Settlement

Settlement is the vertical

component of soil deformation
beneath the load under
consideration.
All imposed loads on soils will cause
some settlement due to “elastic
compression” of the foundation
soils.
This settlement occurs relatively
rapidly and is termed “elastic” or
“immediate” settlement.
 Components of Total
Settlement
The total settlement of a foundation
comprises three parts as follows
S = Se+Sc+Ss
where S = total settlement
Se = elastic or immediate settlement
Sc = consolidation settlement
Ss = secondary settlement
1. Immediate, or those that take place
as the load is applied or within a time
period of about 7 days. The water in the
voids is expelled simultaneously with
the application of load and as such the
immediate and consolidation
settlements in such soils are rolled into
one.
2. Consolidation, or those that are
time-dependent and take months to
years to develop. The Leaning Tower of
Pisa in Italy has been undergoing
consolidation settlement for over 700
years.
 Foundation settlements must be estimated
with great care for buildings, bridges,
towers, power plants , and similar high-
cost structures.
 The stress change ∆ q from this added
load produces a time-dependent
accumulation of particle rolling, sliding,
crushing, and elastic distortions in a limited
influence zone beneath the loaded area.
 The statistical accumulation of movements
in the direction of interest is the settlement.
 In the vertical direction the settlement will
be defined as ∆ H.
 Many engineers seemed to have the
misconception that any footing designed
with an adequate factor of safety against a
bearing capacity failure would not settle
excessively. Independent settlement
analyses also need to be performed
 Settlement frequently controls the design
of spread footings, especially when B is
large, and that the bearing capacity
analysis is, in fact, often secondary.
 In saturated silts and clays, particularly
those which are normally consolidated, the
settlement will be dominated by
consolidation, as water slowly drains from
these soils to reduce the pore water
pressures to the original levels.
 Settlement of cohesionless soil primarily
occur from the re-arrangement of soil
particles due to the immediate
compression from the applied load
 To enable settlements to be calculated
we have to calculate the change in
stresses within a soil mass, due to
imposed external loads on the soil.
 Elastic stress distributions within the soil
are usually based on the theory of
Boussinesq and so methods of computing
“elastic settlements” usually assume
that Boussinesq theory is applicable.
 The principal components of ∆ H are
particle rolling and sliding, which produce
a change in the void ratio, and grain
crushing, which alters the material slightly.
 Only a very small fraction of ∆ H is due
to elastic deformation of the soil grains.
 This would appear reasonable because a
stress change causes the settlement,
and larger stress changes produce
larger settlements.
 Obtaining a reliable stress profile from the
applied load. We have the problem of
computing both the correct numerical values
and the effective depth H of the influence
zone.
 Theory of Elasticity equations are usually
used for the stress computations, with the
influence depth H below the loaded area
taken from H = 0 to H →∞ (but more
correctly from 0 to about 4B or 5B).
 The values from these two
problem areas are then used in an
equation of the general form
H
ΔH = ∫ εdH
o

where ε= strain = Δq/Es ; but Δq = f ( H , load ) ,

E s = f ( H , soil variation ) , and H ( as previously noted )
is the estimated depth of stress change
caused by the foundation load.
EVALUATION OF MODULUS
OF ELASTICITY
• The most difficult part of a
settlement analysis is the evaluation
of the modulus of elasticity Es, that
• would conform to the soil condition in
the field. There are two methods by
which Es can be
• evaluated. They are
• 1. Laboratory method,
• 2. Field method
• For settlement analysis, the values of Es at
different depths below the foundation base
are required.
• One way of determining Es is to conduct
triaxial tests on representative undisturbed
samples
• extracted from the depths required. For
cohesive soils, undrained triaxial tests and
for cohesionless
• soils drained triaxial tests are required.
• Because of the many difficulties faced in
selecting a modulus value from the results
of
• laboratory tests, it has been suggested that
a correlation between the modulus of
elasticity of soil
• and the undrained shear strength may
provide a basis for settlement calculation.
The modulus E
• may be expressed as
• Es = Acu
• where the value of A for inorganic stiff clay varies
from about 500 to 1500 (Bjerrum, 1972) and cu
• is the undrained cohesion. It may generally be
assumed that highly plastic clays give lower values
• for A, and low plasticity give higher values for A. For
organic or soft clays the value of A may vary
• from 100 to 500. The undrained cohesion cu can be
obtained from any one of the field tests
 Field methods
• Field methods are increasingly used
to determine the soil strength
parameters. They have been
• found to be more reliable than the
ones obtained from laboratory tests.
The field tests that are
• Normally used for this purpose are1.
Plate load tests (PLT)
• 2. Standard penetration test (SPT)
• 3. Static cone penetration test (CPT)
• 4. Pressuremeter test (PMT)
• 5. Flat dilatometer test (DMPlate load tests, if
conducted at levels at which Es is required,
give quite reliable values as
• compared to laboratory tests. Since these
tests are too expensive to carry outT)
• Many investigators have obtained correlations
between Eg and field tests such as SPT, CPT
• and PMT. The correlations between ES and SPT or CPT
are applicable mostly to cohesionless soils
• and in some cases cohesive soils under undrained
conditions. PMT can be used for cohesive soils to
• determine both the immediate and consolidation
settlements together. Some of the correlations of £y
with N and qc are given in Table 13.2. These
correlations have
• been collected from various sources.
 METHODS OF COMPUTING
SETTLEMENTS
• Computation of Elastic
Settlements
1. Elastic settlement based on the
theory of elasticity
2. Janbu et al., (1956) method of
determining settlement under an
undrained condition.
3. Schmertmann's method of
calculating settlement in granular
soils by using CPT values.
 Computation of
Consolidation Settlement
• 1. e-\og p method by making use of
oedometer test data.
• 2. Skempton-Bjerrum method.
 ELASTIC SETTLEMENT BENEATH
THE CORNER OF A UNIFORMLY
LOADED FLEXIBLE AREA BASED ON
THE THEORY OF ELASTICITY
• The net elastic settlement equation
for a flexible surface footing may be
written as, (1 − μ2 )
S e = qn B If
Es
Where Se = elastic settlement
B = width of foundation
E s = modulus of elasticity of soil
μ = Poissn' s ratio ,
qn = net foundation pressure,
I f = influence factor
• In Eq. (13.20a), for saturated clays, \JL -
0.5, and Es is to be obtained under
undrained
• conditions as discussed earlier. For soils
other than clays, the value of ^ has to
be chosen suitably
• and the corresponding value of Es has
to be determined. Table 13.3 gives
typical values for /i as
• suggested by Bowles (1996).
• 7, is a function of the LIB ratio of the foundation,
and the thickness H of the compressible
• layer. Terzaghi has a given a method of
calculating 7, from curves derived by Steinbrenner
(1934),
• for Poisson's ratio of 0.5, 7,= F1?
• for Poisson's ratio of zero, 7,= F7 + F2.
• where F{ and F2 are factors which depend upon
the ratios of H/B and LIB. For intermediate values
of //, the value of If can be computed by means of
interpolation or by
• the equation 
I f  F1 +
( 1 − μ− 2 μ2 ) F2 
1 − μ2 
 
