The settlement is the most serious problem of fine soil. This settlement is caused by a phenomenon called soil consolidation. Most previous studies were concerned with studying one (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) consolidation. That in some cases does not give a simulation of reality representation. It was necessary to study the three-dimensional (3-D) consolidation to simulate what happens to the fine soil in nature. Therefore, the consolidation behavior of four fine soils was studied in this paper. The studied soil samples were collected at the foundation levels of four different sites in El-Qalubia governorate, Egypt. A series of laboratory consolidation tests were carried out as one, two and three dimensional consolidation by using manufactured Oedometer apparatus. So, the effect of consolidation conditions (1-D, 2-D and 3-D) on consolidation coefficient (Cv) and volume change coefficient (mv) was investigated. Also, an empirical equation was correlated the relationship between Cv and mv.
Index Terms—Consolidation, One Dimensional, Two Dimensional, Three Dimensional, Coefficient of Consolidation, Coefficient of Volume Change, Settlement,