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Why Settle? Understanding and Estimating Soil Consolidation

By Braun Intertec

One of the most important parameters affecting the overall performance of a ground-supported foundation is settlement. Settlement, or vertical soil movement, can exceed tolerable limits for a foundation, resulting in costly damages and/or loss of use for a structure. Many factors influence the amount of settlement that can occur, including soil stratigraphy, groundwater levels, area fill, structural loading, and load geometry. Utilizing information gathered from geotechnical laboratory tests, estimates of settlement can be calculate using theories of consolidation in conjunction with civil and structural information provided by the designer.

Learn more about:

  • Theory of soil consolidation
  • Environmental conditions that influence settlement
  • Effects of load intensity and configuration on settlement values
  • How site fills and adjacent foundations affect settlement

Meet the Speakers


Tom Posey Professional Engineer and Geotechnical Leader Houston Texas

Tom Posey, P.E.
Technical Leader

Tom Posey is a Technical Leader out of our Houston, TX office. He brings 25 years of experience consulting on commercial infrastructure and industrial projects and his primary areas of expertise include: soft compressible soils, deep foundation systems and construction materials testing. Tom focuses on providing technical guidance to professional and field staff along with client project management.

Alex Brochard Operations Manager Geotechnical Engineering Lafayette LA

Alex Brochard, P.E.
Operations Manager

Alex Brochard, P.E. serves as an Operations Manager out of our Lafayette, LA office. Alex has 12 years of experience in various industrial, commercial, oil & gas, transportation, airport, and municipal-based projects and includes oversight of construction materials testing, geotechnical field logging and CPT operation, instrumentation monitoring and geotechnical engineering and report preparation.

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