I chapter 3 Effective stress Learning outcomes After working through the material in this chapter, you should be able to: “A Understand how total stress, pore water pressure and effective stress are related and the importance of effective stress in soil mechanics (Sections 3.1, 3.2 and 34) etermine the effective stress state within the ground, both under hydrostatic ‘conditions and when seepage is occurring (Sections 3.3 and 3.6); Describe the phenomenon of liquefaction, and determine the hydraulic conditions within the groundwater under which liquefaction will occur (Section 3.7). For the range of stresses usual and water can be considered jineompressible The volume of the soil skeleton as a whole can change due to rearrangement of the soil particles into new positions, mainly by rolling and sliding, with a corresponding change in the forces acting between particles. The actual compressibility of the soil skeleton will on the structural arrangement of the solid parti- cles, ie the void ratio((@) In a since water is considered to be reduction in volume is possible only if some of the water can escape from the voids: 1 reduetion in volume is always possible, due to compression of the air in the voids, provided there is scope for particle rearrangement (ie. the soil is not already in its densest possible state, bby means of reaction forees devel- oped at the interparticle contacts. Normal stress may similarly be resisted by the soil skeleton through an increase in the interparticle forces.Development of a mechanical model for soil The importance of the forces transmitted through the soil skeleton from particle to particle was recog- nised by Terzaghi (1943), who presented his Principle of Effective Stress, an intuitive relationship based on experimental data. The principle applies only to fully saturated soils, and relates the following three stresses: 1 the total normal stress (0) on a plane within the soil mass, being the force per unit area transmitted in a normal direction aeross the plane, imagining ‘he soil to be a solid (single-phase) material; 2 the pore water pressure (1). being the pressure of the water filling the void space between the solid particles, 3. the effective normal stress (7’) on the plane, representing the stress transmitted through the soil skeleton only (i.e, due to interparticle forces). The relationship is The principle can be represented by the following physical model, Consider a “plane” XX in a fully saturated soil, passing through points of interparticle contact only, as shown in Figure 3.1. The wavy plane XX is really indistinguishable from a tue plane on the mass scale due to the relatively stall size of individual soil particles. A nommal force P applied over an area 4 may be resisted partly by interparticle forces and partly by the pressure in the pore water. The interparticle forces are very random in both magnitude and direction throughout the soil mass, but at every point of contact on the ‘wavy plane may be split into components normal and tangential to the direetion of the true plane to which XX approximates; the normal and tangential components are N’ and 7, respectively. Then, the effective normal stress is approximated as the sum of all the components N’ within the area 4, divided by the area 4, ie. EN’ a 62) The total normal stress is given by G3) If point contact is assumed between the particles, the pore water pressure will act on the plane over the entire area 4. Then, for equilibrium in the direction normal to XX ono tw (The pore water pressure which sets equally in every direction will act on the entre surface of any particle, but is assumed not to change the volume of the particle (ie. the soil particles themselves are incompres- sible); also, the pore water pressure does not cause particles to be pressed together, The error involved i 80Effective stress Figure 3.1 Interpretation of effective stress. assuming point contact between paticles is negligible in soils, the actual contact area a normally being between 1% and 3% of the cross-sectional area A. It should be understood that o does not represent the true contact stress between two particles, which would be the random but very much higher stress Na, Consider a soil mass having a horizontal surface and with the water table at surface level. The total verti- cal stress (ie. the total normal stress on a horizontal plane) ¢, at depth = is equal to the weight of all raterial (solids +water) per umit area above that depth, i. The pore water pressure at any depth will be hydrostatic since the void space between the solid particles is continuous, so at dept Hence, from Equation 3.1 the effecive vertical stress at depth = in this case will be 81Development of a mechanical madel for soil A layer of saturated clay 4m thick is