CHAPTER10

Compressibility
and Settlement

Less than 10 years ago the Foundation Committee of a well-known engineer-

ing society decided, at one of its meetings, that the word “settlement” should
be avoided in public discussions, because it might disturb the peace of mind
of those who are to be served by the engineering profession.
Karl Terzaghi, 1939

In a mechanics of materials course, you learned that changes in the normal stresses in
any object always produce corresponding normal strains, and the integration of these
strains over the length of the object is its deformation or displacement. This principle
also applies to soils, and is important because many civil engineering projects impart
loads onto the ground, which produce corresponding increase in the vertical effective
stress, o. Just as in any other material, these stress increases induce vertical strains, g,
in the soil, which cause the ground surface to move downward. We call this downward
movement settlement. When settlement occurs over a large area, it is sometimes called
subsidence. Whenever o7 increases, there always will be a corresponding settlement, 6.
Thus, the issue facing a geotechnical engineer is not if settlements will occur, but rather
the magnitudes of these settlements and how they compare with tolerable limits.
This chapter discusses the various factors that influence settlement and presents
methods of predicting its magnitude. Chapter 11 continues these discussions and
addresses the rate of settlement, then Chapters 14 and 15 apply these methods to the
design of structural foundations. Engineers use the results of these settlement analyses
to design structures and other civil engineering projects. For example, if an analysis indi-
cates that the weight of a proposed building would cause excessive settlement in the
soils below, with corresponding damage to the building, the geotechnical engineer may
decide to use a different kind of foundation system, such as piles, that penetrate deeper
into the ground to a harder and less compressible stratum.

419
420 Chapter 10 Compressibility and Settlement

Case Studies

Some of the most dramatic examples of soil settlements are found in Mexico City. Parts
of the city are underlain by one of the most troublesome soils in any urban area of the
world, a very soft lacustrine clay that was deposited in the former Lake Texcoco. Its
engineering properties are as follows (Hiriart and Marsal, 1969):

Moisture content, w Average 281%, maximum 500%

Liquid limit, wy, Average 289, maximum 500
Plastic limit, wp Average 85, maximum 150
Void ratio, e Average 6.90

A comparison of these values with the typical ranges given in Tables 4.5 and 4.8
demonstrates that this is an extraordinary soil. For example, the very high void ratio
indicates that it contains, by volume, nearly seven times as much water as solids!
Another of its important properties is an extremely high compressibility.
As the city grew, municipal water demands increased and many wells were
installed through this clay and into deeper water-bearing sand layers. These activities
resulted in a significant drop in the groundwater levels, which, as we will discuss later in
this chapter, caused an increase in the effective stress. Because the clay is so compress-
ible, and the stress increase was so large, the resulting settlements became a serious
problem. Between 1898 and 1966, parts of the city settled by 6-7 m (Hiriart and Marsal,
1969)! At times, the rate of settlement has been as great as 1 mm/day. Fortunately,
Mexican geotechnical engineers, such as Dr. Nabor Carrillo, recognized the connection
between groundwater withdrawal and settlement, and convinced government authorities
to prohibit pumping in the central city area.
In addition to widespread settlements in this area due to groundwater with-
drawal, local settlements also have occurred beneath heavy structures and monuments.
Their weight increased the stresses in the underlying soil, causing it to settle. One
example is the Palacio de las Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), shown in Figure 10.1.
It was built between 1904 and 1934, and experienced large settlements even before it
was completed. By 1950, the palace and the immediately surrounding grounds were
about 3 m lower than the adjacent streets (Thornley et al., 1955), which necessitated
building new stairways from the street down to the building area.
As a result of these problems, geotechnical engineers in Mexico City have devel-
oped techniques for safely supporting large structures without the detrimental effects of
excessive settlement. One of these, the 43-story Tower Latino Americana, is discussed in
Foundation Design: Principles and Practices (Coduto, 2001), the companion volume to
this book. This building is across the street from the Palace of Fine Arts, and has been
performing successfully since its completion in the mid-1950s.
The Tower of Pisa in Italy is another example of excessive settlement. In this case,
one side has settled more than the other, a behavior we call differential settlement, which
gives the tower its famous tilt. Foundation Design: Principles and Practices (Coduto,
2001) also explores this case study.
Settlement problems are not limited to buildings. For example, the highway
bridge shown in Figure 10.2 is underlain by a soft clay deposit. This soil is not able to
FIGURE 10.1 By 1950, the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City has settled about 3 m more than
the surrounding streets.

