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SOIL CONSOLIDATION BEHAVIOR ASSESSED BY SEISMIC VELOCITY MEASUREMENTS *
Author(s) -
HAMDI FALAH A.I.,
SMITH D. TAYLOR
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
geophysical prospecting
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.735
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1365-2478
pISSN - 0016-8025
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2478.1981.tb00705.x
Subject(s) - consolidation (business) , geology , void ratio , geotechnical engineering , hydrogeology , compressibility , permeability (electromagnetism) , earth materials , pore water pressure , engineering , accounting , aerospace engineering , membrane , biology , business , genetics
A bstract Large gravity platforms are often used as alternatives to the more conventional pilesupported structures in hydrocarbon exploitation. A gravity structure, as opposed to the piled structure, is sitting on the sea floor by virtue of its weight and base width; as such it poses considerable problems for the site investigation engineer. One such problem is the calculation of the settlement of the structure and its time history; these depend upon the permeability and compressibility of the soil and its drainage conditions. The required data are usually obtained by sampling for subsequent laboratory testing. The collection of an undisturbed sample is beset by problems so that the consolidation behavior of the foundation material can only be inadequately assessed by laboratory testing. However, a series of laboratory consolidation experiments during which seismic velocities have been measured on the sample as consolidation proceeds shows that it is possible to reconstruct the stress‐strain and time‐dependent curves from the seismic data, once the initial void ratio and permeability of the soil are known. This leads the way to an in situ technique for predicting settlement using a combination of geophysical techniques (electrical resistivity and seismic velocities) to obtain the required engineering properties.