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Dissipated strain energy method for determining

preconsolidation pressure
Article in Canadian Geotechnical Journal January 2011
DOI: 10.1139/t04-013

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760

Dissipated strain energy method for determining

preconsolidation pressure
L.B. Wang and J.D. Frost

Abstract: The dissipated strain energy method (DSEM), a new method for determining the preconsolidation pressure,
is presented in this paper. Compared with the energy method, the DSEM uses dissipated strain energy and the slope of
the unloadingreloading cycle (in the strain energy effective consolidation stress space) for the plot to minimize the
sample disturbance effects and eliminate the effect of elastic deformation. Dissipated strain energy, in terms of micromechanics, is directly related to the irreversible process of consolidation and can be supported by theories dealing with
consolidation and compaction. The use of the unloadingreloading slope to simulate the elastic reloading for the
recompression stage can minimize sample disturbance effects. Examples presented indicate that the proposed new
method is less operator dependent than most of the existing methods.
Key words: dissipated strain energy, preconsolidation pressure, consolidation, energy method, dissipated strain energy
method.
Rsum : On prsente dans cet article une nouvelle mthode pour dterminer la pression de consolidation, soit la
mthode dnergie de dformation dissipe (DSEM). Compare la mthode dnergie, la nouvelle mthode utilise
lnergie de dformation dissipe, et la pente du cycle de dchargement-rechargement (dans lespace nergie de
dformation-contrainte effective de consolidation) pour le graphique devant minimiser les effets de remaniement de
lchantillon et liminer leffet d la dformation lastique. Lnergie de dformation dissipe en termes de micromcanique est directement relie au processus irrversible de consolidation et peut sappuyer sur des thories traitant de la
consolidation et du compactage. Lutilisation de la pente dchargement-rechargement pour simuler le rechargement lastique pour le stade de recompression peut minimiser les effets de remaniement de lchantillon. Les exemples prsents
indiquent que la nouvelle mthode propose est moins dpendante de loprateur que la plupart des mthodes existantes.
Mots cls : nergie de dformation dissipe, pression de prconsolidation, consolidation, mthode dnergie, mthode
dnergie de dformation dissipe.
[Traduit par la Rdaction]

Wang and Frost

768

Introduction
Preconsolidation pressure c , according to Casagrande
(1936), is the largest overburden in which soil had been
consolidated. The significance of determining the preconsolidation pressure lies in the fact that the compressibility,
deformation, and strength characteristics of soil on either
side of c are eminently different, which also serves as the
basis of the methods for determining c .
The importance of determining c has attracted many researchers. Different methods such as those by Casagrande
(1936), Burmister (1951), Schmertmann (1955), Janbu
(1967), and Butterfield (1979) have been developed. These
Received 2 April 2002. Accepted 22 December 2003.
Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at
http://cgj@nrc.ca on 31 August 2004.
L.B. Wang.1 Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Louisiana State University and Southern
University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
J.D. Frost. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
1

Corresponding author (e-mail: lwang@lsu.edu).

Can. Geotech. J. 41: 760768 (2004)

methods are usually based on the experimental void ratio

(e) effective consolidation stress (p) relations and are empirical by nature. Hereafter they are referred to as classical
methods. Among the classical methods, the most popular are
the e log p method (Casagrande 1936) and the log(1 + e)
log p method proposed by Butterfield and supported by
Sridharan (1991).
Although different authors use different characteristics of
the e log p or log(1 + e) log p plots, the following conclusions, based on numerous experimental observations, are
fundamental for all the methods: (i) the disturbance by unloading during sampling, etc. does not obliterate or seriously
distort the impression created by the largest previous load;
(ii) the shape of the recompression curve before c (section I
in Fig. 1) and the shape of the unloadingreloading curve
are similar, and their relations to the virgin compression line
are also similar; and (iii) the relation between end of primary void ratio and effective stress is unique.
The first two conclusions were drawn by Casagrande
(1936); the third conclusion was drawn by Mesri and Choi
(1985). Every one of the classical methods implicitly uses
the first and third conclusions, and different methods distinguish themselves in their interpretation of similar in the

doi: 10.1139/T04-013

2004 NRC Canada

Wang and Frost

Fig. 1. Illustration of Casagrandes (1936) observations. The
relationship between section I (recompression curve) and the virgin compression curve is closely similar to that between the
unloadingreloading curve and the virgin compression curve.