FIGURE 10.2 The approach fills adjacent to this bridge in California have settled. However,
the bridge, being supported on pile foundations, has not. Note the abrupt change in grade in
the sidewalk, and the asphalt patch between the two signs. This photograph was taken about
12 years after the bridge was built.

421
422 Chapter 10 Compressibility and Settlement

support the weight of the bridge, so pile foundations were installed through the clay
into harder soils below and the bridge was built on the piles. These foundations protect
it from large settlements. It was also necessary to place fill adjacent to the bridge abut-
ments so the roadway could reach the bridge deck. These fills are very heavy, so their
weight increased o7, in the clay, causing it to settle. When this photograph was taken,
about 12 years after the bridge was built, the fill had settled about 1 m, as shown by the
sidewalk in the foreground.

10.1 PHYSICAL PROCESSES

Since settlement is a displacement caused by a change in stress, we can compute the
magnitude of settlement if we know (a) the magnitude of the change in stress and
(b) the stress—strain properties of soil. For many materials, such as steel and concrete,
this is a relatively simple problem solved by measuring the stress—strain properties of
the material (e.g., Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio), determining the applied
stresses and then computing the strains and displacements. However, soils, because of
their particulate and multiphase makeup, have a much more complicated stress—strain
behavior that reflects multiple physical processes, some of which are time-dependent.
Related to these various processes, we can define three different types of settlement:

e Distortion settlement, 8,4, is the settlement that results from lateral movements
of the soil in response to changes in ¢7,. Distortion settlement occurs without vol-
ume change and is similar to the Poisson’s effect where an object loaded in the
vertical direction expands laterally. Distortion settlements primarily occur when
the load is confined to a small area, such as a structural foundation, or near the
edges of large loaded areas, such as embankments.
* Consolidation settlement (also known as primary consolidation settlement), &,
occurs when a soil is subjected to an increase in o, and the individual particles
respond by rearranging into a tighter packing. The volume of the solid particles
themselves remains virtually unchanged, so the change in the total volume (and
the resulting strain) is due solely to a decrease in the volume of the voids, V. The
pore water is, for practical purposes, incompressible, so if the soil is saturated
(S = 100%), this reduction in V, can occur only if some of the pore water is
squeezed out of the soil. All soils experience some consolidation when they are
subjected to an increase in o7, and this is usually the most important source of
settlement. In some cases, this process occurs as quickly as the load is applied, but
in other situations it occurs much more slowly. The rate of consolidation will
depend on the degree of saturation of the soil, its hydraulic properties, and other
factors.
e Secondary compression settlement, &, is primarily due to particle reorienta-
tion, creep, and decomposition of organic materials. This particle reorientation
causes a reduction in the volume of the voids, like consolidation settlement.
However, unlike consolidation settlement, secondary compression settlement is
not due to changes in o7; it occurs at a constant 0. Secondary compression is
 10.2 Changes in Vertical Effective Stress 423

always time-dependent and can be significant in highly plastic clays, organic soils,
and sanitary landfills, but it is negligible in sands and gravels.

The settlement at the ground surface, 6, is the sum of these three components:

& =84 + 6. + & (10.1)

Because soil settlement can have both time-dependent and nontime-dependent
components, it is often categorized in terms of short-term settlement (or immediate set-
tlement), which occurs as quickly as the load is applied, and long-term settlement (or
delayed settlement), which occurs over some longer period. Many engineers associate
consolidation settlement solely with the long-term settlement of clay soils. However,
this is not strictly true as pointed out by Salgado (2008). Consolidation is related to vol-
ume change due to change in effective stress regardless of the soil type or time required
for the volume change. Table 10.1 illustrates the relationships among soil type, sources
of settlement, and their time dependence.
Other sources of settlement, such as that from underground mines, sinkholes, or
tunnels, also can be important, but they are beyond the scope of our discussion.

10.2 CHANGES IN VERTICAL EFFECTIVE STRESS

Most settlement is due to changes in the vertical effective stress, so we will begin by
examining these changes. The initial vertical effective stress, o'y, at a point in the soil is
the value of ¢, before the event that causes settlement occurs. The final vertical effective
stress, o, is the value after the settlement process is complete. Notice how settlement
analyses are based on changes in effective stress, not total stress.
The value of o}y may be computed using the techniques described in Chapter 9.
Usually the initial condition consists of geostatic stresses only and thus are evaluated
using Equation 9.47.
The method of computing o depends on the kind of event that is causing the
stresses to increase. The most common events are placement of a fill, placement of an
external load, and changes in the groundwater table elevation.

