Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17 – 34

www.elsevier.com/locate/enggeo

Applying the hyperbolic method and C a /C c concept for settlement

prediction of complex organic-rich soil formations
Mosleh A. Al-Shamrani*
Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Received 11 November 2003; accepted 14 July 2004
Available online 11 September 2004

Abstract

The hyperbolic method has proved applicable for settlement prediction in complex soil formations. However, when an
appreciable portion of the settlement is due to secondary compression, settlement prediction based on the slope of the initial
linear portion of the hyperbolic plot requires a correction factor that would be different for different amounts of secondary
compression. Although inverse of the slope of the final linear portion of the hyperbolic curve can provide reasonable estimates
of total settlements, including secondary compression, establishing the curve slope requires data beyond 90% consolidation, and
this renders the hyperbolic method less useful for practical applications. This paper examined the feasibility of predicting total
settlements of heterogeneous soils, which also exhibit prominent secondary compression behaviour, by utilizing the hyperbolic
method for estimating ultimate primary consolidation settlement and the time for its completion, and the C a /C c concept of
compressibility for predicting secondary compression. The applicability of the proposed procedure was examined using the
results of laboratory tests and an instrumented test embankment constructed on a typical sabkha formation. The combined use of
the hyperbolic method and the C a /C c concept has been found to provide reasonable estimates of total settlements where the
hyperbolic curve was initially concave downward. Contrarily, for hyperbolic plots that do not show convex curvature toward
the origin, the hyperbolic method predicted a significantly erroneous time for the completion of primary consolidation, hence
leading to unreasonable estimates of secondary compression. Thus, where settlement versus time fully obeys the rectangular
hyperbolic relationship, total settlement, inclusive of secondary compression, can simply be estimated as the reciprocal of the
slope of the fitted straight line.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Hyperbolic method; C a /C c concept; Settlement; Heterogeneous soils; Primary consolidation; Secondary compression; Sabkha soils;
Test embankment

