Novel Approach to Consolidation Theory of Structured and

Collapsible Soils
Luan Carlos de S. M. Ozelim1; José Camapum de Carvalho2; André Luís Brasil Cavalcante3;
Joseleide Pereira da Silva4; and Claudia Maricela Gómez Muñetón5
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Abstract: Consolidation is one of the most important concepts in geotechnics. The pioneer ideas of both Terzaghi and Biot, and its attendant
phenomena have been shown to be widely applicable to a wide variety of soils. However, when structured and collapsible soils are taken into
account, the standard consolidation theory ultimately requires complementary considerations to correctly predict a soil’s behavior. In particular,
indirect determination of permeability by means of the consolidation coefficient, cv , tends to highly underestimate the real hydraulic behavior for
these types of soil. In the present paper, a modification in the understanding of the consolidation process is proposed to adjust the prevailing
theory to the reality of both structured and collapsible soils. In short, it is considered that every soil may suffer microcollapses that increase pore-
water pressure momentarily during the consolidation process. The mathematical basis for the new theory is developed and a new parameter, the
collapsibility index h, is introduced. The new understanding provides an alternative explanation to the apparent low permeability observed in
consolidation tests. Also, an experimental data set is analyzed in light of the concepts hereby developed. The latter analysis reveals that the
alternative approach proposed predicts well the behavior of the experimental data considered. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000409.
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: One-dimensional consolidation; Collapsible soils; Structured soils; Collapsibility index.

Introduction et al. (2012) consider a non-Darcian flow described by exponent and

One of the most important phenomena in geotechnics is the so-called
consolidation, which links both the hydraulic and the mechanical
behavior of saturated soils to model the relief of pore-water pressure
during their deformation. Consolidation theory has a considerable
part of its roots in the seminal work of Terzaghi (1943). In the lat-
ter, the theoretical basis for unidimensional consolidation theory has
been set. It is worth noting that another important contribution to the
development of the consolidation theory was given by Biot (1941a, b),
who presented the mathematical background to model higher di-
mensional consolidation.
Although the ideas of both Terzaghi and Biot are insightful and,
in general, accurate, several authors have reported limitations of
their theories. In general, to overcome such limitations, authors
modify Terzaghi’s and Biot’s equations to contemplate possible
nonlinearities of the phenomena involved in the consolidation
process. For example, regarding the flow phenomena, Chuan-xun
1 permeability, k, from consolidation tests are unreliable, particularly
Doctoral Candidate, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Univ. of Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brasília, Brazil. E-mail: luanoz@gmail
.com
2
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of
Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brasília, Brazil. E-mail: camapum@unb.br
3 main tool used to interpret the relation between permeability and
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Univ. of Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brasília, Brazil (corresponding author).
E-mail: abrasil@unb.br
4
Associate Professor, Federal Institute of Brasília, DF 72306-701,
Brasília, Brazil. E-mail: silvajoseleide@yahoo.com.br
5
Post-Doctoral Student, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Univ. of Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brasília, Brazil. E-mail: clamago25@
gmail.com
Note. This manuscript was submitted on October 28, 2013; approved on
April 11, 2014; published online on May 12, 2014. Discussion period open
until October 12, 2014; separate discussions must be submitted for in-
dividual papers. This paper is part of the International Journal of Geo-
mechanics, © ASCE, ISSN 1532-3641/04014064(11)/$25.00.
threshold gradient. However, regarding stress-strain nonlinearities,
Carter et al. (1977) discussed the three-dimensional theory of finite
elastic consolidation where strain is considered finite and not in-
finitesimal, much as both Terzaghi and Biot did.
Another topic under considerable discussion is the variability of cv ,
the consolidation coefficient, with normal stress applied. According to
Tavenas et al. (1979), the most serious weakness of Terzaghi’s theory
is that clays in their normally consolidated state exhibit significant
variations of their compressibility, permeability, and thus of their
consolidation coefficient, because the void ratio is reduced during
consolidation. Variations in chemical properties of cv caused by the
differing mineral compositions of clays under consideration have been
discussed by researchers such as Robinson and Allam (1998).
In another paper, Tavenas et al. (1983) discuss laboratory
methods regarding the direct and indirect measurements of the
permeability of natural soft clays. Based on the fact that the con-
solidation ratio is partially governed by permeability of the soil
under test, Tavenas et al. (1983) show that indirect evaluations of the
in structured natural clays. For structured natural clays, the evalu-
ation of k from cv measurements in step-loaded tests gives con-
siderably low values.
As pointed out by Tavenas et al. (1983), Terzaghi’s theory is the
consolidation rate. However, such theory makes use of a series of
assumptions that do not properly fit the actual behavior of natural
clays (Tavenas et al. 1983). It has been shown by Tavenas et al.
(1983) that the oedometric permeability can be up to approximately
10 times lower than the real permeability of the soil.
More recently, Araujo et al. (2005) discussed the variability of
permeability coefficients obtained for a deeply weathered soil from
both consolidation and falling head tests. In that paper, Araujo et al.
(2005) showed that the oedometric permeability is up to approxi-
mately 1,000 times lower than the real permeability of this col-
lapsible soil.

