Degree of Consolidation and Reduction Coefficient Concerning Differential Consolidation Settlements

Abstract

The author has proposed a reduction coefficient of differential settlements in a soil-structure interaction and has shown that it is very useful for predicting differential settlements. In such a prediction, the soil model has been assumed to be elastic and linear and until now consolidation settlements were evaluated as equivalent elastic settlements. It is very significant, however, to extend the elastic model to a consolidation model, because practical cases are frequently related to consolidation settlements in reclaimed land. This paper, therefore, attempts to formulate the characteristics of consolidation settlements in soil-structure interaction, in order to incorporate the consolidation settlements into the prediction method of differential settlements suggested by the author. Terzaghi’s one-dimensional consolidation was interpreted mechanically to be expressed as an infinite linear summation of Kelvin type viscoelastic models. The soil consisting of an infinite linear summation of Viscoelastic Pasternak Models was then proposed. Using this model, the degree of differential consolidation settlements was introduced and the reduction coefficient of differential consolidation settlements was formulated. Some characteristics of differential settlements are discussed. The results indicate that differential consolidation settlements occur faster than the average settlements and the final differential consolidation settlements correspond to equivalent elastic differential settlements.