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Effective Stress

Introduction

External load will be distributed


within soil mass
External load changes stress state
within the soil
The stress distribution is important
to study soil stability and
deformation

Total stress

Total vertical stress acting at the


point below the ground

v = Vertical

Vertical Force
Stress =
Cross Sectional Area

v = z

Total stress below the river or lake

Free water at a river or lake will add


additional force to the ground

v = sat z + w z w

Total stress for multilayer soil

The sum of the weights of soil in


each layer thickness above
v= 1 d1 + 2 d 2 + 3 (z d1 d 2 )

Total stress for unsaturated soil

Above the GWT soil will remain


saturated, but after certain distance
it become unsaturated

v= u z w + w (z z w )

Total stress with a


surface surcharge load

A surface surcharge load will


increase total stress
If the surcharge loading is
extensively wide, the increase
in vertical total stress is
constant

v = z + q

For narrow surcharge, the


increase will be decrease with
depth

Pore pressure (u)

Porewater: water fills the voids or


pore among soil grains
Pore pressure: the pressure withing
the pore water
Depend on:

The depth below the water table


Condition of seepage flow

Pore pressure (u)

Under hydrostatic condition: pore


pressure at a point is hydrostatic
pressure

u = w hw

Pore pressure (u)

Below the water table, pore


pressure is positive
Above the water table, pore
pressure is negative (suction)

Pore pressure (u)

The height of saturated


soil above water table is
called capillary rise and
depends on the grain size
and type of soil

in coarse soils capillary rise


is very small
in silts it may be up to 2m
in clays it can be over 20m

Effective stress concept

At saturated soil, voids are fully


filled by water
External load will be carried by both
grains and water
Soil behavior under loading will
depend both of external force and
the water pressure in the pores

Effective stress concept

Effective stress: normal stress


acting on the soil grains => intergranular stress

v = 'u ' = v u

The importance of effective stress


W
W

Soil loaded by an
applied weight W

Soil loaded by water


weighing W

The importance of effective stress


Soil loaded by an
applied weight W

Soil loaded by water


weighing W

W
W

Compression

No deformation

Definition of Total and Effective Stress


v

Vertical Force
= Vertical Stress =
Cross Sectional Area

Effective vertical stress

v ' = v uw
v

uw

Case (a)

W
A

W
A

Case (b)

W
A

W
A

(1)

(2)

Example: determining the effective stress


Step 1: Draw ground profile showing soil stratigraphy
and water table

Dry
Saturated

bulk = dry

2m

bulk = sat

3m

Fig 5 Soil Stratigraphy

Example
Step 2: Calculation of relevant bulk unit weights

Vv=e Vs
= 0.7m3

Voids

Vs= 1m3

Solid

Distribution by
Volume

dry

26.46 kN
=
170
. m3

sat

Ww = Vv w kN
= 0.7 9.8 kN
= 6.86 kN

Ww=0

Ws = Vs G s w
= 1 2.7 9.8 kN
= 26.46 kN

Ws = Vs G s w
= 1 2.7 9.8 kN
= 26.46 kN

Distribution by weight
for the dry soil

(26.46 + 6.86) kN
170
. m3

= 1556
. kN / m

Distribution by weight
for the saturated soil
3

Gs w
=
1+ e

= 19.60 kN / m 3 =

w (G s + e )
1+ e

Example
Step 3 Calculate total stress
v = 1556
. 2 + 19.60 3 = 89.92 kPa ( kN / m 2 )

2m

Step 4 Calculate pore water pressure

3m

u w = 3 9.8 = 29.40 kPa

Step 5 Calculate effective stress


v = v u w = 89.92 29.40 = 60.52 kPa

Vertical stress and pore pressure variation


0

50

100

150 kPa

0m

2m

4m

6m

Depth
8m

Total
Stress
pore water
pressure
Effective
stress

(5m)

Example

Plot the variation of total and effective


vertical stresses, and pore water pressure
with depth for the soil profile shown below

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