Consolidation Apparatus

Consolidation of clay deposits leads to distress in buildings such as cracks and failures. Consolidation is the reduction of volume of soil due to expulsion of water from its pore space caused by sustained loading. This phenomenon is time dependent. The one-dimensional consolidation test performed on an undisturbed sample of clay is useful for understanding the history of the soil deposit. The test results can be used for calculating the settlement of structures built on clayey soil.

The standard outfit comprises fixed ring type of consolidometer cell for testing specimens 60 mm dia x 20 mm thick, but the unit is so designed that specimens of varying sizes from 50 mm dia to 100 mm dia can also be tested. Besides, the same loading unit can be used with floating ring consolidometer cells, which can be supplied at extra cost. The standard outfit is supplied with a set of weights to give a total pressure of 10 kg/cm2 (besides a seating load of 0.05 kg/cm3 on the specimen), but an additional set of weights are required to reach the full capacity of 20 kg/cm2. The necessary accessories to perform the permeability test of the ‘Varying Head’ type can also be provided at extra cost. The outfit is also available as three-gang or six-gang in which three/six consolidometers are mounted on a single frame. The consolidation may be measured by the conventional dial gauges or using the transducers and electronic readout unit in Digital Models.