Consolidation of clays using the triaxial apparatus

• Main Author: Karami, Azzam Omar, 1962-
• Other Authors: Kiousis, Panos D.
• Language: en_US
• Published: The University of Arizona. 1988
• Subjects: Soil stabilization.; Clay soils.; Settlement of structures.
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/276842; http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/handle/10150/276842

The calculation of a consolidation settlement is an important problem encountered in the foundation of buildings. Due to need for simplicity engineers are mainly using the one dimensional theory of Terzaghi for calculations of consolidation settlements with time. Consolidation tests are still performed in most laboratories with the traditional oedometer cell. Although the results of the oedometer can provide relatively reliable results, they are not equally effective for the calculation of the rate of consolidation. This primarily because of the inability of the oedometer cell to obtain full saturation of the sample. To ensure full saturation, back pressure must be applied which is not possible for conventional oedometer cell. The alternative use of the triaxial cell to examine the consolidation behavior of soils is discussed here.