Settlement FAQs

how to accelerate consolidation settlement

by Rosemarie Beatty Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Very slow consolidation of saturated soft clay or organic soil is a process which often requires up to 20-25 years. Consolidation can be accelerated by installing vertical drains to a depth of up to 35 meters, shortening its settlement rate from several years to several months.

Full Answer

What are the key aspects of consolidation settlement?

Some key aspects of consolidation settlement are as follows. It is a three-dimensional process sine movement of water could be any direction. However, the confinement of the soil in the lateral direction, consolidation could be considered as vertical and one dimensional. The permeability of soil impact the consolidation of soil.

How can I speed up the consolidation of my project?

Consolidation can be accelerated by installing vertical drains to a depth of up to 35 meters, shortening its settlement rate from several years to several months. This advanced technology, employing geotechnical products, improves vertical water transport,...

What is consolidation settlement of clay?

Some time is required for excess pore water pressed to dissipate and increase the stress to be transferred to the soil skeleton. This gradual increase in the effective stress in the clay layer will cause settlement over a period of time and is referred to as consolidation settlement.

How to calculate 1-D consolidation settlement?

Calculation of 1-D Consolidation Settlement The consolidation settlement can be determined knowing: - Initial void ratio e 0 - Thickness of layer H - Change of void ratio e It only requires the evaluation of e Calculation of 1-D Consolidation Settlement It only requires the evaluation of e Calculation of 1-D Consolidation Settlement

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What causes consolidation settlement?

The consolidation settlement is induced due to volumetric change. Since soil particles are practically incompressible, consolidation settlements is caused by a reduction in voids due to gradual squeezing out of water.

What are the factors affecting consolidation?

The factors which affect the consolidation are: (e) Magnitude of the consolidating pressure and the manner of its distribution across the thickness of the layer. (a) Thickness of clay layer: If the thickness is more the consolidation of the layer will be more due to self overburden pressure.

How is consolidation test settlement calculated?

3:0543:48Consolidation Test (Demo+Calculations) Solved ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIf the settlement is not kept to the tolerate limit the design life of the structure will be reducedMoreIf the settlement is not kept to the tolerate limit the design life of the structure will be reduced. So for example for design of isolated footings so a liable settlement. Let's say is 25 millimeter.

Can consolidation settlement negative?

This process takes time, and the rate of settlement decreases over time. If soil is unloaded (e.g. by excavation) the excess pore pressures may be negative.

How do you increase the rate of consolidation?

Consolidation can be accelerated by installing vertical drains to a depth of up to 35 meters, shortening its settlement rate from several years to several months.

What will be the time required for 90% consolidation?

The time for a clay layer to achieve 90% consolidation is 15 years.

How do you minimize settlements?

Compacting the soil. Draining the soil, in case of cohesive types. Compacting the soil, in case of cohesion less soils. Confining the soil, increasing stiffness.

How long is consolidation test?

In general, readings are taken at 0.25, 1, 2.5, 4, 6.25, 9, 16, 25, 30 minutes, 1, 2, 4, 8, 24 hrs. In general primary consolidation of soil (90% of consolidation) is reached within 24 hours. Hence readings are noted up to 24 hours.

How do you calculate immediate settlement?

1:1451:58Mod-01 Lec-11 Shallow Foundation - Settlement Calculation - I - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo immediate settlement calculation so by theory of elasticity approach this immediate settlementMoreSo immediate settlement calculation so by theory of elasticity approach this immediate settlement can be determined by Q B by a to 1 by mu square. Into I F.

What happens due to unequal settlement?

Differential settlement is the uneven or unequal settling of a building's foundation. This occurs when the soil under your foundation contracts, expands, or shifts irregularly. Differential settlement causes the structure to settle at a variable rate.

How is primary consolidation settlement calculated?

The primary consolidation settlement can be calculated from the coefficient of volume compressibility mv, which can further lead to the Young's modulus E′ = (1 + v′)(1 − 2v′)/[mv(1 − v′)], with an assumed Poisson's ratio v′.

What is normal consolidation?

A soil that is currently experiencing its highest stress is said to be "normally consolidated" and has an OCR of one. A soil could be considered "underconsolidated" or "unconsolidated" immediately after a new load is applied but before the excess pore water pressure has dissipated.

What factors affect the compaction of soils?

Factors affecting compaction Nature and type of soil, i.e. sand or clay, grading, plasticity. Water content at the time of compaction. Site conditions, e.g. weather, type of site, layer thickness. Compactive effort: type of plant (weight, vibration, number of passes)

What is consolidation definition?

