Relation between K overconsolidation reatio: a theoretical approach

It is increasingly important to predict deformations around retaining walls, piles, tunnels, slopes, dams and excavations. When constitutive behaviour is non-linear, predictions of deformations depend on stress history, so ‘starting stresses’ (or in situ stresses) must be known (Brooker & Ireland, 1965; Garga & Khan, 1991; Simpson, 1992; Vaughan, 1994; Shohet, 1995).

Vertical stresses can be determined easily from depths, densities and groundwater information, but horizontal stresses are more difficult. They usually have to be estimated from empirical values of K₀, the coefficient of earth pressure ‘at rest’ under conditions of zero...