overlain by sand Sm deep, the water table being 3m below the surface, as shown in Figure 3.2. The saturated unit weights of the clay and sand are 19 and 20KN/m*, respectively; above the water table the (dry) unit weight of the sand is ITKNim’. Plot the values of total vertical stress and effective vertical stress against depth. If sand to a height of 1m above the water table is saturated with capillary water, how are the above stresses affected? %7——————_ ° Clay 100150 ‘Stress (kPa) Figure 3.2 Example 3.1. Solution The total vertical stress is the weight of all material (solids + water) per unit area above the depth in question. Pore water pressure is the hydrostatic pressure corresponding to the depth below the water table. The effective vertical stress is the difference between the total vertical stress and the pore water pressure at the same depth, The stresses need onily be calculated at depths where there is a change in unit weight (Table 3.1). Table 3.1 Example 3.1 Depth (m) o, (kPa) 3 3x17 51.0 5 (3x17) +(2x20) na 9 (3 17)-+(2x20)+14x19) 108.1 82Effective stress In all cases the stresses would normally be rounded off to the nearest whole number. The sitesses are ploted against dept in Figuse 3.2 ‘From Section 2. the water table isthe level at which pore water pressure is atmospheric (i. 1u=0). Above the water table, water is helé under negative pressure and, even if the soil is sata ‘red above the water table, does not contribute to hydrostatic pressure below the water table. The only effect of the I-m capillay rise, therefore isto inerease the total unit weight of the sand Derween 2 and 3m depth from 17 10 20KNon! an inesease of 3KNim'. Both total and effective vertical stresses below 3m depth are thetefore increased by the constant amount 3 1=3.0KPa, [pore water pressures 3.4 Response of effective stress to a change in total stress As an illustration of how effective ress responds fo a change in total stress, consider the case ofa fully saturated soil subject to au inctease in total vertical stess Av ainl ia which che lateral strain is 2670, ‘volume change being entirely due to deformation ofthe sol inthe vertical direction, This condition may be assumed in practice when there is a change in total veitical stress over an area which is large com- ‘pared with the thickness ofthe soil layer in question. It is assumed initially thatthe pore water pressure is constant ata value govemed by a constant posi- tion of the water table. This initial value is called the statie pore water pressure (u,). When the total vertical stess is increased, the solid particles immediately ty to take up new positions closer together. However, if water is incompressible and the soil is laterally confined, no such particle rearrangement, ‘nd therefore no increase inthe interparticle forces, is possible unless some of the pore water can escape, Since it takes time for the pore water to escape by seepage, the pore water pressure is increased above the static value immedistely after the increase in toal stress takes place, The component of pore water 83Development of a mechanical model for soil pressure above the static value is known as the excess pore water pressure (u,). This increase in pore ‘water pressure will be equal to the increase in total vertical stress ie. the increase in total vertical stress is carried intially entirely by the pore water (1.~Ao). Note that ifthe lateral strain were not zero, some degree of particle rearrangement would be possible, resulting in an immediate increase in effective verti- cal stress, and the increase in pore water pressure would be less than the increase in total vertical stress by Terzaghi’s Principle ‘The increase in pore water pressure causes a hydraulic pressure gradient, resulting in transient flow of pore water (i.e. seepage, see Chapter 2) towards a free-draining boundary of the soil layer. This flow or Arainage will continue until the pore water pressure again becomes equal to the value governed by the position of the water table, ie. until it returns to its static value. It is possible, however, thatthe position of the water table will have changed during the time necessary for drainage to take place, so that the datum against which excess pore water pressure is measured will have changed. In such cases, the excess pote water pressure should be expressed with reference to the static value govemed by the new water table position, At any time during drainage, the overall pore water pressure (1) is equal to the sum of the static and excess components, ie wan tu, G4) The reduction of excess pore water pressure as drainage takes place is described as dissipation, and ‘when this has been completed (i.e, when 1,0 and u=u,) the sol is said to be in the drained condition, Prior to dissipation, with