CHAPTER 10 Compressibility and Settlement QUESTIONS AND PRACTICE PROBLEMS Section 10.2 Changes in Vertical Effective Stress 10.1 The current σz′ at a certain point in a saturated clay is 181 kPa. This soil is to be covered with a 2.5 m thick fill that will have a unit weight of 19.3 kN/m3. What will be the value of σz′ at this point immediately after the fill is placed, before any consolidation has occurred? What will it be after the consolidation settlement is completed? Solution Immediately after the fill is placed, its weight will be carried entirely by the pore water (i.e., ue=Δσz). Therefore, σ’z at the point will still be 181 kPa. Once the consolidation settlement is complete, ue=0 and the weight of the fill is carried entirely by the solid particles, Therefore, at the point of interest σ´z = σ´z0 + γfill(Hfill) = 181 + (19.3)(2.5) = 229 kPa. 10.2 A circular tank 50 feet in diameter is constructed on top of a saturated soil with a saturated unit weight of 112 lb/ft3. The total weight of the tank when filled is 6,125 k. The groundwater table is at the ground surface. Compute σ'z a point 25 feet below the center of the tank immediately after the tank is placed and filled, before any consolidation has occurred. What will σ'z be at the same point after consolidation settlement is completed? Solution Before placement of the tank the effective vertical stress is σ 0′ = γH − u = (112 lb/ft 3 )(25 ft ) − (62.4 lb/ft 3 )(25 ft ) = 4360 lb/ft 3 Immediately after the tank is placed and filled, its weight will be carried entirely by the pore water (i.e., ue=Δσz). Therefore, σ´z at the point will still be 4360 lb/ft2. However the total stress and pore water pressure will change. q= P 6,125,000 lb = = 3119 lb/ft 2 2 A π (25 ft ) 10-1 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-2 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Using Figure 9.13 Zf/b = 25/50 =0.5 Iσ = 0.65 ( Δσ z = Iσ q = (0.65) 3119 lb/ft 2 ) = 2027 lb/ft 2 σ ′zf = σ ′z 0 + Δσ z = 4360 lb/ft 2 + 2027 lb/ft 2 = 6387 lb/ft 2 Once the consolidation settlement is complete, ue=0 and the weight of the fill is carried entirely by the solid particles, Therefore, σ’z at the point is equal to 6387 lb/ft2. 10.3 A 4.0 m thick fill with a unit weight of 20.1 kN/m3 is to be placed on the soil profile shown in Figure 9.11. Develop plots of σ′z0 and σ′zf vs. depth. The plot should extend from the original ground surface to a depth of 10.0 m. Figure 9.11 Soil profile for Example 9.2. Solution σ ′zf = σ ′z 0 + γ fill H fill = σ ′z 0 + (20.1 kN/m 3 )(4.0 m ) = σ ′z 0 + 80 kPa Using the above equation, the initial and final vertical effective stresses are computed as (z = depth below original ground surface). © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement z (m) 0 2 4.5 10 σz (kPa) 0 30 72 167 u (kPa) 0 0 24 78 10-3 σ'z0 (kPa) 0 30 45 89 σ'zf (kPa) 80 110 128 169 10.4 The groundwater table at a certain site was at a depth of 10 ft below the ground surface, and the vertical effective stress at a point 30 ft below the ground surface was 2200 lb/ft2. Then a series of wells were installed, which caused the groundwater table to drop to a depth of 25 ft below the ground surface. Assuming the unit weight of the soil above and below the groundwater table are equal, compute the new σz′ at this point. Solution Δσ ′z = Δu = (25 − 10 )(62.4 ) = 936 lb/ft 2 σ ′z = 2200 + 936 = 3136 lb/ft 2 10.5 The fill shown in Figure 10.21 was placed many years ago and consolidation in both clay layers due to the fill placement has is complete. The fill was placed near a river that has since been dammed. Filling of the reservoir behind the dam has raised the local groundwater table to a point 2 m below the ground surface. The raising of the water table has been slow and has not induced any excess pore pressures in the clay soils. Compute © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-4 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 σz′ at points A and B due to the rise of the groundwater table. Assume the saturated unit weight of the fill material is 21.1 kN/m3 Figure 10.21 Soil profile for Example 10.6. Solution At point A σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (20.3 )(2 ) + (21.1 )(6.5) + (19.0 )(4.0 ) − (9.8 )(10.5) = 151 kPa At point B σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (20.3 )(2 ) + (21.1 )(6.5) + (19.0 )(9.0 ) + (18.0 )(10.0 ) − (9.8 )(25.5) = 279 kPa 10.6 A 1.00 m3 element of soil is located below the groundwater table. When a new compressive load was applied, this element consolidated, producing a vertical strain, εz , of 8.5%. The horizontal strain was zero. Compute the volume of water squeezed out of this soil during consolidation and express your answer in liters. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-5 Solution Since the soil is below the groundwater table, it is saturated (S=100%). Thus, the volume of water squeezed out of the element is equal to the total change in volume. ( 3 ) ⎛ 100 cm ⎞ ⎛ 1 liter ⎞ ΔV = ε zV = (0.085) 1.00 m 3 ⎜ = 85 liters ⎟ ⎜ 3 ⎟ ⎝ m ⎠ ⎝ 1000 cm ⎠ Section 10.5 Consolidation Test 10.7 A consolidation test is being performed on a 3.50 in diameter saturated soil sample that had an initial height of 0.750 in and an initial moisture content of 38.8%. (a) Using Gs = 2.69, compute the initial void ratio, e0. (b) At a certain stage of the test, the normal load P was 300 lb. After the consolidation at this load was completed, the sample height was 0.690 in. Compute σz′ (expressed in lb/ft2), εz, and e. Solution (a) wG s (0.388)(2.69) = = 1.04 S 1 e0 = (b) A= π (3.5 / 12)2 4 = 0.0668 ft 2 σ ′z = P 300 = = 4490 lb/ft 2 A 0.0668 εz = ΔH 0.0750 − 0.0690 = = 8.00% H 0.0750 e = (1 − ε z )(1 + e0 ) − 1 = (1 − 0.0800 )(1 + 1.04 ) − 1 = 0.876 10.8 A consolidation test of a soft marine silty clay produced the following data σz′ (lb/ft2) εz 50 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000 16,000 4000 500 0.007 0.028 0.059 0.097 0.145 0.189 0.235 0.278 0.271 0.253 The initial void ratio of the sample was 1.24 and σz0′ at the sample depth was 270 lb/ft2 (a) Plot these data on an arithmetic diagram similar to that in Figure 10.10(a) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-6 (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Plot these data on a semilogarithmic diagram similar to that in Figure 10.10(b) Using Casagrande’s method, find σ'c Using Schmertmann’s method adjust the test results