© ASCE 04014064-1 Int. J. Geomech.

Int. J. Geomech.
 The literature reveals that when collapsible and structured soils
are taken into account, indirect measurements of permeability based
on Terzaghi’s theory of one-dimensional consolidation tend to
provide lower results than do the real measurements. Not only does
this problem present itself but other fundamental questions also arise
when considering these types of soil. It is important to note that many
of those questions have already been addressed in the literature, and
from different viewpoints. For instance, Liyanapathirana et al.
(2005) discuss the behavior of structured soils under triaxial tests.
Georgiadis et al. (2005), upon considering three-dimensional con-
stitutive models, discuss the shape of the isotropic compression line
and its importance to the amount of potential collapse that a soil will
experience upon wetting. Fox et al. (2011) discuss the coupled
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
consolidation and contaminant transport in compressible porous
media.
To address the discrepancy between oedometric and real per-
meabilities, in the present paper an alternative interpretation to
Terzaghi’s theory is discussed. The main idea behind this new
approach is that pore-water pressure does not drop smoothly, as
predicted by current understanding of consolidation phenomena. It
is argued that the soil suffers microcollapses that increase pore-water
pressure at certain stages of consolidation. The next section intro-
duces a new analogy to consolidation phenomena that modifies the
standard piston-spring analogy from Terzaghi.
Novel Approach to the Consolidation Phenomenon
An insightful analogy originally proposed by Terzaghi is commonly
used to explain the consolidation phenomena. In short, it considers
that the saturated soil is a spring and that as pore-water pressure
drops, the porous matrix supports increasingly effective stress. Al-
though such an analogy preserves the physics behind consolidation,
it is widely known that soil’s deformation is not as smooth as the
deformation of a spring.
For the case of deeply weathered soils, for instance, smoothness
is not seen, because the porous matrix is constantly collapsing. Such
collapse is not taken into account in Terzaghi’s theory, thus, it is
understandable that for this type of soil, an accurate consolidation
theory is still an open challenge. In the case of other structured
Fig. 1. New analogy for consolidation phenomenon
© ASCE 04014064-2
Int. J. Geomech.
soils that experience microcollapses during consolidation, standard
Terzaghi’s theory also fails in some aspects, leading researchers to
apply numerical methods to contemplate possible nonlinearities in the
governing equations. To discuss the fundamental ideas behind
the new approach presented here, one shall consider Fig. 1, in which
the soil is considered as a telescopic collapsible structure associated
with springs, instead of being considered as a single spring.
The spring outside the telescopic structure simulates the imme-
diate elastic deformation and has a stiffness K1 much greater than the
stiffness of the spring inside the telescopic structure, K2 . The tele-
scopic structure, on the other hand, simulates the collapse of the soil.
The contacts of the telescopic parts are as represented in Fig. 1. Each
contact represents the cementations of the soil. As soon as the stress
in the contacts reaches its limits, the indentations are broken and
the surface becomes flat, offering no resistance to the relative dis-
placement of the broken contact.
It is worth noting that because the diameter of the telescopic
structure varies, so does the failure stress of each contact. For ex-
ample, the upper contact has a smaller failure stress than the one
immediately below it, and so on. This accounts for the distribution of
the cementations in the soil. For example, there are areas with low
concentration of cementations, and these will fail before areas with
higher concentrations. In this model, the low concentration areas are
represented as contacts closer to the top of the telescopic structure
whereas the higher concentration areas are contacts closer to the
bottom of the telescopic structure. Another way of analyzing the
telescopic structure is by considering that the length of the telescopic
parts as well as the yielding stress of its contacts may vary. Thus,
small telescopic parts with a small yielding stress of contacts can be
associated with longer telescopic parts with a greater yielding stress
of contacts. This approach enables one to represent a wide range of
behaviors, such as different cementations in the soil and the effect of
stress on the collapse of the structure.
To correctly predict that after the indentations are broken, the
telescopic structure shall have a low stiffness, offering a weak resis-
tance to the displacement of its top, the assumption that K2