the excess pore water pressure at its intial value, the soil is said to be in the uundrained condition. It should be noted that the term “drained” does not mean that all of the water has flowed out of the soil pores: it means that there is ne stress-induced (excess) pressure in the pore water. The soil remains fully saturated throughout the process of dissipation. [As drainage of pore water takes place the solid particles become free to take up new positions, with @ sesulting inexease in the intespauticle forces. In other words, as the excess pore water pressure dissipates, the effective vertical stress increases, accompanied by a corresponding reduction in volume. When dissi- pation of excess pore water pressure is complete, the increment of total vertical stress will be carried entirely by the soil skeleton. The time taken for drainage to be completed depends on the permeability of the soil. In soils of low permeability, drainage will te slow; in soils of high permeability, drainage will be rapid. The whole process is referted to as consolidation, With deformation taking place in one direc- tion only (vertical as described here), consolidation is described as one-dimensional. This process will be described in greater detail in Chapter 4 When a soil is subject to a reduction in total normal stress the scope for volume increase is limited, because particle rearrangement due to total stress increase is largely irreversible. As a sesult of increase in the interparticle forces there will be small elastic strains (normally ignored) in the solid particles, especially around the contact areas, and if clay mineral particles ase present in the soil they may experience bending. In addition, the adsorbed water surrounding clay mineral particles will experience recoverable compression due to incteases in interparticle forces, especially if there is face-to-face orientation of the particles, When a decrease in total normal stress takes place in soil there will thus be a tendency for the soil skeleton to expand to a limited extent, especially so in soils containing an appreciable proportion of clay mineral particles. As a result, the pote water pressure vill initially be reduced and the excess pore water pressure will be negative. The pore water pressure will gradually increase to the static value, flow taking place into the soil, accompanied by a corre- sponding reduction in effective normal stress and increase in volume. This process is known as swelling Under seepage (as opposed to static) conditions, the excess pore water pressure due to @ change in total stress is the value above or below the steady-state seepage pore water pressure (1), which is determined, atthe point in question, fom the appropriate flow net (see Chapter 2). 84Effective stress The mechanics of the one-dimensional consolidation process can be represented by means of a simple analogy. Figure 3.3(a) shows a spring inside a cylinder filled with water, and a piston, fitted with @ valve, on top of the spring. It is assumed that there can be no leakage between the piston and the eylinder, and no friction, The spring represents the compressible soil skeleton, the water in the cylinder the pore water, and the bore diameter of the valve the permeability of the soil. The cylinder itself simulates the eondition of no lateral strain in the soil ‘Suppose a load is now placed on the piston with the valve closed, as in Figure 3.3(b). Assuming. water to be incompressible, the piston will not move as long as the valve is closed, with the result that no load can be transmitted te the spring; the load will be carried by the water, the inerease in pressure in the water being equal ‘o the load divided by the piston area. This situation with the valve closed corresponds to the undrained condition in the soil. If the valve is now opened, weter will be forced out through the valve at a rate govemed by the ore diameter. This will allow the piston to move and the spring to be compressed as load is gradu- ally transferred to it. This situation is shown in Figure 3.3(c). At any time, the increase in load on the spring will be directly proportion¢l to the reduction in pressure in the water. Eventually, as shown in Figure 3.3(4), all the load will be carried by the spring and the piston will come to rest, this comre- sponding to the drained condition in the soil. At any time, the load carried by the spring represents the effective normal siress in the soil, the pressure of the water in the cylinder represents the pore water pressure, and the load on the piston represents the total normal stress. The movement of the piston represents the change in volume of the soil, and is goverted by the compressibility of the spring (the equivalent of the compressibility of the soil skeleton, see Chapter 