Analysis of Normal Consolidation of Viscous Clay
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 116, Issue 9
Abstract
A Theological model of the normal consolidation behavior of viscous clays is presented. The approach adopted combines elasto‐plastic behavior with structural viscosity effects. In particular, a modified Cam‐clay yield surface, employed to describe plasticity effects, is analyzed in conjunction with viscous resistance characteristics based on the use of a thixotropy law. The whole is placed in the context of Biot's two‐dimensional consolidation framework and solved using the finite element method. An application of the model, to the one‐dimensional consolidation of a clay that had previously been tested in the laboratory, is presented. Good correlation is achieved, indicating clearly the ability of the proposed model to reproduce real consolidation behavior during both the primary and the secondary phases. Various features of the model are then addressed via numerical predictions of the consolidation of thicker samples of the same clay. The model's scaling law is determined together with the form of the variation of deformation predictions, as drainage path lengths are increased. The importance of viscous resistance effects in the model's performance is also demonstrated.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Barden, L. (1965). “Consolidation of clay with non‐linear viscosity.” Geotechnique, London, England, 15(4), 345–362.
2.
Biot, M. A. (1941). “General theory of three‐dimensional consolidation.” J. Appl. Phys., 12 (Feb.), 155–164.
3.
Bjerrum, L. (1967). “Engineering geology of normally consolidated marine clays as related to settlements of buildings.” Geotechnique, London, England, 17(2), 82–118.
4.
Borja, R. I., and Kavazanjian, E. (1985). “A constitutive model for the stress‐straintime behaviour of ‘wet’ clays.” Geotechnique, London, England, 35(3), 283–298.
5.
BSI. (1975). “Methods of test for soils for civil engineering purposes.” BS1377, British Standard Inst., London, England.
6.
Buisman, A. S. K. (1936). “Results of long duration settlement tests.” Proc., 1st Int. Conf. Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 1, 103–106.
7.
Drucker, D. C., Gibson, R. E., and Henkel, D. J. (1957). “Soil mechanics and work hardening theories of plasticity.” Trans., ASCE, 122, 338–346.
8.
Gibson, R. E., Schiffman, R. L., and Pu, S. L. (1970). “Plane strain and axially symmetric consolidation of a clay layer on a smooth impervious base.” Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math., 23(4), 505–519.
9.
Harb, H. M. (1987). “An investigation into the normal consolidation behaviour of viscous clays,” thesis presented to the University of Wales, at Cardiff, U.K., in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
10.
Leroueil, S., et al. (1985). “Stress‐strain‐strain rate relation for the compressibility of sensitive natural clays.” Geotechnique, London, England, 35(2), 159–180.
11.
Mesri, G., and Choi, Y. K. (1985). “The uniqueness of the end‐of‐primary (EOP) void ratio—Effective stress relationship.” Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, San Francisco, Calif., 2, 587–590.
12.
Murayama, S., and Shibata, T. (1961). “Rheological properties of clays.” Proc., 5th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Paris, France, 1, 269–273.
13.
Perzyna, P. (1966). “Fundamental problems in viscoplasticity.” Adv. Appl. Mech., 9, 243–377.
14.
Roscoe, K. H., and Burland, J. B. (1968). “On the generalized stress‐strain behaviour of ‘wet’ clay.” Engineering plasticity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 535–609.
15.
Schiffman, R. L., Chen, A. T., and Jordan, J. C. (1969). “An analysis of consolidation theories.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., ASCE, 95(1), 285–312.
16.
Schofield, A. N., and Wroth, C. P. (1968). Critical state soil mechanics. McGraw‐Hill, London, U.K.
17.
Terzaghi, K. (1941). “Undisturbed clay samples and undisturbed clays.” J. Boston Soc. Civ. Engrs., 28(3), 211–231.
18.
Thomas, H. R., and Harb, H. M. (1986). “On the use of a standard quadratic ele‐ment in the analysis of consolidation following external loading.” Comm. Appl. Numer. Methods, 2(5), 531–539.
19.
Vialov, S. S., and Skibitsky, A. M. (1961). “Problems of the rheology of soils.” Proc., 5th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Paris, France, 1, 387–391.
20.
Wilkinson, W. L. (1960). Non‐Newtonian fluids. Pergamon Press, Oxford, England.
21.
Zeevaert, L. (1967). “Consolidation theory for materials showing intergrannular viscosity.” Proc., 3rd Pan American Conf., Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Caracas, Venezuela, 1, 89–110.
22.
Zienkiewicz, O. C. (1977). The finite element method. McGraw‐Hill, Maidenhead, U.K.
23.
Zienkiewicz, O. C., and Cormeau, I. C. (1974). “Visco‐plasticity—Plasticity and crerep in elastic solids. A unified numerical solution approach.” Int. J. Numerical Methods Engrg., 8(4), 821–845.
24.
Zienkiewicz, O. C., Humpheson, C., and Lewis, R. W. (1975). “Associated and non‐associated visco‐plasticity and plasticity in soil mechanics.” Geotechnique, London, England, 25(4), 671–689.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1990 ASCE.
History
Published online: Sep 1, 1990
Published in print: Sep 1990
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.