K1
must also be taken into account.
Still regarding Fig. 1, in Step 1 the system is ready to receive
loading. In Step 2, the load is applied and no drainage is allowed.
Int. J. Geomech.
 However, between Steps 2 and 3, drainage is allowed, with an at-
tendant drop in pore-water pressure, as can be seen in the pie-
zometers. Step 3 represents the stage at which the stress in the first
contact is very close to a failure stress, but rupture has not yet taken
place. Between Steps 3 and 4, the first contact fails because the stress
supported by the whole association exceeds the failure stress of such
contact. Immediately after the failure, there is an increase in pore-
water pressure because, for a short interval, a part of the porous
matrix loses its support capability. This momentary support loss
implies that the loading, once supported only by the spring outside
the telescopic structure, has to be transferred to the other spring
inside the latter. This transference takes place in a very short time
(almost immediately), thus characterizing an undrained loading.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Undrained loadings cause the increase in pore-water pressure. This
process continues until no more contacts fail. Steps 3 and 4 are
repeated in Steps 5 and 6, when again there is a collapse in the soil as
another contact breaks. After Step 6, no more cementations will
break, thus from this point on, only the spring with stiffness K1 is
mobilized. At this stage, Terzaghi’s analogy can be reconsidered and
the soil will behave as a standard sedimentary or unstructured soil.
The scheme in Fig. 1 predicts small increments in pore-water
pressure during consolidation, which explains why the values of the
permeability obtained by means of consolidation parameters is
considerably smaller than the real one. Put in another way, the
increments in pore-water pressure give the impression that the water
takes more time to flow outwards because of a low permeability,
although what really happens is that pore-water pressure does not
always decrease. This leads to greater times of consolidation.
Having given the ideas behind the novel approach to consoli-
dation, it is now of interest to consider the mathematical formulation.
Mathematical Formulation of the Novel Approach
The governing equation of Terzaghi’s theory of one-dimensional
consolidation can be given as
∂u ¼ c ∂2 u (1)
v
∂t ∂x2
whereby cv 5 coefficient of consolidation ½L2½T21 ; x 5 depth of
the soil; t 5 time; and u 5 pore-water pressure.
Fig. 2. Example of time dilation
© ASCE 04014064-3
Int. J. Geomech.
By solving Eq. (1), it is widely known that the average degree of
consolidation U can be expressed in terms of the time parameter T as
P
‘
8 e2ð1þ2mÞ p =4T
2 2
UðTÞ ¼ 1 2 (2)
2 2
m50 ð1 þ 2mÞ p
where, as usual
cv t
T¼ (3)
Hd2
in which t 5 time ½T; and Hd 5 drainage height ½L.
In the present paper, the only hypothesis that disagrees with
Terzaghi’s is that pore-water pressure does not always decrease. The
modified hypothesis can be contemplated by Eq. (1) in multiple
ways. For example, one could add an instantaneous source term to
Eq. (1). In the present paper, however, a more practical approach is
considered.
Instead of modifying Terzaghi’s equation, the idea of time di-
lation is considered. One shall note that increasing pore-water
pressure is the same as coming back in time during a consolidation
process. This way, the solution in Eq. (2) is still considered valid, but
the time parameter T has to be dilated. For example, one may
consider Fig. 2.
In Fig. 2, consider that the sample suffers a collapse at T 5 0:5.
As soon as the collapse occurs, the pore-water pressure increases,
which leads to a decrease in the average degree of consolidation,
DUc . Fig. 2 shows that the increase in pore-water pressure corre-
sponds to coming back DTc in time. Thus, from the collapse on, the
value of T to be used in Eq. (2) is the real value of T, Telapsed ,
decreased by DTc .
In real-world applications, knowing the exact time of collapse
may become unpractical, inasmuch as its measurement may be
complex. Knowing the exact increase in pore-water pressure caused
by such collapse is also hard to measure. Because the mean behavior
is sought, it is reasonable to suppose that, in every soil, micro-
collapses are always taking place. Thus, instead of looking for the
exact time of collapses, a given frequency f of collapses is con-
sidered. Fig. 3 illustrates the concept of frequency of collapses.
In the present paper, it is assumed that collapses happen at T
equal to multiples of 0.01. The latter is considered to maintain the
Int. J. Geomech.
 smoothness of the curve. Also, by considering high frequency
collapses, a mean behavior is expected to be modeled.
The governing equation to the average degree of consolidation of
collapsible soils, Uc , based on the given premises, is
 
