Precisely estimating primary consolidation settlement of homogeneous NC clays with an alternate equation

Abstract

<p>Estimating primary consolidation of NC clays with conventional 1-D consolidation equation underestimates the settlement value as the effective stress is merely taken at the mid-depth of a compressible layer. For thick compressible stratum, the error cannot be disregarded and is often minimized by dividing the entire stratum into a finite number of sub-layers. Computation with too many sub-layers is rather tedious and time-consuming as the settlement of each layer needs to be calculated separately and to be added up finally to get the settlement of the entire stratum.</p><p>An alternate equation is put forward in the present study wherein the effect of compressible layer thickness is eliminated altogether. The equation proposed herein is, in fact, an extension of classical primary consolidation equation for homogeneous NC clays and is based on the same assumptions. This paper lucidly explains the formulation of the proposed equation and validation of the same with a practical example. Comparison of results shows that the proposed equation subdues the conventional one by precisely computing the consolidation settlement not involving any iteration or time-consuming effort.</p>