xxii

Notations and symbols

- area ratio (constant for a specific cone)

- drain thickness
- width of embankment slope
A -true area of column base
AQC - failure surface

b - load factor
- width of slice
- width of embankment
- width of drain
B -width of loaded area
-reduced width of embankment

C r
- effective cohesion intercept
% - coefficient of consolidation at horizontal drainage
%~ -effective field coefficient of consolidation at horizontal drainage
Ca - apparent cohesion intercept
Cv - coefficient of consolidation at vertical drainage
C - constant for the fall cone test depending on the apex angle of the
cone and the condition of the soil (undisturbed or remoulded)
CKoU -undrained K0-consolidated test
Co - compression index
Cee - modified compression index
CC - continuous consolidation oedometer test
CG -constant pore pressure gradient oedometer test
Cr - recompression index
Cre -modified recompression index
CRL - constant rate of loading oedometer test
 xxiii

CRS - constant rate of strain oedometer test

Cs - swelling index
Cse -modified swelling index
C~ -coefficient of secondary compression
C~ -modified secondary compression index
Cs -coefficient of secondary compression at recompression

-diameter of drainage well

-depth of cone penetration
d/L -value defining the location of the failure surface in Janbu's
simplified method
dA -bottom area of vertical column
ds - diameter of disturbed zone
dw - equivalent diameter of drain
D - depth factor
- diameter of sample
-diameter of soil cylinder with drain
DSS - direct simple shear test
Dv - diameter of vane

- void ratio
e0 -initial void ratio
cp -void ratio at the end of primary consolidation
E - deformation modulus
- normal component of interslice force
- Young's modulus
g r
- drained modulus of elasticity
Ei -initial tangent modulus
E S
- secant modulus
Et - tangent modulus
E - undrained modulus of elasticity
ED - dilatometer modulus
ESL -effective stress level
xxiv

f -perpendicular offset of the normal force from the center of rotation

f -correction factor in Janbu's simplified method
fl -coefficient in Steinbrenner's formula
-coefficient for Hansbo's diagram
-coefficient in Steinbrenner's formula
f(x) - function describing the way in which the ratio T/E varies in a slope
F - factor of safety
Fo - initial factor of safety in Janbu's simplified method
F2D - two-dimensional factor of safety
F 3D - three-dimensional factor of safety

g -acceleration due to gravity

G - shear modulus

h -depth below ground surface of the point where u is estimated

he - final height of embankment
ho - initial height of embankment
h - thickness of surcharge
h+f - thickness of embankment with surcharge
H - thickness of subsoil
- degree of humification
- height of embankment
- height of sample
Hs - safe height of embankment
Ht -factor depending on decomposition
Hv - height of vane
H0 - initial height of sample

i - hydraulic gradient
I - influence factor
ID - material index
Ih -horizontal influence displacement factor
IL - liquidity index
 XXV

Ip - plasticity index
I
v
-vertical influence displacement factor
IL - incremental loading oedometer test

k - coefficient of permeability
- coefficient of horizontal permeability
\ -coefficient of horizontal permeability in disturbed soil
- coefficient of vertical permeability
K - bulk modulus
-coefficient of shear strength increase (depending on loading case
and overconsolidation ratio)
Ko -coefficient of earth pressure at rest
- horisontal stress index
1 - length of failure surface at the base of a slice
- length of drainage path
- length of drain
- reduced length of embankment
L/H - draw-down ratio
Ls -total length of a slide

m - mass
- slope of ~fu/CY'v - OCR relation in log-log scales
mnQ - slope of the relation between log0;fu/Cr'v) and log(ESL) in the
normally consolidated state (ESL _< 1)
Ill o o - slope of the relation between log0;fu/~'v) and log(ESL) in the
overconsolidated state (ESL > 1)
mv - coefficient of volume change
M - oedometer modulus
-value defining the location of the critical slip circle in Taylor's
stability chart
-parameter in Cam Clay model
r
M - modulus number
ME - resisting moment due to end area effects for each end plane
xxvi

M0 - initial oedometer modulus

n -porosity
N -total normal force on the base of a slice
No - critical stability number
NC - normally consolidated
NF - Cousin's stability number
NKT -empirical cone factor
NT - Taylor's stability number

0C - overconsolidated
0CR - overconsolidation ratio

P - mean normal stress

P~ -equivalent isotropic pressure
Pa - atmospheric pressure
PSC - Plane strain compression test

- deviatoric stress
- load applied to the subsoil
- embankment load
qQ -measured value of cone resistance
qf -final embankment load
qj -component of the specific discharge vector of pore water
% - surcharge load
% -total cone resistance
qw -discharge capacity of a drain
Q -outflow of water from a drain

- drain radius
r -pore pressure ratio
R -radius of dewatered soil cylinder
 xxvii

