WhentoUseImmediateSettlementinSettle3D

Mostengineersagreethatsettlementismadeupofthreecomponents:
immediate,primaryconsolidationandsecondaryconsolidation(orcreep).Most
engineersalsoagreethatforspecificscenarios,oneortwoofthesecomponents
maybemissingornegligible.InSettle3D,youhavetheabilitytoturnonoroff
eachofthesetypesofsettlement.Usersgenerallyknowwhetherornottheir
materialiscreeping,butthequestionremains,whenshouldyouturnon
immediatesettlement,whenshouldyouturnonprimaryconsolidationand
whenshouldyouturnonboth?Thisarticleattemptstoanswerthisquestion
throughconsultationofcommontexts(seeBibliography)alongwithusers
commentsandsomeofourowninsights.Wehopethatthisarticlewillhelpto
settlethismatter.

ComponentsofSettlement
Virtuallyallreferencesagreethatthetotalsettlementofafoundationis
composedofthreecomponents:

ST=Si+Sc+Ss

where:

STisthetotalsettlement

Siistheimmediatesettlement

Scistheconsolidationorprimarysettlement

Ssisthesecondarysettlementorcreep

Someofthesecomponentsmaynotbepresent,ortheeffectsmaybenegligible
dependingonthesoiltype.Hence,theabilitytoturneachcomponentonandoff
inSettle3D.Butthequestionremains,whendoIuseeachtypeofsettlement?

Letsmaketwoassumptions:
Thesoilgrainsareincompressible
Waterisincompressible

Neitheroftheseistrueofcoursebutthestiffnessofthesoilgrainsandthewater
isgenerallysolargethatwecanignoretheeffectsoftheircompressibility.

Withthesetwoassumptionsinmind,theonlywaythatsettlementcanoccuris
throughrearrangementofthesoilgrainsand/orcollapseofporespace.The
basicmechanismforsettlementisthereforeessentiallythesameforallthree
typesofsettlement,andthedivisionintothreecomponentsisbasedonother
factors.

SecondaryConsolidation
Letsfirstconsidersecondaryconsolidation.Thesecondarysettlement,Ss
representstimedependentsettlement,orcreep,thatoccursunderaconstant
effectivestress.Thiscomponentofsettlementisimportantinorganicsoilssuchas
peat,butcanoftenbeomittedforothersoiltypes.Itisfairlyeasytoseparatethis
componentofsettlementfromtheothertwosinceitoccurswheneffectivestress
doesnotchange 1 .Thereforewewillnotdiscussthiscomponentfurther.

There is research that suggests that creep occurs simultaneously with consolidation settlement, but
traditionally, engineers adopt the definition of creep occurring after consolidation settlement. This is the
approach adopted by Settle3D.

ImmediateSettlement
Theimmediatesettlementisalsosometimescalledvolumedistortionsettlement.
Essentially,thisistherearrangementofgrainsduetochangingstress,resulting
inareductioninvoidratioandinstantsettlement.Inmosttexts,immediate
settlementisconsideredtobeanelasticprocess.Thereforethesettlementcanbe
calculatedfromelastictheory(seeforexample,Day2005,equation8.9).

Settle3Dalsouseselastictheorytocalculateimmediatesettlement.So,byturning
onimmediatesettlementinSettle3D,youareessentiallycalculatingthevolume
distortionduetostresschanges.

Oneimportantconsiderationisthattheremaybeinelasticprocessesatwork
(plasticflow),meaningthatthisimmediatesettlementcalculationwill
underestimatetheactualsettlement.HoltzandKovaks(1981)state,The
immediate,ordistortion,settlement,althoughnotactuallyelasticisusually
estimatedbyusingelastictheory.ItisrecommendedthatalowervalueofEbe
usedtoaccountfortheplasticflow.