Determine Cc and Cr The soil has a plasticity index of 17. Based on Kulhawy and Mayne’s correlations, do the consolidation test results seem reasonable? Solution (a) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-7 (b) (c) See Casagrande construction on plot – σ’c = 525 psf (d) See Schmertmann construction on plot (e) Using the reconstructed curve: (ε z )b − (ε z )a Cc = 1 + e0 log σ z' b − log σ z' ( ) ( ) = a 0.39 − 0.27 = 0.12 log(100,000) − log(10,000) Cc = 0.12(1 + e0 ) = 0.12(2.24 ) = 0.27 Using the original decompression curve: (ε z )b − (ε z )a Cr = 1 + e0 log σ z' b − log σ z' ( ) ( ) a = 0.038 − 0.008 = 0.015 log(100,000) − log(1000) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-8 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Cc = 0.015(1 + e0 ) = 0.015(2.24 ) = 0.033 (f) Per Kulhawy and Mayne’s correlation: Cc = Ip/74= 17/74 = 0.23 Cr = Ip/370= 17/370 = 0.046 The test results are fairly close to these values – Therefore, they appear to be reasonable 10.9 A consolidation test on a sample of clay produced the following data: σz′ (kPa) εz 8 0.032 16 0.041 32 0.051 64 0.069 128 0.109 256 0.173 512 0.240 1024 0.301 16 0.220 The initial void ratio of the sample was 1.21, and σz0′ at the sample depth was 40 kPa. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Plot these data on an arithmetic diagram similar to that in Figure 10.10(a) Plot these data on a semilogarithmic diagram similar to that in Figure 10.10(b). Using Casagrande’s method, find σc′. Using Schmertmann’s method, adjust the test results. Determine Cc and Cr. The soil has a plasticity index of 23. Based on Kulhawy and Mayne’s correlations, do the consolidation test results seem reasonable? Solution (a) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-9 (b) (c) See Casagrande construction on plot – σ’c = 525 psf (d) See Schmertmann construction on plot (e) Using the reconstructed curve: (ε z )b − (ε z )a Cc = 1 + e0 log σ z' b − log σ z' ( ) ( ) = a 0.27 − 0.015 = 0.26 log(1000) − log(100) Cc = 0.26(1 + e0 ) = 0.26(2.21) = 0.57 Using the original decompression curve: (ε z )b − (ε z )a Cr = 1 + e0 log σ z' b − log σ z' ( ) ( ) a = 0.065 − 0.015 = 0.050 log(1000) − log(100) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-10 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Cr = 0.050(1 + e0 ) = 0.050(2.21) = 0.11 (f) Per Kulhawy and Mayne’s correlation: Cc = Ip/74= 23/74 = 0.31 Cr = Ip/370= 23/370 = 0.044 The test values are greater than Kulhawy and Mayne’s correlation by about a factor of 2. This indicates the soil has an unusually high compressibility. Section 10.6 Consolidation Status in the Field 10.10 Before the placement of any fill, a consolidation test was performed on a soil sample obtained from Point B in Figure 10.20. The measured preconsolidation stress was 88 kPa. Determine whether the soil is normally consolidated or overconsolidated, then compute the overconsolidation margin and overconsolidation ratio at Point B. Note: These computations are based on the initial conditions, and thus should not include the weight of the proposed fill. Figure 10.20 Soil profile for Example 10.5 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-11 Solution At point B: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (18.5)(1.5) + (19.5)(2.0 ) + (16.0 )(3.0 ) − (9.8)(5.0 ) = 66 kPa σ´z0 < σ´c, so the soil is Overconsolidated σ m′ = σ c′ − σ ′z = 88 − 66 = 22 kPa OCR = σ c′ 88 = = 1.3 66 σ ′z 10.11 A saturated, normally consolidated, 1000-year-old fine-to-medium sand has an SPT N60 = 2 at a depth where the vertical effective stress is about 1000 lb/ft2 and D50 = 0.5 mm. Using the techniques described in Chapters 3 and 4, determine the relative density of this soil, then estimate Cc/(1+e0) based on Table 10.4. Solution Using Equation 3.2: N1, 60 = N 60 2000 lb/ft 2 2000 = 12 = 17 1000 σ ′z Using Equation 4.21 – 4.24: C P = 60 + 25 log D50 = 60 + 25 log(0.5) = 52 ⎛ t ⎞ ⎛ 1000 ⎞ C A = 1.2 + 0.05 log⎜ ⎟ = 1.2 + 0.05 log⎜ ⎟ = 1.25 ⎝ 100 ⎠ ⎝ 100 ⎠ COCR = OCR 0.18 = 10.18 = 1 Dr = N 1, 60 C p C A C OCR × 100% = 17 × 100% = 51% (52)(1.25)(1) 10.12 A consolidation test has been performed on a sample obtained from Point A in Figure 10.3. The measured preconsolidation stress was 1500 lb/ft2. (a) Determine if the soil is normally consolidated or overconsolidated (b) Compute the overconsolidation margin and the overconsolidation ratio © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-12 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 (c) Compute σc′ at Point B Figure 10.3 Soil profile for Example 10.1. el. = elevation. Solution (a) At Point A: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (98)(1.6) + (100)(4.4) − (62.4)(4.4) = 322 lb/ft 2 (b) σ´z0 < σ´c, so the soil is overconsolidated. σ m = σ c′ − σ ′z = 1500 − 322 = 1178 lb/ft 2 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement OCR = 10-13 σ c′ 1500 = = 4.7 322 σ ′z (c) At Point B: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (98)(1.6 ) + (100)(16.4) − (62.4)(16.4) = 773 lb/ft 2 σ c′ = σ ′z 0 + σ m = 773 − 1178 = 1951 lb/ft 2 10.13 A consolidation test has been performed on a sample obtained from a saturated clay at a point 6.5 m below the ground surface. The groundwater table is at the ground surface and the unit weight of the clay is 18.5 kN/m3. The measured preconsolidation stress was 260 kPa. (a) Determine if the soil is normally consolidated or overconsolidated (b) Compute the overconsolidation margin and the overconsolidation ratio (c) Compute σc′ at depth of 12 m in the same soil. Solution (a) At a point 6.5m below ground surface: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u σ ′z 0 = (18.5)(6.5) − (9.8)(6.5) σ ′z 0 = 56.6 kPa (b) σ´z0 < σ´c, so the soil is overconsolidated. σ m = σ c′ − σ ′z = 260 − 56 .6 = 203 kPa OCR = 260 σ c′ = = 4.6 σ ′z 56.6 (c) At a point 12 m below the ground surface: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u σ ′z 0 = (18.5)(12) − (9.8)(12) σ ′z 0 = 104 kPa σ c′ = σ ′z 0 + σ m = 104 − 203 = 307 kPa © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-14 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 10.14 Laboratory consolidation test for all soils have both a recompression curve and a virgin curve. This is true even for normally consolidated soils. Explain how the lab test for a normally consolidated soil can have a recompression curve even though the soil in the field has never been