second conclusion. Because of the difficulties in obtaining

the true preconsolidation pressure, however, it is hard to
evaluate the relative merits of the different methods.
The energy method proposed by Becker et al. (1987) is
relatively new. It is based on the total strain energy p relation rather than the e log p relation. Theoretically, the energy method is equivalent to the e log p method (Li 1989)
or the log(1 + e) log p method (see the following sections),
but its linear coordinate system enhances the accuracy and
decreases operator dependence for the determination of c .
Because the total energy method is just a mapping of the
log(1 + e) log p relationship into energyp space, however,
this method fails to present a mechanical interpretation of
the relation between the total energy and the irreversible
process of consolidation. Therefore it is hard to establish the
linear relation between the total energy and the effective
stress through analyzing the fundamental phenomena in the
consolidation process.
In the view of soil plasticity, preconsolidation pressure
is actually the largest yielding stress that a soil has ever
reached. At stresses up to the preconsolidation pressure,
loading and unloading could be theoretically modeled as
elastic or the irrecoverable deformation is negligible. Beyond the preconsolidation pressure, the irrecoverable deformation is much more significant. This phenomenon is
similar in metals and ceramics and can be explained by
micromechanics. In terms of micromechanics, consolidation
is a process in which soil particles change configuration irreversibly. The external work by the consolidation force is
partly transformed into heat in overcoming the friction between particle contacts and is partly stored as elastic strain
energy. Unlike elastic strain energy, the part dissipated into
heat, the dissipated strain energy, is not recoverable. Therefore it can be postulated that dissipated strain energy rather
than elastic strain energy is essentially associated with the
irrecoverable volumetric strain. As a matter of fact, some
theories such as the double-layer theory and micromechanics
theory have been successfully applied to predict that the relation between the irreversible volumetric deformation and

761
Fig. 2. Schmertmanns (1955) reconstitution of the field consolidation curve.

the logarithm of consolidation stress is linear (Nagaraj and

Srinivasa Murthy 1983; Houlsby and Sharma 1999).
Dissipated strain energy has been widely accepted as a
parameter for representing yielding criteria and hardening
rules. According to Janbu (1967), the yielding surface is
actually the contours of dissipated strain energy. It is a fundamental concept related to irreversible process. In this paper, a new method, namely the dissipated strain energy
method (DSEM), is proposed for the assessment of the preconsolidation pressure of soil. The advantages of the proposed new method are illustrated by analyzing experimental
data.

Common problems with existing methods

As soil is a heterogeneous, anisotropic material, the linear
relation such as e log p is often violated. Common problems in applying existing methods can be categorized as follows: (i) quantities used in these methods, such as total void
ratio or total strain energy, do not have the implications that
are associated with the fundamental phenomena in the consolidation process; (ii) it is hard to account for sample
disturbance effects; and (iii) most methods are operator dependent in constituting straight lines and reading the coordinates in logarithmic scales.
Figure 2 is an illustration of the Schmertmann (1955)
method of reconstitution of the field recompression and virgin consolidation curve. The reconstituted curve consists of
three different sections that have different mechanical implications. The first section is a horizontal line up to the in situ
stress (0), which implies that there is no irrecoverable deformation in this section. The second section is a line between the in situ stress and the preconsolidation stress (c ).
This section is parallel to the unloadingreloading line,
which implies an elastic deforming process (there are usually still some irrecoverable deformations in this section).
The third section is a straight line connecting the c point to
the 0.42e0 point (where e0 is the initial void ratio), beyond
which irrecoverable deformation dominates. This reconstitution clearly illustrates the field irrecoverable deformation
characteristics. The sampling and consolidation testing process is parallel to the field recompression and virgin consolidation process. As only total deformation is measured in the
conventional consolidation tests, however, classical methods
actually plot the total deformation p (or e log p) relation,
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762