• The values of Fj and F2 are given in
Fig. 13.7a. The elastic settlement at
any point N
qn ( 1 − μ2 )
• (Fig. int N = is given
Se at po13.7b) [ I f 1 B1by
+ I f 2 B2 + I f 3 B3 + I f 4 B4 ]
Es
• To obtain the settlement at the center of the
loaded area, the principle of superposition is
• followed. In such a case N in Fig. 13.7b will be
at the center of the area when B{ = B4 = L2 =
B3 and
• B2 = Lr Then the settlement at the center is
equal to four times the settlement at any one
corner. The
• curves in Fig. 13.7a are based on the
assumption that the modulus of deformation is
constant with
• depth.
• In the case of a rigid foundation, the immediate
settlement at the center is approximately 0.8
• times that obtained for a flexible foundation at the
center. A correction factor is applied to the
• immediate settlement to allow for the depth of
foundation by means of the depth factor d~ Fig. 13.8
• gives Fox's (1948) correction curve for depth factor.
The final elastic settlement is
Sef = C r d f Se
Where Sef = final elastic settlement
C r = rigidity factor taken as equal to 0.8 for
a highly rigid foudation
d f = depth factor from Fig .13.8
Se = settlement for a surface flexible footing
 KJAERNSLI'S METHOD OF
DETERMINING ELASTIC
SETTLEMENT UNDER
• Probably theUNDRAINED
most useful chart is that given by
Janbu et al., (1956) as modified by Christian
and CONDITIONS
• Carrier (1978) for the case of a constant Es
with respect to depth.μ0The
μ1 qn Bchart (Fig. 13.9)
provides Se =
Es
• estimates of the average immediate
settlement of uniformly loaded, flexible strip,
rectangular,
• square or circular footings on homogeneous
isotropic saturated clay. The equation for
computing
• the settlement may be expressed as
• In Eq. (13.20), Poisson's ratio is
assumed equal to 0.5. The factors fiQ
and ^ are related to the
• DJB and HIB ratios of the foundation
as shown in Fig. 13.9. Values of \JL^
are given for various LIB
• ratios.
• Rigidity and depth factors are required to be applied to
Eq. (13.22) as per Eq. (13.21). In
• Fig. 13.9 the thickness of compressible strata is taken as
equal to H below the base of the
• foundation where a hard stratum The chart given in Fig.
13.9 may be used for the case of ES
• increasing with depth by replacing the multilayered
system with one hypothetical layer on a rigid is met with.
 METHOD OF CALCULATING
SETTLEMENT IN GRANULAR
SOILS BY USING CRT
• The detailed investigations of Schmertmann
VALUES
(1970), Eggestad, (1963) and others,
• indicate that the greatest strain would occur
at a depth equal to half the width for a
square or circular
• footing. The strain is assumed to increase
from a minimum at the base to a maximum
at B/2, then
• decrease and reaches zero at a depth equal
to 2B.
• For strip footings of L/B > 10, the
maximum strain
• is found to occur at a depth equal to the
width and reaches zero at a depth equal to
4B. The modified
• triangular vertical strain influence factor
distribution diagram as proposed by
Schmertmann (1978)
• is shown in Fig. 13.10. The area of this
diagram is related to the settlement. The
equation (for
• square as well as circular footings) is
 2B
Iz
S = C 1C 2 qn ∫ Δz
0
Es
Where, S = total settlement ,
qn = net settlement ,
q = total foundation pressure ,
qo′ = effective overburden pressure at foundation level ,
Δz = thickness of elemental layer ,
I z = vertical strain inf luence factor ,
C1 = depth correction factor ,
C 2 = creep factor .
The equations for C1 and C 2 are
q′
C 1 = 1 − 0. 5 0
qn
t
C 2 = 1 + 0.2 log10
0.1
t is time in years for which period settlement is required .