4). The piston and spring analogy represents only an element of soil, since the stress conditions vary from point to point throughout a soil mass, al @ ©) o @ 85Development of a mechanical model for soil GED A 5.m depth of sand overlies a 6-m thick layer of clay, the water table being at the surface: the permeability of the clay is very low. The saturated unit weight of the sand is 19kN/m? and that of the clay is 20KN/mn?. A 4-m depth of fill material of unit weight 20KN/m is placed on the surface ‘over an extensive area. Determine the effective vertical stress at the centre of the clay layer (a) immediately after the fil has been placed, assuming this to take place rapidly. and (b) many years afier the fill has been placed, Solution The soil profile is shown in Figure 3.4. Since tke fill covers an extensive area, it can be assumed that the condition of zero lateral strain applies. As the permeability of the clay is very low, dissi- pation of excess pore water pressure will be very slow; immediately after the rapid placement of the fill, no appreciable dissipation will have taken place. The initial stresses and pore water pres- ssure at the centre of the clay layer are 1, = (5x19) +(3«20) = 155kPa u, =8x9.81=78kPa 0) =o, -u, = 77kPa Many years after placement of the fil, dissipation of excess pore water pressure should be essen- tially complete such that the increment of total stress from the fill is entirely carried by the soil skeleton (effective stress). The effective vertical stress atthe centre of the clay layer is then of) = 77+(4%20)=157kPa Immediately after the fill has been placed, the total vertical stress at the centre of the clay increases by 80kPa due to the weight of the fill Since the clay is saturated and there is no lateral strain, there will be a comesponding increase in pore water pressure of 1,—80KPa (the initial excess pore water pressure). The static pore water pressure was calculated previously as 1u,=78kPa, Immediately after placement, the pore water pressure therefore increases from 78 to 158kPa, and then during subsequent consolidarion gradually decteases again to 78KPa, accom- panied by the gradual increase of effective vertical stress fiom 77 to 157KPa. Figure 3.4 Example 3.2. 86‘When the hydraulic gradient is j,, the effective normal stress on any plane will be zero, gravitational forces having been cancelled out by upward seepage forces. Inthe case of sands, the contact forces benween particles will be zero and the soil will hav The soil is then sid to be liquefied, and if the critical gradient is exceeded the surface will appear to be ‘8 the particles are moved trun nie apa of ae shoul eee Fis mt Spec pe ofl Sevamply soa rough eh an upd Bow o tae cents orDevelopment of a mechanical model for soil In the previous examples, seepage-induced or static liquefaction of soil has been discussed — that is to say, situations where the water prose tht toejut Pa ater rose nay aso bens ed ang of sal. A soil is sheared cyclically it has a tendency to contract, reducing the void ratio e, If this shearing and resulting contraction happens rapidly, then there may not be suflicient time for the pore water to escape from the voids, such that the reduction in volume will lead to an increase in pore water pressure due to the incompressibility of water: ‘Consider a unifom layer of fully saturated soil with the water table atthe surface. The total stress at any depth = within the soil is Wy Terzaghi’s Principle (Equa- tion 3.1 From Equatior 3.4, the pore water pressure 1 is made up of two components: hydrostatic pressure u, (present initially before the soil is loaded) and an excess component (which is induced by the dynamic load), Therefore, the critical excess pore water pressure at the onset of liquefaction (1,:) is given by G.15) i.e. for soil to liquefy, the excess pore water pressure must be equal to the initial effective stress in the round (prior to application of the dynamic load). Furthermore, considering a datum at the surface ofthe soil, fiom Equation 2.1 way (442) (ia%), This demonstrates that there will be a positive hydraslie gradient /: between the soil at depth = andl the surface (Le. vertically upwards), when liquefaction has been achieved. This is the same as the critical hydraulic sate defined by am 3.12 for setae mel hae in example of the former case is a shallow foundation for a piece of machinery such as a In this case, the cyclic straining (and therefore volumetric contraction and induced excess pore pressure) in the soil will generally decrease with distance from the source, From Equation 3.15, it can be seen that the amount of excess pore water pressure required to initiate lique- faction increases with depth, As a result, any liquefaction will be concentrated towards the surface of the ground, close to the source. 