Terzaghi Consolidation in the Abaqus software

Project Overview

In this Abaqus tutorial, the Terzaghi consolidation problem is simulated and the results obtained from Abaqus are compared with the exact Terzaghi solution.

The main objective of this simulation is to investigate the consolidation behavior of soil and obtain the degree of consolidation, pore pressure, vertical stress, and vertical displacement during the consolidation process.

Terzaghi Consolidation

Terzaghi consolidation is a one-dimensional consolidation problem used to study the time-dependent settlement of saturated soil under applied loading.

During the consolidation process, excess pore water pressure gradually dissipates and the applied load is progressively transferred to the soil skeleton.

Analysis Steps

The simulation is performed in two analysis steps.

In the first step, a pressure load is applied to the soil to establish the initial loading condition.

In the second step, the consolidation process is simulated and the variation of the soil response with time is obtained.

Degree of Consolidation vs. Time Factor

The first part of the analysis focuses on the relationship between the degree of consolidation and the time factor.

The degree of consolidation is first obtained from the Terzaghi solution and then calculated from the Abaqus results.

Finally, the two results are plotted together to evaluate the agreement between the Terzaghi solution and Abaqus.

Pore Pressure and Vertical Stress vs. Time

The variation of pore pressure and vertical stress with time is also investigated during the consolidation process.

The corresponding values are obtained from both the Terzaghi solution and the Abaqus simulation.

The results from both methods are then compared to evaluate the accuracy of the numerical model.

Vertical Displacement vs. Time

The final part of the analysis focuses on the vertical displacement of the soil during consolidation.

The vertical displacement obtained from Abaqus is compared with the corresponding result reported in the reference article.

The two curves are plotted together to compare the reference result and the Abaqus result.

Calculation of the Time Factor

The time factor used in the consolidation analysis is also calculated and provided with the project.

What You Will Learn

• How to simulate one-dimensional Terzaghi consolidation in Abaqus.
• How to apply pressure loading to the soil.
• How to define the consolidation analysis step.
• How to calculate the degree of consolidation.
• How to obtain pore pressure from Abaqus.
• How to obtain vertical stress from Abaqus.
• How to obtain vertical displacement from Abaqus.
• How to calculate the time factor.
• How to draw the degree of consolidation versus time factor diagram.
• How to draw pore pressure and vertical stress versus time.
• How to draw vertical displacement versus time.
• How to compare Abaqus results with the exact Terzaghi solution.
• How to compare Abaqus results with reference results.

Key Features

• Terzaghi one-dimensional consolidation.
• Two analysis steps.
• Pressure loading.
• Consolidation process.
• Degree of consolidation calculation.
• Time factor calculation.
• Pore pressure calculation.
• Vertical stress calculation.
• Vertical displacement calculation.
• Degree of consolidation vs. time factor diagram.
• Pore pressure and vertical stress vs. time diagram.
• Vertical displacement vs. time diagram.
• Comparison with the exact Terzaghi solution.
• Comparison with reference article results.
• CAE file.
• INP file.
• Excel file for degree of consolidation results.
• Excel file for pore pressure results.
• Excel file for vertical displacement results.
• Picture showing the calculation of the time factor.
• Step-by-step video tutorial.