Experimental Study of Compression Behavior of Indian Black Cotton Soil in Oedometer Condition

The clayey soil containing montmorillonite minerals exhibits both time-dependent compression called creep and swelling behavior, which is time-dependent expansion. Both the creep and swelling characteristics of the clayey soils have a significant influence on the deformation and failure of geotechnical structures. Study of time-dependent stress–strain behavior of a clayey soil is a great concern for construction purposes. In this paper, the long-term time-dependent behavior of Indian Black Cotton (BC) soil is investigated under a series of test in Oedometer apparatus at different loading pattern. The experimental result shows that non-linear function is suitable for prediction of long-term creep and swelling behavior of BC soil. Using the non-linear function, the behavior of the strain rate with time and the effective stress is studied. The strain rate, after the end of primary consolidation, decreases non-linearly to attain an equilibrium after reaching an equilibrium condition, and it is independent of the loading. The experimental result indicates that BC soil shows the repeated ability to swell at different stages of loading–reloading cycles. The experimental results along with the performance evaluation of the analytical model to predict long-term consolidation and creep behavior of BC soil are presented and discussed in details.