which generally obscures the distinctness of the deformation

rate between pre-c and post-c sections. This phenomenon
also exists in the energy method proposed by Becker et al.
(1987), where total strain energy is used. Because the mechanical implication of c lies in the fact that beyond c the
irrecoverable deformation rate (against load increment) of
soil increases drastically, a separation of the irrecoverable
deformation from the total deformation will enhance the
contrast between the deformation characteristics of the preand post-c sections.
Figure 3 is adapted from Holtz et al. (1986), where the effects of different levels of disturbance on the assessment of
c are illustrated. Figure 3 shows that the slope of the
recompression curve increases when the soil samples are
more severely disturbed (i.e., piston samples versus block
samples), which results in an underestimation of the preconsolidation pressure. It can also be deduced from Fig. 3 that
the laboratory consolidation curve will be closer to the virgin consolidation curve if the soil is less severely disturbed
or destructured. As most conventional tests do not study the
sample preparation and disturbance effects, for a given test
result, it is hard to evaluate how severe it is distorted by
sample disturbance.
Even if sample disturbance is minimized, it is still difficult to construct the straight lines in the cases of the log(1 +
e) log p and workp methods. Figure 4 illustrates this
effect using the workp method to present data from a consolidation test performed on a silty clay (tube sample from
the field by Law Engineering and Environmental Service,
Inc., Atlanta, Ga.), showing the difficulties in selecting the
recompression line.
Due to the complexity of soil properties, the three problems described previously cannot be completely avoided.
Rational methods should minimize these effects, however. In
this regard, the following observed phenomena should be
mentioned:
(1) The disturbing effects due to stress release, etc. become
smaller when the reloading stress exceeds the stress
where stress release starts. This suggests the use of unloadingreloading slopes at a stress level higher than the
in situ stress.
(2) Any quantities to be used should be physically or mechanically related to the process in the analysis. In the
case of the consolidation process, quantities causing the
consolidation process should be more relevant. For example, the dissipated strain energy that causes the particles to slide and rotate could be better quantitatively
related to preconsolidation pressure.

Energy method
The energy method (Becker et al. 1987) also uses Casagrandes (1936) first conclusion and the conclusion of Mesri
and Choi (1985) on the unique relation between end of primary consolidation void ratio and effective stress. As for the
term similar in Casagrandes second conclusion, Becker et
al. (1987) assume a linear relation between total strain energy E and the effective stress p (Ep) for the recompression
part directly from the laboratory recompression curve without considering the unloadingreloading portion of the tests.
In actuality, the Becker et al. energy method is the same

Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 41, 2004

Fig. 3. Sample disturbance effects on preconsolidation pressure
(adapted from Holtz et al. 1986).

Fig. 4. Uncertainty in defining the recompression line in the

work effective stress plot.

as the method of Butterfield (1979) in the mapped space:

log(1 + e) log p, mapped into Ep space. Unlike Casagrandes method, which focuses more on the local properties
(the largest curvature) around the preconsolidation pressure,
the Becker et al. energy method has adopted the average
slope of the recompression curve before the preconsolidation
pressure.
The energy method is relatively new, more inclusive, and
conceptually very promising. Considering preconsolidation
as the maximum yielding stress to which a soil has ever
been subjected, work by Roscoe et al. (1958) and Tavenas et
al. (1979) is supportive of this method. Apart from the more
accurate determination of c due to the advantages of the linear coordinates and the flexibility of the concept of strain
energy in dealing with consolidation induced by other
mechanical and nonmechanical effects such as evaporation
through energy equivalency, the theoretical equivalency of
the Ep linear relation to the e log p and log(1 + e) log p
linear relations is even more important in that no violations
are introduced against previous experimental observations.
The proof of the equivalency of the Ep linear relation to
the e log p and log(1 + e) log p linear relations is simple;
however, it is briefly described here for completeness and to
provide an introduction to the linear relations between total
strain energy, elastic strain energy, and dissipated strain energy versus effective consolidation stress.
There are basically two types of strain definitions, engineering strain and true strain. When engineering strain is
adopted, the Ep linear relation is equivalent to the e log p
linear relation:
2004 NRC Canada

