i

THE PORE-PRESSUHE COEFFICIENTS A AND B

by
A. w. S"E:'IPTO:-l, D.Se., A.aU.C.E.
SYNOPSIS
In a numbcrofproblemsinvolvingtheundrained Pour un certain nombre de prcblemes compor-
shear strength of sous (especially in the design of
tant la resistance au cisaillement ateneur en eau
constantedes sols (en particulier, pourIe calcul des
earth<lams)thechangein porepressure zluoccurring
barrages en terre), il estnecessaire de connaltre I""
under changes in total stresses must be known.
changementsdans la pressioninterstitieUe auqui se
equation au "" B[da. +- A(Aal - Aa.)] is produisene lers deschangementsdanslescontrnintes
derived, and some typical values of
totales.L'equaticnzlu ... + A(Aa, - Ja.l1 C'jt
dcriveeetcertainesvaleurs typiqueedes coeflicicnts
m"nully determined pore-pressure coefticients A
A et B de pression interstitielle obtenues expcri-
and B are given. SOme practical applications of
mentalementsontdonneesdanscetarticle.Certaines
these have been outlined by Bishop
applications pratiques de ces coefficients ont ';te
(19;;4). expcsees parBishop (1954).
INTRODUCTION
In problemsconcerningthe undrainedshearstrengthofsoils, it has been found convenient
to express the pore-pressure change iJu. which occurs under changesin the principalstresses
.:30'1 and iJ0'3, by the following equation: \.
iJu = B[iJ0'3 + A(:.lO'l-iJO'a)l,
when: A and Bare"pore-pressure coefficients.":' These coefficients arc measured experi-
mentally in the undrained te.st...and the vai;ses.ofA?,l and in.general. chosen
to represent the changes In principal stress occurring In the practical problem under
consideration,
If the sample in the test. or if an element of soil in the ground or in an earth dam. is
originally inequilibriumunderan all-round effectivepressurep (which mayincertaincases
beclose to zero). then the application of
the stressesAu) andA0'3 can be considered
:IS taking place in two stages (sec Fig. 1).
.
G:.... . .-,..
.v

.
Firstlv, the element is subjected to an
equal all-round increment .::l0'3 and. sec-
ondly. it is subjected to a deviator stress
Undrained
test
Corresponding to each of Drained
these stages there ....;11 be pore-pressure
test
changes Au.. and .::lUd, where:
THE CqEFFIC1F.NT B
The relation between iJu.. andA0'3 for a typical-test on a partially saturatedsoil is shown
inFig. 2 (a). The increase in effectivestress in the test is: .
.::lu' = .::l0'3 -:.::lll..
and, if C. is the compressibility of the soil structure, then the volume change is:
.dV. = -C. V(t.l?,3-.::lU..).
whereV is the original volume.of the sample. !.nd. if C. is the compressibility of the fluid
(airand water) in the voids and if n is the porosity of thesoil, then the change in volume iri
lhe void space is: ..
.... .dV. = -C. dr. AUe-
TIle all-round pressurecondition is assumed for sin:plicity of presentation..The case of an element
consolidated under p and J\P canalso be treatedby thr.pore-pressurecoefficients,
113 J
ie
;r
j
!
f
\11'.:;
--------------------
.:
..
I
J
144 SKEMPTON
* ..
a
:::
:
(i1) (bl
But these two changes in volume are identical and, hence,
.dUll = B = 1
.da:s
1+-
\
C"
Now, in saturated soils [zero air voids). is approximately equal to zero. since tlu-
compressibility of water is negligible compared with that of the soil structure. Consequently.
(or such soils,
B == 1, when the degree of saturation = 1.
An experimental confirmation of this result. for a saturated clay. isgiven below in Table I.
Twle 1
a...
.ju_ B
II Il
15 Ib/sq. in. I", 7 Ib/S<I. in.
3/) 29.; 1/984
"5 .. ..
4;iO
.. 1000
"
60 .. .. S9t! .. .. 0996
If,in contrast, the soil is dry, then approaches infinity. since thc compressibility of air
is far greater than that of the soil structure. Hence, for drysoils.
B = O.when the degree of saturation = O.
For partially saturated soils. 0 <B < 1 and. at the Proctor optimum water content and
density, the values of B range typically from about 0'1 to 05. The relation between Band
the degree of saturation, for a clay gravel, is shown in Fig. 2 (b).
THE COEFFICIENT A
changes in pore pressure during the a arc shown, [II.
two compacted clay soils, in Fig. 3. At any time whcn the increment of deviator stress
(.daJ-.Ja:d. the pore pressure due to this increment is and the corresponding change- in
the principal effective stresses arc:
.dal' = (.dal - .d(3) -
and .da3' = - .dUd.
I
-j -I
I
j
I
j I
I j
I
l
I
l
;
II
II
1
h
jl
\1
,
I,
1:
I
1/
J
I
U
I
,.
/OL/
- - _.
(
PORE-PRESSURE A B 145
If, for the moment, it is assumed that the soil behaves in accordance with elastic theory, the
volume change of the soil structure under the increment of deviator stress is :
.::l = - V. H.::lul' + 2.au3'r
or .::l = - V. ![(.::lul - .::lc73) -
And the volume change in the void space is :
.::lV" = - C". nV .
But, as before, these two volume changes are identical and, hence,
I
= c . !(.::lul - 4lu3)
. n "
1
or = B. !(.::lul - .::lu3)'
In general, however, the behaviour of soils is by no means in accordance with clastic theory
and the abo ve expression must be written in the form :
= B.A(.::lul - .::lU3) ,
where A is a coefficient to be determined experimentally.
Combining the expressions for the two co'rnP'?nents of pore pressure, we have:
.::lu = B(.::lu3 + A(.::lul - .::lu3)].
which is the equation given at the beginning of the Paper. It may be noted .that for the
important particular case of fully saturated soils. where B == I, the equation becomes:
.::lu = .::lu3 + A(.::lul - .::l13)'
This expression was given by the author in 1948. Test results for a saturated clay are
plotted in Fig. 4.

