Manipal University Jaipur (MUJ)

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY (CV1530)

JAIPUR, INDIA

LAB REPORT

ON

DETERMININATION OF THE CONSOLIDATION PROPERTIES OF

SOIL

Submitted By: Submitted To:

……………………. ……………………….
…………………. ……………………………………..

..……………….. …………………………………………

Date: ………………

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
1 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

NAME OF TEST: TO DETERMINE THE CONSOLIDATION PROPERTIES OF SOIL.

OBJECTIVES/SCOPES: To determine one dimensional swell and compressibility

characteristics of soil.

APPARATUS AND MATERIAL REQUIRED:

 Consolidation ring: rigid, non-corrosive, inner diameter 60mm, the height of ring shall
not be less than 20 mm with diameter to height ratio of about 3.0 and further the
specimen height shall not be less than 10 times the maximum particle size.
 Porous stone: flat, clean and free of cracks and chips.
 Filter paper
 Teflon or silicon oil
 Consolidation ring: capable of being filled with water to a level higher than the top of the
upper porous stone, of having an axial vertical load applied to the top of the specimen
and of allowing measurement of the change in height of the specimen on its central axis.
 Dial gauge: accuracy of 0.01 percent of the specimen height and have a travels of at least
50 percent of the specimen height.
 Loading device: capable of maintaining specified loads for long periods of time while the
specimen is deforming with a variation of less than ± 1 percent of the applied load.
Located on firmed base, free from vibrations and other mechanical disturbances.
 Jack and frame: for extruding the soil from sampling jacks.
 Equipment for measuring initial height of test specimen to an accuracy of 0.1mm: vernier
calipers.
 Weighting balance sensitive to 0.01 gm: for weighing the specimen and moisture content.
 Timing device readable to one second.

THEORY:
When any soil is subjected to an increase in pressure or load, a readjustment in the soil structure
occurs that may be considered as consisting primarily of plastic deformation with a
corresponding reduction in void ratio (e). a small amount of elastic deformation may also take
place, but considering the magnitude of loads (or contact pressure) involved and that the
modulus of elasticity of the soil particles is on order of 20 Mpa, the elastic deformation-
recoverable on removing the load- is negligible.

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
2 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

When the load is applied to a dry, partially saturated, or fully saturated coarse grained soil, or to
a dry or partially saturated fine grained soil, the process of plastic deformation with void ratio
reduction takes place in short enough period of time for the process to be considered
instantaneous. This can be explained by the fact that for dry and partially saturated soils the pore
fluid has almost no viscosity or flow resistance. Similarly, if the soil is coarse-grained the
coefficient of permeability k is large and the pore water can be quickly flow out. A consolidation
test is not required in these cases.
When the load is applied to a fine-grained soil that is either nearly or completely saturated the
time for all the plastic deformation and void ratio reduction to take place is much longer. The
length of time for this process to take place will depend on several factors, of which the primary
ones are
a) Degree of saturation
b) Coefficient of permeability of soil
c) Viscosity and compressibility of the pore fluid
d) Length of path the expelled pore fluid must take to find equilibrium.
Hence, consolidation may be defined ad that plastic deformation with void ratio reduction
(generally termed as settlement ∆H) which is a function of time and excess pore water pressure,
or
∆H = f (t)
One dimensional consolidation is that, with a metal ring confining the sample no lateral soil or
water movement takes place – all water flow and soil movement are in the vertical direction.
The main purpose of consolidation test is to obtain soil data which are used in predicting the rate
and the amount of settlement of structure. The two most important soil properties furnished by a
consolidation test are the coefficient of compressibility (av), through which one can determine
the magnitude of compression and the coefficient of consolidation (Cv) which enables the
determination of the rate of compression under a load increment. It also gives the useful
information about stress history of the soil. It is used to predict the settlements of structures in
the field.

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
3 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

PROCEDURE:
1. Weight the empty consolidation ring (W1)
2. Measure the dimension of the consolidation ring i.e. inside diameter and height and
calculate volume of ring.
3. Calculate the weight of soil sample according to OMC and Dry density and take soil
passing through IS sieving 425 micron.
4. Reduce the wall friction inside consolidation ring; oiling is done by Teflon or silicon oil.
Keep the consolidation ring in metal plate; fill the sample in consolidation by pressing
with circular disc by hand. Compact the sample in static compaction device and measure
initial height (Ho) and weight of soil sample with ring (W2).
5. Assemble the consolidometer: Place the bottom porous stone, bottom filter paper,
specimen, top filter paper and the top porous stone, one by one.
6. Position the loading block centrally on the top porous stone. Mount the mould assembly
on the loading frame. Centre it such that the load applied is axial in the lever-loading
system.
7. Set the dial gauge in the position. Allow sufficient margin for the swelling of the soil.
8. Connect the mould assembly to the water reservoir having the water level at about the
same level as the soil specimen. Allow the water flow into the specimen till it is fully
saturated.
9. Take the initial reading of the dial gauge.
10. Apply an initial setting load to give a pressure of 0.05 kg/cm2 to the assembly so that
there is no swelling and allow the setting load to stand till there is no change in the dial
gauge reading or for 24 hours. Take the final gauge reading under the initial setting load.
11. Normal sequence of pressure to be applied is 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0 and 16.0 kg
/cm2 and take the dial gauge reading after application of each load at a time sequence of
0.25, 1.0, 2.25, 4.0, 6.25, 12.25, 16, 20, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100, 121, 144, 169, 196, 225,
289, 324, 361, 400, and finally 1440 minutes.
12. After the last load increment had been applied and the reading taken, decrease the load to
¼ of the last load and allow it stand for 24 hours. Take the dial gauge reading after 24
hours. Further reduce the load to ¼ of the previous load and repeat the above procedure,
likewise further reduce the load to ¼ of the previous and repeat the procedure. Finally