Wang and Frost

[1]

de = C c d log p

[2]

E =

763

p2

p2

log(1 + e) log p linear relation, no special efforts towards

distinguishing the two cases are made in this paper.

p
p C dp C ( p p )
1 + e0 de = 1 + e0 cp = c1 +2 e0 1
p
p

When true strain is adopted, the Ep linear relation is

equivalent to the log(1 + e) log p linear relation:
[3]

d log(1 + e) = C d log p

[4]

de
C dp
=
1+ e
p

[5]

E =

de = CpC 1 dp

or

p2

p2

p
p
1 + e de = pC CpC 1 dp = C ( p2 p1)
p
p

where E is the total strain energy increment corresponding

to an effective consolidation stress increment; and Cc and C
are the slopes of the e log p and log(1 + e) log p plots, respectively. To obtain the absolute value of the total strain
energy, a reference is needed. In the Becker et al. (1987)
presentation, E is actually the total strain energy increment
referred to the stress-free status completely released from
the preconsolidation stress. The dissipated strain energy corresponding to the preconsolidation pressure in the virgin
consolidation is not included. This will be explained in the
next section.
Li (1989) pointed out the equivalency but did not notice
that Becker et al. (1987) actually used true strain. Li considered the theoretical equivalency without taking into account
the actual differences between experimental data representation and the theoretical prediction (the superiority of data
presentation in the energy method is illustrated later in the
paper). In reality, experimental data do not follow the exact
linear relation; it is impossible to have an infinitesimal load
step. Therefore, the energy method does not yield the same
value of c as those from the e log p and log(1 + e) log p
methods but will generally give better linear correlation than
that of the e log p and log(1 + e) log p methods. On the
whole, these equivalencies indicate the wide applicability of
the energy method.
According to Butterfield (1979), Sridharan (1991), and
Den Haan (1992), log(1 + e) log p correlation is better than
e log p correlation for several reasons, such as a better
log(1 + e) log p linear relation, the physical meaning of the
reference volume of (1 + e) as the total volume, and the possibility of yielding a negative void ratio by the e log p
method. Hashiguchi (1995) points out that e log p correlation violates some kinematics in elastoplastic theories. These
discoveries could serve as guidelines for choosing a proper
strain definition. In terms of strain energy, however, it seems
there is no such violation if only the stress and strain are
conjugate to the stress power: : D = 1 p: F, where is the
Cauchy stress tensor, D is the stretch tensor, F is the deformation gradient, and 1 p is the first Piola Kirshhof stress
tensor. In the case of one-dimensional consolidation, both
definitions are acceptable. Because of the conventional
adoption of Cauchys stress tensor, however, the true strain
should be adopted. Since the e log p relation is convenient
in many cases and the e log p linear relation will yield a

Comments
As illustrated in the first two sections of the paper, the key
to determining c is the understanding of the relation of the
unloadingreloading curve to the virgin compression curve
(as according to Casagrande 1936, the close similarity)
and the effects on the relation due to sample disturbance.
Therefore the following three observed phenomena are important in constituting any method for the assessment of
preconsolidation pressure: (i) the more the disturbance, the
steeper the slope of the recompression curve before c (section I in Fig. 1, referred to as the recompression curve);
(ii) the recompression curve becomes more rounded towards
the stress where unloading starts and merges into the virgin
compression curve at a stress slightly larger than the stress
where unloading starts; and (iii) the unloadingreloading
slope is highly nonlinear with effective consolidation pressure.
The first two phenomena have been widely recognized.
Leonards (1976) and Fang (1985) have noticed the first phenomena, and Crawford (1985) commented that test results of
consolidation in the recompression range are not reliable.
Leonards also found the value estimated from a rebound
recompression cycle is more likely to approximate the field
results. Schmertmann (1955) found that the unloading
reloading line is less affected by disturbance and adopted the
unloadingreloading slope in his reconstitution of the field
compression curve.
In applying the Becker et al. (1987) energy method, it is
also evident that the recompression slope is generally steeper
than the unloadingreloading slope; the Ep curve becomes
more rounded towards the virgin compression line and thus
it is difficult for the operator to select the recompression
line.
The literature review suggests the adoption of the
unloadingreloading slope as the recompression line instead
of the initial slope of the laboratory recompression curve.
This is also based on the authors observations of the roundness of the Ep curve towards the virgin compression line
and the better linear relation of the unloadingreloading
curve. To avoid the uncertainty associated with the selection
of the recompression line, a line parallel to the unloading
reloading line was drawn and it was found that the value of
c thus obtained was closer to the expected value based on
results from a laboratory-consolidated specimen (see the
section titled Experimental justifications). It is this finding
that initiated the present work on the DSEM.
Since the slope (e log p space) of the unloadingreloading curve is stress dependent, the adoption of the unloading
reloading slope of only one unloadingreloading cycle is
still an approximation. This approximation could be rational
for the typical stress range in a consolidation test, however.
In reality, some simpler models are even more popular than
complicated models if only they capture the major properties. For example, the Cam-Clay model assumes a constant
unloadingreloading slope for different stress levels and thus
has some limitations in applications. With greater use of the
model, however, this could be compensated by the experience gained. In this case, the accuracy could be technically
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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 41, 2004

