NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Module 5
Lecture 28
Consolidation-2
Topics
1.1.3 Relations of

and

for Other Forms of Initial Excess Pore Water

Pressure Distribution
1.1.4 Numerical Solution for One-Dimensional Consolidation

Consolidation in a layered soil

1.1.5 Degree of Consolidation under Time-Dependent Loading

1.1.3 Relations of

and

for Other Forms of Initial Excess Pore Water

Pressure Distribution
Using the basic equation for excess pore water pressure and with proper boundary conditions, relations for
and for various other types of initial excess pore water pressure distribution can be obtained. Figure
5.10 and 5.11 present some of these cases.

Figure 5.10 Some forms of initial excess pore water pressure distribution
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Figure 5.11 Variation of

for initial excess pore water pressure diagrams shown in Figure 5. 10

Example 1 Consider the case of initial excess hydrostatic pore water that is constant with depth, i.e.,
(Figure 5.12). For
, determine the degree of consolidation at a depth H/3 measured from
the top of the layer.

Figure 5.12
Solution From equation (32), for constant pore water pressure increase,

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. We can now make a table to calculate

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

0.3
0

0.3
1

0.3
2

1.273
0.4770
0.5
0.3036

0.4244
0.00128
1.0
0.00005

0.2546
0.5

Using the value of 0.3041 calculated in step 9, the degree of consolidation at depth H/3 is

Note that in the above table we need not go beyond

.

, since the expression in step 9 is negligible for

Example 2 Due to certain loading conditions, the excess pore water pressure in a clay layer (drained at top
and bottom) increased in the manner shown in Figure 5.13. For a time factor
, calculate the average
degree of consolidation.

Figure 5.13
Solution The excess pore water pressure diagram shown in Figure 5.13 can be expressed as the difference
of two diagrams, as shown in Figure 5.14b and c. the excess pore water pressure diagrams in Figure 5.
14b shows a case where
varies linearly with depth. Figure 5.14c can be approximated as a sinusoidal
variation.

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Figure 5.14

The area of the diagram in Figure 5.14b is

The area of the diagram in Figure 5.14c is

The average degree of consolidation can now be calculated as follows:

Form Figure 5. 6, for

Example 3uniform surcharge of

15a.

. So

is applied on the ground surface as shown in Figure 5.

(a) Determine the initial excess pore water pressure distribution in the clay layer.
(b) Plot the distribution of the excess pore water pressure with depth in the clay layer at a time for which
.

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Figure 5.15

Solution Part (a): the initial excess pore water pressure will be
throughout the clay layer (Figure 5.15b; refer to Prob. 1 in chapter 4).

and will be the same

Part (b): From equation (31),

. For
obtained from the top half of Figure 5. 5 as shown in Figure 5.16a.

0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0

0
2
4
6
8
10

0.63
0.65
0.71
0.78
0.89
1

can be

740
700
580
440
220
0

Figure 5.16
Figure 5.16b shows the variation of excess pore water pressure with depth.

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Example 4 A clay layer is shown in Figure 5.17. Due to a certain loading condition, the initial excess pore
water pressure in the clay layer is of a sinusoidal nature, given by the equation
. Calculate the excess pore water pressure at a the midheight of the clay layer for
.

Figure 5.17

Solution From equation (28),

Let us evaluate the term A:

Or
Note that the above integral is zero if
Therefore,

Since only for

so the only nonzero term is obtained when

is A not zero,

At the midheight of the clay layer,

and so

The values of the excess pore water pressure are tabulated below:
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0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8

30.52
18.64
11.38
6.95

1.1.3 Numerical Solution for One-Dimensional Consolidation

In this section, we will consider the finite-difference solution for one-dimensional consolidation, starting
from the basic differential equation of Terzaghis consolidation theory:
(14)
Let
by any arbitrary reference excess pore water pressure, time, and distance, respectively.
From these we can define the following nondimensional terms:
Nondimensional excess pore water pressure:

(43)

Nondimensional time:

(44)

Nondimensional depth:

(45)

From equations (43), (44), and the left-hand side of equation (14),
(46)
Similarly, from equations (43), (45), and the right-hand side of equation (14),
(47)
From equations (46), and (47),

Or
If we adopt the reference time in such a way that

(48)
, then equation (48) will be of the form
(49)

The left-hand side of equation (49) can be written as

(50)
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Where
times

are the nondimensional pore water pressure at point O (Figure 5.18a) at nondimensional
.

