PROBLEM $2-$ Consolidation Settlements

Foundation engineers are often challenged by the existence of soft compressible soils at

the construction site. Figure $2$ shows a soil profile on which a flexible foundation with

dimensions of $64m$ rests. The surface load placed on the site is $40$kPa. $($Assume that this

is the combined load of footing and external load$).$ Refer to Table $1$ to see the soil

properties. The groundwater table is located at $1m$ depth below ground surface. Obtain

the primary consolidation settlements due to the surcharge. Ignore elastic settlement and

secondary compression settlements, i$.$e$.,$ only calculate the settlements resulting from

primary consolidation.

I I IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Table $1.$ Soil Properties for Problem $2$

$($i$)$ Plot the effective stress with depth for the soil profile ignoring the surcharge

load.

$($ii$)$ Calculate the increase of stress using Simpson's rule

$($iii$)$ Calculate the total primary consolidation settlement for the soil profile

$($iv$)$ How long would it take, for each clay layer, to undergo $90\%$ of the total

consolidation?