waste consolidation

[hhedik]

I need some information regarding how to calculate settlement in landfills? I specifically want to know the consolidation in the middle of the landfill, and all I can find is the settlement calculation formulas for the bottom liner. I ama new graduate and could not find any literature on the textbooks. Can anyone help me through this?

 

[jjp29]

From personal experience, I know one thing for sure -- calculating the settlement of a landfill is extremely difficult without knowing what went into the landfill and how long the waste has had to break down. Even then, experimentation is the only way to know for sure. The "best" way to determine the settlement is to load the landfill with enough soil (a test fill section) and measure the settlement with settlement monuments. When unloading the landfill, monitor the "rebound". You should find out that the landfill behaves inelastically.
Be careful with the test fills. I have experience with one particular landfill test section that "predicted" 3 to 5 feet of additional settlement after capping. After capping the entire landfill, the original landfill surface had settled almost 11 feet in a trash thickness of about 100 feet. This landfill had sat untouched for about 10 years before we capped it.
As for a technical reference, I keep a copy of "The Handbook of Landfill Operations" by Neal Bolton, P.E. published in 1995 by Blue Ridge Solid Waste Consulting. Mr. Bolton provides a brief discussion about landfill settlement which mirrors the experience I described above.
I am curious about your actual problem and will help where I can if you provide a few more details about the scope of the particular problem.