1. Introduction

Commonly ultimate primary consolidation settle-

* Fax: +966 1 4677008. ment is obtained using Terzaghi’s conventional one-
E-mail address: Shamrani@ksu.edu.sa. dimensional model. However, particularly for hetero-
0013-7952/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2004.07.004
18 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
geneous soils the discrepancy between predicted
values and actual in situ settlements is evident. This
discrepancy primarily arises from the fact that the
compressibility parameters are obtained in the labo-
ratory from samples of relatively small size that are
more homogeneous compared to heterogeneous field
sediments in which various soil types may be
interlayered at random and may occur without
exhibiting any real stratification.
The two-constant hyperbolic form of mathematical
relation has been found to offer a practical tool for
describing a multitude of physical phenomena in
geotechnical engineering including: nonlinear stress–
strain behaviour (Konder, 1963; Duncan and Chang,
1970; Sridharan and Rao, 1972; Boscardin et al.,
1990; Stark et al., 1994), and heave of expansive soils
(Dakshanamurthy, 1978; Sivapullaiah et al., 1996).
Tan (1971), Kodandaramaswamy and Narasimah Rao
(1980), and Narasimah Rao and Somayajulu (1981)
has applied the hyperbolic fitting method for estima-
tion of settlement, where the relationship between
settlement d and time t is assumed to follow a
hyperbolic curve given by the equation
t Rao, 1981; Sridharan et al., 1987; Tan, 1993, 1994).
d¼ : ð1Þ
B þ At
Rearranging terms, Eq. (1) can be rewritten as
t inverse slope method to work as a means of predicting
¼ B þ At: ð2Þ
d ultimate settlement, and considering the character-
Eq. (2) is the equation of a straight line, where A
and B are the slope and the intercept of the straight
line, respectively. If settlement d versus time t obeys
the rectangular hyperbolic relationship, the trans-
formed hyperbolic plot of t/d against t should be a
straight line and the ultimate total settlement is
obtained from the asymptotic line to the hyperbola.
Taking the limits of Eq. (2) as t approaches infinity,
the total settlement is given by 1/A, which is the
reciprocal of the slope of the straight line.
Sridharan and Sreepada Rao (1981) and Sridharan
et al. (1987) applied Eq. (2) to obtain the coefficient of
consolidation. The relationship shown in Fig. 1a
between the average degree of consolidation, U av,
and the time factor, T v, as obtained from Terzaghi’s
theory for constant/linear pore water pressure distri-
bution and double drainage, was plotted in the form of
T v/U av versus T v as shown in Fig. 1b. The hyperbolic
curve is initially concave downward, but in the range
0.286 V T v V 0.848, which corresponds to 60% b
U av b90%, the relationship of T v/U av against T v is
approximately linear (Sridharan et al., 1987). Tan
(1993) suggested that, with no appreciable loss of
accuracy, the linear segment of the theoretical hyper-
bolic curve can be taken to start at U av = 50% and
described by
Tv
¼ b þ aTv ; ð3Þ
Uav
where b and a are, respectively, the intercept and the
slope of the linear portion of the theoretical hyperbolic
plot shown in Fig. 1b. The average slope of the initial
linear segment, a i, is equal to 0.824 F 0.04 (Sridharan
and Sreepada Rao, 1981). Beyond U av of 90%, the
hyperbolic plot diverts slightly upward over a narrow
range, leading to another linear relationship at a slope
of 1, except for soils containing organic materials for
which the line is diverted inwards due to the effects of
secondary compression (Tan, 1994).
Results from laboratory tests and reported field
data have indicated that t/d versus t plots do not
generally fit to a straight line (Sridharan and Sreepada
Consequently, ultimate settlement cannot always be
determined from the hyperbolic-fitting method con-
ventional inverse slope approach. Therefore, for the
istics of Terzaghi’s T v/U av versus T v theoretical
hyperbolic curve shown in Fig. 1b, Tan (1994)
proposed that reasonable prediction of ultimate
settlement can be obtained as the inverse of the slope
of the initial linear portion of the hyperbolic plot fitted
to actual settlement data, A i, multiplied by the slope of
the initial linear portion of the theoretical hyperbolic
curve, a i.
However, the value of a i of 0.824 is based on
Terzaghi’s theory, which ignores compressibility with
time. Because settlement in some fine-grained soils,
especially those containing an appreciable amount of
organic matter, is due not only to primary consol-
idation but also to secondary compression, the a i/A i
prediction would certainly underestimate the actual
settlement. Therefore, especially in case of a meas-
urable secondary compression, reasonable estimation
of settlement based on A i would require a correction
 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
Fig. 1. Terzaghi’s theoretical one-dimensional consolidation curve: (a) average degree of consolidation-time factor curve; (b) transformed
hyperbolic plot.
factor that would be unknown for different amounts of
secondary compression.
Tan (1994) pointed out that because the slope of
the final linear segment beyond 90% U av, A f, is
influenced by secondary compression, the inverse of
A f would be an estimate of ultimate settlement
including the effects of secondary compression.
However, even if the inverse of A f is considered to
provide good estimates of total settlements, the use of
A f has a number of restrictive limitations. Firstly,
evaluation of A f requires data beyond 90% consol-
idation, and this renders the hyperbolic method less
beneficial for practical field application (Tan, 1994).
Actually, the salient feature of the hyperbolic method
is in estimating settlement only from settlement
records sufficient to establish the linearity of the
initial portion of the hyperbolic plot. Secondly, the
hyperbolic method underestimates settlement when it
is used to extrapolate future settlement for cases where
the secondary compression index increases with time
(Choi and Cepeda-Diaz, 1981). Thirdly, irrespective
of the shape of the secondary portion of settlement
versus logarithm of time curve, the total settlement
predicted as 1/A f has been found to be dependent on
the time span over which the hyperbolic relationship
19
is fitted to the settlement data (Choi and Cepeda-Diaz,
1981). Hence, if t/d versus t does not strictly follow a
hyperbola, the predicted settlements would be an
arbitrary quantity that is function of the number of
data points utilized in the curve fitting.
It is evident therefore that for the case of soils
which exhibit prominent secondary compression
behaviour it would be both more rational and practical
to apply the hyperbolic method only in estimation of
ultimate primary consolidation settlement, and to
utilize another approach for predicting secondary
compression component. Based on the observation
that the magnitude and behaviour of coefficient of
secondary compression, C a , with time is directly
related to the magnitude and behaviour of compres-
sion index, C c, with consolidation pressure, Mesri and
Godlewski (1977) proposed the C a /C c concept of
compressibility for predicting secondary compression.
According to this concept, knowing the void ratio
versus logarithm of effective stress relationship at the
end of primary consolidation together with the ratio
C a /C c, which is considered constant for a given soil, it
is possible to estimate secondary compression at all
values of effective stress and throughout the secon-
dary compression stage.
20 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
It is the purpose of this paper to examine the
applicability of combining the hyperbolic method and
the C a /C c concept in the prediction of total settle-
ments of heterogeneous soils with appreciable secon-
dary compression. The hyperbolic method is utilized
for the prediction of ultimate primary consolidation
settlement and the time for its completion, while
secondary compression is determined based on the
C a /C c concept of compressibility. A series of conven-
tional and long-duration incremental loading one-
dimensional consolidation tests was performed on
undisturbed samples recovered from a typical com-
pressible sabkha profile. The extreme heterogeneity of
this type of soils gives rise to uncertainties in the
analysis of their behaviour. Besides, estimation of
sabkha settlements is further complicated by the
occurrence of potential secondary compression asso-
ciated with the relatively high organic content of the
compressible layer.
The hyperbolic method was applied to the exper-
imental data, and the predicted settlements were
compared with settlement values obtained from the
oedometer tests. Furthermore, the relationship
Fig. 2. Profile characteristics in sabkha formations.
between the coefficient of secondary compression,
C a , and the compression index, C c, was established,
from which the values for C a were obtained and then
used for predicting secondary compression. The
applicability of the proposed approach was further
ascertained using the results of an instrumented test
embankment constructed on a typical sabkha soil
profile.
2. Application to experimental data
2.1. Tested materials
The samples for this study were collected from
different depths and locations in a compressible layer
of a typical sabkha formation from the Jazan region on
the Southwestern coast of Saudi Arabia. Sabkha
formations are salt bearing arid climate deposits
developed by the erosion of coastal deposits both by
wind and extreme storm tides followed by a period of
sedimentation (Akili, 1981). They are encountered in
arid regions throughout the world, including Australia
 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
(Akpokodje, 1985), and the United States (Kinsman,
1969; Lund et al., 1990), but are predominantly found
in vast areas of the coasts of Middle Eastern and North
African countries (Akili, 1981; Khan and Hasnain,
1981; Stipho, 1985; Dhowian et al., 1987).
Borehole data from various investigations (Dho-
wian et al., 1987; Erol, 1989; Al-Shamrani and
Dhowian, 1997) have revealed that sabkha sediments
of Jazan region possess highly variable characteristics
both laterally and vertically. Various soil types,
primarily composed of clays, silts, fine sands, and
organic matter are interlayered at random. Variations
have been noted in layering, grain size, cementation,
and organic content. Lateral variation appears to
depend on proximity to the shoreline. The subsoil
profiles in the coastal zones consist of loose fine sand,
whereas the subsoil profiles of inland zones are
characterised by very soft clays and silts with
appreciable organic material. Vertical variation arises
from the development sequence of the sabkha sedi-
ments, the prevailing depositional environment, and
subsequent diagenesis (Akili, 1981).
Fig. 2 shows the idealised soil profile of Jazan
sabkha. Three zones characterise the soil profile: (1)
sabkha crust; (2) compressible sabkha complex; (3)
Fig. 3. Typical parameters for sabkha soils: (a) grain size distribution; (b) consistency limits.
21
sabkha base. The sabkha crust is relatively thin, dry,
silty sand with an average thickness of about 1.5 m,
existing above the water table, which is 1.0–2.0 m of
the ground surface. The sabkha base is a firm stratum
consisting mainly of medium dense to dense sand of
relatively low compressibility. The middle zone,
referred to as the compressible sabkha complex, is a
soft/loose material composed of soils varying from
nonplastic fine sands to highly plastic organic clays. A
grouping of these materials into three sublayers within
the sabkha complex is attempted in Fig. 2. However,
layering usually is not distinctively conspicuous since
a variety of materials, interlayered at random, occur
without clear stratification. The interlayering occurs at
both the macroscale where the sublayer thickness are
in the order of meters, and at the microscale where
seams or lenses are a few millimeters thick penetrate
the dominant stratum to form an extremely heteroge-
neous soil profile with respect to composition and
stratification.
The grain size and plasticity characteristics of the
sabkha complex, shown, respectively, in Fig. 3a and
b, reflect the presence of a variety of soil types in the
stratum. The organic matter contents of typical silty-
clay and sandy soil profiles are shown in Fig. 4a. In
22 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34