h metric permeability, leading to the evaluation of h. This process is
Uc ðTÞ ¼ U T 2 P100TR (4)
100
in which h 5 100DTc 5 collapsibility index; and 0 # h # 1 and PxR
5 floor function, which gives the largest integer less than x. When
h 5 0, there is no collapse, thus Terzaghi’s conditions are met. On
the other hand, when h 5 1, the consolidation process is infinite
because the excess of pore-water pressure is never dissipated. The
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
The collapsibility index h accounts for a property of the soil under
study. Thus, it has to be determined experimentally. The easiest way
to do so is by performing oedometric tests and after the consolidation
is stabilized, performing a permeability test on the sample. This way,
the correct permeability can be compared with the apparent oedo-
better illustrated subsequently in the present paper. It is worth noting
that a wide variety of data are present in the literature, which enables
one to evaluate the collapsibility index regionally, providing a priori
estimations of the latter.
Because Eq. (2) is given in terms of an infinite series, the ap-
plication of Eq. (4) is restricted to cases in which mathematical
softwares are available. This way, in the present paper, accurate

floor function is used in Eq. (4) for simplicity of notation. Note that approximations to Eq. (4) are derived.
the behavior of Uc is of the type
8
>
> UðTÞ, 0 # T , 0:01 Approximate Mathematical Formulation to Uc (T , h)
>
>
>
>  
>
> h
<U T2 , 0:01 # T , 0:02 Approximating functions by means of curve-fitting methods is
Uc ðTÞ ¼ 100
> a standard tool in engineering. Approximations to Eq. (2) are quite
>
> :::
>
>   common in the geotechnical literature. However, because most of
>
> h
>
: U T 2q , 0:01q # T , 0:01ðq þ 1Þ, q¼ 0, 1, . . . the latter approximations rely on more than one fitting parameter, in
100 the present paper a simpler, yet accurate, new approximation is
(5) derived. By analyzing Fig. 4 and applying the procedure described in
the Appendix, the fitted equation that accurately models the average
Fig. 4 shows the evaluation of Eq. (4) for different values of h. degree of consolidation of collapsible soils can be given as

Fig. 3. Frequency of collapse

Fig. 4. Variation of average consolidation degree with h

© ASCE 04014064-4 Int. J. Geomech.

Int. J. Geomech.
 n o   3=2
1 2 exp 2½5:9ð1 2 hÞT2=3 10 1 þ Uc
Uc ðT, hÞ ¼ n o h ¼ 12 ln (8)
(6) 59T 1 2 Uc
1 þ exp 2½5:9ð1 2 hÞT2=3
Being the formula for the average degree of consolidation given, it is
The accuracy of Eq. (6) can be readily verified by analyzing Fig. 5, of interest to discuss procedures to obtain the value of cv from ex-
where a plot is shown of the maximum absolute difference between perimental data, assuming h is known.
the exact value of Eq. (4) and the approximation in Eq. (6) for the
whole range of h.
Fig. 5 reveals that the maximum absolute error of Eq. (6) is at Determining h from Experimental Data
most approximately 4% over the whole range of h. It can be con-
sidered that, for practical applications in general, an error of 4% is The literature shows interesting formulations to obtain the value of
satisfactory. This fully justifies the applicability of Eq. (6). cv based on experimental data. The most famous ones are Casa-
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

