The Theory of One-Dimensional Consolidation of Saturated Clays: III. Existing Testing Procedures and Analyses

Abstract

Abstract The successful calculation of the progress of consolidation requires that both the theory used to model the field problem and the material properties used by the theory must be appropriate and suitable. Thus the testing procedure must provide reliable and consistent information on the material behavior. Further, the test procedure must be accompanied by methods of analysis that will produce values of the material properties that are appropriate to the theory. This paper presents a summary of the existing laboratory methods that are used to determine the consolidation properties of soils. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of the test data. It is shown that all the methods that are currently used contain inherent simplifying assumptions. These methods are restricted in their applicability to problems where linear or constant material properties or both are good approximations to real behavior.