Fig. 4. (a) Variation of organic matter with depth in sand and clayey sabkhas; (b) organic content of sabkha compressible layer.

general, the organic matter in silty-clay profiles varies
from 3% to 8% within the upper 10 m of the sabkha
sediments, with occasional higher and lower values,
as shown in the histogram given in Fig. 4b.
2.2. Oedometer tests
The testing program included 36 incremental-
loading consolidation tests on 70-mm diameter, 19-
mm-thick undisturbed specimens. The specimens
were loaded at a load increment ratio (LIR) of unity.
In the first set of 24 tests, each sample was left under
load for a time sufficient for completion of primary
consolidation as estimated by Casagrande’s logarithm
of time fitting method, and secondary compression for
at least one logarithmic cycle of time. If the inflection
point between primary and secondary compression
stages, which is taken to indicate the end of primary
consolidation, was not well defined, the test was
terminated after a 1 week.
The second set of tests comprised six incremental
loading long-term one-dimensional consolidation tests
all performed under an initial load increment of 28
kPa, with the final load increment given by the
expression 282n1 kPa, where n is the test number.
The final load increment for the 4th test was, for
instance, equal to 224 kPa. A load increment ratio
(LIR) of unity was used and each load increment was
sustained on the sample for a period of 1 week, except
the last increment which was maintained for about 10
to 14 weeks. A third set of six tests was performed
following the same testing procedure of the second
set, except that the tests were carried out on samples
recovered after field preloading of a sabkha profile.
 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34 23

Fig. 5. (a) Typical consolidation curves for sabkha soils; (b) transformed hyperbolic representation of settlement versus time plots.

Typical relationships obtained between settlement
and logarithm of time are shown in Fig 5a. It is obvious
that secondary compression represents a significant
part of sabkha deformation. This is expected in view of
the appreciable amount of organic content in the tested
sabkha soil as shown in Fig. 4. The results of most tests
followed a standard dST shape, and the inflection point
between the primary and secondary stages was well
defined. The settlement versus logarithm of time
relationship of a few tests did not follow the classical
S-shaped curve, and instead of showing a concave-
down shape in the initial part exhibited a concave-up
shape. Because of the high initial permeability, the
primary consolidation was very rapid and the 24-h
increment duration encompassed two to three loga-
rithms of time cycles of secondary compression. In
most of the consolidation tests conducted, the rate of
secondary compression was either constant or gradu-
ally decreased with logarithm of time. Only in two
tests, the result of one of which is shown in Fig. 5a, did
the rate of secondary compression increase with
logarithm of time.
2.3. Applicability of hyperbolic method to experimen-
tal data
The results of the 36 tests conducted were plotted in
transformed hyperbolic plots of t/d versus t, examples