, '0 ., :"
-
c
J ;1
AXI.. " STk.AIN t,... u .. t.) AXIA .. ST...,,,,,, (,""
; '0 ., ;1
A"tAt,. (per c...d
Fig. 3. Undrained tri&%ial teaU on two compacted clay-litTavel.
<
./
f.-
II
V
/
,
I
.
..
s: .
, IS 'b/ICI.....
I
I I'
;11 ",cr-
,
"
.,
1-16
For any given soil. the coefficient A varies with the stresses and strains. Its value may
be quoted at failure (maximum deviator stress], at maximum effective principal stress ratio.
or at any other required point. At failure, the values of A for various clay soils, with positive
total stress increments. may besummarized approximately as in Table 2. With decreasing
total stresses. A will have different values in general. but the data for this case are scanty,
Talll.2
Type of Clay A'
Clays of high sensitivity
consolidated clays
Compacted sandy clays
Lightly over-consolidated clays
Compacted clay-gravels
Heavily over-consolidated clays
to +l}
+t to + I
+tto + 1
o to + !
-! to + i
-] to 0
ALTERl"ATIVE FORMS OF THE POREPRESSURE EQUATION
The pore-pressure equation:
..du = B[..du3 +A(Jul - JU3)]
may bewritten in several alternative forms, each of which has some particular advantages.
In the normal laboratory undrained test, the pore pressures under JU3 and under (Jul -
are measured and, hence, the' coefficients determined directly from the test are those in
the following equation:
..du = B . ..du3 +A(Jut - JU3)'

CoL ) rI.15
,,,It, ,1&,,'lnd
.. N'" Il"'pl... p. 15 IbftCll .....
e Il
4X'Al STRA'N 'PC" "n' f
'.100
,
...... "'" _ .c.or ,c.,..... .,
-,
,!.
" A. A.O'j
'-
.
'
,
..
.,
."

----
'I of u
Flr;. UndraiJlec1 triaxial testa 011 two
.ampl 0' r&lDoulc1.c1. clay
In evaluating A from A. care must be taken
to use a value of B appropriate to the pressure
range in the deviator part of the test .
For earth-dam problems, it is convenient
to write the basic equation in the forms:
,
Ju = B[Ju} - (I - A) (JUt -
and
AI'
= B = B [1 - (1 - A) (I - ].
;aUt
The" overall .. coefficient B is a useful para-
meter, especially in stability calculations in-
v olving rapid draw-down, and it can be
measured directly in the laboratory for the
relevant values of stress-change in any par-
ticular problem.
From a physical point of view, the pon
o

pressure equation is best written in the form:

Ju =
3A - I ]
B HAut +2..du:) + -j-(JUt - J0'3) ,
[
since this shows that, for a material bchavine
in accordance with elastic theory. with
A = !. the pore pressure depends solely ,,11
i
i
I
\ ,
I
\
.
.
-!
,

I
(

.
(
PORE-PRESSURE COEFFICIENTS A B 147
the mean principal stress, whereas in soils with A :;6 ! the pure shear stress has a marked
inrluencc on the pore pressures.

During the past few years a number of practical problems have been encountered in which
the pore-pressure coefficients have proved to be helpful. Bishop (1954) has described briefly
some of these applications.
....CKNOWLEDGEMENT
The test results given in this article were obtained in the Civil Engineering Department.
Imperial College. University of London, and the Author is particularly indebted to :vIr D. J.
Henkel who has supervised much of the work on pore-pressure measurement.
REFERENCES
BISHOP..... W . 1954. The Use of Pore-Pressure Coefficients in Practice. 4 : 4 : 148.
S"MPTON. A. W., The Effective Stresses in Saturated Clays Str.l.ine<l at Constant Volume. Pros,
jtll l nt, CouK', .1PP .l1r,J&., I : :.178.