Therearemanyothermethodsthattrytosimplifytheelasticcalculation,
especiallyintheestimationofEfromlaboratoryorfieldtests.Someofthese
methodstakeintoaccounttheplasticflow,loadrigidityandloadshape.Allare
basedonempiricalsettlementdataandarethereforegroupedunderempirical
methodsinSettle3D(e.g.Schmertmannmethod).Thesecanalsobeusedto
calculateimmediatesettlement.Notehoweverthatthesemethodsaregenerally
notasrobustinthattheycanonlyconsidersimpleloadinggeometries.Also,
whenplottingtotalsettlement,theempiricalsettlementsarenotincluded.You
mustaddthemmanually.

OR
Sowhendoyouneedtoconsiderimmediatesettlement?Immediatesettlement
isgenerallyassumedtobethesettlementthatoccursquicklyafterthe
constructionofyourfoundationorembankment.Howquickly?Bowles(1996)
suggeststhatimmediatesettlementsarethosethattakeplacewithin7daysof

loading.Adoptingthisdefinitionallowsustoconsidermanypossiblescenarios
thatcouldleadtoimmediatesettlement.Thesewillbediscussedinthenext
section.

PrimaryConsolidation
Theprimaryconsolidationsettlement,Scisthegradualrearrangementofgrains
aswaterisexpelled.Thiscomponentofsettlementisusuallydominantinfine
grainedsaturatedclays.Butconsolidationalsooccursinothersoiltypes.Hence,
thereissomegrayareaastowhentouseimmediatesettlement,whentouse
primaryconsolidationsettlementandwhentouseboth.Thefollowingsection
outlinesdifferentpossiblescenariosandhowtosimulatetheminSettle3D.

SettlementScenarios
Inthissection,weconsiderdifferentsettlementscenariosandhowtodealwith
theminSettle3D.Firstwewilldescribeasimpletestmodelusedtoillustrateeach
situation.

TestModel
Consideraflexiblecircularloadofmagnitudeq=10kPaandradiusa=1mon
topofasoillayerwiththicknessh=10m.Wewillusethismodeltoexamine
differentscenarios.Lookingatthescreencapturebelow,aquerypointisplaced
atthecentreofthecircleforcalculationofsettlements.

Scenario1:UnsaturatedMaterial
Inthiscase,thereisnoconsolidationandallofthesettlementisimmediate.
However,thisdoesntnecessarilymeanthatyoushouldturnonimmediate
settlementandturnoffconsolidationsettlement.Ifyouturnonconsolidation
settlementforanunsaturatedmaterial,thenthesettlementwilloccur
immediatelysincethereisnotimedependentdissipationofporepressures.
Thistechniquewouldbeusefulintwopossiblescenarios:

Yourmateriallayerispartiallybelowthewatertable.Inthiscase,youcan
turnonconsolidationsettlementandturnoffimmediatesettlement.The
soilthatisabovethewatertablewillcompactimmediatelyandthesoil
belowthewatertablewillcompactgradually.

Yourmaterialisnonlinearandyouwishtousethenonlinearparameters
CcandCr.Inthiscase,youmustuseconsolidationsettlementandnot
immediatesettlement.

Fortheunsaturatedmaterial,itdoesntreally
matterifyouchooseimmediateor
consolidationsettlement,aslongasyoudont
chooseboth.

Infact,ifyouchooseconsolidationsettlementwithalinearmaterial,mvisjustthe
inverseofEthatisusedforimmediatesettlement.Soamodelwithmv=0.001
m2/kNwillgiveexactlythesamesettlementasamodelwithE=1000kPa.

Scenario2:PartiallySaturatedMaterial
Inthiscasetherewillbesomeimmediatesettlementasairisquicklypushedout
oftheporespaces.However,aswiththeunsaturatedcase,itisnotnecessaryto
turnonimmediatesettlement.InSettle3D,youcanaccountforthiseffectby
settingtheBbarlessthan1(Bbarrangesfrom0foranunsaturatedmaterialto1
forasaturatedmaterialseetheTheorymanual
formoredetails).Whenyoudothis,aproportion
oftheappliedstressistransferredimmediately
tothesoilsothatyouseesomeimmediate
deformation.