Figure 5.18

(51)
Equating the right sides of equations (50) and (51),
)
Or

(52)

For equation (52) to coverage,

must be chosen such that

is less than 0.5.

When solving for pore water pressure at the interface of a clay layer and an impervious layer, equation (52)
can be used. However, we need to take point 3 as the mirror image of point 1 (Figure 5.18b); thus
. So equation (52) becomes
(53)

Consolidation in a layered soil

It is not always possible to develop a closed-form solution for consolidation in layered soils. There are
several variables involved, such as different coefficients of permeability, the thickness of layers, and
different values of coefficient of consolidation. Figure 5.19 shows the nature of the degree of consolidation
of a two-layered soil.

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Figure 5.19 Degree of consolidation in two-layered soil. (Figure 5.19b after U. Luscher,
Discussion. Soil Mech. Found. Div., ASCE, vol. 91, no. SM1, 1965)

Figure 5.20
In view of the above, numerical solutions provide a better approach. If we are involved with the calculation
of excess pore water pressure at the interface of two different types (i.e., different values of
of clayey
soils, equation (52) will have to be modified to some extent. Referring to Figure 5.20, this can be achieved
as follows (Scott, 1963): from equation (14),

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Based on the derivations of equation (163a in chapter 2)

(54)
Where
are the coefficients of permeability in layers 1 and 2, respectively.
the excess pore water pressures at time t for points 0, 1, and 3, respectively.

and

are

Also, the average volume change for the element at the boundary is
(55)
Where
and
are the excess pore water pressures at point 0 at times t and
Equating the right-hand sides of equations (54) and (55), we get

, respectively.

Or
Or
(56)
Assuming

and combining equations (43) to (45) and (56), we get

(57)

Example 5 A uniform surcharge of

is applied at the ground surface of the soil profile
shown in Figure 5.21. Using the numerical method, determine the distribution of excess pore water pressure
for the clay layers after 10 days of load application.

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Figure 5.21

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Solution Since this is a uniform surcharge, the excess pore water pressure immediately after the load
application will be
throughout the clay layers. However, due to the drainage conditions, the
excess pore water pressures at the top of layer 1 and bottom of layer 2 will immediately become zero. Now,
let
. So
and
.
Figure 5.22 shows the distribution of at time
; note that
. Now,

Figure 5.22

Let

for both layers. So, for layer 1,

For layer 2,

.
(52)
At

[note: this is the boundary of two layers, so we will use equation (57)],

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Or

The variation of the nondimensional excess pore water pressure is shown in Figure 5.22. Knowing
, we can plot the variation of u with depth.

1.1.3 Degree of Consolidation under Time-Dependent Loading

Olson (1977) presented a mathematical solution for one-dimensional consolidation due to a single ramp
load. Olsons solution can be explained with the help of Figure 5.23, in which a clay layer is drained at the
top and at the bottom (H is the drainage distance). A uniformly distributed load q is applied at the ground
surface. Note that q is a function of time, as shown in Figure 5.23b.

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Figure 5.25 One-dimensional consolidations due to single ramp load

The expression for the excess pore water pressure for the case where

is given in equation (30) as

Where
As stated above, the applied load is a function of time:
(58)
Where

is the time of application of any load.

For a differential load

applied at time
the instantaneous pore pressure increase will be
time t, the remaining excess pore water pressure
at a depth z can be given by the expression.

. At

(59)
The average degree of consolidation can be defined as
(60)
Where
is the total load per unit area applied at the time of the analysis. The settlement at time
is,
of course, the ultimate settlement. Note that the term
in the denominator of equation (60) is equal to the
instantaneous excess pore water pressure (
) that might have been generated throughout the clay layer
had the stress been applied instantaneously.
Proper integration of equations (59) and (60) gives the following:
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For
(61)
And

(62)

For
(63)
And

(64)

Where

(65)

Figure 5.24 shows the plot of

Figure 5.24 Plot of

for various values of

against time factor

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for single ramp load. (After Olsen 1977)

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