An interesting feature of Eq. (6) is that it can be easily inverted to grande’s logarithm t50 method (Casagrande and Fadum 1940) and
obtain T as a function of Uc and h or even h as a function of Uc and T. Taylor’s square-root t90 method (Taylor 1948). Such methods rely
This way, the inversion provides on taking the correspondent times 50 and 90%, respectively, of the
average degree of consolidation and then, by using the corre-
  3=2 spondent values of T and Eq. (3), obtain the value of cv .
10 1 þ Uc
T¼ ln (7) In the case of collapsible soils, the values of T50 and T90 drasti-
59ð1 2 hÞ 1 2 Uc cally vary according to Eq. (7). Fig. 6 contains a plot of the latter

Fig. 5. Maximum absolute error of Eq. (6)

Fig. 6. Different T% for varying h

© ASCE 04014064-5 Int. J. Geomech.

Int. J. Geomech.
 equation for different T% for varying h. The term T% has been used
to denote that, for a given percentage of consolidation, say 50%,
there is a corresponding T50 .
By means of analyzing Fig. 6, it is clear that looking for T50 and
T90 may not be a simple task. To overcome this, one may consider the
short-time expansion of the function in Eq. (6). For small values of T,
the latter equation behaves as
 2,086
Uc ðT, hÞ ¼ 1:6326ð1 2 hÞ2=3 T 2=3 þ O T 5=3 (9)
Eq. (9) reveals that for small values of T, Uc is a straight line if plotted
versus T 2=3 . This is not consistent with Terzaghi’s theory, for which
this behavior is obtained by plotting U versus T 1=2 . The latter
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
difference arises from the approximation function used in Eq. (6).
For practical applications, this is not a problem, because none of
them are exactly straight lines.
The procedure to obtain cv can be described as the following:
1. Take experimental data and plot the heights, h, of the sample
versus t 2=3 ;
2. In the beginning of the curve, fit a straight line and calculate its
slope, m; and
3. Using Eq. (9), derive the value of cv from
3=2 2
1,000 j m j Hd
cv ¼ (10)
2,086 Dh3=2 ð1 2 hÞ
in which Dh 5 height variation of the sample in the considered
step of the consolidation test.
It is worth noting that the slope m 5 m=Dh is the slope of
the curve Uc versus t2=3 in the short-time limit. In this formula, the
drainage height is taken as the half of the mean height during the
consolidation stage. The steps considered to obtain Eq. (10) are de-
scribed in the Appendix. Dimensionally, in Eq. (10), m 5 ½L½T22=3 ;
Dh5½L; and Hd5½L. Thus, ðm=DhÞ3=25½T21 , making cv ½L2 ½T21 , as
expected.
Fig. 7 shows that, in fact, the initial portion of the plot Uc versus
T 2=3 can be approximately taken as a straight line.
In the case h is not known, a way to obtain the latter is by
measuring the permeability of the soil under consideration. By
means of the standard consolidation test, the value of the coefficient
of volume compressibility, mv 5 ∂V=∂s9, can be obtained. How-
ever, let one consider the relation
Fig. 7. Uc versus T 2=3
© ASCE 04014064-6
Int. J. Geomech.
k
cv ¼ (11)
mv g w
wheregw 5 specific weight of water, hereby assumed as 9:807 kN=m3 .
This way, Eqs. (10) and (11) can be combined and lead to
3=2 2
1,000 j m j Hd mv gw
h ¼ 12 (12)
Dh3=2 k
In Eq. (12), when permeability is measured a priori, the collapsibility
index h can be experimentally determined. Both the permeability
and consolidation tests must be performed to fully determine the
parameters in the right-hand side of Eq. (12).
To show the validity of the methodology hereby presented, ex-
perimental consolidation data from a deeply weathered soil shall be
analyzed.
Analyzing Experimental Data
In the present paper, two sets of consolidation data are considered.
The first set is used to calibrate the model by calculating the value of
the collapsibility index h. The second set is used to validate the
methodology by using the value of h previously obtained to correct
the permeability obtained from a consolidation test.
Both sets come from the same regional soil, a deeply weathered
lateritic porous clay from Brasilia, Brazil. The undisturbed tested
samples were taken from depths of 1.5–2.0 m. For more information
about the samples, one may refer to Silva (2012).
Calibration Stage
The set of data considered for calibration of the model is the one
given in Silva (2012). This set contains data from consolidation tests
of a deeply weathered soil whose real permeability has been also
evaluated after each step of the consolidation process in a Rowe cell.
The data show a collapsible pattern, inasmuch as there is a great
change in the samples’ heights during small amounts of time. Be-
cause both permeabilities have to be similar, this fact is used to
obtain the collapsibility parameter h. Fig. 8 shows the data values
under consideration.
Int. J. Geomech.
 It is also interesting to plot the variation of the void ratio with By fitting a line to the three first points of each set, the values of
normal stress to obtain the values of the coefficient of volume the slopes can be easily obtained. Fig. 11 shows the results. Three
compressibility points have been chosen because they represent the initial linear
stage of the curve. In general, the number of points to choose is to be



