Browsing by Author "Ayenew, Yihune"

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    Software Development for Consolidation and Settlement Analysis
    (Addis Ababa University, 2011-11) Ayenew, Yihune; Alemayehu, Teferra (Prof.)
    Consolidation and settlement analysis is one of the main tasks of a geotechnical engineer. There are different methods of analyzing consolidation and settlement. In this study, software for the analysis of consolidation and settlement is developed. The developed software analyzes one dimensional consolidation for saturated and unsaturated soils. Consolidation analysis for saturated soils is done by the Fourier series solution and by finite difference solution of Terzaghi’s one dimensional consolidation equation for saturated soils. Consolidation analysis for unsaturated soils is done by finite difference method. The analysis is done for different loadings, scenarios, drainage conditions and soil conditions. The software analyzes immediate settlement, primary settlement and secondary settlement. Primary settlement calculation is done by compression index method, average modulus of compressibility method and coefficient of volume compressibility method. Secondary settlement calculation is done by constant modulus of compressibility method and variable modulus of compressibility method. The analysis is done for different loadings, foundation types, and locations of the foundation, drainage conditions and soil conditions. The result of consolidation analysis by Fourier series method and finite difference method give approximately similar result. For the consolidation analysis by finite difference method, the stability of the calculation is very sensitive to the beta value. The result may not be reliable for inappropriate beta values. The developed software can be used to analyze consolidation and settlement simply, quickly and accurately. Comparison of results obtained from different analysis methods of consolidation and settlement can be also made with the software. The developed software is also important to study the properties of the results for different values of input parameters.