ABSTRACT
One dimensional consolidation theory is generally used to calculate the consolidation settlement. Estimation of average pressure increase, Δp due to foundation load over the compressible layer is one of the important steps in settlement calculation and several approximate methods are developed for this purpose. This paper presents a simplified method to estimate the average pressure increase, Δp over the compressible layer due to foundation load. Pressure increase, Δp is obtained by dividing the area of the influence diagram for vertical stress under the compressible layer by the thickness of the layer. Area of the influence diagram under the compressible layer is obtained by direct integration of the influence factor over the depth and is expressed in the form of equation. Improvements of present method over the existing methods are shown with an illustrative example.