mv ¼ ∂V ∂s9 ¼ Dh h0 Ds9 ¼ De ð1 þ em ÞDs9
where em 5 mean void ratio during each step of the consolidation test.
Fig. 9 shows such a plot. The initial void ratio for this sample is 1.46.
By comparing Figs. 8 and 9, it is possible to see that, for normal
stresses lower than the preconsolidation stress (5, 10, and 20 kPa),
there is great disturbance in the behavior (initial greater collapse than
standard consolidation behavior). After the preconsolidation stress,
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
determined by visual inspection.
By means of Fig. 11 and Eq. (10), the values of cv could be
evaluated if h was known. In the case under analysis, inasmuch as
permeability k is known and mv can be evaluated from Fig. 9, h can
be evaluated from Eq. (12).
Table 1 shows the results of the calculations herein described.
The analysis of Table 1 enables one to conjecture that the value of h
is almost constant for the same soil, with normal stress having little
effect on it. (Whether, in general, each soil has a unique collapsibility

the curves in Fig. 8 tend to behave similarly. This way, the de-
termination of cv shall be considered only for data obtained with
normal stress greater than the preconsolidation stress. To simplify
the visualization, the experimental data will be converted to average
degree of consolidation by the transformation U 5 ðh0 2 hÞ=Dh.
Fig. 10 shows the average degree of consolidation versus t2=3 for
consolidation steps with normal stress that is greater than the pre-
consolidation stress. It is clear from Fig. 10 that all the steps follow
the same deformation evolution pattern.
parameter remains an open question; this may be verified by ongoing
research, soon to be completed.) The value of h to be used in the next
section of the present paper, and taken as a parameter of the soil
under analysis, is the mean value h 5 0:98.
Validation Stage
The set of data considered for validation of the model has been
obtained for the present paper. This set contains data from a standard

Fig. 8. Sample height versus t 2=3 for different normal stresses

Fig. 9. Void ratio versus log s9 for calibrating set

© ASCE 04014064-7 Int. J. Geomech.

Int. J. Geomech.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 10. Average degree of consolidation versus t2=3 for calibrating set

Fig. 11. Slopes of average degree of consolidation versus t 2=3 for calibrating set

consolidation test of a deeply weathered soil from the same site as

the one used in the calibration stage. In this case, permeability is not
Table 1. Values of h Obtained from Experimental Data known. However, because h is now known, it is possible to de-
s9 mv cv termine the value of cv by means of Eq. (10).
(kPa) (kPa21 ) k (m=s) (m2 =s) m Hd (m) h Fig. 12 presents the data values that are to be used in the present
section.
50 0.00197 3:350 1025 0.001734043 21:56325 0.007617 0.967
As in the last subsection, it is interesting to plot the variation of
100 0.001194 3:134 1025 0.002676133 22:07784 0.007104 0.973
the void ratio with normal stress to obtain the values of the co-
200 0.000657 3:011 1025 0.004675662 22:10226 0.006567 0.986
efficient of volume compressibility. Fig. 13 shows this plot, by
400 0.000337 3:150 1025 0.009523696 22:15001 0.006005 0.994
taking the initial void ratio for this sample as 1.36.

© ASCE 04014064-8 Int. J. Geomech.

Int. J. Geomech.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 12. Sample height versus t2=3 for different normal stresses for validation set

Fig. 13. Void ratio versus log s9 for validation set

The same consideration for consolidation stages with normal
stress lower than the preconsolidation stress can be taken into ac-
count. Also, the data will be converted to average degree of con-
solidation by the transformation U 5 ðh0 2 hÞ=Dh. Fig. 14 shows
the average degree of consolidation versus t2=3 for the consolidation
steps with normal stress greater than the preconsolidation stress. As
in the case of Fig. 10, the consolidation stages tend to show a similar
behavior.
Again, by fitting a line to the three first points of each set, the
values of the slopes can be obtained. Fig. 15 shows the results.
Table 2 shows the results of the permeability obtained by using
Eqs. (10) and (11), Fig. 13 and h 5 0:98.
By considering that the permeability of both soils obtained by the
two methods should be equivalent, the novel approach hereby dis-
cussed shows its value while approximately predicting the results.
Although the correspondence is not exact, it is worth noting that
before the correction, the oedometric permeability was approxi-
mately 100 times lower than the real permeability.
The collapsibility index h may have relation to the volume of
macropores of the soil, inasmuch as macroporosity is determinant to
collapsibility. Chemical features such as cementation may also
influence h. However, such dependences are outside the scope of the
present paper, and shall be investigated in the near future.
Conclusion
The literature reveals that standard Terzaghi’s theory fails to cor-
rectly model the consolidation of structured and collapsible soils.
Directly predicting the permeability of these types of soils, based on
the consolidation rate and standard consolidation theory, gives
significant errors.
In the present paper, a new understanding of the consolidation
process is introduced. By means of considering momentary increases
in pore-water pressure attributable to microcollapses, the consolida-
tion of structured and collapsible soils is better understood.
The ideas hereby developed are applied to the modeling of two
experimental data sets. The first one is used to calibrate the equations
and find the collapsibility index of the soil. The second set is used to
analyze how well the new theory models the experimental data. A

© ASCE 04014064-9 Int. J. Geomech.

Int. J. Geomech.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 14. Average degree of consolidation versus t 2=3 for validation set

Fig. 15. Slopes of average degree of consolidation versus t2=3 for validation set

satisfactory correspondence is found, which indicates the validity of

the assumptions hereby made.
Table 2. Values of k Obtained from Experimental Data and h 5 0:98 The dependence of the collapsibility index h on physical
s9 (kPa) mv (kPa21 ) m Hd (m) cv (m2 =s) k (m=s) parameters of the soil has to be further investigated to establish
general relations to the collapsibility index based on the physical
99.21 0.00045 21:7188 0.019375 0.01352 8:938 1025
parameters. Also, verifying that the collapsibility index is unique to
200.31 0.00055 21:97176 0.018352 0.01490 12:045 1025
each soil remains an open question which shall be answered soon by
400.91 0.000357 22:44501 0.016907 0.01747 9:176 1025
results from other ongoing research.

© ASCE 04014064-10 Int. J. Geomech.

Int. J. Geomech.
 It is worth noting that instead of considering the novel approach
hereby presented, one could somehow adjust cv to artificially match the
experimental results. On the other hand, even though an approximate
result (mean result) could emerge from that, the physics of the phe-
nomena would be fundamentally forgotten. The main goal of the
present paper is to present an alternative interpretation to the con-
solidation phenomena in these types of soils. Also, the novel approach
is, by no means, final and unquestionable. The authors expect the ideas
presented will be further developed by the scientific community to
better describe the phenomena itself. Potentially, in the future, these
ideas can be incorporated to everyday engineering practice.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by DAYTON, UNIVERSITY OF on 08/11/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Appendix. Development of Mathematical Formulas
Proposed in the Paper
Approximating the Degree of Consolidation Function
It is reasonable to suppose that a general fitting function that would
represent the values of Uc ðT, hÞ is of the form
Thus, by means of Eqs. (14) and (15), the value of cv can be
determined based on the slope m of the straight line that shows up in
the beginning of the plot of h versus t2=3 .
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the Coordination for the Improvement of
Higher Level Personnel (CAPES), the Brazilian Research Council
(CNPQ), and the University of Brasilia (UNB) for funding this
research.
References
Araujo, G. S., Carvalho, J. C., and Palmeira, E. M. (2005). “Análise da
aplicação do método de Taylor para determinação do coeficiente de
permeabilidade para solos colapsíveis.” Proc., II Simpósio Sobre Solos
Tropicais e Processos Erosivos no Centro-Oeste, Univ. Federal de Goiás
(UFG), Goiânia, Brazil, 199–204 (in Portuguese).
Biot, M. A. (1941a). “Consolidation settlement under a rectangular load
 
1 2 exp 2gðhÞT 2=3 distribution.” J. Appl. Phys., 12(5), 426–430.
Uc ðT, hÞ ¼   (13) Biot, M. A. (1941b). “General theory of three-dimensional consolidation.”
1 þ exp 2gðhÞT 2=3 J. Appl. Phys., 12(2), 155–164.
Carter, J. P., Small, J. C., and Booker, J. R. (1977). “A theory of finite elastic
in which gðhÞ 5 function to be determined. consolidation.” Int. J. Solids Struct., 13(5), 467–478.
To obtain the gðhÞ value, massive computational experiments Casagrande, A., and Fadum, R. E. (1940). Notes on soil testing for engi-
have been performed. The general procedure is described as follows: neering purposes, Vol. 8, Graduate School of Engineering, Harvard
1. Select a value of h, hi , from 0 to 0.9999; Univ., Cambridge, MA.
2. Collect the exact values of Uc ðT, hi Þ for T from 0 to 2,000; Chuan-xun, L., Kang-he, X., An-feng, H., and Bai-xiang, H. (2012). “One-
dimensional consolidation of double-layered soil with non-Darcian flow
3. Get the nonlinear fit of the function in Eq. (13) to the data set to
described by exponent and threshold gradient.” J. Cent. South Univ.,
obtain gðhi Þ; 19(2), 562–571.
4. Use the 2,000 choices of hi to furnish the set [gðh1 Þ, gðh2 Þ, Fox, P. J., Lee, J., and Lenhart, J. J. (2011). “Coupled consolidation and
gðh3 Þ, . . . , gðh2,000 Þ]; and contaminant transport in compressible porous media.” Int. J. Geomech.,
5. Observe the behavior of gðhÞ, and then fit a function that 10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000035, 113–123.
models such behavior. Georgiadis, K., Potts, D. M., and Zdravkovic, L. (2005). “Three-dimensional
By following the designated procedure, Eq. (6) is obtained. constitutive model for partially and fully saturated soils.” Int. J. Geomech.,
10.1061/(ASCE)1532-3641(2005)5:3(244), 244–255.
Obtaining cv from Experimental Data Liyanapathirana, D. S., Carter, J. P., and Airey, D. W. (2005). “Numerical
modeling of nonhomogeneous behavior of structured soils during tri-
To obtain the value of cv from the short-time expansion of the average axial tests.” Int. J. Geomech., 10.1061/(ASCE)1532-3641(2005)5:1(10),
degree of consolidation, one shall notice that, from Eqs. (3) and (9) 10–23.
" #2=3 Robinson, R. G., and Allam, M. M. (1998). “Effect of clay mineralogy on
2,086 cv coefficient of consolidation.” Clays Clay Miner., 46(5), 596–600.
Uc  ð1 2 hÞ 2 t2=3 (14)
1,000 Hd Silva, J. P. (2012). “Estruturas de infiltração com utilização de materiais
alternativos no controle de alagamentos, inundações e prevenção de
processos erosivos.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Brasília, Brasília,
On the other hand, when a plot of h versus t2=3 (heights versus t2=3 ) is Brazil (in Portuguese).
considered, the slope, m 5 dh=dt 2=3 , of the straight line that shows Tavenas, F., Leblond, P., Jean, P., and Leroueil, S. (1983). “The permeability
up in the short-time case can be related to the slope of the plot of Uc of natural soft clays. Part I: Methods of laboratory measurement.” Can.
versus t2=3 by means of Eq. (14). The latter provides Geotech. J., 20(4), 629–644.
  jmj
Tavenas, F. S., Brucy, M., Magnan, J. P., La Rochelle, P., and Roy,
dUc h 2h
¼ d2=3 0 ¼ 2 1 dh ¼ (15) M. (1979). “Analyse critique de la théorie de consolidation unidi-
dt 2=3 dt Dh Dh dt2=3 Dh mensionnelle de Terzaghi.” Revue Fr. Géotech., 7(May), 29–43 (in
French).
in which h0 5 height of the sample at the beginning of the Taylor, D. W. (1948). Fundamentals of soil mechanics, Wiley, New York.
consolidation. Terzaghi, K. (1943). Theoretical soil mechanics, Wiley, New York.

© ASCE 04014064-11 Int. J. Geomech.

Int. J. Geomech.