TABLE 10.1 Time-Rates and Magnitudes of Soil Settlement Processes®

Soil Types

Clays and Silts Sands and Gravels

Time Frame Process Magnitude Process Magnitude

Short-term Distortion Negligible to small Rilear Negligible to small

Consolidation Small to moderate
Consolidation Moderate to large
Long-term Secondary compression Negligible to small
Secondary compression Small to large

“Adapted from Salgado, 2008.

424 Chapter 10 Compressibility and Settlement

Stress Changes Due to Placement of a Fill

When a fill is placed on the ground, o7 in the underlying soil increases due to the
weight of the fill. If the length and width of the fill are large compared to the depth of
the point at which we wish to compute the stresses, the fill can be called an areal fill.
When the point is beneath the central area of the fill, then we compute o’; by simply
adding another layer to the ZyH of Equation 9.47. Therefore,

oy = 0z + YrnHn (10.2)
where:

00 = initial vertical effective stress

o = final vertical effective stress
v = unit weight of the fill
H;;; = thickness of the fill

Unless stated otherwise, you may assume that all fills discussed in this book are
areal fills satisfying these criteria and that Equation 10.2 is valid.
If the width or length of the fill are less than about twice the depth to the point
at which the stresses are to be computed, or if this point is near the edge of the fill,
then we need to evaluate the fill as an area load using the techniques described in
Chapter 9, and compute the change in ¢, using Equation 9.33.

Example 10.1
A 5.0-ft thick fill is to be placed on a site underlain by medium clay, as shown in
Figure 10.3. Compute o’ and o at Point A.

Solution:
ol = SyH—u
ol = (98 Ib/ft3)(1.6 ft) + (100 Ib/ft3) (4.4 ft) — (62.4 Ib/ft>)(4.4 ft)
oty = 322 Ib/ft
o = 0y T vk
ol = 322 1b/t? + (122 Ib/ft3)(5.0 ft)
ol = 932 Ib/ft?

Commentary: The placement of this fill will eventually cause o at Point A to increase
from 322 to 932 Ib/ft>. The value of o at other depths in the natural soil will also
increase, causing a vertical strain g,. As a result, the top of the natural ground will sink
from elevation 10.6 ft to some lower elevation. Thus, the placement of a 5.0-ft thick fill
will ultimately produce a ground surface that is less than 5.0 ft higher than the initial
ground surface elevation.
 10.2 Changes in Vertical Effective Stress 425

T Proposed fill
501t y = 122 Ib/ft3
Y el. 10.6

bty Y==osmmeAV el. 9.0

6.0 ft '

L oA

18.0 ft

Medium clay
y = 100 Ib/ft3

Y *B

el. —21.0

Glacial il FIGURE 10.3 Soil profile for Example 10.1.

el. = elevation.

Stress Changes Due to Placement of an External Load

External loads, such as structural foundations, also produce increases in o7. In this
case, oy 1S
oy = oy + Ao, (10.3)
where Ao, is the induced vertical stress computed using the techniques described in
Chapter 9. This computation may be performed by hand using the equations in
Section 9.6, or by programming the relevant equations into a spreadsheet.

Stress Changes Due to Changes in the Groundwater Table Elevation

Sometimes natural events or construction activities produce changes in the ground-
water table elevation. For example, pumping from wells causes a drop in the nearby
426 Chapter 10 Compressibility and Settlement

groundwater table, as discussed in Chapter 8. When the groundwater table changes

from one elevation to some lower elevation, the pore water pressure, u, in the underlying
soils decreases and the vertical effective stress, o, increases. This is a more subtle process
because there is no visible source of loading at the ground surface, and yet it can be and
has been the cause of significant settlements. For example, some of the settlement prob-
lems in Mexico City have been due to excessive pumping from water supply wells and
the corresponding drops in the groundwater table.
In this case, it is usually easiest to compute o¢ using Equation 9.47 with the final
groundwater position. When performing this computation, keep in mind that changes
in the groundwater table elevation also may be accompanied by changes in the unit
weight, y. Soil that is now above the groundwater table will probably have a lower
moisture content and, therefore, a lower unit weight than before. Thus, the zone of soil
between the initial and final groundwater tables may have one unit weight for the o
computation, and another for the o; computation.

