Geotechnical Engineering II

1. Geomechanics
1.3 Settlement and consolidation

COURSE CONVENOR: ENG S.T. NHANDARA

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Settlement

and consolidation
Settlement is the compression that occurs when a load
is applied to a soil
 Particles rearrange themselves (slide and roll over ) to
reduce the void
 Particles bend, crush and break
 Water in the voids moves out
 Air in the voids moves out

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Types of settlements

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Tipping settlement

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Leaning tower of Pisa, Italy
One of the most famous examples of problems related
to settlement in the construction of structures prior to
the 18th century is the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.
Construction of the tower began in 1173 A.D. when the
Republic of Pisa was flourishing and continued in
various stages for over 200 years.
The structure weighs about 15,700 metric tons and is
supported by a circular base having a diameter of 20m.

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The tower has tilted in the past to the east, north, west
and, finally, to the south.
Recent investigations showed that a weak clay layer
exists at a depth of about 11 m below the ground
surface, compression of which caused the
tower to tilt.
By 1990 it was more than 5 m out of plumb with the 54
m height.
The tower was closed in 1990 because it was feared
that it would either fall over or collapse

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It has recently been stabilized by excavating soil from
under the north side of the tower. About 70 metric
tons of earth were removed in 41 separate extractions
that spanned the width of the tower.
As the ground gradually settled to fill the resulting
space, the tilt of the tower eased. The tower now leans
5 degrees.
The half degree change is not noticeable, but it makes
the structure considerably more stable

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Settlement limits

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Settlement in sand
Particles rearrange themselves very quickly
Water in the voids drains very quickly because of high
hydraulic conductivity
Occurs faster – generally complete by the time
construction is complete
Settlement in sand is a fast process

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Settlement in clay
Occurs primarily due to expulsion of water from the
voids
Water in the voids drains very slowly because of low
hydraulic conductivity
Compression occurs very slowly takes months, years or
even decades
Settlement in clay is a slow, time dependent process
known as ‘cons0lidation’.

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Consolidation in the laboratory
In the laboratory the consolidometer or oedometer is
used to measure consolidation

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Consolidation –laboratory procedure
Vertical loads are applied in increments
After application of each load increment, time is
allowed for soil consolidation to take place
Next load increment is applied after compression
stabilises (i.e change in settlement with time becomes
negligible) for the previous load increment
The reduced void ratio (after the compression has
stabilised) and the corresponding applied vertical
(effective ) stress are plotted to get e-log plot

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 Consolidation : e-log plot
27 54 107 214 429 214 107 54
(kPa)
Void 1,243 1,217 1,144 1,068 0,994 1,001 1,012 1,024
ratio

1.30

Cc
1.20
Compression index

plastic zone
Void ratio, e

1.10

elastic zone
1.00
Cs
Recompression index
0.90
1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00 2.20 2.40 2.60 2.80
Vertical effective stress logsv (KPa)

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 Consolidation

The settlement or consolidation is given by:

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 Consolidation
 Example 1.1: A layer of soft saturated clay 5m thick lies under a newly constructed
building . The effective pressure due to the overlying strata on the clay is 300kN/m2 a
and the new construction increases the effective over-burden by 120kN/m2 . If the
compression index is 0.45 compute the settlement assuming the natural water content
of the clay layer to be 43% and the specific gravity is 2.7
 Example 1.2: A uniform load of 145kN/m2 is distributed over a large area. The subsoil
consists of a bed of dense soil containing 2 strata of clay each 3m thick as shown below.
Compute the total settlement under the load given that the sand is completely
submerged

Cc = 0.4, w= 57%, Gs = 2.79

Cc = 0.4, w= 57%, Gs = 2.79

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 Consolidation
The effective vertical stress is plotted on a log scale
because it yields a constant slope which produces
better results.
The gradient of the graph void ratio e vs effective
consolidation stress gives the compression index Cc in
the plastic zone and the recompression index Cs in the
elastic zone.
The OCR =

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Normally consolidated clay and
Over consolidated clay
A normally consolidated clay is so called when the
current vertical effective stress exceeds the
maximum effective stress the soil has ever
experienced. Its OCR = 1 or less
A clay is said to be overconsolidated when the
current stress is below the maximum stress the
clay has ever experienced. The OCR>1

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Pre-loading
Preloading is a process whereby a surcharge load is
applied before the actual construction in order to
induce settlement.

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Settlement
Settlement is determined by:
S = Soc + Snc

Where:
Soc - overconsolidation settlement
Cs – recompression index
Ho – height of clay layer (m)
Snc - normal consolidation settlement
eo – initial void ratio
- pre-consolidation pressure
Cc – compression index

Hp = Ho - Soc

q – applied surcharge load

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EXAMPLE 1.3: In order to preconsolidate a lightly over consolidated clay
deposit of 10m thickness, a surcharge of 30KPa was put in sand bags. After
the clay layer was fully consolidated, the surcharge was removed. The
actual construction resulted in a surface loading of 50kPa. The in-situ
preconsolidation pressure was estimated equal to 45kPa. The water table is
at the ground surface. It was found that Cc = 0.69 and Cs =0.1Cc. From
disturbed samples collected from the clay it was found that the natural
water content wn = 51% and Gs = 2.7
a) Estimate the in-situ overconsolidated ratio
b) Calculate the settlement that occurs due to the surcharge load of 30kPa
c) Calculate the settlement after the 30kPa surcharge was removed
d) Calculate the settlement that occurred in the soil after the final
construction
e) Calculate the settlement that would have occurred under the
construction load of 50kPa if the 30kPa surcharge was not placed
initially

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Theory of one dimensional compression
Quantification of the time required for consolidation
take place.
 Consider vertical flow only

Assumptions
 Soil is homogenous
 Soil is fully saturated
 Soil particles and water are incompressible
 Hydraulic conductivity k is a constant

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Theory of one dimensional
compression – settlement time
 The time required for settlement to occur (yrs)
where:
cv = coefficient of consolidation
Tv = average degree of consolidation
For U 52.6% :

For U > 52.6% :

U = consolidation, total settlement corresponds to U = 1 or

100%

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 Degree of Consolidation , U

Double drainage versus single drainage

Maximum drainage path Hd depends on soil layering

Double drainage (Open): Hd = Half of layer thickness = 0.5H

Single drainage (Closed): Hd = Layer thickness = H

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Settlement; S(t)
Settlement S(t) after a time interval t in years
S(t) = Sultimate x U
Example 1. 4
a)If the soft clay layer problem of example 3 is underlain by a
sand layer, how long should the 30KPa surcharge be kept for
full consolidation to take place
b) After the actual construction load of 50KPa is placed, how
much settlement occurs after 6months and 10years
c) How does the calculation change if instead of a sand layer
the clay layer is underlain by an impervious rock layer. Given
cv = 3 m2/year
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The END...

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