improved by unloading at a reasonably estimated preconsolidation pressure, or the consolidation rate could be monitored so that unloading can take place at the stress where the
consolidation rate has some significant variations. In this
regard, a reasonable approach to this problem is suggested
as follows: (i) perform unloadingreloading cycles at two
stresses; and (ii) obtain a correlation between effective stress
where unloading starts and the average slope of the
unloadingreloading cycle and then iterate to obtain c . This
approach is derived from the following correlation equation
proposed by Schmertmann (1955):
[6]

log

C r1
Cr2

= 2.5 log

er 2 + 1
er1 + 1

where C r1 and C r2 are the recompression indices at two different stresses corresponding to two different void ratios er1
and er2. Equation [6] is based on 59 individual consolidation
tests with distinct recompression slopes. The tests were performed on clays from 16 sites in nine US states and five
sites in four foreign countries. The value of 2.5 is the average value of regression analysis and is related to the clay
structure. This coefficient may vary significantly for different clays. A more common result that might be used is the
stress-dependent soil resilient modulus. For simplicity, however, this approach is not investigated in this paper.
In summary, the Becker et al. (1987) energy method uses
total strain energy and the laboratory recompression curve to
assess the preconsolidation pressure. The unreliability of the
laboratory recompression curve due to sample disturbance
effects is not accounted for. It is also difficult to select the
recompression line when points on the recompression curve
do not obviously follow a straight line. Total strain energy is
theoretically not associated with the consolidation process
but dissipated strain energy is. The unloadingreloading
slope is less affected by sample disturbance and is more representative of the field recompression characteristics.

Dissipated strain energy method (DSEM)

To clearly illustrate the DSEM, the concepts of total volumetric strain, elastic volumetric strain, plastic volumetric
strain, and their corresponding void ratios are first introduced. The linear relation between the dissipated strain energy and effective stress is also investigated.
Following the conventional assumption that soil grains are
not deformable, the concept of using the elastic void ratio ee
to represent the volume change due to elastic deformation is
introduced. This treatment is used to bring compliance with
the concepts of elastic and plastic volumetric strains. The
elastic volumetric strain might actually result from the elastic deformation between contacts, and the implication of
plastic void ratio (ep) is that it is related to the material
structure at a stress-free status. From the concepts of ep and
ee , the total volume can be expressed as 1 + e = 1 + ep + ee
(where e is the total void ratio) and the following two equations can be obtained:
[7]

ep = pv

[8]

ee = ev

Fig. 5. Idealized consolidation tests in strain energy (E) p

space. OD, dissipated strain energy; OE, elastic strain energy;
OT, total strain energy.