Scenario3:FullySaturatedSand
Ifyouaredealingwithsand,orsomeothercoarsegrainedmaterialthathasa
highpermeability,thenporepressuresdissipatequicklyandsettlementis
essentiallyimmediate.InSettle3D,youcansimulatethisinseveralways:

TurnonImmediateSettlementandturnoffPrimaryConsolidation

TurnoffImmediateSettlement,turnonPrimaryConsolidationandseta
largevalueforcvork.

TurnoffbothImmediateSettlementandPrimaryConsolidationanduse
oneoftheEmpiricalMethods.

Thefigureonthefollowingpageshowsacomparisonofresultsforthefirst
methodandthesecondmethod.

Time (d)
0

10

15

20

Total Settlement (mm)

10

Primary Consolidation:
2
m v = 0.001 m /kN
k = 0.1 m/day

15

20

Immediate Settlement:
2
E = 1000 kN/m

25

Comparisonofsettlementresultsforthecircularloadmodelusingdifferentmethodstoaccount
forrapidporepressuredissipation.

Scenario4:FullySaturatedClay
ThisisprobablytheonlysituationinwhichyoumaywanttousebothImmediate
SettlementandPrimaryConsolidation.Settle3Dusesonedimensional
consolidationtheorytocalculatethePrimaryConsolidationsettlement.
However,mostloadingscenariosareactuallythreedimensional.Thereforeeven
withanincompressiblefluid,somevolumedistortionsettlementwilloccur
immediatelyinasaturatedclay.

Elastictheorycanbeusedtoestimatethissettlementwithoneimportant
consideration:youshouldusetheundrainedYoungsmodulusandPoissons
ratio.TheundrainedPoissonsratiois0.5(alowernumbercanbeusedifnot
100%saturated).TheundrainedYoungsmoduluscanbecalculatedby:

Eundrained

3Edrained
21 drained

so,foramaterialwithaPoissonsratioof0.2,Eundrained=1.25Edrained.However,
LambeandWhitman(1979)statethatWithactualsoils,theratioofEundrained/Edrained
istypicallymuchlargerthanthistheoreticalvalue.Valuesof3or4arenot
uncommonfornormallyconsolidatedclays.

Itisalsoimportanttonotethatthisisathreedimensionaleffect,sotheamount
ofimmediatesettlementdependsonthegeometryofthesituationandthe
drainedPoissonsratio.Foraloadwithverylargearealextent,orlowdrainedthe
situationisclosetoaonedimensionalloadingscenario,sotheimmediate
settlementwillbenegligible.Poulos(2000)presentsgraphsshowingthe
importanceoftheseparametersincalculationofimmediatesettlement.

Theoreticalabilityofonedimensional(PrimaryConsolidation)analysistopredicttotalfinal
settlement.FromPoulos(2000).

Forsoft,normallyconsolidatedmaterials,ImmediateSettlementshouldbe
addedtothePrimaryConsolidationsettlement.Therefore,thefollowing
equationapplies:

ST=Si+SC

Soft,normallyconsolidatedclays

HoweverPoulos(andothers)suggestthatfornormallyconsolidatedclays,the
immediatesettlementasaproportionofthetotalsettlementisoftennegligible.
Thisisillustratedonthefollowingpage.

Normally consolidated clay:

Eundrained ~ 3Edrained
Si is small

Forstiffoverconsolidatedmaterial,Pouloswarnsthattheimmediatesettlement
shouldnotnecessarilybeaddedtothePrimaryConsolidationsettlement.
InsteadtheimmediatesettlementaccountsforpartofthePrimaryConsolidation
Settlementandthatifyouaddthemtogether,youwillbedoublecounting.
InSettle3Dtherefore,youwouldhavetosomehowreducethecalculated
consolidationsettlementtobalancetheimmediatesettlement.
InSettle3D,thesethreedimensionaleffectscanbemoreeasilyaccountedforin
anotherway.GotoProjectSettings,choosetheAdvancedtabandselectUse
Mean3DStressasshownonthenextpage:


Settle3Dwillnowsettheinitialexcessporepressuretobeequaltotheundrained
meanstressratherthantheverticalstress,wheretheundrainedmeanstressis:

Mundrained

1
1 2 3 0.5
3

SeetheTheoryManual,section4.2andDas(2007)fordetails.Usingthemean
stressinsteadoftheverticalstressmeansthatwhenaloadisapplied,partofthe
loadisinstantlycarriedbythegrainskeleton.Thisresultsinsomeimmediate
settlement.Sincethecalculatedmeanstressisafunctionoftheloadgeometry,
thereisnoneedtoapplyafudgefactortoaccountforthesizeoftheload.The
plotbelowshowshowimmediatesettlementissignificantforasmallloadona
thicklayer,yetinsignificantforalargeloadonathinlayer.