Definition of consolidation 1 : the act or process of consolidating : the state of being consolidated. 2 : the process of uniting : the quality or state of being united specifically : the unification of two or more corporations by dissolution of existing ones and creation of a single new corporation.

Why is consolidation important soil?

Consolidation plays an important role in stability analysis for the embankment, footings or a column constructed on clayey soils. The settlement behaviour of these structures and the pore pressure needs to be investigated for construction on these soils.

What is consolidation phase?

The consolidation phase is a stage in the industry life cycle where competitors in the industry start to merge with one another. Companies will seek to consolidate in order to gain a larger portion of overall market share and to take advantage of synergies.

Acceleration of Consolidation by means of Vertical Drains - HaEmek railway

Very slow consolidation of saturated soft clay or organic soil is a process which often requires up to 20-25 years.

Advantages

Prevention of damages to embankments, roads and engineering structures as a result of soil sinking.

What is the pore water pressure of a piezometer?

For the piezometer at GL − 17, the pore water pressure was reduced to − 60 kPa before subjected to embankment load, and became about − 48 kPa at the termination of the vacuum operation. After that, the pore water pressure returned to its hydrostatic condition.

What was the pressure of the airtight sheet during the consolidation settlement?

Vacuum pressure measured under the airtight sheet was maintained constantly at about 80 kPa along to the consolidation settlement between October 2008 and December 2009. The water discharge at the beginning of vacuum pumping was about 400 m 3 /day and gradually decreased during consolidation settlement to about 200 m 3 /day.

What is the consolidation settlement?

For fine-grained soils, the consolidation settlement often is the major component of the total settlement. As noted previously, consolidation settlement is the time-dependent volume change that occurs as the excess pore water pressure, developed during load application, gradually dissipates and is transferred to the soil skeleton. The consolidation settlement is given by

What is secondary settlement?

Secondary settlement continues after consolidation settlement is complete, as the soil structure gradually readjusts to the new level of effective stress. This process continues indefinitely. The prediction of secondary settlement is of considerable importance with clays of high plasticity and with micaceous and organic soils, but it typically is of minor concern with coarse-grained soils and overconsolidated, low plasticity, inorganic clays. Secondary settlement often is computed from the relation

What are the phases of settlement?

As stated above, when a load is applied to the foundation, three distinct phases of settlement occur: immediate or elastic (ρ e ), consolidation (ρ c ), and secondary settlement (ρ s ):

What is the estimated average degree of consolidation in 2024?

The estimated average degree of consolidation in 2024, according to non-Darcian flow, becomes 84%, corresponding to a settlement of 2.1 m.

What is wick drain?

A wick drain is a prefabricated drainage strip that consists of a plastic core surrounded by a nonwoven polypropylene geotextile jacket. The geotextile (a filter fabric) allows passage of water into the core that is then pumped out.

Consolidation

When the construction of the foundation is done (application of additional load), pore water pressure in the saturated clay increases as the hydraulic conductivity of the clay is very small. Some time is required for excess pore water pressed to dissipate and increase the stress to be transferred to the soil skeleton.

Terminology

Consolidation of the compressible soils occurs in two stages defined previously.

Primary Consolidation

The definition of primary consolidation is discussed above under the terminology.

Secondary Consolidation

Secondary consolidation settlement occurs after the completion of dissipation of the excess pore water pressure developed immediately after the application of load.

Worked Example: Primary Consolidation Settlement Calculation in Normally Consolidated Clay

Consolidation of soil (normally consolidated) can be evaluated from the following equation as discussed in this article.

What is a LIR?

LIR is defined as the change in pressure of the pressure increment divided by the initial pressure before the load is applied.

What is total pressure?

The total pressure includes effective overburden pressure and net additional pressure due to the structure.

What is the OCR of NC soils?

oFrom the definition of NC soils, they always have OCR=1.

What does "as desired" mean in a mathematical analysis?

in a mathematical analysis, as is desired in order to make settlement calculations.

What is the difference between stage 1 and stage 2?

Stage II: Primary consolidation, during which excess pore water pressure gradually is transferred into effective stress because of the expulsion of pore water. Stage I II: Secondary consolidation, which occurs after complete dissipation of the excess pore water pressure, caused by plastic readjustment of soil fabric.

Who suggested a simple graphic construction to determine the preconsolidation pressure s’?

Casagrande (1936) suggested a simple graphic construction to determine the preconsolidation pressure s’

Which part of the e-log splot is curved?

The upper part of the e –log s’plot is as shown below somewhat curved with a flat slope, followed by a linear relationship having a steeper slope.

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