preloaded. Solution During the process of sampling the soil removed from the field is unloaded from its in situ condition. Even the highest quality field samples undergo this unloading. Therefore even normally consolidated soils will exhibit a recompression curve during laboratory testing. Section 10.8 Consolidation Settlement Predictions 10.15 A 2 m thick fill with an in place unit weight of 19.2 kN/m3 is to be placed on top of the soil profile shown in Figure 10.25. Both the sand and the clay are normally consolidated. The sand is fine, poorly graded and medium dense with Cc/(1+e0) estimated to be 0.009. Lab consolidation tests on the clay produced Cc/(1+e0) = 0.18. Compute the total consolidation settlement due to the placement of the fill. Would it be acceptable to ignore the settlement generated by consolidation of the sand layer? Figure 10.25 Soil Profile for Problem 10.15. Solution Applied stress from the proposed fill Δσ z = γ fill H fill ( ) = 19.2 kN/m 3 (2 m ) For this computation we will divide the sand stratum and the clay stratum each into two layers. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement Layer 1 2 3 4 H (m) 1 1 0.5 0.5 zf 0.5 1.5 2.25 2.75 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) 8.6 38.4 47.0 21.3 38.4 59.7 27.2 38.4 65.6 33.9 38.4 72.3 10-15 Cc/(1+e0) 0.009 0.009 0.18 0.18 Eqn. 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 Σ= δc,ult (mm) 6.66 4.03 34.43 29.62 74.74 δc,ult = 75 mm It would be acceptable to ignore settlement in the sand layer particularly since it’s a dense sand. Note that approximately 10 mm of settlement occurs in the sand layer compared to 65 mm in the clay layer. 10.16 A 5.0 ft thick fill is to be placed on the soil profile as shown in Figure 10.3. A consolidation test performed on a sample obtained from Point B produced the following Compute the ultimate results: Cc = 0.27, Cr = 0.10, e0 = 1.09, σc′ = 760 lb/ft2. consolidation settlement due to the weight of this fill and determine the ground surface elevation after the consolidation is complete. Note: The first layer in your analysis should extend from the original ground surface to the groundwater table. Solution At sample B: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (98)(1.6 ) + (100)(16.4 ) − (62.4)(16.4) = 773 lb/ft 2 σ c′ = 760 lb/ft 2 σ z 0 ≈ σ c′ Therefore soil is normally consolidated Proposed fill: σ ′zf = σ ′z 0 + γ fill H fill = σ ′z 0 + (122)(5.0 ) = σ ′z 0 + 610 lb/ft 2 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-16 Layer 1 2 3 4 5 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 H (ft) 1.6 4.0 6.0 10.0 10.0 zf 0.8 3.6 7.0 16.6 26.6 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (psf) (psf) (psf) Cc/(1+e0) 78.0 610 688.0 0.129 232.0 610 842.0 0.129 420.0 610 1030.0 0.129 721.0 610 1331.0 0.129 1097.0 610 1707.0 0.129 Eqn. 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 Σ= δc,ult (ft) 0.20 0.29 0.30 0.34 0.25 1.38 δc,ult = 1.38 ft. Therefore, final ground surface elevation is 10.6 + 5 – 1.38 = 14.2 feet. 10.17 A 4.0 m thick fill is to be made of a soil with a Proctor maximum dry unit weight of 19.4 kN/m3 and an optimum moisture content of 13.0%. This fill will be compacted at optimum moisture content to an average relative compaction of 92%. The underlying soils are as shown in Figure 10.26. Consolidation tests were performed at Points A and B, with the following results: Sample A B Cc 0.59 0.37 Cr 0.19 0.14 e0 1.90 1.21 σc′ (kPa) 75 100 The silty sand is normally consolidated. Using hand computations, determine the ultimate consolidation settlement due to the weight of this fill. Figure 10.26 Soil profile for Problems 10.17 and 10.30. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-17 Solution At sample A: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (14.0)(3.0) + (17.5)(2.1) + (13.5)(4.2) − (9.8)(6.3) = 74 kPa σ c′ = 75 kPa σ z 0 ≈ σ c′ Therefore soil is normally consolidated At sample B: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (14.0)(3.0) + (17.5)(2.1) + (13.5)(6.0) +(15.0 )(2.0 ) − (9.8)(10.1) = 91 kPa σ c′ = 100 kPa σ z 0 ≈ σ c′ Therefore soil is normally consolidated Proposed fill: γ f = C R γ d ,max (1 + w) = (0.92)(19.4)(1 + 0.13) = 20.2 kN/m 3 σ ′zf = σ ′z 0 + γ fill H fill = σ ′z 0 + (20.2)(4.0 ) = σ ′z 0 + 81 kPa Layer 1 2 3 4 5 H (m) 3.0 2.1 3.0 3.0 3.1 zf 1.5 4.1 6.6 9.6 12.7 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) 21.0 81 102.0 50.0 81 131.0 64.0 81 145.0 75.0 81 156.0 88.0 81 169.0 Cc/(1+e0) 0.013 0.013 0.200 0.200 0.170 Eqn. 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 Σ= δc,ult (m) 0.03 0.01 0.21 0.19 0.15 0.59 δc,ult = 59 cm 10.18 The owner of the land shown in the profile in Example 10.5 has decided not to build the proposed fill. Instead, the land will be used for farming. To provide irrigation water, a series of shallow wells will be drilled into the sand, and these wells will cause the groundwater table to drop to the bottom of the sand layer (i.e., 2.0 m below its current position). Compute the ultimate consolidation settlement due to this drop in groundwater. Do you think such a settlement will adversely affect the farming? © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-18 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Figure 10.20 Soil profile for Example 10.5 Solution Compute σ’z0 using the original groundwater table (same value as used in Example 10.5) and σ’zf using the final groundwater table. The unit weight of the zone between the two groundwater tables will drop from 19.5 kN/m3 to 18.5 kN/m3. Layer 1 2 3 4 5 H (m) 1.5 2.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 zf 0.8 2.5 5.0 8.0 11.5 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δ σz σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) 13.9 0 13.9 37.4 8.8 46.2 56.4 17.6 74.0 75.0 17.6 92.6 96.7 17.6 114.3 Cc/(1+e0) 0.013 0.013 0.200 0.200 0.170 Eqn. 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 Σ= δc,ult (m) 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.05 0.05 0.18 δc,ult = 18 cm, this would not adversely affect farming. 