Stress Changes Due to Multiple Simultaneous Causes

Some civil engineering projects include multiple causes of settlement acting simultane-
ously. For example, a project might include both placement of a fill and construction of
multiple structural foundations. In such cases, it may not be immediately clear how to
compute o7;. Whenever this kind of confusion arises, keep in mind that it is always pos-
sible to compute o using Equation 9.48 with the postconstruction conditions.

10.3 DISTORTION SETTLEMENT

When heavy loads are applied over a small area, the soil can deform laterally, as shown
in Figure 10.4. Similar lateral deformations can also occur near the perimeter of larger
loaded areas. These deformations produce additional settlement at the ground surface,
which we call distortion settlement.
As presented in Table 10.1, distortion settlement is generally much smaller than
consolidation settlement, and can often be ignored. However, it is sometimes considered

FIGURE 10.4 Distortion settlement beneath a small

loaded area.
 10.4 Consolidation Settlement—Physical Processes 427

in the design of spread footing foundations. When distortion settlements need to be con-
sidered, they are normally computed using solutions based on elastic theory, as discussed
in Foundation Design: Principles and Practices (Coduto,2001). For the problems covered
in this book, we will assume that distortion settlements are negligible.

10.4 CONSOLIDATION SETTLEMENT—PHYSICAL PROCESSES

We use the term consolidation to describe the pressing of soil particles into a tighter
packing in response to an increase in effective stress, as shown in Figure 10.5. We
assume that the volume of solids remains constant (i.e., the compression of individual
particles is negligible); only the volume of the voids changes. The resulting settlement is
known as consolidation settlement, .. This is the most important source of settlement
in soils, and its analysis is one of the cornerstones of geotechnical engineering.
Consolidation analyses usually focus on saturated soils (S = 100% ), which
means the voids are completely filled with water. Both the water and the solids are vir-
tually incompressible, so consolidation can occur only as some of the water is squeezed
out of the voids. We can demonstrate this process by taking a saturated kitchen sponge
and squeezing it; the sponge compresses, but only as the water is pushed out. This rela-
tionship between consolidation and pore water flow was qualitatively recognized as
early as 1809 when the British engineer Thomas Telford placed a 17-m deep surcharge
fill over a soft clay “for the purpose of squeezing out the water and consolidating the
mud” (Telford, 1830; Skempton, 1960). The American engineer William Sooy Smith

(TZO

¢ y Ao }
°0,00p O° A Oz
OO OO O Y SC + 0-%0
o000 OOO o o
H OOOO 0o Og@ OO

209O
Oo ©°
RS
OO() o2
T + a0
720 + oy [ 7

v, =+ eV, Voids v - (ei_ AV, Voids

‘f Solids ‘f Solids

FIGURE 10.5 Consolidation of soil particles under the influence

of an increasing vertical effective stress.
428 Chapter 10 Compressibility and Settlement

also recognized that “slow progressive settlements result from the squeezing out of the
water from the earth” (Sooy Smith, 1892).
The first laboratory soil consolidation tests appear to have been performed
around 1910 in France by J. Frontard. He placed samples of clay in a metal container,
applied a series of loads with a piston, and monitored the resulting settlement
(Frontard, 1914). Although these tests provided some insight, the underlying processes
were not yet understood. About the same time, the German engineer Forchheimer
developed a crude mathematical model of consolidation (Forchheimer, 1914).
Karl Terzaghi, who was one of Forchheimer’s former students, made the major
breakthrough. He was teaching at a college in Istanbul, and began studying the soil
consolidation problem. This work, which he conducted between 1919 and 1923, pro-
duced the first clear recognition of the principle of effective stress, which led the way to
understanding the consolidation process. Terzaghi’s Theory of consolidation (Terzaghi,
1921,1923a,1923b,1924,1925a, and 1925b) is now recognized as one of the major mile-
stones of geotechnical engineering. Although this theory includes several simplifica-
tions, it has been validated and is considered to be a good representation of the field
processes. We will discuss it here and in Chapter 11.

