Effect of Overburden Pressure on Clay Compressibility

The total amount of settlement that a structure founded on a clay soil undergoes comprises of immediate (or elastic) and consolidation settlements. In the case of clay soils, amount of consolidation settlement (Sc) is more than that of immediate or elastic settlement (Se). Hence, it is important to correctly estimate the amount of consolidation settlement (Sc). The parameters that influence consolidation settlement of a field soil are initial degree of saturation (S%), void ratio (e) of soil prior to excavation, the amount of overburden pressure removed during trench making (o), or in other words, the amount of rebound caused in the soil giving rise to final void ratio just before construction and the intensity of loading or the applied pressure (). This book presents an experimental study on the effect of above parameters on compressibility characteristics of a clay soil. The different steps undertaken in the field for footing construction are simulated in the laboratory and compressibility studied.