10.19 A certain site is underlain by the soil profile shown in Figure 10.22 with the groundwater table at the initial location. The groundwater table will remain at this location, but a © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-19 20.0-ft deep fill with a unit weight of 119 lb/ft3 is to be placed. The only consolidation data available is from a test conducted on a sample from Point B. The test results are as follows: e0 = 1.22, Cc = 0.31, Cr = 0.09, σc′ = 3800 lb/ft2. Determine the ultimate consolidation settlement due to the weight of this proposed fill. Assume the sands are normally consolidated. Figure 10.22 Soil profile for Example 10.7. Solution At sample B: σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (121)(7.0) + (125)(6.0) + (127)(18) + (110)(611) − (62.4)(35) = 2909 lb/ft2 σ m = σ c′ − σ ′z 0 = 3800 − 2909 = 891 lb/ft 2 σ ′zf = σ ′z 0 + γ fill H fill = σ ′z 0 + (119)(20) = σ ′z 0 + 2380 lb/ft 2 Using the computations in Example 10.7 with appropriate modifications: © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-20 Layer 1 2 3 4 5 6 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 H (ft) 7.0 6.0 9.0 9.0 7.0 8.0 zf 3.5 10.0 10.5 26.5 34.5 42.0 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'c σ'zf (psf) (psf) (psf) (psf) Cc/(1+e0) Cr/(1+e0) 423.0 2380 2803.0 0.011 1035.0 2380 3415.0 0.011 1513.0 2380 3893.0 0.011 2095.0 2380 4475.0 0.011 2552.0 2380 3443.0 4932.0 0.14 0.04 2909.0 2380 3800.0 5289.0 0.14 0.04 Σ= δc,ult (ft) 0.06 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.19 0.20 0.54 δc,ult = 0.54 ft = 6.5 in. 10.20 Using the data in Example 10.8, compute the consolidation settlement at the edge of the tank. Then compute the differential settlement, which is the difference between the settlement at the center and the edge. Hint: Compute Δσz using Figure 9.13. Solution Use figure 9.13 to compute σz,induced Layer 1 2 3 4 5 6 H (m) 3.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 zf 1.5 3.8 2.5 8.0 11.0 14.5 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) 28.8 51 79.8 71.5 42 113.5 95.0 41 136.0 114.0 39 153.0 132.6 34 166.6 154.3 29 183.3 Cc/(1+e0) Cr/(1+e0) 0.002 0.008 0.008 0.19 0.19 0.19 Σ= δc,ult (mm) 3 2 2 73 57 57 194 Round off to: δc,ult = 190 mm Differential settlement = 320 -190 = 130 mm Section 10.9 Secondary Compression Settlement 10.21 Using the data from Example 10.10, develop a plot of secondary compression settlement vs. time for the period 40 to 100 years after completion of the fill. Is the rate of secondary compression settlement increasing or decreasing with time? © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-21 Figure 10.20 Soil profile for Example 10.5 Solution Using Equation 10.28: t (yr) 40 δs (mm) 0 δs/yr (mm/yr) 1.7 50 17 60 32 70 44 80 54 90 63 100 72 1.5 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-22 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 The rate of secondary compression settlement is slowly decreasing with time. Section 10.12 Heaving Due to Unloading 10.22 Point C in Figure 10.20 was originally at elevation 12.00 m, but it dropped to elevation 11.52 m as a result of the consolidation settlement described in Example 10.5. Now that the consolidation is complete, the fill is to be removed. Compute the new elevation of Point C after the natural soils rebound in response to the fill removal. Ignore any secondary compression settlement. Solution Clay: Cr/(1+e0) = 0.08/(1+1.10) = 0.038 Sand: Per page 393, Cr is about one-third of Cc, so Cr/(1+e0) = (1/3)(0.008) = 0.003 Layer 1 2 3 4 5 H (m) 1.5 2.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 zf 0.8 2.5 5.0 8.0 11.5 At midpoint of layer Δσz σ'z0 σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) 71.5 -57.6 13.9 95.0 -57.6 37.4 114.0 -57.6 56.4 132.0 -57.6 74.4 154.3 -57.6 96.7 Cr/(1+e0) 0.003 0.003 0.038 0.038 0.038 δc,ult Eqn. (mm) 10.24 -3.20 10.24 -2.43 10.24 -34.84 10.24 -28.39 10.24 -30.85 Σ= -99.70 Final elevation of Point C is 11.52 + 0.099 = 11.62 m 10.23 In Example 10.7 the total settlement due to the lowering of the groundwater table was computed to be 4.6 in. It has been several years after the groundwater table was lowered and consolidation is complete. Now the upper 30 ft of the soil profile is to be excavated to create underground parking for a mid-rise building. How much will the base of the excavation heave due to removal of the soil? If the total mass of the structure being © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-23 constructed is 65 % of the mass of the soil removed, what will be the net settlement or heave of the structure? Figure 10.22 Soil profile for Example 10.7 Solution Heaving due to removal of the soil Layer 1 2 3 4 5 6 H (ft) 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 zf 30.5 32.5 34.5 38.5 41.5 44.5 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (psf) (psf) (psf) 3632.9 -3600 32.9 3736.6 -3600 136.6 3831.8 -3600 231.8 4022.2 -3600 422.2 4165.0 -3600 565.0 4307.8 -3600 707.8 Cr/(1+e0) 0.0467 0.0467 0.0467 0.0467 0.0467 0.0467 Eqn. 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 Σ= δc,ult (ft) -0.10 -0.20 -0.17 -0.14 -0.12 -0.11 -0.84 δheaving = 0.84 ft = 10 in. If 65% of the weight of the soil removed is replaced by the building, then the net change in vertical stress is 0.65(–3600) = –1260 lb/ft2. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-24 Layer 1 2 3 4 5 6 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 H (ft) 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 zf 30.5 32.5 34.5 38.5 41.5 44.5 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (psf) (psf) (psf) 3632.9 -1260 2372.9 3736.6 -1260 2476.6 3831.8 -1260 2571.8 4022.2 -1260 2762.2 4165.0 -1260 2905.0 4307.8 -1260 3047.8 Cr/(1+e0) 0.0467 0.0467 0.0467 0.0467 0.0467 0.0467 Eqn. 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 Σ= δc,ult (ft) -0.01 -0.03 -0.02 -0.02 -0.02 -0.02 -0.12 There would be a net heave of 0.12 ft = 1.4 in. Comprehensive 10.24 A road embankment is being placed across a shallow section of a bay. The existing profile consists of 1 m of water over a 5-m thick normally consolidated clay soil which overlies a very dense and stiff gravelly sand. A consolidation test on the clay generated the following results: Cc = 0.21, e0 = 1.21. The embankment material is expected to be place at a unit weight of 18.1 kN/m3. Determine the thickness of the embankment such that the final elevation of the embankment is 2 m above the water level. This will require an iterative solution. Solution Assume a unit weight of 15.0 kN/m3 for the clay per table 4.1 Through trial and error use 3.4 m: H Layer (m) 1 0.50 2 0.50 3 1.00 4 1.00 5 1.00 6 1.00 zf 1.25 1.75 2.50 3.50 4.50 5.50 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) 1.3 53.9 55.2 3.9 53.9 57.8 7.8 53.9 61.7 13.0 53.9 66.9 18.2 53.9 72.1 23.4 53.9 77.3 Cc/(1+e0) 0.095 0.095 0.095 0.095 0.095 0.095 Eqn. 