where pv and ev are the plastic and elastic volumetric strains,

respectively.
Since e = ep + ee, it is easy to verify that the e log p or
(ep + ee) log p linear relation and the ee log p linear relation (for example, in critical state soil mechanics; Roscoe et
al. 1958) will result in the ep log p linear relation. In fact,
the ep log p linear relation can be theoretically predicted
by using double-layer theory (Nagaraj and Srinivasa Murthy
1983) or micromechanics theory (Houlsby and Sharma
1999). These three linear relations result in three lines in the
Ep space (see Fig. 5). In Fig. 5, OT represents total strain
energy, OE elastic strain energy, and OD dissipated strain
energy. Line UR represents the stress release and recompression, where incremental dissipated strain energy is
assumed to be negligible. Therefore, in Ep space, consolidation tests start from R and follow the path RUT on the
total strain energy line. OR = PM represents no dissipated
strain energy change in the unloadingreloading cycle.
From Fig. 5, it can be deduced that idealized consolidation tests will follow the path RPD in the dissipated strain
energy space shown in Fig. 6. The advantage of using dissipated strain energy is that the recompression part is always a
horizontal line.
There are two ways to separate irrecoverable deformation
from total deformation or to separate dissipated strain
energy from total energy: (i) directly subtract the elastic deformation obtained by using unloadingreloading characteristics from total deformation, or (ii) use the graphical
method presented in Fig. 7.
For an actual soil sample, the idealized straight lines in
Fig. 6 may not be followed. More likely the curved line
illustrated in Fig. 7 will be followed. Due to sample disturbance, consolidation deformation also exists in the recompression process and results in an average slope of
recompression larger than the unload slope. In the laboratory
plot, the consolidation tests follow the path RUYXYT.
The following steps are proposed for separating the dissipated strain energy from the total strain energy and for
determining the preconsolidation pressure from Fig. 7:
(i) extend the straight-line portion TY to O on the E axis,
(ii) draw the OP axis, (iii) draw line OE that is parallel to
XY, (iv) draw vertical line TE that intersects the OP axis at
N, (v) locate point D on TE so that TD = EN, (vi) draw line
2004 NRC Canada

Wang and Frost

Fig. 6. Idealized consolidation tests in dissipated strain energy
(Ed) p space.

765

of the work done during the process is dissipated in

overcoming the friction between particles.
In plasticity theory, an irreversible process is usually described by dissipated strain energy; most of the hardening
rules describing the conditions for evolution of irreversible
processes also adopt dissipated strain energy as an independent variable. Therefore, it is natural and easier to be adapted
to other theories by using dissipated strain energy to describe the consolidation process. In addition, as shown by
Janbu (1967), the yielding surface is actually contours of
dissipated strain energy. The computation of the dissipated
strain energy in a consolidation test also presents a method
for calculating the evolution of the yielding envelop.

Experimental justifications
Fig. 7. Actual consolidation tests in strain energy p space. OD,
dissipated strain energy; OE, elastic strain energy; OT, total
strain energy.

OD (i.e., dissipated strain energy line), and (vii) the p coordinate of the intersection of line Rp and OD is the preconsolidation pressure.
Characteristics of the DSEM
The characteristics of the DSEM can be summarized as
follows:
(1) In strain energy effective stress space, consolidation
tests start at the point that corresponds to the dissipated
strain energy at the preconsolidation stress. This point is
the base point that serves as reference for other strain
energy calculations. The total strain energy method does
not have such a characteristic.
(2) The total strain energy method by Becker et al. (1987)
uses only the recompression curve, whereas the DSEM
uses both the recompression curve and the unloading
reloading curves from the same test and thus will decrease the systematic errors.
(3) By knowing the value OR, c can be obtained numerically, which makes computer implementation simpler:
c = OR / tan(DOP).
(4) For each step, the operator has a more objective procedure to follow. Therefore the method is less operator dependent.
(5) The DESM has a strong theoretical basis, in that the
consolidation process is an irreversible process and most