96Effective stress In the case of an earthquake, ercund motion is induced as a result of powerfl stress waves which are ifansmitted from within the Earth’s emust (ie, far beneath the soil), As a result, liquefaction may extend to much greater depths. Combining Equations 3.12 and 3.15 n(G-1)_ G.16) Ug, = hae The soil towards the surface is often at a lower density (higher e) than the soil beneath. Combined with the shallow depth =, itis clear that, under earthquake shaking, liquefaction will start at the ground surface and move downwards as shaking contines, requiring larger excess pore water pressures at depth to liquefy the deeper layers. It is also clear from Equation 3.16 that looser soils at high ¢ will require lower excess pore ‘water pressures to cause liquefactioa, Soils with high voids ratio also have a higher potential for densifica- tion when shaken (Cowards ea, the densest possible state), so loose soils are particularly vulnerable t0liq- uefaction. Indeed, strong earthquakes may fully liquefy layers of loose soil many metres thick It will be demonstrated in Chapter 5 that the shear strength of a soil (which resists applied loads due to foundations and other geote:hnical constructions) is proportional to the effective stresses within the ground. It is therefore clear that the occurrence of liquefaction (o;=0) can lead to significant damage to structures — an example, observed during the 1964 Niigata earthquake in Japan, is show Figure 3.10.Development of a mechanical model for sot 1 Total stress is used to devine the applied stresses on an element of soil (both due to external applied loads and due to self weight). Soils support total stresses through a combination of effective stress due to interparticle contact and pore water pressure in the voids. Ihis is known as |erzaghi's Principle (equation 3.1). Under hydrostatic conditions, the effective stress state at any depth within the ground can be found from knowledge of the unit weight of the soil layers and the location of the waier table. If seepage is occurring, a flow net or finite difference mesh can be used to determine the pore water pressures at any point within the ground, with effective stress subsequently being found using Terzaghi’s Principle. A consequence of Terzaghi’s Principle is that if there is significant excess pore water pressure developed in the ground, the soil skeleton may become unloaded (zero effective stress). This condition is known as liquefaction and may occur due to seepage, or due to dynamic external loads which cause the soil to contract rapidly. Seepage-induced liquefaction can lead to uplitt or boiling of soil along the downstream face of a sheet piled excavation, and subsequent failure of the excavation.In Situ Stresses Asdescribed in Chapter 3 sols re multiphase ystems. Ina given volume of sil the solid par- ticles ar distributed randomly with wid spaces hetween. The void spaces are continuous and f we will discus he Following: + Concept of effective stress + Stosses in saturated soil without seepage, upward seepage, and downward seepage + Soopage force pet unit volume of sil festive sess in partially saturated so 9.2 Stresses in Saturated Soil without Seepage Figure 9.1a shows a column of saturated soil mass with no seepage of water in any dirs tion. The total stress at the elevation of point A ean be obtained from the saturated unit ‘weight of the soil and the unit weight of water above it. Thus, = Hye + (Hy Ht oy where a = total stress a the ekvation of point A “Ye = unit weight of water ‘Ya, = sired unit wig of the sil 1 = height of water tabe from the 1p ofthe sei column ‘Hy ~ distance between point A and the water table an272 Chapter 9: In Situ Suesses © ei Figure 9.1. (a) Effective stress consideration for @ saturated soil column without seepage: (b) forces acting atthe points of contact of sol particles atthe evel of point A ‘The total stress, o. given by Eq. (9.1) can be divided into two parts: 1. A portion is carried by water in the continuous void spaces, This portion acts with ‘equal intensity in all directions. 