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 Σ= δc,ult (m) 0.077 0.056 0.085 0.068 0.057 0.049 0.392 Hfill = 3.4 m, this fill height will compensate for the settlement, to achieve the required elevation of 2 ft above the water level. 10.25 Develop a spreadsheet that can compute one-dimensional consolidation settlement due to the weight of a fill. This spreadsheet should be able to accommodate a fill of any unit weight and thickness, underlain by multiple compressible soil strata. It also should be © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-25 able to accommodate both normally consolidated and overconsolidated soils. Since the computer does all of the computations, the spreadsheet should use at least 50 layers. Once the spreadsheet is completed, use it to solve Examples 10.5 and 10.6. Submit printouts of both analyses. Solution A variety of solutions are possible. The spreadsheet Settlement.xlsx contains an example of one solution. 10.26 A cross-section through a tidal mud flat area is shown in Figure 10.24. This site is adjacent to a bay, is subject to varying water levels according to tides, and is occasionally submerged when heavy runoff from nearby rivers raises the elevation of the water in the bay. For analysis purposes, use a groundwater table at the ground surface, as shown. A crust has formed in the upper 0.8 m of soil due to dessication (drying) and is stiffer than the underlying soil. This crust is overconsolidated case I, and the soils below are normally consolidated. The proposed fill is required to protect the site from future flooding, and thus permit construction of a commercial development. Use the spreadsheet developed in Problem 10.17 to determine the ultimate consolidation settlement due to the weight of this proposed fill. Then, consider the possibility that the crust was not recognized in the site characterization program, and perform another analysis using Cc /(1 + e0) = 0.20 and γ = 14.0 kN/m3 for the entire 5.0 m of clay. Compare the results of these two analyses and comment on the importance of recognizing the presence of crusts. Figure 10.24 Typical crust near the ground surface in an otherwise normally consolidated clay. el. = elevation. Solution © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-26 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Using a spreadsheet solution the settlement accounting for the desiccated crust is approximately 640 mm. If the desiccated crust is ignored the computed settlement increases to approximately 850 mm. Clearly it is important to include the desiccated crust in the computation if one exists. 10.27 Explain the difference between normally consolidated soil and overconsolidated soils, and give examples of geologic conditions that would form each type. Solution A normally consolidated soil is one for which the current vertical effective stress, σ´z0, is the greatest vertical effective stress the soil has ever experienced. Example of such a soil include: a) a lacustrine clay at the bottom of a lake, and b) a recently deposited alluvial soil. An overconsolidated soil is one which the current vertical effective stress is less than the vertical which existed sometime in the past. Examples of this kind of soil include: a) those that were once covered by a glacier that has since melted, and b) a soil below an area where the overlying soils were excavated or removed by erosion. 10.28 What types of natural soils are best suited for testing in a consolidometer? Why? Which are not well suited? Why? Solution Consolidation test results are very sensitive to the quality of the sample, so poor samples do not produce good results. Soft and medium clays are best suited for testing in a consolidometer because we can obtain high quality “undisturbed” samples at a reasonable cost. Conversely, clean sands and gravels are difficult to sample, and thus are poor candidates for consolidation tests. 10.29 According to the results from a consolidation test, the preconsolidation stress for a certain soil sample is 850 lb/ft2. The in-situ vertical effective stress at the sample location is 797 lb/ft2, and the proposed load will cause σz to increase by 500 lb/ft2. Which equation should be used to compute the consolidation settlement, 10.23, 10.24, or 10.25? Why? Solution In this case, σ´c is less than 20% greater than σ´z0, indicating that the soil is only slightly overconsolidated. In this case, the soil also could be analyzed as being normally consolidated using Equation 10.23. However, the stresses at this point satisfy the conditions for overconsolidated case II (σ´z0 < σ´c < σ´zf), so Equation 10.25 could also be used to compute the consolidation settlement. 10.30 A 3.0 m thick fill with a unit weight of 18.1 kN/m3 is to be placed on the soil profile shown in Figure 10.26. Consolidation test results at Points A and B are as stated in Problem 10.17, except that σc′ at point B is now 200 kPa. Using Equation 10.21 with Cc or Cr as appropriate, develop a plot of vertical strain, εz vs. depth from the original ground surface to the top of the glacial till. How does this curve vary within a given soil stratum? Why? Does it suddenly change at the strata interfaces? Why? © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-27 Solution The soil represented by the sample from point B is now overconsolidated Case I At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) Cc/(1+e0) Cr/(1+e0) Layer zf 0.0 0.0 54.3 54.3 0.013 1.0 14.0 54.3 68.3 0.013 Silty 2.0 28.0 54.3 82.3 0.013 Sand 3.0 42.0 54.3 96.3 0.013 Saturated 3.0 42.0 54.3 96.3 0.013 Silty 4.0 50.0 54.3 104.3 0.013 Sand 5.1 58.0 54.3 112.3 0.013 5.1 58.0 54.3 112.3 0.200 6.6 64.0 54.3 118.3 0.200 Soft 8.1 69.0 54.3 123.3 0.200 Clay 9.6 75.0 54.3 129.3 0.200 11.1 80.0 54.3 134.3 0.200 0.06 Medium 11.1 80.0 54.3 134.3 Clay 14.2 96.0 54.3 150.3 0.06 Eqn. 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.24 10.24 δc,ult (m) 0.0000 0.0089 0.0122 0.0141 0.0141 0.0166 0.0190 0.2927 0.3522 0.4084 0.4542 0.4995 0.1498 0.1659 εz 0.000 0.009 0.006 0.005 0.005 0.004 0.004 0.057 0.053 0.050 0.047 0.045 0.013 0.012 εz 0.000 0.050 0.100 0.0 2.0 4.0 z (m) 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 The strain decreases with depth within any given soil strata, because the ratio σ´zf/ σ´z0 decreases with depth. However, the strain suddenly changes at the strata interfaces because the compressibility changes there. