The process of consolidation Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The process of consolidation - Lab Report Example The hydrostatic pressure therein becomes gradually dissipated thereby shifting the load to the soil solid thereby triggering a decrease in volume of the soil mass. It is worth noting that the rate at which water escapes is dependent on the permeability the of the soil in question. In which case, the escape of the pore water as the result of longtime static load makes up consolidation.  Consolidation test is usually carried engineers in the design of engineered structures and performance evaluation of a structure. Consolidation test yield results which are useful in estimating the magnitude of primary and secondary consolidation settlement of a given structure. Apparatus  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ 1 bench, 3 sample cells of soil,  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ 3 dial gauges which can be either analog or digital,  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ 1 weight set. The soil sample was cut from a big soil block using a rigid confining ring with a sharp edge. Excess soil from the process was sliced away to leave a sample with a diameter to height r atio of at least three. Porous stones were placed on the top and bottom of the soil sample in order to give way for drainage. A stiff loading cap was placed on top of the upper porous stone followed by placing the set up on in a loading frame.   The load was imposed on the frame by positioning different weights on the loading frame. Measurement of soil sample compression over time was recorded by looking at the dial indicator. The deflection value data was used to measure the point at which the soil sample reached the primary consolidation end.