Soil Consolidation Analysis

During the construction of highways, embankments, bridge approaches, dykes, dams, tanks, buildings, and other structures on soft compressible soil, considerable settlement may occur. This is due to the consolidation of soil under the superimposed load. The consolidation of soil can be done in three various ways, viz surcharging (or preloading), vertical drains (or band/wick drains), and staged construction.

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The consolidation is carried out at the outset of the project and in the shortest possible time during the construction period. Construction of a structure on top of a soft soil foundation will not commence until there is an assurance that there will not be any damage due to settlement.

Thus, monitoring the progress of consolidation and stability of the foundation is crucial and requires good instrumentation planning. Instrumentation is used to monitor the progress of consolidation beneath a single-stage embankment, a surcharged embankment, or staged construction so that construction schedules can be determined.

When vertical drains are installed, instrumentation is normally used to evaluate whether it is effective in accelerating consolidation. Instrumentation may also be installed to provide a warning of any instability, thereby allowing remedial measures to be implemented before critical situations arise.