Fig. 6. Measured versus 0.824/A i hyperbolic method predictions: (a) total settlement; (b) ultimate primary consolidation settlement.
24 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
of which are shown in Fig. 5b for the experimental data
of Fig. 5a. In order for the initial portion of the curves
to be seen, only data points sufficient to establish the
initial linear portion of the hyperbolic plots are shown.
A variety of shapes for the hyperbolic plot was
observed with the hyperbolic plots differing primarily
in the extent and degree of concavity of the initial
portion of the curve. The variation among the results is
expected, and essentially reflects the natural variation
of the sabkha soils over the area of the site. However,
irrespective of the various observed shapes of the
settlement versus log time curves, the linearity was
discerned for a substantial time interval for all the
tested samples and for all the stress increments,
suggesting the applicability of the hyperbolic method
as a representation of the primary consolidation
behaviour of the tested sabkha soils.
The slope of the initial linear portion of the
hyperbolic plot, A i, was graphically determined for
all the hyperbolic curves of the tests conducted. Fig.
6a compares the measured total settlements, d t, from
the laboratory tests, with the values estimated from the
inverse of the measured slope of the initial linear
segment, A i, multiplied by the theoretical factor,
a i =0.824 (that is d t = 0.824/A i). It is noted that a high
proportion of the results lies in a fairly close band
despite the distinct dissimilarities in the composition
of the tested soils. However, it is apparent that the
hyperbolic method substantially underestimated most
of the measured total settlements. This is a clear
indication of the deviation of the actual settlement–
time response of the tested soils from Terzaghi’s
theoretical curve. The discrepancy between the
measured and estimated total settlements is essentially
due to the contribution of secondary compression.
Indeed, if longer periods of secondary compression
were allowed in the tests, the discrepancy would
certainly have been higher than that shown in Fig. 6a.
The time for the end of primary consolidation, t p,
was identified using the Casagrande logarithm of time
fitting procedure. Accordingly, the corresponding
ultimate primary consolidation settlement, d p, was
determined from the settlement versus logarithm of
time curve associated with each load increment and
plotted against 0.824/A i in Fig. 6b. It is noted that the
data are closer to the equity line as compared to the case
of total settlement shown in Fig. 6a. This suggests that
the inverse of the slope of the initial linear portion of the
hyperbolic plot fitted to actual settlement data, A i,
multiplied by the slope of the initial linear portion of the
theoretical hyperbolic plot, a i, provides a good estimate
of ultimate primary consolidation settlement. Further-
more, the discrepancy between measured total settle-
ments and values predicted as 0.824/A i would decrease
as the contribution of primary settlement to total
settlement increases. Although secondary compression
slightly affects the value of the slope of the initial linear
segment of the hyperbolic curve, A i, and thus the
predicted ultimate primary consolidation settlement, its
main effect is on the slope of the final linear segment of
the hyperbolic curve, A f, which decreases with
increasing rate of secondary compression. This is
demonstrated in Fig. 7, where it is seen that the ratio
A f/A i is inversely proportional to the ratio of secondary
settlement, d s, to total settlement, d t.
The slope of the final linear segment of the hyper-
bolic plot, A f, was graphically determined for all the
hyperbolic curves of the tests conducted, and settle-
ment estimates obtained as the inverse of A f are
compared with the observed settlement values in Fig.
8. The agreement between the measured and estimated
total settlements is excellent. The data are clustered
along the equity line, unaffected by soil type, loading
duration, and intensity of loading, all of which are
known to affect the compressibility parameters. How-
ever, despite the fact that the inverse of A f is seen to
provide a good estimate of the total settlement, the use
Fig. 7. Relationship between the ratio of secondary compression to
total settlement and the proportion of final and initial slopes of the
hyperbolic curve.
 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
Fig. 8. Measured total settlements compared to 1/A f hyperbolic
method predictions.
of A f in settlement prediction has a number of
disadvantages that have already been stated at the
outset of this paper.
2.4. Secondary compression based on C a /C c concept
The secondary compression index, C a , is by far the
most useful and commonly used parameter for
Fig. 9. (a) Typical end of primary void ratio versus logarithm of consolidation stress for sabkha soils; (b) compression index versus coefficient of
secondary compression for sabkha soils.
25
describing secondary compression (Mesri and God-
lewski, 1977). The importance of this parameter stems
from the fact that for some soils the parameter indicates
a nearly constant value for a given load increment (Lo,
1961). Hence, the secondary compression, d s, can
simply be determined from (Buisman, 1936):
 
