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Geostatic Stress :
is the stress acting at a point in a soil mass with
a horizontal top surface. The total stress is
computed as the total weight of a column of unit
area above the point.
v z
Ground Surface
Unit area
v i zi
i 1
1
2
Effective Stress
Effective soil stress is not the actual stress
acting at the areas of contact between soil
particles.
Effective soil stress corresponds to the stress
transmitted through the soil mineral skeleton.
u
'
Compaction
Compaction means
the removal of
air-filled porosity.
Consolidation
Consolidation means
the removal of
water-filled porosity.
V z
A
22
GL
WT
' z sub
v
u w z
v z sat z sub z w
Example 1:
A soil profile is shown below. Calculate Total Stress, Pore water Pressure and
Effective stress at A, B, C and D.
.
.c
3m
3m
13m
.D
Impermeable layer
Example 2:
A layer of saturated clay 4 m thick is overlain by sand 5 m deep, the water table being
3 m below the surface. The saturated unit weights of the clay and sand are 19 and 20
kN/m3 respectively; above the water table the unit weight of the sand is 17 kN/m3. Plot
the values of total vertical stress and effective vertical stress against depth. If sand to a
height of 1 m above the water table is saturated with capillary water, how are the
above stresses affected?