2. The rest of the total stress is carried by the soil solids at their points of contact. ‘The sum of the vertical components of the forees developed at the points of contact ‘ofthe solid particles per unit cross-sectional area of the soil mass is called the effective stress. This can be seen by drawing a wavy line, a-a, through point tha passes only through the points of contact ofthe solid particles. Let P, Py Py... Py be the forces that act at the points of contact of the soil particles (Figure 9.1b). The sum of the vertical components of all such forces over the unit cross-sectional area is equal to the eective stress 6", or Pio + Pay) + Pr bet Py 2)274 Chapter 9: In Siu Stresses Vale (closed 9 Tien ferro 5 tte ten " A ayes " i mom e i arn er i Depth Depth ‘Depth _ » © w (a) Layer of sil in a tank where there is no seepage; variation of (b) total sre, (@) pore ‘ater pressure, and (d) fective stress with depth for a submerged soil layer without seepage92 Stresses in Saturated Soil without Seepage 275 © rma esrog 6 DB bry sind LB Saturated sand Cay Figure 9.3 Soi profile Solution At Point A, Pore water pressure: ty Effective stress: oj = 0 At Point B, At Point C, Fe = OYaryand) + '3You(cty) 6X 165 + 13 X 19.25 99 + 250.25 = 349.25 KNim? lg = 13yy = 13 X 9.81 = 127.53 kim? of = 349.25 — 127.53 = 221.72 kN/m?276 Chapter 9: In Situ Stresses Refer to Example 9.1. How high should the water table rise so thatthe effective stress at Cis 190 kN/m?? Assume 7,4 t0 be the same for both layers (ie., 19.25 kN/n). Solution Let the groundwater table rise be ft above the present groundwater table shown in Figure 9.3 with (6 = bY ary + Yee + 13%. (14 B)%e So GE =. — = (6 I) Yry + Hen + 13% eu — He — 13% = (6 — h) yay + (Yen = ¥,) + 13a — Yoo) 190 = (6 ~ h)16.5 + (19.25 ~ 981) + 13(19.25 ~ 981) h= 449m 9.3 Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward Seepage If water is seeping, the effective stress at any point in a soil mass will differ from that in the static case. It will increase or decrease, depending on the direction of seepage. Figure 9.4ashows a layer of granular soil in a tank where upward seepage is caused by adding water through the valve at the bottom of the tank. The rate of water supply is kept constant. The loss of head caused by upward seepage between the levels of A and B is h. Keeping in mind that the total stress at any point in the soil mass is due solely to the ‘weight of soil and water above it, we find that the effective stress calculations at points A and B are as follews: ALA, + Total sess: 04 = Hy yw + Pore water pressure: 4 = Hi yw + Effective suess: 0 AUB, + Total stress: op + Pore water pressus + Effective stress: 07 Hye + Haye iy ~ (Hy + Hy +h) Yo (Yun — 7.) — Me LY’ — Me93 Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward Seepage 277 Taahsiess Pre witerpesanes 4 Eiitve esa” i, 1H, 1" Ip (iy #2 (fe Wyte tet ice \ey— ion =z 2 H+, 7 _ i be Hie t Haren >) PH + H+ ie fey’ Igie B ‘ 5 Depth Depth Depth o © w Figure 9.4 (a) Layer of soil in a tank with upward seepage. Variation of (b) total stress; (¢) pore ‘water pressure; and (d) effective stress with depth for a soil layer with upward seepage Similarly, the effective stress at a point C located at a depth z below the top of the soil surface can be calculated as follows: ALG + Total stress: 6 = Hite + Yea h + Pore water pressure: ue = (a 44D Ay + Effective stress: of = oe — te = (Yan — Yu) — Hew at oY aeTE Sanratad chy Fl Sana93 Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward Secpage 279 Solution Due to exeavation, there will be unloading of the overburden pressure. Let the depth of the cut be H, at which point the bottom will heave. Let us consider the stability of point A at that time: 4 = (9 — A) Yeavetay) hy = 3.6Y For heave to occur, oj should be 0, So 4 ta = (9 — A) Yeagctayy — 3.6% or (9 = H)I8 = (3.6981 = 0 (9)18 — (3.6)9.81 18 Example 9.4 A cut is made in a stiff, saturated clay that is underlain by a layer of sand (Figure 9.6). ‘What should be the height of the water, h, in the cut so that the stability of the saturated, clay is not lost? You = 19 KN? e a= 181 © Cero: earning 24 [F] Saturated clay [5] Sand Figure 9.6 Sol At point A, 04 = (7 = 5) Youtoty) + AYw = (2)(19) + (4)(9.81) = 38 + 81h (kN/m?) ty = AS = (4.5)(9.81) = 44.15 kN/m?280 Chapter 9: In Siu Stresses For loss of stabi ©.S0, 38 +981 — 44.15 =0 f= 0.63 ‘The effective stress principle is probably the most important concept in geotechni- gineering. Ths compressibility and shearing resistance of a soil depend to 9 reat extent on the effective stress. Thus, the concept of effective stress is signifi cant in solving geotechnical engineering problems, such as the lateral earth pres nent of foundations, and the stability of earth slopes. Following is « summary of the topics discussed in this chapter: slructures, the load-bearing capacity and sett + The total stress (2) at point in the soil mass is the sum of effective stress (o") and pore water pressure (1), oF [Eq.(9.4)] + The critical hydraulic gradient (i) foe boiling or quick condition is given as Y. _ effective unit we Ye” omit weight of water + Seepage force por unit volume in the gradient inthe direction of low) + The relationships o check for heaving for flow under a hydraulic structure are dis stion of flow is equal to fgg (= hydraulic cussed in Section 9.6. Also, the possibilty of using filters to increase the factor of safety against hewing is discussed in Section 9.7