previously mentioned, can
also be applied to the swelling of clays.

Figure 9.19 shows that during primary swell, there was a rapid
decrease in the hydraulic conductivity (also known as permeability)
of the clay. At the end of primary swell, the main soil cracks have
probably closed.

2. Secondary swell
The second phase of swelling was secondary swell. The secondary
swell occurs from a time of about 100 to 20,000 min after wetting.
Figure 9.19 shows that during secondary swell, the hydraulic
conductivity continues to decrease as the clay continues to swell and
the micro-cracks close-up.
3. Steady state
The third phase started when the clay stopped swelling. This
occurred at about 20,000 min after inundation with distilled water. No
swell was recorded from a time of 20,000 min after wetting to the
end of the test (50,000 min). As shown in Fig. 9.19, the hydraulic
conductivity is constant once the clay has stopped swelling.

The rate of swelling is important because it governs how fast water

will enter the soil and cause foundation heave. Chen (1988) states
that the permeability (and hence coefficient of swell) is an important
factor because the higher the permeability, the greater the
probability of differential movement of the foundation.

This is because the water could quickly penetrate underneath one

portion of the structure, resulting in damaging differential movement.
A slower moisture migration into the soil could result in a more
gradual and uniform foundation heave.
There appear to be three factors that govern the permeability and
rate of swelling of desiccated clay: the development of cracks as the
clay dries, the increased suction at a lower water content, and the
process of slaking.

- Development of desiccation cracks

The amount and distribution of desiccation cracks, such as shown
in Fig. 9.17, are probably the greatest factors in the rate of
swelling. Clay will shrink until the shrinkage limit (usually a low
water content) is reached.
- Increased suction at a lower water content
The second factor that governs the rate of swelling of a desiccated
clay is suction pressure. As shown in Fig. 9.15, the total suction
increases as the water content decreases. At low water contents,
the water is drawn into the clay by the suction pressures.
The combination of both shrinkage cracks and high suction
pressures allows water to be quickly sucked into the clay, resulting
in a higher rate of swell.
- Slaking
The third reason is the process of slaking. Slaking is defined as the
breaking of dried clay when submerged in water, due either to
compression of entrapped air by inwardly migrating capillary water
or to the progressive swelling and sloughing off of the outer layers
(Stokes and Varnes, 1955).
Slaking breaks apart the dried clay clods and allows water to
quickly penetrate all portions of the desiccated clay. The process of
slaking is quicker and more disruptive for clays having the most
drying time and lowest initial water content.

It would be desirable to use laboratory test data to predict how long

it will take for the short-term and long-term expansive soil conditions
to develop. For example, there is a similarity of the shape of time
versus deformation curves for consolidation and swell of clay in the
oedometer apparatus.

The rate of swell can be estimated from Terzaghi’s diffusion equation

where the coefficient of consolidation (cv) is replaced by the
coefficient of swell (cs), or (Blight, 1965):
where cs = Coefficient of swell from laboratory testing (ft2/day or
m2/day)
T = Time factor
t = Time since water enters the expansive soil (days)
Hdr = Height of the swell path (ft or m)
If water enters at the top and bottom of the cohesive
soil layer, then Hdr = ½ Ho, where Ho = initial thickness
of the expansive soil layer.
If water only enters at the top or bottom or the
expansive soil layer, then Hdr = Ho.
5. Expansive Soil Foundation Movement

If a shallow foundation, such as a slab-on-grade, is constructed on

top of a clay, there are usually two main types of expansive soil
movement. The first is the cyclic heave and shrinkage around the
perimeter of the foundation and the second is the longterm
progressive swelling beneath the center of the structure, as follows:

1. Cyclic heave and shrinkage

Clays are characterized by their moisture sensitivity, they will
expand when given access to water and shrink when they are
dried out.
For example, the perimeter of a slab-on-grade foundation could
heave during the rainy season and then deform downward
during the drought if the clay dries out. This causes cycles of
up and down movement, causing cracking and damage to the
structure.
Field measurement of this up-and-down cyclic movement have
been recorded by Johnson (1980).
The cyclic heave and shrinkage around the perimeter of a
structure is generally described as a seasonal or short-term
condition.
2. Progressive swelling beneath the center of the
foundation (center lift).
Because of capillary action, moisture can move upward through
soil, where it will evaporate at the ground surface.
But when a slab-on-grade is constructed, it acts as a ground
surface barrier, reducing or preventing the evaporation of
moisture.
Thus slowly with time water will tend to accumulate
underneath the center of the foundation, resulting in the
swelling of the clay and uplift of the foundation, and this
process is known as center lift.
Similar to capillary action, water can also be drawn into the soil
due to suction pressure. Hence water could also move laterally
through the soil by the action of soil suction and again
accumulate beneath the center of the foundation resulting in
center lift.
The progressive heave of the center of the structure is
generally described as a long-term condition, because the
maximum value may not be reacehed until many years after
construction. Figure 9.20 illustrates center lift beneath a house
foundation and Fig. 9.21 shows the typical crack pattern in the
concrete slab-on-grade due to expansive soil center lift.
3. Rate of foundation movement
The damages due to expansive soils typically occur within the
first two to three years after house construction (Meehan and
Karp, 1994).
This is likely because owners often install landscaping, which is
then heavily irrigated in order to establish the ground cover.
The sudden influx of water beneath the edge of the foundation
causes the perimeter of the foundation to heave upward,
especially if the foundation was constructed on a dry and
desiccated clay.