Piston and Spring Analogy

To understand the physical process of consolidation and its relationship with the flow
of pore water, let us consider the mechanical piston and spring analogy shown in
Figure 10.6. This device consists of a piston and spring located inside a cylinder. The

*P *P+AP
Drain holes
M V 7 M M V

t=1n t=1

(c) (d)
FIGURE 10.6 Piston and spring analogy.
 10.4 Consolidation Settlement—Physical Processes 429

cylinder is filled with water and small drain holes are present in the piston. These
components represent an element of soil at some depth in the ground, with the spring
representing the soil solids, the water representing the pore water, and the drain holes
representing the soil voids through which the pore water must flow.
We will begin with the piston in static equilibrium under a certain vertical load, P,
as shown in Figure 10.6(a). The assembly is submerged in a tank, so the water is subjected
to a hydrostatic pressure that represents the hydrostatic pore water pressure, uy,, in the
soil (see Equation 7.7). In addition, the water pressures on the top and bottom are equal,
so the applied load on the piston is carried entirely by the spring. This load divided by the
cross-sectional area of the cylinder represents the initial vertical effective stress, o7.
Then, at time = t,, we apply an additional load AP to the piston, as shown in
Figure 10.6(b). This represents the additional total vertical stress Ao, in a soil, such as
that induced by a new fill. It causes a very small downward movement of the piston, but
this movement is resisted by both the spring and the water. The water is much stiffer
than the spring, so it carries virtually all the additional load and the water pressure
increases. This additional pressure is known as excess pore water pressure, u.,. Thus, the
water pressure, u, inside the cylinder now equals u;, + u,.
The water pressure (and the total head) inside the cylinder is now greater than
that outside, so some of the water begins to flow through the holes. These holes are
very small, so the flow rate through them is also small, but eventually a certain quantity
of water passes through. The outward flow of water allows the piston to move farther
down, thus compressing the spring and relieving some of the load from the water. This
process represents the gradual transfer of stress from the pore water to the soil solids.
Note the relationship between compression of the spring and dissipation of the excess
pore water pressure. Understanding this relationship is key to solving the consolidation
problem.
At time = ¢, as shown in Figure 10.6(c), half of Ao, has been transferred to the
soil solids and half is still being carried by the pore water. The process continues until
the spring has compressed sufficiently to accommodate the original effective stress
plus the additional stress as shown in Figure 10.6(d) (time = ¢,). The excess pore water
pressure is now zero, so flow through the holes ceases. We have returned to static
equilibrium, but the piston is in a lower position than before. This change in position
represents the vertical strain in that element of soil in the field.

Processes in the Field

The initial buildup of excess pore water pressures in soils is more complex than the
piston and spring analogy because it depends on changes in both the mean normal
stress, o, and the deviator stress, o4, and on certain empirical coefficients known as
Skempton’s pore pressure parameters A and B (Skempton, 1954). However, we will
simplify the problem by assuming the excess pore water pressure, u., immediately
after loading is equal to Ao,.
This increase in pore water pressure produces a hydraulic gradient in the soil,
causing some of the pore water to flow away. As each increment of water is discharged,
the solid particles consolidate and begin to carry part of the new load, just as the spring
430 Chapter 10 Compressibility and Settlement

compressed in our analogy. Thus, Ao, is gradually transferred from the pore water to
the soil solids, and the vertical effective stress Ao, rises. Eventually, all of the new load
is carried by the solids, the pore water pressure returns to its hydrostatic value, and the
flow of pore water ceases.
This transfer of load from water to solids is one of the most important processes
in geotechnical engineering.

Example 10.2
The element of soil at point A in Figure 10.7 is initially subjected to the following
stresses:

T,0 = E’)’H —Uu

o, = (18.7kN/m?*)(1.0m) + (19.0 kN/m*)(2.0m) + (16.5 kN/m?)(4.8 m)

o, = 136 kPa

U= Yy T
_ 3 y = 19.5 kN/m?>
“ (9'8 KN/m )(6'8 m) 5.0m Proposed fill
u = 67 kPa

=0,
z0 z0 — U !
v =187 kN/m? v 1.0m
r, = — Y i
o7 = 136 — 67kPa y = 19.0 kN/m? 2.0m Silty sand
GJZO = 69 kPa ]Y T

4.8 m
y = 16.5 kN/m? i
A
120 m
Clay

FIGURE 10.7 Soil profile for Example 10.2.

These conditions are illustrated on the left side of the plots in Figure 10.8. Then,
we place a 5-m deep fill that has a unit weight of 19.5 kN/m?. This increases the vertical
total stress to
0 = 0y, + v = 136 kPa + (19.5 kN/m®)(5.0 m) = 234 kPa