Monnet Boutonnier (2025) Analysis of Soil Consolidation Behavior Using Pressuremeter Testing

Monnet Boutonnier (2025) Analysis of soil consolidationbehavior using pressuremeter testiing.pdfThe pressuremeter test is typically interpreted using a linear elasto-plastic model, but soil permeability and saturation levels can complicate the interpretation, particularly regarding whether the modulus obtained is effective or apparent. Advancements in the ARSCOP project allow for calculating an effective modulus in nearly saturated fine soils, where the skeleton is linear and the pore fluid is a compressible water-air mixture. A non-linear elastic model has been developed, which accounts for modulus variation along radius around the probe. This model links pore pressure generation during the test to the soil’s non-linear elasticity. In fine soils with compressible fluids, pore pressure dissipation follows a one-dimensional radial consolidation process, similar to one-dimensional vertical consolidation in oedometers. A new theoretical approach introduces the pressuremeter consolidation coefficient (ch), which depends on the soil’s elastic modulus and horizontal permeability, and has been validated through tests on Bransley clay