Ca Hp tf
ds ¼ log ð4Þ
1 þ ep tp
where H p is the thickness of the soil layer at time t p, t p
is the time corresponding to the completion of primary
consolidation, t f is the time at which the secondary
compression settlement is to be computed, and e p is the
void ratio at the assumed end of primary consolidation
and commencement of secondary compression.
According to the C a /C c concept of compressibility,
the end of primary consolidation void ratio versus
logarithm of effective stress relationship and the ratio
C a /C c completely defines the secondary compression
behaviour (Mesri and Godlewski, 1977). An end-of-
primary (EOP) consolidation curve is obtained by
plotting effective stress, r vV, and the corresponding
void ratio, e p, for each load increment on an e versus
log r vV plot. Fig. 9a shows such a plot for one of the
oedometer tests conducted in the present study. Shown
26 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
also are elog r vV curves for void ratios corresponding
to 10t p and 100t p. It is noted that at any given stress the
slopes of the tangents on the elog r vV curve, which
represent the values for compression index, C c, do not
change with elapsed time of loading. For the same test,
the rate of secondary compression was also found to be
constant with logarithm of time. This trend which has
been observed almost for all the specimens tested,
substantiates the suggestion made by Mesri and
Godlewski (1977) that changes in C a with time reflect
changes in C c with elapsed time of loading.
For any given consolidation stress, the value of C a
was obtained from the linear portion of the elog t
curve immediately after the completion of primary
consolidation and transition to secondary compres-
sion. The corresponding value of C c for the same load
increment was obtained from the slope (i.e., tangent)
of the end-of-primary (EOP) elog r vV curve. Further
pairs of corresponding C a and C c were determined at
a certain void ratio and time of elapsed loading. A plot
of the corresponding values of C a and C c for the
tested sabkha soils is shown in Fig. 9b. Initially, the
regression line does not pass through the origin but
instead has a minimal positive intercept on the vertical
axis. Mesri et al. (1990) presented experimental data
for a variety of sands where the linear regression lines
fitted to C a versus C c plots have nonzero positive
intercepts. On the other hand, Fox et al. (1992) found
that for peat the fitting lines do not pass through the
origin but have a negative intercept on the C a axis.
This might imply that, for highly organic plastic clays,
with significant secondary compression, the intercepts
on the C a axis are negative, while for granular
materials the intercepts are positive. However, in
general, for the majority of inorganic soft clays the
regression lines pass through the origin.
Since the value of the intercept of the regression
line of the data of Fig. 9b is infinitesimally small
(3104), it was justifiable to neglect it and take the
relationship between C a and C c to pass through origin.
From the results of Fig. 9b, the slope of the best-fit line
through the origin gives a value of 0.037 for the C a /C c
ratio. This value is within the range from 0.03 to 0.05
reported for soft clays (Mesri and Castro, 1987) and
higher than the range from 0.015 to 0.03 found for
granular soils (Mesri et al., 1990). The tested sabkha
soils consist primarily of silt-size grains, and the clay
and sand percentages vary from 15% to 30% and 10%
to 25%, respectively. Evidently, the composition of the
tested sabkha soils is reflected in the value of C a /C c
ratio being above the range reported for granular soils
and within the limits suggested for soft clays.
2.5. End of primary consolidation using the hyper-
bolic method
According to Eq. (4), the magnitude and hence
significance of secondary compression depends,
besides C a , on t p and t f. The time t f simply represents
the design life for which the secondary settlement is
computed. The time for the end of primary consol-
idation, t p, is best identified by the measurement of
pore water pressure. However, in the absence of pore
water pressure measurements, t p is routinely obtained
from curve fitting methods, of which Casagrande’s
logarithm of time fitting method is considered the
most widely used procedure. According to this
method, settlement is plotted versus logarithm of time
and the intersection of the tangent at the inflection
point and the tangent to the final linear portion of the
curve designates the completion of primary consol-
idation and beginning of secondary compression.
However, the establishment of the intersection point
requires the settlement records to exceed the primary
consolidation stage and advance into the secondary
compression stage for an elapsed time sufficient to
establish the tangent of the linear portion representing
secondary compression. This actually abrogates the
merit of the hyperbolic method of estimating primary
consolidation settlement from settlement records only
sufficient to establish the linearity of the initial portion
of the hyperbolic plot. Furthermore, the log-time
method is used, based on the assumption that a linear
relation is observed between settlement and logarithm
of time beyond the inflection point. However, field and
laboratory results have indicated that for highly organic
soils and some inorganic silts, the settlement versus
logarithm of time curve does not have a linear segment
during secondary compression at all, but instead
exhibits continuous curvature (Lo, 1961; Mesri and
Godlewski, 1977; Fox et al., 1992). In this case, t p
cannot be identified in the arbitrary manner of
Casagrande’s procedure (Wahls, 1962; Mesri and
Godlewski, 1977, Sridharan et al., 1987).
Experimental results provided by Sridharan et al.
(1987), for different types of soils and different
 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
Fig. 10. Determination of t p based on hyperbolic relationship.
loading conditions, indicated that even if the secon-
dary portion of the settlement versus logarithm of time
curve is nonlinear, when the curve is transformed into
a time–settlement versus time hyperbolic plot, the
initial linear portion of the hyperbolic curve can be
identified and its slope, A i, is given from Fig. 10 as
tp
B
dp
Ai ¼ : ð5Þ
tp
Rearranging the terms in Eq. (5) gives
Bdp
tp ¼ : ð6Þ
1  Ai dp
However, as proposed by Tan (1993) d p is equal to
the inverse of A i multiplied by the theoretical slope a i,
Fig. 11. (a) t p from Casagrande and hyperbolic fitting methods; (b) secondary compression based on t p from Casagrande and hyperbolic fitting
methods.
27
or
ai
dp ¼ : ð7Þ
Ai
Substituting Eq. (7) into Eq. (6) yields
ai B
tp ¼ : ð8Þ
ð1  ai ÞAi
From Eq. (8), the magnitude of t p can be deter-
mined knowing only the slope and intercept of the ini-
tial straight line part, and hence the consolidation test
need not be taken beyond the point at which the initial
linear segment of the hyperbolic curve is established.
The values of t p obtained from Eq. (8) and from