- radius (moment arm) associated with mobilized shear forces S m

- percentage of humification
R -radius of cylindrical part of failure surface
- radius of failure surface

-normalized undrained shear strength in the normally consolidated

state (OCR = ESL = 1)
- s p a c i n g of vertical drains
- settlement
So -settlement associated with primary consolidation
S~ - final consolidation settlement
S c(f+sr) -final consolidation for embankment and surcharge load
Sf - final settlement
Sh - horizontal movement
Si - immediate settlement
- initial settlement
Sm - shear force mobilized at the base of a slice
Ss
- settlement associated with secondary compression
S sw - swelling value
St - total settlement
- settlement at time t

t - time
tf -time to failure in a vane shear test
-time at the end of the settlement process
tp -time at the end of primary consolidation
ts -time for swelling
tso -designed life-time of the embankment
-time at removal of the surcharge
tso -time for 50 % primary consolidation
tgo -time for 90 % primary consolidation
boo -time for 100 % primary consolidation
tL - vertical distance from the base of a slice to the line of thrust on the
xxviii

left side of the slice

tR - vertical distance from the base of a slice to the line of thrust on the
right side of the slice
T -tangential component of interslice force
- applied peak torque during a vane test
(TC) - triaxial compression test
(TE) - triaxial extension test
Th -time factor for consolidation at horizontal drainage
T,, -time factor for consolidation at vertical drainage

-excess pore pressure

- pore pressure
Uc -pore pressure measured behind the conical tip during cone
penetration
ub -pore pressure acting at the centre of a column base
-pore pressure at an undrained bottom end in an oedometer test
uj - gradient of pore water pressure
U - degree of primary consolidation
Uh - degree of consolidation at horizontal drainage
Up -degree of consolidation at surcharging required to produce
settlements equal to primary consolidation for the embankment load
UV -degree of consolidation at vertical drainage
U(f+sr) -degree of consolidation at surcharge removal

(V1)max -highest allowable rate of axial displacement in a drained triaxial test

W. 9
l,j -component of the displacement gradient
W.
J
- displacement vector
WE - liquid limit
WN -natural water content
WV - plastic limit
W - weight of a slice
WO -total weight of a column
 xxix

-horizontal distance from a slice to the center of rotation

-vertical space coordinate

-depth
- d i s t a n c e from the open end of a drain
- vertical coordinate

- angle between the horizontal plane and the tangent to the centre
of the base of a slice
- angle between the horizontal plane and the line of thrust on
the right side of a slice

- angle of embankment slope

-compressibility of the pore water
-permeability change index

- convective coordinate

8ij - Kronecker's delta

Ae~,Aey, Ay~y - increments of strain components

A~x,A~y,A % - increments of stress components
Aq - load increment
Ap - pressure difference

E - strain
e~ - lateral strain
l~ij(e) - elastic strain increment
Eij(P) - plastic strain increment
Eo - strain at start of primary compression
E1 - major principal strain
e3 - minor principal strain
E1 -vertical creep rate
XXX

Elf - axial strain at failure in a triaxial test

El00 - strain at the end of primary consolidation

- angle of internal friction

-effective angle of internal friction

7o - unit weight of embankment material

% - unit weight of water
representing the portion of the function f(x) which is used
- c o n s t a n t

when solving for the actual factor of safety in the Morgenstern-

Price method
X,,p - dimensionless parameter

g - correction factor
gl - factor including the effect of drain spacing
la2 - factor including the effect of soil disturbance
la3 - factor including the effect of well resistance

V - Poisson's ratio
V' -Poisson's ratio in drained conditions
Vu - P o i s s o n ' s ratio in undrained conditions

P - radial coordinate
- density of soil
Pd - dry density
P~ -density of solid particles
Pw - density of water

% -horizontal stress component

(Jv -vertical stress component
Gvo - i n situ overburden pressure
- major principial stress
(Y3 - minor principal stress
 xxxi

- effective stress
0""h -effective horizontal stress
ij - effective stress tensor
I~' N -effective normal stress
(y' - preconsolidation pressure
p
-initial preconsolidation pressure
(y' -effective pressure at%r pore pressure equalization
11
(Y'v -effective vertical stress
l~ "VO -in situ effective vertical stress
(Y'vf - final effective vertical stress after removal of surcharge
(Y'vf+s - final effective vertical stress due to permanent load and surcharge
after pore pressure equalization
-decrease of effective vertical stress due to surcharge removal

q~ - shear stress
- available shear strength
"Cfd - drained shear strength
% - undrained shear strength
%c -undrained shear strength in triaxial compression
'l~fuD -undrained shear strength in direct simple shear
q~fuE - undrained shear strength in triaxial extension
~fu(LAB) - average undrained shear strength in laboratory tests,
[0:f~C+q:f~D+q:f~E)/3l
q~fv -shear strength value obtained in field vane shear test
q7N - shear stress