CONSOLIDATION

THEORY
PREPARED BY
SHAMILAH ANUDAI@ANUAR
 CONSOLIDATIONS
• Elastic (immediate) settlement – Caused by
elastic deformation of dry and moist soil
without any change in moisture content
• Primary Consolidation Settlement – Volume
change caused by expulsion of water from
voids in saturated cohesive soils
• Secondary Consolidation Settlement – Volume
change after primary consolidation as a result
of plastic adjustment of soil matrix
what is consolidation?
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK4oDD-4CeE
Consolidation Settlement
Consolidation Settlement
• how a saturated clay reacts to an applied load, starting at time = 0
(immediately after load was applied). Assuming some clay layer of
thickness H with drainage both above and below (sand layers)
Consolidation Settlement
• Now at time > 0
• The water slowly is squeezed out of soil and takes the path of least
resistance
• Pore pressure is decreasing while the effective stress increases
 Consolidation Settlement (cont’)
• Finally at time = ∞
• Pore water is in equilibrium and the soil skeleton is carrying the entire
load
• This process will take time – weeks, months, even years
 SPRING ANALOGY

• During consolidation, pore water/water in the

voids of saturated clay gets squeezed out –
reducing the volume of the clay – hence causing
settlement known as “CONSOLIDATION
SETTLEMENT”
Laboratory Consolidation Test
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZTN8z0EIrM
Laboratory Consolidation Test
ONE-DIMENSIONAL
CONSOLIDATION THEORY
Laboratory Consolidation Test
• In the lab – a soil consolidation test is used to determine
settlement characteristics of a soil

• Allsettlement will occur in voids

HsA = Vs
HsA = Ws/Gsδw
Hs = Ws/AGsδw
Hv = H – Hs
eo = Vv/Vs = HvA / HsA = Hv/Hs
eo = void ratio at time 0
Δe = ΔH1/Hs
e1 = eo – Δe
e1 = void ratio at time > 0
 Overconsolidated – Normally
Consolidated
• Overconsolidated – Some past stress was greater than current
stress
• Normally Consolidated – Current stress is max

Where the max pressure of soil occurs at this point

Preconsolidation Pressure-Determination
of the Compressibility Characteristics
• Soils have a “memory” of the stress and other
changes that have occurred during their
history.
• The maximum stress experienced by the soil
in their history is known as the
preconsolidation pressure σ′c.
• To know the soil preconsolidation status,
Overconsolidation ratio (OCR) is used :
Overconsolidation Ratio
(OCR)
• The OCR is the ratio
of past effective stress
to present effective
stress
• OCR = σc’ / σo’
Overconsolidation Ratio (OCR)

• where σ′o is the existing overburden

pressure

If OCR > 1, Overconsolidated

OCR = 1, Normal Consolidated
OCR < 1, Under Consolidated
Calculation of Settlement
Normally Consolidated Soil σo’= σc’
SC = Cc H / (1 + e0) log [(σo’+ Δσo) / σo’]
 Calculation of Settlement
Under Consolidated Soil – If (σv’+ Δσv) > σc’
SC = Cr H / (1 + e0) log σc’ / σv’ + CcH / (1+e0) log
[(σv’+ Δσv) / σc’]
Calculation of Settlement
Over Consolidated Soil – If (σv’+ Δσv) < σc’
SC = Cr H / (1 + e0) log [(σv’+ Δσv) / σv’]
 VOID RATIO – PRESSURE PLOTS
ΔH1
Void Hv = H - Hs
ΔH2

Solid Hs = ws/AGsw

Step 1 : Calculate the height of soils using equation 11.14

Step 2 : Calculate the initial height of voids using equation 11.15

Step 3 : Calculate the initial of voids ratio, e0 using equation 11.16

Step 4 : Calculate change in void ratio using equation 11.17

Step 5 : Calculate new void ratio after consolidation using equation 11.18

And calculate void ratio at the end of consolidation using equation 11.19
Preconsolidation Condition
 normally consolidated - present effective overburden
pressure = maximum pressure the soil has been subjected to
in the past (σc)
 overconsolidated - present effective overburden pressure <
maximum pressure the soil has been subjected to in the past
(σc)

σ σ σc
Preconsolidation pressure
determination (Casagrande, 1936)
 Establish point a at which e-log σ’ has minimum radius of
curvature
 Draw horizontal line from a (line ab)
 Draw tangent to curve at a (line ac)
 Draw line ad to bisect angle bac
 Project the straight-line portion of gh back to intersect ad at f
 Abscissa of point f is the preconsolidation pressure, σ’c

b ab
a f
c
g
a
h

σp
Point of Curvature
Point of curvature
is the beginning of
curve

a
Tangent line
A tangent line is a
straight line that just
barely touches a curve at
one point.
 Bisector Angle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lP1NKYLKQw

A line that splits an angle

into two equal angles.
Bisect means divide into
two equal parts.

A C
 SETTLEMENT FROM 1-D PRIMARY
CONSOLIDATION
Δv
Height
Δv
Vv0
Vv1
Sc
Sc V0
V1
Vs
H0
H0 Solid
Solid

Calculate change of volume using equation 11.23

Calculate change in the volume of voids using equation 11.24

SETTLEMENT FROM 1-D PRIMARY
CONSOLIDATION (cont’)
SETTLEMENT FROM 1-D PRIMARY
CONSOLIDATION (cont’)
CORRELATIONS FOR
COMPRESSION INDEX (Cc)
 Skempton (1944) suggested the following empirical
expression for the compression index for undisturbed clays.
CORRELATIONS FOR SWELL INDEX
(Cs)
 Appreciably smaller in magnitude than the compression
index and generally determined from laboratory tests.
 Worked Example
 The following readings were obtained from an Oedometer
test on a specimen of saturated clay. The load being held
constant for 24 hour before the addition of the next
increment.
Applied
Stress (kPa)
0 25 50 100 200 400 800

Thickness
(mm)
19.60 19.25 18.98 18.61 18.14 17.68 17.24

 At the end of the last load period, the load was removed and
the sample allowed to expand for 24 hour, at the end of
which time its thickness was 17.92mm and its water content
found to be 31.8%. The specific gravity of the soil was 2.66
Worked Example (cont’)
