Consolidation Characteristics Based on a Direct Analytical Solution of the Terzaghi Theory

A new method is proposed for evaluating both the coefficient of consolidation cv and end of primary settlement δ p based on a direct analytical solution of the Terzaghi theory. In this study, the cv value is shown to be inversely proportional to the δ p value. The proposed method utilizes both the early and later stages of consolidation (i.e., the entire range of consolidation) for the evaluation of both parameters. The proposed method requires four consolidation data points; two points for back-calculating the initial compression and two points for extrapolating the δ p value. Results of oedometer tests on three clayey soils show that the cv and δ p values of the proposed method are quite comparable to those of the Casagrande method but generally lower than those of the Taylor method.