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-28 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 10.31 Considering the variation of strain with depth, as found in Problem 10.30, does a 1-m thick layer near the top of a stratum contribute more or less to the consolidation settlement than a 1-m thick stratum near the bottom? Explain. Does this finding support the statement in Section 10.10 that “The presence of crusts has a significant impact on settlement computations, even if they are much thinner than the underlying compressible soils?” Explain. Solution A 1 m thick layer near the top of a stratum contributes more to the consolidation settlement than does a 1 m thick layer near the bottom of the same strata because the strain is greater near the top. Thus, the compressibility near the ground surface is especially significant. If a crust is present, its compressibility will be less than that of the underlying soils, so the resulting consolidation will be correspondingly less. Therefore, this finding does support the statement in Section 10.10. 10.32 A shopping center is to be built on a site adjacent to a tidal mud flat. The ground surface elevation is +0.2 m, and the groundwater table is at the ground surface. The underlying soils consist of 7.3 m of medium clay with Cc /(1+e0 ) = 0.18, Cr /(1+e0 ) = 0.06, σm′ = 0, and γ = 15.1 kN/m3. The clay stratum is underlain by relatively incompressible stiff soils. In order to provide sufficient flood control protection, a fill must be placed on this site before the shopping center is built, thus maintaining the entire site above the highest flood level. This fill will have a unit weight of 19.0 lb/ft3. According to a hydrologic study, the fill must be thick enough so that the ground surface elevation is at least +1.8 m after all of the consolidation settlement is complete. Use the spreadsheet developed in Problem 10.17 to determine the required ground surface elevation at the end of construction. Assume all of the settlement occurs after construction. Solution This requires an iterative process, through trial and error, try H = 2.5m Layer 1 2 3 4 5 6 H (m) 1.30 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.00 zf (m) 0.7 1.9 3.2 4.4 5.7 6.8 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δ σz σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) Cc/(1+e0) Cr/(1+e0) 3.4 47.5 50.9 0.18 0.06 10.2 47.5 57.7 0.18 0.06 9.9 47.5 57.4 0.18 0.06 23.5 47.5 71.0 0.18 0.06 30.1 47.5 77.6 0.18 0.06 36.0 47.5 83.5 0.18 0.06 Eqn. 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 Σ= δc,ult (m) 0.274 0.169 0.131 0.108 0.093 0.066 0.841 The total amount of fill needed is H = 2.5, Elev = (+0.2) + (+2.5) - .9 = (+1.8) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-29 10.33 A consolidation test has been performed on a sample of lodgement till from a region that was once covered with a glacier. The current vertical effective stress at the sample location is 1800 lb/ft2 and the measured preconsolidation stress is 32,500 lb/ft2. (a) Assuming the glacier was in place long enough for complete consolidation to occur, and assuming the ground surface and groundwater table elevations have remained unchanged, compute the maximum thickness of the glacier. The specific gravity of glacial ice is about 0.87. (b) Although glacial ice was present for a very long time, it also extended over very large areas, so the required drainage distance for the excess pore water was very long. As a result, all of the excess pore water pressures may not have dissipated (Chung and Finno, 1992). Therefore, our assumption that complete consolidation occurred may not be accurate. If so, would our computed thickness be too large or too small? Explain. Solution (a) σ m′ = σ c′ − σ ′z 0 = 32,500 − 1,800 = 30,700 lb/ft 2 H ice = σ m′ σ′ 30,700 = m = = 570 ft γ ice G s γ w (0.87 )(62.4) (b) If all the excess pore water pressures had not dissipated while the glacier was present, then the vertical effective stress did not reflect the entire weight of the ice. Thus, the value of σ’c is not as high as it would have been if all the excess pore water pressures had dissipated. Therefore, our computed value of Hf is too small. 10.34 A highway is to be built across a wetlands with the soil profile shown in Figure 10.27 below. These wetlands are subject to flooding, so a fill must be placed to keep the pavement above the highest flood level. According to a hydrologic analysis, the roadway must be at elevation 7.0 ft or higher to satisfy this requirement. Sandy fill material that has a compacted unit weight of 122 lb/ft3 is available from a nearby borrow site. A subsurface exploration program has been completed at this site, and laboratory tests have been performed. The results of this program are tabulated below: Moisture Dry unit content Depth weight σc′ 3 (%) Cc/(1+e0) Cr/(1+e0) (lb/ft2) (ft) (lb/ft ) 2.0 95 28.6 0.13 0.06 3000 7.5 89 33.0 0.16 0.06 550 13.0 92 30.5 0.12 0.05 850 24.0 93 29.9 0.14 0.07 4800 All depths are measured from the original ground surface. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-30 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Figure 10.27 Soil profile for Problem 10.34. el. = elevation. The natural soils will settle under the weight of the proposed fill. Approximately 25 years will pass before this settlement is complete. Therefore, the road must be built at an elevation higher than 7.0 ft so that after the settlement is complete it is at 7.0 ft. The pavement thickness is 0.5 ft, so the top of the fill must remain at or above elevation 6.5 ft. (a) Use the spreadsheet developed in Problem 10.25 to determine the required elevation of the roadway immediately after construction. Assume that no settlement occurs during construction, and the pavement has the same unit weight as the fill. Hint: As the fill thickness becomes greater, the settlement increases. Thus, this problem requires a trial-and-error solution. You will need to estimate the required fill thickness, then compute the settlement and final roadway elevation. Try to have one trial that produces a road elevation that is too high, and another that produces one too low. Then interpolate to find the required fill thickness. Note 1: As the fill settles, the lower portion will become submerged below the groundwater table, so σ´zf will be less than predicted by Equation 10.2. However, we will ignore this effect. Note 2: Laboratory tests have been performed on two samples of the soft clay. Combine these two sets of test results, then assign γ, Cc/(1+e0), Cr/(1+e0), and σ´m values that apply to the entire stratum. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-31 Note 3: We do not have any unit weight data for the portion of the crust above the groundwater table. Therefore, assume it is the same as that below the groundwater table. In this case, this assumption should introduce very little error. (b) Is our assumption regarding the submergence of the fill (per note 1 in part a) conservative or unconservative? Is this a reasonable assumption? Explain. Solution (a) @ 2.0 feet σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (95)(2 ) − (62.4 )(1.5) = 95.4 lb/ft 2 σ m′ = σ c′ − σ ′z 0 = 3000 − 96 .4 = 2903.6 lb/ft 2 Average soft clay values: γ = 90.5lb / ft 3 Cc = 0.14 1 + e0 Cr = 0.055 1 + e0 σ c' = 700 lb/ft 2 Assume average values occur @ 10.25 feet σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (90.5)(3.25) + (95)(7 ) − (62.4 )(9.75) = 350.7 lb/ft 2 σ m′ = σ c′ − σ ′z 0 = 700 − 350 .7 = 349.3 lb/ft 2 @ 24.0 feet σ ′z 0 = ∑ γH − u = (95)(7 ) + (90.5)(16 ) + (93)(3) − (62.4 )(23.5) = 925.6 lb/ft 2 σ m′ = σ c′ − σ ′z 0 = 4800 − 925 .6 = 3874 .4 lb/ft 2 Through trial error use 7.25 ft © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-32 Layer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 H (ft) 3.5 3.5 5.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 zf (ft) 1.75 5.25 9.50 15.0 20.5 25.0 29.0 σ'z0 (psf) 88.3 202.4 329.7 484.2 638.8 1029.6 1152.0 At midpoint of layer Δ σz σ'c σ'zf (psf) (psf) (psf) 884.5 2991.9 972.8 884.5 3106.0 1086.9 884.5 679.0 1214.2 884.5 833.5 1368.7 884.5 988.1 1523.3 884.5 4904.0 1914.1 884.5 5026.4 2036.5 Cc/(1+e0) Cr/(1+e0) 0.13 0.06 0.13 0.06 0.14 0.055 0.14 0.055 0.14 0.055 0.14 0.07 0.14 0.07 Σ= δc,ult (ft) 0.22 0.15 0.26 0.26 0.18 0.08 0.07 1.22 Hfill = 7.25 ft, this fill height will compensate for the settlement, to achieve the required elevation of +7.0 ft or higher. Therefore, the roadway elevation immediately after construction should be 1.0 + 7.25 = 8.25 ft. (b) This assumption is conservative, because the actual value of σ´zf will be less than that used in the analysis 10.35 An engineer has suggested an alternative design for the proposed highway in Problem 10.34. This design consists of using geofoam for the lower part of the fill, as shown in Figure 6.45. It will be covered with at least 1.0 ft of soil to provide a buffer between the pavement and the geofoam. Compute the minimum required geofoam thickness so that the roadway will always be at elevation 7.0 or higher. Hint: The geofoam is an extra “hidden” layer between the fill and the natural ground surface with γ = 0. Solution Through trial and error, use H=1.1 ft Layer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 H (ft) 3.5 3.5 5.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 zf 1.75 5.25 9.50 15.00 20.50 25.00 29.00 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'c σ'zf (psf) (psf) (psf) (psf) 88.3 134.2 2991.9 222.5 202.4 134.2 3106.0 336.6 329.7 134.2 679.0 463.9 484.2 134.2 833.5 618.4 638.8 134.2 988.1 773.0 1029.6 134.2 4904.0 1163.8 1152.0 134.2 5026.4 1286.2 δc,ult Cc/(1+e0) Cr/(1+e0) (ft) 0.13 0.06 0.08 0.13 0.06 0.05 0.14 0.055 -0.03 0.14 0.055 -0.03 0.14 0.055 -0.02 0.14 0.07 0.01 0.14 0.07 0.01 Σ= 0.08 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-33 The required minimum fill of Hfill = 1.1 ft is needed, this fill height will compensate for the settlement to achieve the required elevation of +7.0 ft or higher, with a combination of 5 ft of geofoam. Therefore, the roadway elevation immediately after construction should be 1.0 + 1.1 + 5.0 = 7.1 ft. 10.36 A series of prefabricated dual-bore steel tubes similar to the one in Figure 10.28 are to be installed in an underwater trench to form a tunnel. The trench will be in seawater, which has a unit weight of 64.0 lb/ft3. The tubes will be floated into position, and sunk into place by temporarily flooding the interior. Then, non-structural concrete will be placed into chambers along the tube to act as ballast, and the inside will be pumped dry. The completed tube will be 80 ft wide, 300 ft long, and 40 ft tall, and weigh 32,000 tons exclusive of buoyant forces. Finally, the tube will be covered with soil, producing the cross-section shown in Figure 10.29. Figure 10.28 This prefabricated tunnel section is part of the Central Artery Project in Boston. It was floated into position, and then sunk to the bottom of the bay. (Photograph by Peter Vanderwarker, courtesy of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project.) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-34 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Figure 10.29 Final cross-section for underwater tunnel as described in Problem 10.36. (a) The interior of the tube will be dewatered after the concrete is placed, but before the trench is backfilled. Once this is done, will the tube remain at the bottom of the trench, or will it float up to the water surface? (b) After the trench is backfilled, what will be the net Δσz in the soft clay? Assume Δσz is constant with depth. (c) Using the final cross-section, compute the ultimate consolidation settlement or heave of the tube due to Δσz′ in the soft clay. Assume no heave occurs during construction. (d) The weakest parts of the completed tunnel will be the connections between the tube sections. In order to avoid excessive flexural stresses at these connections, the structural engineer has specified a maximum allowable differential settlement or differential heave of 5 in along the length of the tube (the term “allowable” indicates this value already includes a factor of safety). An evaluation of the soil profile suggests the differential settlement or heave will be no more than 50 percent of the total. Has the structural engineer’s criteria been met? Solution (a) 32,000 ton = γ = (b) 2,000 lb = 64,000,000 lb 1 ton 64,000,000 P = = 66.7 lb/ft 3 V (80)(40)(300) The tube will remain at the bottom of the trench because γw< γtunnel. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-35 Δσ ′z, net = σ soil − σ tunnel = γH − γ tunnel H tunnel = (100 − 64.0 )(40 ) − (66.7 − 64 )(40 ) = −1332 lb/ft 2 (c) H Layer (ft) 1 5.0 2 5.0 3 5.0 4 5.0 5 5.0 6 5.0 zf 97.5 102.5 107.5 112.5 117.5 122.5 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δ σz σ'zf (psf) (psf) (psf) Cc/(1+e0) Cr/(1+e0) 2250.0 -1332 918.0 0.19 0.06 2430.0 -1332 1098.0 0.19 0.06 2610.0 -1332 1278.0 0.19 0.06 2790.0 -1332 1458.0 0.19 0.06 2970.0 -1332 1638.0 0.19 0.06 3150.0 -1332 1818.0 0.19 0.06 Eqn. 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 Σ= δc,ult (ft) -0.11 -0.09 -0.09 -0.08 -0.07 -0.07 -0.50 δheave = 0.50 ft = 6 inches (d) Yes, the structural engineer’s criteria have been met because the differential will be 3 inches. 10.37 A proposed building is to have three levels of underground parking, as shown in Figure 10.30. To construct this building, it will be necessary to make a 10.0 m excavation, which will need to be temporarily dewatered. The natural and dewatered groundwater tables are as shown, and the medium clay is normally consolidated. The chief geotechnical engineer is concerned that this dewatering operation may cause excessive differential settlements in the adjacent building and has asked you to compute the anticipated differential settlement across the width of this building. Assume the wall is perfectly rigid, and thus does not contribute to any settlement problems, and that the maximum allowable differential settlement from one side of the building to the opposite side is 50 mm. Neglect any loss in σz′ below the existing building due to the removal of soil from the excavation. Discuss the implications of your answer. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-36 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Figure 10.30 Soil profile for Problem 10.37. Solution Near side: Layer 1 2 3 4 5 H (m) 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.30 zf 13.50 15.50 17.50 19.50 21.65 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δ σz σ'zf (psf) (kPa) (kPa) 148.2 87.55 235.7 161.6 87.55 249.1 175.0 87.55 262.5 188.4 87.55 275.9 202.8 87.55 290.3 Cc/(1+e0) 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.26 0.26 Σ= δc,ult (m) 0.105 0.098 0.092 0.086 0.093 0.474 Far side: H Layer (m) 1 2.00 2 2.00 3 2.00 4 2.00 5 2.30 zf 13.50 15.50 17.50 19.50 21.65 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 Δσz σ'zf (kPa) (psf) (kPa) Cc/(1+e0) 148.2 36.05 184.2 0.26 161.6 36.05 197.6 0.26 175.0 36.05 211.0 0.26 188.4 36.05 224.4 0.26 202.8 36.05 238.8 0.26 Σ= δc,ult (m) 0.049 0.045 0.042 0.040 0.043 0.219 Differential settlement across building = 0.47-0.22 = 0.25 m = 250 mm This is well in excess of the allowable differential settlement, and therefore is unacceptable © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chap. 10 Compressibility and Settlement 10-37 10.38 The Palacio de las Bellas Artes in Mexico City, shown in Figure 10.1, is an interesting example of large consolidation settlement. It is supported on a 1.8 to 3.0 m thick mat foundation which is approximately 65 m wide and 115 m long. The average bearing pressure between the bottom of this mat and the supporting soil is 115 kPa (Ledesma, 1936). The soil conditions beneath the palace are too complex to describe in detail here. However, we can conduct an approximate analysis using the following simplified profile: Cc Depth γ Description 3 1 + e0 (m) (kN/m ) 0-5 Sandy fill 17.5 0 5 - 45 Normally consolidated soft clays 11.5 0.53 > 45 Stiff soils 0 For our simplified analysis, use a groundwater table at a depth of 5 m, and assume the bottom of the mat is at the original ground surface. In addition, assume the fill has been in pace for a very long time, so the consolidation settlement due to the weight of the fill is complete. Divide the soft clay zone beneath the center of the building into five layers of equal thickness. Then, compute Δσz at the midpoint of each layer using the methods described in Chapter 9. Finally, compute the ultimate consolidation settlement beneath the center of the palace due to its own weight. Solution Layer 1 2 3 4 5 H (m) 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 zf 4.0 12.0 20.0 28.0 36.0 At midpoint of layer σ'z0 σz σ'zf (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) 94.0 114 208.0 108.0 109 217.0 121.0 101 222.0 135.0 90 225.0 149.0 80 229.0 Cc/(1+e0) 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 Eqn. 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 10.23 Σ= δc,ult (m) 1.46 1.28 1.12 0.94 0.79 5.60 δc,ult = 5.6 m Commentary: This is an extremely large settlement. It is due to the wide, heavy load and the very soft soil. 10.39 A fill is to be placed at a proposed construction site, and you need to determine the ultimate consolidation settlement due to its weight. Write a 200–300 word essay describing the kinds of field exploration, soil sampling, and laboratory testing you will need to perform to generate the information needed for this analysis. Your essay should describe specific things that need to be done, and what information will be gained from each activity. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 10-38 Compressibility and Settlement Chap. 10 Solution The field exploration will need to include drilling exploratory borings at the site of the proposed fill. These borings should extend through any soils that are soft or loose enough to produce significant settlement, and into firm underlying strata. High quality undisturbed samples need to be obtained in all clay and silt strata, and appropriate in-situ test, such as the standard penetration test, in sandy strata. The undisturbed samples need to be brought to a soil mechanics laboratory where their moisture content and dry unit weight would be measured, and consolidation test performed. The field exploration program also must determine the location of the groundwater table. This will probably be done by installing observation wells in one or more of the exploratory borings, and monitoring these wells. The laboratory consolidation test data will be used to determine Cc, Cr, and σ´m for each clay or silt stratum, and the SPT test results will be used to determine the relative density and compressibility of the sand strata. The moisture content and unit weight tests are used to determine w, γ, and e. The laboratory test program also must include a Proctor compaction test on the soils to be used for the fill. This is needed to determine the unit weight of the fill. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458.