Temperature Effects on Clay Soil Consolidation

The influence of increasing the temperature in a consolidating soil is examined by consideration of the thermal energy input from the temperature change. This energy provides the potential necessary to cause flow through physical changes in the pore water and at the soil water interface. A consolidometer was adapted to provide temperature changes through a heating element, the temperatures being measured by thermocouples at the soil sample surface. The quantity of deformation induced by increasing boundary temperatures at a given stress level was measured for three series of increases: low-long time, high-long time, and high-rapid time. It was observed that the magnitude of the resulting deformation depended directly on the magnitude of the temperature increase, and that the deformation pattern was similar to the temperature patttern. Deformation ceased when the temperature increase was halted.