Thesubsequentplotalsoshowshowamodelthatdoesnothavemeanstress
turnedonproducesthesamelongtermsettlementasthemodelwithmeanstress
turnedon.Thisshowshowtheimmediatesettlementisnotbeingdouble
countedwhenmeanstressisturnedon.

Time (d)
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0
5

Load radius = 10 m
Soil layer thickness = 1m

Total Settlement (mm)

10
15
20
25
30
35
40

Load radius = 1 m
Soil layer thickness = 10m

45

Settlementcalculatedforoverconsolidatedclaywithmeanstressoptionturnedon.
Time (days)
0.1

10

100

1000

0
5
Vertical stress on
10

Settlement (mm)

15
20
25
30
35
Mean stress on
40
45
50

Settlementcalculatedforthe10mloadwithmeanstressturnedoncomparedtothesettlement
calculatedwithverticalstressonly.

Summary
ThetablebelowsummarizeshowtomodeldifferentscenariosinSettle3D.Thisis
onlyaguidelineandspecificsites,loadingscenariosandacquireddatamay
demandadifferentapproachforyoursettlementproblem.Asalways,you
shoulduseyourengineeringjudgmentwhencreatingandanalyzingthese
numericalmodels.

Material

Possible Methods

Unsaturated

1. Immediate on*, primary off or

2. Immediate off, primary on

Partially saturated

1. Immediate off, primary on with B-bar < 1

Sand

1. Immediate on*, primary off or

2. Immediate off, primary on, cv or k is large or
3. Immediate and primary off, use empirical method

Saturated normally
consolidated clay

1. Primary on +

Saturated
overconsolidated clay

1. Primary on, immediate off, mean stress on or

(optional) immediate on* with undrained parameters**

2. Immediate on* with undrained parameters** +

primary on + correction to account for double-counting

*Elasticsolutionsdonotaccountforplasticflowandmaythereforeunderestimatethe
actualsettlement
**Undrainedstiffnessparameterscalculatedfromtheorymaybetoosoft,thereforethe
immediatesettlementmaybeoverestimated

Bibliography
Bowles,J.E.(1996).FoundationAnalysisandDesign5thed.,McGrawHill,1175
pp.

CanadianGeotechnicalSociety(2007).CanadianFoundationEngineeringManual
4thed.,CanadianGeotechnicalSociety,488pp.

Das,B.M.(2007).PrinciplesofFoundationEngineering6thed.,Thomson,750pp.

Day,R.W.(2005).FoundationEngineeringHandbook:DesignandConstructionwith
the2006InternationalBuildingCode,McGrawHill.

DepartmentoftheNavy(1982).SoilMechanicsNAVFACDesignManual7.1,
DepartmentoftheNavy,Alexandria,VA.,378pp.

Holtz,R.D.andW.D.Kovacs(1981).AnIntroductiontoGeotechnicalEngineering,
PrenticeHallInc.,733pp.

Lambe,T.W.andWhitman,R.V.(1979).SoilMechanics,SIVersion,JohnWiley&
Sons,553pp.

McCarthy,D.F.(2007).EssentialsofSoilMechanicsandFoundations7thed.,
PrenticeHall,850pp.

Peck,R.B.,Hanson,W.E.andT.H.Thornburn(1974).FoundationEngineering
2nded.,JohnWiley&Sons,514pp.

Poulos,H.G.(2000).FoundationSettlementAnalysisPracticeVersusResearch,
TheEighthSpencerJ.BuchananLecture,
https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/briaud/buchanan%20web/lecture_series.htm