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
4 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

reduce the load to the initial setting load and keep out for 24 hours and take the final dial
gauge reading.
13. Dismantle the assembly. Take out the ring with the specimen. Wipe out the excess
surface water using bloating paper and remove the filter paper both side the specimen.
14. Take weight of the ring with specimen (W3).
15. Dry the specimen in oven for 24 hours and determine the dry weight of the specimen.
16. Determine the specific gravity of soil from the dried specimen (W4).

Computations part:
1. Determination of coefficient of consolidation (Cv): plot the dial gauge versus square root
of t or versus log of time for each load increment and draw smooth curve joining the
points. From using the square root of time plot, find time required to consolidate 90% and
using the log of time plot, find the time required to consolidate 50%. Then
Using the square root of time plot: the coefficient of consolidation, cv, for the load
increment under consideration may be calculated from the formula:

Using the log of time plot:

Where, Hav is the average specimen thickness for the load increment, and Cv has units of
(length) 2 per unit time consistent with the units used.
2. Determination of compressibility:
From the dry weight of specimen Ws, the volume of soil solids, Vs shall be obtained as:

Where, Gs is specific gravity of the solid particles and unit weight of water.

The equivalent height of soil solids can be determined as:

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
5 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

Determine ∆H, the height of specimen at the end of each pressure increment, H can be
determined by subtracting ∆H of a particular increment from H of the specimen prior to
application of that increment.
Void ratio (e) is obtained as,

Find the change in void ratio (∆e) and change in pressure (∆P), the coefficient of compressibility,
av, with units of inverse of units for stress shall be calculated as:

3. Compression index, Cc:

Plot the void ratio, e versus logp. The slope of the straight line proportion that is for the
soil in the normally consolidated state in designed Cc. this can be directly obtained from
the plot or calculated as:

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
1 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS:

ONE DIMENSIONAL CONSOLIDATION TEST
Name of Test: Date of Testing:
Location of Test:
Description of Soil: Tested By:
Pressure Increment Data
Test
Project Loading Frame No:
No.:
Sample L.C. of Dial Gauge: Date:
Page
Soil Identification
Red clay No:
Pressure Increment Pressure Increment Pressure Increment Pressure Increment
From…0… To …….KPa From …… To 12.5KPa From 12.5 To 25 Kpa From 25 To 50.Kpa
Elapsed Date Elapsed Date Elapsed Date Elapsed
Date and Dial Dial Dial Dial
Time and Time (min- and Time and Time
Time Reading Reading Reading Reading
(min-h) Time h) Time (min-h) Time (min-h)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
2 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

UNLOADING DATA

Pressure Increment Pressure Increment Pressure Increment Pressure Increment

From 50 To 100KPa From 100 To 200 KPa From 200 To 400 Kpa From 400 To 800.Kpa
Elapsed Date Elapsed Date Elapsed Date Elapsed
Date and Dial Dial Dial Dial
Time and Time and Time and Time
Time Reading Reading Reading Reading
(min-h) Time (min-h) Time (min-h) Time (min-h)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
3 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

UNLOADING DATA

PRESSURE - VOID RATIO DATA

Project: Specimen Measurements Water Content
Sample No: Diameter, D, cm: Can No.:
Wt. of can + wet
Soil Identification: Area, A cm2 : soil:
wt. of can + dry
Specific Gravity: Thcikness Ho: soil:
Specimen
Preparation: Wt. of Ring (W1): wt. of can:
Wt. of Specimen+Ring
Procedure: (W2) wt. of water:
Final Wt. of Specimen
Type of water used: wt. of dry soil:
(W3)

Dry Wt. of spec+ ring

(W4) Water Content,%:

Dry wt. of specimen, Ws

Equiv. Ht. of Soilds, Hs,

cm

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
4 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

Applied Final Comp.

Specimen av=∆e/∆p, t 90, Averg. Hav, Cv,
pressure Dial ∆H, e=(H/HS)-1 ∆e ∆p Cc
Ht., mm m2/KN min t90 ,min cm cm2/min
KPa Reading mm

5
12.5
25
50
100
200
400
800

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
5 Lab Report on determination of consolidation properties of soil

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur
1 Lab Report on UU Triaxial Test

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:

INFERENCE:
The main purpose of consolidation test is to obtain soil data which are used in predicting the rate
and the amount of settlement of structure. The two most important soil properties furnished by a
consolidation test are the coefficient of compressibility (av), through which one can determine
the magnitude of compression and the coefficient of consolidation (C v) which enables the
determination of the rate of compression under a load increment. It also gives the useful
information about stress history of the soil. It is used to predict the settlements of structures in
the field.

PHOTOGRAPHS:

Fig: Arrangement of consolidation apparatus.

Fig: Consolidation Cell

Prepared By: Dr. Arvind Kumar Jha, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur