Assessment of 3D Consolidation Settlement of Soil by Considering the Effect of Surcharge Pressure

The aim of the study is to assess 3D consolidation settlement of soil by considering the effect of surcharge pressure on surrounding soil. In this study, a 3D consolidation apparatus is developed and performed a series of 3D consolidation test under different surcharge pressures. Silty-clay soil and silty-sand with clay soil are used in this study. Consolidation tests are performed under different surcharge pressures like 0.0, 10.0, 15.0, and 20.0 kN/m2. From this study, it is observed that with the increase of surcharge pressure, the compression indices and coefficient of consolidation values decrease for both the soils. The surcharge pressures have a significant effect on consolidation characteristics. With the increase of surcharge pressure on the surrounding soil, the void ratio of surrounding soil reduces, and it becomes denser, and as a result, the lateral strain of soil particles under consolidation as well as lateral extractions of pore water reduces, and corresponding compression index and the rate of consolidation also reduce. During the consolidation test as this apparatus allows vertical and lateral strain with vertical and lateral pore water dissipation under different surcharge pressures, it can be simulated to the in-situ field consolidation settlement.