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2. Overconsolidated. A soil is called overcosolidated if the present effective overburden pressure is less
than the maximum to which the soil was ever subjected in the past
In Figure 5.28 the branches are the overconsolidated state of a soil, and the branches
are the normally consolidated state of a soil.
NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering
Dept. of Civil Engg. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 4
In the natural condition in the field, a soil may be either normally consolidated or overconsolidated.
A soil in the field may become overconsolidated through several mechanisms, some of which are
listed in table 2.
The preconsolidation pressure from a e vs. log plot is generally determined by a graphical
procedure suggested by Casagrande (1936), as shown in Figure 5.29. The steps are as follows:
1. Visually determine the point P (on the upper curved portion of the e vs. log plot) that has the
maximum curvature.
2. Draw a horizontal line PQ.
3. Draw a tangent PR at P.
4. Draw the line PS bisecting the angle QPR.
5. Produce the straight-line portion of the e vs. log plot backward to intersect PS at T.
6. The effective pressure corresponding to point T is the preconsolidation pressure
.
Another method for the determination of
.
From Figure 5.30,
Figure 5.30 Compression index
NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering
Dept. of Civil Engg. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 6
(66)
For normally consolidated clays. Terzaghi and Peck (1967) gave a correlation for the compression index as
(67)
Where LL is the liquid limit. The preceding relation has reliability in the range of and should not to
be used for clays with sensitivity ratios greater than 4.
Terzaghi and Peck also gave a similar correlation for remolded clays:
Several other correlations for the compression index with the basic index properties of soils have been made,
and some of these are given below (see Azzouz et al., 1976):
(68)
(69)
(70)
(71)
(72)
Where
(73)
Where PI is the plasticity index.
Effect of sample disturbance on the e vs. log cirve
Soil samples obtained from the field are somewhat disturbed. When consolidation tests are conducted on
these samples, we obtain e vs. log plots that are slightly different from those in the field. This is
demonstrated in Figure 5.31.
NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering
Dept. of Civil Engg. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 7
Figure 5.31 Effect of sample disturbance on e vs. log curve
Curve I in Figure 5.31a shows the nature of the e vs. log variation that an undisturbed normally
consolidated clay (present effective overburden pressure
; void ratio
is the
preconsolidation pressure, and is a part of the virgin compression curve. Curve II is the corresponding
laboratory consolidation curve. After careful testing, Schmertmann (1953) concluded that the field
recompression branch ( in Figure 5.34b) has approximately the same slope as the laboratory unloading
branch, . The slope of the laboratory unloading branch is referred to as
. The range of
is
approximately from one-fifth to one-tenth of
.
1.1.8 Calculation of one-dimensional consolidation settlement
The basic principle of one-dimensional consolidation settlement calculation is demonstrated in Figure 5.32.
If a clay layer of total thickness
(74)
Where e is strain. Again, if an undisturbed laboratory specimen is subjected to the same effective stress
increase, the void ratio will decrease by . Thus, the strain is equal to
(75)
Where
.
Thus, from equations (74) and (75),
(76)
For a normally consolidated clay in the field (Figure 5.33a),
(77)
For an overconsoidated clay, (1) if
(78)
And (2) if
(Figure 5.33c)
NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering
Dept. of Civil Engg. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 9
(79)
Figure 5.33 Calculation of [equations (77) to (79)]