Casagrande’s method are compared in Fig. 11a. It is
noted that the hyperbolic method gave lower t p
values. This agrees with the observation made by
Sridharan et al. (1995) that the graphical methods
that depend on the later stages of consolidation for
curve fitting (like Casagrande’s method), where
secondary compression effect dominates, give lower
values of the coefficient of consolidation (i.e.,
higher values of t p).
2.6. Hyperbolic method and C a /C c concept for
estimation of total settlements
With t p determined from Eq. (8) and C a found
from the ratio C a /C c expressed in Fig. 9b, secondary
settlements, d s, provided by Eq. (4) are compared with
the measured values in Fig. 11b. Although Fig. 11a
28 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
Fig. 12. Measured total settlements compared to predictions from
combined use of the hyperbolic method and the C a /C c concept.
indicates rather significant discrepancy in the values
of t p obtained from the hyperbolic and Casagrande
fitting methods, it seen from Fig. 11b that the
secondary compressions obtained based on t p from
the two methods are quite comparable. For all the tests
conducted, the total settlements, d t, was computed as
the sum of ultimate primary settlements, d p, given by
Eq. (7) and secondary settlements, d s, provided by Eq.
(4). Fig. 12 shows that the agreement between the
measured and computed total settlement values is
remarkably good.
3. Application to in situ settlements
The applicability of the proposed approach of
combined use of the hyperbolic method and the C a /
C c concept for settlement prediction was further
validated by considering the results of an instru-
mented test embankment constructed on a typical
sabkha formation. The preload was a two-stage
embankment. The first stage was a 1.0-m-high fill
and covered an area of 40 by 40 m. A second stage
2.0 m high was built to attain a central 3.0-m fill
height over an area of 15 by 15 m. Prior to placing
the fill, four boreholes were drilled at the location of
the instrumented test embankment. The borehole
logs indicated that the compressible layer is about 10
m thick and is covered with a sabkha crust layer of
1.0-m thickness. Details of the test embankment, the
location of the field instrumentation, and character-
istics of the sabkha complex at the specific location
of the embankment are found elsewhere (Dhowian et
al., 1987).
The loading history and the corresponding time–
settlement plot recorded under the centre of the
embankment are illustrated in Fig. 13a and b,
respectively. Because the initial part of the curve
was influenced by breaks in the loading process, the
zero time corresponding to an instantaneous loading
was taken equal to half the construction period of 1
week. The excess pore pressure recorded by a
piezometer installed under the centre of the embank-
ment at a depth of 8.75 m below the ground surface is
shown in Fig. 13c.
It can be observed from Fig. 13b that the total
settlement was about 197 mm at the end of the
observation period. The portions of observed settle-
ment due to primary consolidation and secondary
compression are 153 and 44 mm, respectively.
Separation of the observed total settlement into
primary and secondary components was established
based on the premise that the primary consolidation
was concluded by the complete dissipation of mid-
plane excess pore pressures, as measured by installed
piezometers. According to the piezometer records
given in Fig. 13c, the end-of-primary consolidation
stage was reached approximately 18 days after
construction of the embankment.
3.1. Ultimate primary consolidation settlement
predictions
The hyperbolic plot of t/d versus t corresponding
to the settlement records of Fig. 13b is shown in Fig.
13d. It is noted that after an upward concave initial
portion the data are approximately linear, indicating
that the field settlement versus time relationship
follows a rectangular hyperbola. Because only one
data point lies above the straight line, the conclusion
that the initial part is concave upward is speculative.
Besides, the initial portion of the curve cannot be
defined accurately due to the breaks in the construc-
tion of the embankment.
Despite the distinct dissimilarities in the compo-
sition of the sabkha soils, as indicated by the
straight line correlation, the hyperbolic representa-
tion given in Fig. 13d is considered exceptionally
 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
Fig. 13. Instrumented test embankment: (a) loading history; (b) measured settlements; (c) excess pore pressure; (d) hyperbolic plot for measured
settlements.
good. The slope of the fitted line was found to be
approximately the same, regardless of whether the
entire data was fitted or only data at the initial stage
was considered. Thus, A i and A f were considered
equal for all subsequent computations. From Fig.
13d, the slope of the fitted line, A i, was found to be
0.0048/mm. Substituting this value into Eq. (7),
along with a i = 0.824, gave an estimate of ultimate
primary consolidation settlement of 172 mm.
Although the recorded value is overestimated by
about 12.4%, this estimate is considered reasonably
good in view of the complexity of the sabkha soils,
including its extreme heterogeneity and appreciable
secondary compression.
The validity of the hyperbolic method predic-
tions of ultimate primary settlement was further
investigated by considering predictions obtained
from Terzaghi’s conventional one-dimensional
model. The characteristics of the soils which
compose the sublayers within the sabkha complex
at the specific location of the embankment were
obtained from the results of standard oedometer
tests performed by Dhowian et al. (1987) on
undisturbed samples of sabkha soils, and are shown
in Fig. 14. The water table is at a depth of 1 to 2
29
m below the natural ground surface. The relation-
ship between compression index, C c, and dry
density, c d, is shown in Fig. 15. The relatively
high correlation coefficient r 2 of 0.92 indicates that
the compression index, C c, correlated well with the
reciprocal of dry density, c d, for a wide range of C c
values.
Based on the profile of c d with depth, C c values
for sublayers were found and the initial void ratios
were determined based on c d, considering an
average specific gravity of 2.78 for the entire
compressible sabkha layer. The compressible layer
under the test embankment was divided into 10
sublayers. Referring to Fig. 14, the effective over-
burden pressure was estimated at the middle of each
sublayer, and the induced vertical stress increase at
the middle of each sublayer due to embankment
loading was computed using an elastic, semi-infinite
medium.
The ultimate primary consolidation settlement
under the centre of the embankment obtained from
Terzaghi’s one-dimensional model was 233 mm.
This value overestimated the observed ultimate
primary consolidation settlement by about 52%,
which is obviously higher than the 12.4% hyperbolic
30 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34

