Practice Assignment-Consolidation
1. Seepage and Consolidation both talks about flow of water. What is the major difference
between these two phenomena?
2. What are the assumptions involved in consolidation? Write the governing differential
equation and the boundary conditions for one-dimensional consolidation having pervious
boundaries at both the ends.
[Link] soil profile at a site for a proposed office building consists of a layer of fine sand 10.4
m thick above a layer of soft, normally consolidated clay 2 m thick. Below the soft clay is a
deposit of coarse sand. The groundwater table was observed at 3 m below ground level. The
void ratio of the sand is 0.76 and the water content of the clay is 43%. The building will
impose a vertical stress increase of 140 kPa at the middle of the clay layer.
Estimate the primary consolidation settlement of the clay for the following cases:
(a) The clay is normally consolidated.
(b) The clay is over consolidatedwith an OCR=1.5,
(c) The clay is over consolidated with an OCR=1.5,
Assume the soil above the water table to be saturated, Cc= 0.3, Cr= 0.05, and Gs = 2.7.
4. A vertical section through a building foundation at a site is shown in the following figure.
The average modulus of volumecompressibility of the clay is mv= 5 x 10-5 m2/kN. Determine
the primary consolidation settlement. [Hint: Calculate what is the additional stress developed
at the middle of the clay layer due to 200kPa load]
5. At a vertical stress of 200 kPa, the void ratio of a saturated soil sample tested in an
oedometer is 1.52 and lies on the normal consolidation line. An additional vertical stress of
150 kPa is applied on the sample resulting in a void ratio of 1.43.
(a) Determine the compression index, Cc, of the soil.
(b) The sample was unloaded to a vertical stress of 200 kPa, and the void ratio
increased to 1.45. Determine theslope of the recompression index, Cr.
(c) What is the over-consolidation ratio of the soil at stage (b)?
(d) If the soil were reloaded to a vertical stress of 500 kPa, what void ratio would be
attained?
6. A sample, 75 mm in diameter and 20 mm high, taken from a clay layer 10 m thick, was
tested in an oedometerwith drainage at the upper and lower boundaries. It took the laboratory
sample 15 minutes to reach 50%consolidation.
(a) If the clay layer in the field has the same drainage condition as the laboratory
sample, calculate how long itwill take the 10-m clay layer to achieve 50% and 90%
consolidation.
(b) How much more time would it take the 10-m clay layer to achieve 50%
consolidation if drainage existed ononly one boundary?
7. The thickness of sample A is 1.5 times that of B. The timetaken for 50% consolidation was
3 times larger for sample B than for A. What is the ratio ofcoefficient of consolidation of
sample A to that of B?
8. A 2.5 cm thick sample was tested in a consolidometer under saturated conditions
withdrainage on both sides. 30 percent consolidation was reached under a load in15 minutes.
For the same conditions of stress but with only one-way drainage, estimate the time in days it
would take for a 2 m thick layer of the same soil to consolidate in the field toattain the same
degree of consolidation.
9. A 30 m thick clay layer with single drainage settles 3.5 cm in 3.5 yr. The coefficient of
consolidation for this clay was found to be 8.43 x 10 -4cm2/sec. Compute the
ultimateconsolidation settlement and determine how long it will take to settle to 90% of
thisamount.
10. A stratum of clay is 2 m thick and has an initial overburden pressure of 50 kN/ m 2 at
themiddle of the clay layer. The clay is overconsolidated with a preconsolidation pressure
of75 kN/ m2. The values of the coefficients of recompression and compression indices
are0.05 and 0.25 respectively. Assume the initial void ratio=1.40. Determine the
finalsettlement due to an increase of pressure of 40 kN/ m2 at the middle of the clay layer.
11. A clay stratum 5 m thick has the initial void ratio of 1.50 and an effective
overburdenpressure of 120 kN/m2. When the sample is subjected to an increase of pressure
of120 kN/ m2, the void ratio reduces to 1.44. Determine the coefficient of
volumecompressibility and the final settlement of the stratum.
12. A 3 m thick clay layer beneath a building is overlain by a permeable stratum and
isunderlain by an impervious rock. The coefficient of consolidation of the clay was found
tobe 0.025 cm2/min. The final expected settlement for the layer is 8 cm. Determine (a)
howmuch time will it take for 80 percent of the total settlement, (b) the required time for
asettlement of 2.5 cm to occur, and (c) the settlement that would occur in one year.