Although a large database is very important in verifying a

method or a technique, the methods theoretical rationality
based on the fundamental phenomena of the process in the
analysis is also important. The authors realize the difficulties
for a widespread justification due to the lack of high-quality
data where preconsolidation pressure is known. Therefore,
instead of presenting as many experimental examples as possible, the authors present one example for each of the two
critical questions explored: the better linear relation of the
dissipated strain effective consolidation stress, and the enhancement in the accuracy for assessing the preconsolidation
pressure. The authors encourage readers to analyze their
own database and establish their own judgment. Justification
by many people is better than justification by a few people;
in this respect, the authors appreciate the ideas of Becker et
al. (1989).
To investigate whether a better linear relation between the
dissipated strain energy and the effective stress could be obtained using the proposed method, a typical consolidation
test (see Fig. 8 for the e log p plot from this test) carried
out at the Mississauga, Ontario, laboratory of Golder Associates and provided by D.E. Becker was analyzed using different methods. The coefficients of determination from the
different methods are presented in Table 1. The coefficient
of determination is a criterion for the quality of linear correlation. A perfect linear correlation has a coefficient of determination equal to 1. Natural strain was used in calculating
the total strain energy, the elastic strain energy, and the dissipated strain energy. In addition, total work, elastic work, and
plastic work are calculated for the correlation analysis. The
analytical results indicate, in practice, the total work, elastic
work, and plastic work can be directly used for the correlation analysis and the plots to obtain c. This makes the
DSEM very convenient. The example also indicates that, although the energy method is theoretically equivalent to the
e log p and log(1 + e) log p methods, in practice the methods are not equivalent. The coefficients of linear correlation
show the relative merits of these methods, but this is difficult
to determine by looking at the graphs. In this example, it
is shown that both second loading and unloading follow a
better linear relation and there is no apparent enhancement
in the linear relation for the strain energy plots (dissipated or
total strain energy).
Since no other information is available for judging the rationality of the preconsolidation pressures obtained, it is dif 2004 NRC Canada

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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 41, 2004

Fig. 8. The e log p plot for a typical consolidation test.

Table 1. Preconsolidation pressures (Pc) and coefficients of determination from the different methods.
Coefficient of determination
Method

Pc

Initial loading

Second loading

First unloading

Second unloading

e log p
Log (1 + e) log p
Energy method (EM)
DSEM

380
367
480
435

0.800
0.799
0.973 (0.973)
0.973 (0.973)

0.820
0.818
0.995 (0.995)
0.995 (0.995)

0.750
0.750
0.915 (0.929)
0.915 (0.929)

0.963
0.965
0.997 (0.997)
0.997 (0.997)

Note: The values in parentheses are for the workp (total work, elastic work, plastic work) correlation and indicate
that this correlation can be used without changing much of the linear relation, but the method is greatly simplified.

ficult to evaluate the relative merits of the different methods

through this example. To investigate how well the different
methods assess the preconsolidation pressure, the results
from a man-made sample consolidated in the laboratory at
Georgia Tech to a maximum stress of 400 kPa have been analyzed using the different methods. The results are presented
in Table 2 and indicate that the DSEM gives the closest estimate of the preconsolidation pressure.
Although it cannot be concluded that the newly proposed
method will always work better than other methods based on
these two examples, the authors invite readers to analyze
their own tests to establish their confidence in using the proposed method. It is also the authors pleasure to analyze any
data that readers are willing to provide.
To give better illustrations of the calculations of the various strain energies, a detailed example is presented in Appendix A.

Table 2. Preconsolidation pressures determined by the different methods.

Method

Preconsolidation
pressure (kPa)

Casagrande
Burmister
Becker
Butterfield
Intersecting tangent
DSEM

469
560
494
467
492
408

can be analytically established through micromechanics. The

newly developed method is less operator dependent and can
account for sample disturbance effects to a certain degree.
The examples investigated herein show that the new method
has potential and should be investigated further.