Fig. 14. Soil profile under the test embankment.

method overprediction. The significant overpredic-

tion of settlement based on conventional compressi-
bility analysis is primarily due to the use of the
laboratory-determined parameters. Because of their
relatively small size, experimental samples were
more homogeneous compared with field sediments
with highly variable profiles.

3.2. Secondary settlement predictions

Knowing the compression index, C c, the secondary

Fig. 15. Compression index versus reciprocal of dry density for
sabkha soils.
compression index, C a , may be obtained from the C a /
C c ratio expressed in Fig. 9b. From the intercept of the
hyperbolic plot with the ordinate of Fig. 13d, B was
found to be 0.040 min/mm. Substituting this value
into Eq. (8), along with a i = 0.824 and A i = 0.0048/mm,
gives a time for the end of primary settlement of 39
days. This value significantly overestimated the 18
 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
days found based on the piezometer data shown in
Fig. 13c.
An average smooth curve was fitted to the field
settlement data as shown in Fig. 16. Using Casa-
grande’s procedure, t p was found to be 26 days.
Although the actual 18-day period required for full
dissipation of pore pressure was grossly overestimated
by both methods, it is obvious that the log-time fitting
method furnished a far better estimate for t p than the
hyperbolic method. However, it should be noted that
the hyperbolic method found t p by considering only
the first four readings while the log-time fitting
method utilized the entire data points.
Since t f/t p has the same value for all sublayers, it is
possible to consider the profile as a single layer.
However, the soil profile consists of distinct soil
deposits, each with a distinct value for C c, which
result in a significant variation in C a . Therefore, the
secondary compression of each sublayer was com-
puted separately, and the total secondary compression
was determined by the sum of secondary compres-
sions of the individual sublayers.
From Eq. (4), with t f of 65 days, t p of 39 days and
substituting for e p the in situ void ratio e 0 for
individual sublayers, the predicted secondary com-
pression for the entire compressible sabkha layer was
found to be 15 mm. This value significantly under-
estimated the measured value by about 66%. This is
primarily due to the rather unrealistic time to the end
of primary consolidation obtained from Eq. (8).
Fig. 16. Log time curve fitted to measured field settlements under
the centre of test embankment.
31
However, by using the actual t p of 18 days, the
predicted secondary compression was found to be
34.5 mm, underpredicting the measured value by less
than 22%. Therefore, considering the highly hetero-
geneous and complex sabkha soil profiles, it seems
possible to suggest that the use of C a /C c concept of
compressibility could furnish adequate prediction of
secondary compression of sabkha soils.
In fact, examination of the results of Fig. 11a has
shown that the best agreements between t p values
determined from Casagrande’s method and from Eq.
(8) were for the cases when the initial portions of the
hyperbolic curves show convex curvature toward the
origin, indicating a definite nonlinearity in the early
portion of settlement versus time relationship. Contra-
rily, the discrepancy between the values of t p obtained
from the two fitting methods was large for test results
whose hyperbolic plots were approximately fitted by a
straight line over the entire data range. It is evident
therefore that where the transformed hyperbolic plot
deviates from the concave-down shape of the trans-
formed theoretical curve shown in Fig. 1b and is
approximately fitted by a straight line, Eq. (8) would
give unreasonable value for t p.
Taking the inverse of the slope of the hyperbolic
plot, A f, (which for Fig. 13d is equal to A i) gave a
total settlement of 208 mm. This prediction is
considered exceptionally good as it overestimated
the measured value by less than 6%. This agrees
with the results of the experimental data shown in
Fig. 8, in which the reciprocal of A f provided good
estimates of the measured total settlements. The
relatively small difference between the measured
total settlements and the 1/A f predictions may, in
part, be attributed to the fact that the soil layer
under the test embankment may still had a tendency
of undergoing further settlements. Hence, the settle-
ment value taken at the end of the observation
period may be somewhere between the observed
ultimate primary consolidation settlement and the
potential total settlement.
The secondary compression obtained from the
hyperbolic method is simply the difference between
the predicted total and ultimate primary settlements,
and thus is equal to 36 mm. This prediction by the
hyperbolic method is remarkably similar to that
determined based on the C a /C c concept when t p was
taken from piezometer measurements.
32 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
4. Suggested procedure for settlement prediction
The first essential step is to plot the time–
settlement versus time relationship, and the range of
the data should be sufficient to establish the initial
portion of the hyperbolic plot. If the hyperbolic curve
has a concave-down initial portion, the total settle-
ment, d t, is determined from a combined use of the
hyperbolic method and the C a /C c concept, and Eqs.
(4), (7), and (8) yield
 
