Figure 3. Example of CAD consolidation under 1-m cap with various initial void ratios in the dredged material

ERDC TN-DOER-N5

July 2000

,Figure 3. Example of CAD consolidation under 1-m cap with various initial void ratios in the dredged

material (to convert elevations to feet, multiply by 0.3048)

Dredged material properties often vary significantly within small geographic areas. Therefore, it

is critical that samples be collected and tested from any current dredging project that is to be

designed.

Dredged materials are highly heterogeneous, partially because of the inherent geologic variation of

natural sediments and partially because sediments from different sites may be disposed of in any

specific CAD cell. Consequently, a large number of samples may be needed to adequately

characterize the range of materials and conditions present at a site. Thus, it is often best to analyze

the mass of data from a sampling program and to identify trends and ranges of properties. It is

normally not satisfactory to try to investigate individual data points and cores.