Conclusion
A new method, called the dissipated strain energy method
or DSEM, has been developed and presented in this paper.
Dissipated strain energy is mechanically the cause of consolidation; its linear relation with effective consolidation stress

Acknowledgment
Dr. Beckers kind presentation of some of the test data for
this study from an engineering project is sincerely appreciated.
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Wang and Frost

767

References

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Appendix A
This appendix documents an example of how to use conventional one-dimensional consolidation test results to calculate the specific accumulative total strain energy (strain
energy per unit volume), specific accumulative elastic strain
energy, and specific accumulative dissipated strain energy.
In this example, e0 = 0.3551 (see Table A1). The soil is a
brown sandy silty clay and was tested in the Central Laboratory of Law Engineering and Environmental Service, Inc.,
Atlanta, Georgia. The incremental volumetric strain (IVS) is
given as
e
1 + e0

v =

under one-dimensional conditions and is equal to the incremental vertical strain z; the incremental total strain energy
(ITSE) is given as
pi + pi 1
v
2

Eit =

for i = 1 K N and p0 = 0; the accumulative total strain energy

(ATSE) is given as
i

Eit = Ekt
k =1

and the accumulative elastic strain energy (AESE) is given

as
Eie =

C r pi
1 + e0

where the recompression index

Cr =

e
log ps log pe

in which e is the void ratio change of the unload cycle, and

ps and pe are the consolidation stresses when the unloading
starts and ends, respectively. In this example, ps = 2 ksf,
pe = 0.5 ksf, and e = 0.3225 0.3177 = 0.0048. Thus Cr =
0.00797 (see Table A1). The accumulative dissipated strain
energy (ADSE) is given as Eid = Eit Eie .
In these calculations, i represents the ith load, and pi represents the consolidation stress of the ith loading step.
It should be noted that strains thus defined in this example
follow the definition of engineering strain for simplification.
The computed strain energies are specific strain energies
(strain energies per unit volume).
It should also be noted that due to the loading relief in the
sampling process the first part of the consolidation is actually elastic recompression (only a little consolidation deformation). Therefore, the dissipated strain energy is negative
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Can. Geotech. J. Vol. 41, 2004

Table A1. Numerical example of the calculation of various strain energies.
Load
(ksf)

DIAL
(in.)

Void
ratio

0.0
0.1
0.5
1.0
2.0
0.5
1.0
2.0
4.0
8.0

0.04070
0.04270
0.05090
0.06110
0.06830
0.06470
0.06615
0.06940
0.08270
0.09640

0.3551
0.3524
0.3412
0.3274
0.3177
0.3225
0.3206
0.3162
0.2982
0.2796

IVS
0.0000
0.0020
0.0083
0.0102
0.0072
0.0035
0.0014
0.0032
0.0133
0.0137

ITSE
(ksf)

ATSE
(ksf)

ATSE
C (ksf)

AESE
(ksf)

ADSE
(ksf)

ADSEC
(ksf)

0.0000
0.0001
0.0025
0.0076
0.0107
0.0044
0.0011
0.0049
0.0398
0.0824

0.0000
0.0001
0.0026
0.0102
0.0210
0.0165
0.0176
0.0224
0.0623
0.1447

0.0000
0.0188
0.0213
0.0289
0.0397
0.0353
0.0363
0.0412
0.0810
0.1634

0.0000
0.0006
0.0029
0.0059
0.0118
0.0029
0.0059
0.0118
0.0235
0.0471

0.0000
0.0005
0.0004
0.0043
0.0092
0.0136
0.0117
0.0107
0.0388
0.0976

0.0000
0.0182
0.0184
0.0231
0.0279
0.0323
0.0304
0.0294
0.0575
0.1163

using Eid = Eit Eie and Eie = C n pi /(1 + e0). These values
should be corrected by adding a term equal to OR in Fig. 5.
RO can be obtained by regression analysis of the last three
points on the OD plot, i.e., (2, 0.0107), (4, 0.0388), and (8,
0.0976) (see Table A1, the Load column and the ADSE column). In this case, OR = 0.0187 ksf.
The accumulative total strain energy corrected (ATSEC) =
ATSE + OR, which is equivalent to coordinate transform
from R origin to O origin (see Fig. 5), and the accumulative
dissipated strain energy corrected (ADSEC) = ADSE + OR,
the meaning of which is as given previously.
Figure A1 plots the strain energies in the energy consolidation stress space. The p coordinate that corresponds to the
RpOD intersecting point, 1.3 ksf, is the preconsolidation
stress.

Fig. A1. Strain energy versus consolidation stress for the example test.

2004 NRC Canada