ai Ca Hp tf ð1  ai ÞAi
dt ¼ þ log : ð9Þ
Ai 1 þ ep ai B
The values of A i and B are determined from the
hyperbolic plot, and the value of C a is obtained after
establishing the relationship between C a and C c as,
for instance, shown in Fig. 9b for the sabkha soils
considered in this study.
For the case where the hyperbolic plot entirely
follows a straight line, the end of primary consol-
idation settlement obtained using the hyperbolic
method would be unreliable, and hence the total
settlement, inclusive of secondary compression, is
obtained from
1 secondary compression is calculated using the C a /C c
dt ¼ : ð10Þ
Ai
If the components of the total settlement are
required, then the ultimate primary consolidation
settlement is obtained from Eq. (7), and the secondary
compression is simply expressed as
1  ai
ds ¼ : ð11Þ
Ai
It has been noted at the outset of this paper that
using the inverse slope method involves a number
of limitations, the least of which is that establishing
the slope of the final portion of the hyperbolic plot
requires data beyond 90% primary consolidation.
However, where the hyperbolic curve entirely
follows a straight line, A f is essentially equal to
A i , and as expressed in Eq. (10) settlement
computations may be based on A i . Thus, the
limitations associated with the use of A f become, to
great extent, irrelevant.
An advantage of using Eq. (10) is that the total
settlement is directly obtained without the need for it
to be partitioned into primary and secondary compo-
nents. This is important considering the widely held
view (Bjerrum, 1967; Crawford, 1986) that both
primary and secondary consolidations begin simulta-
neously with the application of a pressure increment,
and hence it is not possible to know how much of the
measured field settlement is due to primary consol-
idation and how much to secondary compression.
Indeed, in a nonhomogeneous soil formation, such as
the one under consideration, it is to be expected that
thin layer or layers with high permeability may have
experienced significant secondary compression, while
others may be still at the early stage of primary
consolidation.
5. Summary and conclusions
In this paper, the feasibility of using the hyperbolic
method and C a /C c concept in combination for
settlement predictions of complex soil formations,
displaying appreciable secondary compression, has
been investigated. The hyperbolic method is used to
provide an estimate of the ultimate primary consol-
idation settlement and the time for its completion, and
concept of compressibility.
The applicability of the proposed procedure has
been verified using experimental data from series of
conventional and long-duration one-dimensional con-
solidation tests, conducted on undisturbed samples, as
well as the results of an instrumented test embank-
ment constructed on a typical compressible sabkha
profile. The hyperbolic method estimate of the in situ
ultimate primary consolidation settlement was also
compared with the prediction obtained from Terza-
ghi’s conventional one-dimensional model.
Provided that the hyperbolic plot has an initial
portion that is concave downward, the proposed
approach has been found to give reasonable esti-
mates of total settlements. Ultimate primary consol-
idation settlement was reasonably well predicted
from the inverse of the slope of the initial linear
segment of the hyperbolic plot fitted to actual
settlement data, A i, multiplied by the slope of the
initial linear portion of the theoretical hyperbolic
curve, a i. With the secondary compression index,
C a , obtained using the C a /C c concept and the time
 M.A. Al-Shamrani / Engineering Geology 77 (2005) 17–34
corresponding to the end of primary consolidation
determined from the hyperbolic method, a satisfac-
tory agreement was found between measured and
predicted secondary compression values.
However, for hyperbolic plots that entirely follow a
straight line, the hyperbolic method was not reliably
able to partition settlement into primary and secon-
dary components. The time for the end of primary
consolidation was considerably overpredicted, and
hence the C a /C c concept of compressibility unreason-
ably underestimated secondary compression. There-
fore, where settlement versus time entirely obeys
rectangular hyperbola, total settlement, inclusive of
secondary compression, is satisfactorily obtained from
the hyperbolic method as the reciprocal of the slope of
the hyperbolic fitted straight line. If the components of
total settlement are required, the ultimate primary
consolidation settlement and secondary compression
are obtained from Eqs. (7) and (11), respectively.
Analysis of the experimental data and settlement
under the test embankment indicated that total
settlements provided by Eq. (10) were in remarkably
good agreement with the measured values. Further-
more, because in this case the hyperbolic curve
entirely is fitted to a straight line, A f is essentially
equal to A i, and hence the limitations associated with
the use of A f become irrelevant.
Finally, the proposed procedure has shown to be
applicable for evaluating field settlement of heteroge-
neous soils with appreciable secondary compression,
where representative properties are difficult or even
impossible to determine. However, it is worth noting
that the hyperbolic method is observational in nature
and cannot substitute the predictive methods needed at
the design stage.
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