Basic Soil Mechanics

This module is intended to provide a basic understanding of the engineering principles used in the analysis of soil materials when these materials are intended to be used for an engineering purpose. These principles form the foundation of the science of soil mechanics and have been widely adopted and used. At the introductory level provided here, the applicability of these principles should be easily grasped by each student. These notes are, in part, from my course Geology for Engineers, GeoE 221, a first-level course in geology. The course is presented as a systematic study of Earth and how natural geologic processes are applied in engineering practice. This course is a freshman-level Geological Engineering course but is also taken by students of all grades from other disciplines such as Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

Part I
I. Introduction to Soil Mechanics Soil mechanics deal with the determination and analysis of forces that act on a soil mass. It is a relatively new engineering discipline having been developed only in the 1940's. It seeks to understand how a soil responds to being exposed to an engineered works or to being used in the works as a construction material. 'Geotechnical Engineering' is a new term used to describe soils engineering within the realm and knowledge of geologic processes. Geotechnical engineering is concerned mainly with foundations and basic soil engineering properties pertaining to slope stability, retaining walls, open pit mines, etc.

II. Soil Properties These are inherent physical characteristics in a soil that are derived as a function of the genesis of the soil and that determine its behavior under a stress, when it is used as a resource, or as a foundation in an engineered works. A significant understanding of the following fundamental soil properties are required by all geotechnical engineers.

A. Cohesive vs. Noncohesive Soils: Soils are divided into 2 groups based on the ability of a soil mass to hold together by itself (cohesive) and those having no ability, or strength, to hold together by itself (cohesionless).

1. Cohesive Soils: these soils generally contain a sufficient clay content to effectively 'glue' the mass together. As such, they also have the ability to be molded or shaped. This property of being molded is called 'plasticity' and describes the ability of the soil to be rolled into thin rods 3.0 mm diameter without breaking. These soils have internal strength, can be compacted and compressed, and generally are suitable for foundation materials under optimum moisture conditions. Most fine-grained soils have some cohesion and are usually composed of significant amounts of silt and/or clay. 2. Noncohesive Soils: these soils have no strength of or in their own. There is usually a complete absence of clay or fine particles from which cohesion is derived. Sand and gravel are good examples of cohesionless soils. However, if sandy or gravely soils are geologically or structually confined they can exhibit strength properties but the strength is due to the confinement, not the material itself. B. Texture: Soil texture is a property that is similar to that used in the description of sedimentary rocks and includes attributes of particle size, shape, roundness and sorting.

1. Size: particle size describes the physical dimensions of individual particles and is derived by sieving the soil and plotting the results on log paper. These results tell the engineer what percent of the soil contains what size of grains. These values are used to determine the strength and use characteristics of a particular soil. 2. Shape: the shape of a particle is a description of the equidimensional attributes of the particle. For example, are the particles round, square, rectangular, flat, etc.? 3. Roundness: this property of the particle specifies angularity at the particle edges and corners. A highly rounded particle, say a sand grain, is both round and equidimensional. A more angular particle, say a feldspar crystal, has a square shape and is more-or-less equidimensional. However, its edges are sharp -- it is not rounded. Size, shape and roundness all contribute to how a soil sample will sieve out. Shape may prevent a grain from passing a sieve in one direction but if the particle is turned on end, it might pass that sieve. This is one pitfall to sieving vertically, i.e., flat particles are held on screens based on the long axis orienting parallel to the screen. Sieve data are plotted on log paper for analysis. These data form a curve that contains characteristics that are used to describe that particular soil.

From a plot of this type, we can obtain information about sorting, or grade, using a critical parameter called the 'Uniformity Coefficient' which is defined as the ratio: Cu = D60 D10 where: D60 (the red line) is the diameter where 60% of the particles are finer and D10 (the purple line) is the diameter where only 10% of the particles are finer. The use of terms describing soils are different if the soil is being described by a geologist or an engineer. To a geologist, a sample that sieves out with only a few size classes would be called a 'well sorted' soil, referring to the fact that nature has done a good job of removing, or sorting, the soil based on particle size. The same soil would be called a 'poorly graded' soil by an engineer, referring to the fact that there are only a few size classes available. The more grain sizes a soil has, the better engineering qualities it will posses, because of compaction, cohesion, etc., that it would contain. The smaller the value of Cu, the more uniform is the grade, or it is poorly sorted. This is shown as a steep center portion on the curve. C. Phase: soil phase describes the percentage by volume and weight of the constituent members of the soil, namely solids, liquids, and air. Each of these constituents are represented on a two-part phase diagram as shown below:

1. Volume relations: The total volume is equal to the volume of the solids plus the volume of the voids (water and air):

Vt = Vs + Vv and the volume of the voids is equal to the volume of the water + the volume of the air:

Vt = Vs + Vv = Vs + Vw + Va. On the right side of the figure, the total mass is equal to the mass of the solids plus the mass of the water:

Mt = Ms + Mw. In practice, the total volume, mass of the solids, and the mass of the water are measured and the other relations can be derived from the relations given on the phase diagram. For example, given the following as measured known values, we can calculate M w, Vw, Vs, e, n, and S

Measured values:

Vt = 1000 cm3 mass = 1850 gm

Mt = saturated mass = 2300 gm

Ms = dry

We find the mass of the water first:

Mw = Mt - Ms = 2300gm - 1850gm = 450gm Knowing that water weighs 1 gm/cc, 450 gm of water equals a water volume of 450 cc.

Vw = 450 cc

Volume of solids is determined using the following:

Vs = Vt - Vv, and Vv = Vw + Va. We are at saturated conditions so Va = 0 and Vs = Vt - Vw = 1000cc - 450cc = 550cc e is the 'void ratio' and is equal to Vv / Vs. This parameter describes the amount of void spaces in the soil and is expressed as a decimal value. The greater the amount of voids, the lower the bulk density of the soil (because there is more air) and it will most likely be unusable for engineering projects without additional treatment to reduce the voids, i.e., compaction. For the above example, the void ratio is:

e = 450cc / 550cc = 0.82 n is equal to 'porosity', or the percentage of pore spaces in the soil. It is found by: Vv / Vt x 100. Granular soils usually have a higher porosity due to their noncohesive nature. Clay soil has a very low porosity given its ability to stick together, which is a function of both particle chemistry and particle shape. For the above example, porosity is:

n = 450cc / 1000cc x 100 = 45% S is the saturation parameter and describes the percentage of the voids that are filled with water. It is found by: Vw / Vv x 100. It is common in engineering projects that for a specified compaction to be achieved (thus enabling the soil to attain its maximum compressive strength) water must be either added or removed. The measure to achieve optimum compaction is the saturation. For the above example, saturation is:

S = 450cc / 450cc x 100 = 100% This makes sense since we initially specified saturated conditions. 2. Mass relations: Using the right side of the phase diagram we can determine some of the critical mass relations. One of the key parameters required to do this is the 'water content', w and is determined as:

w = Mw / Ms x 100 For the above example, water content is:

w = 450gm / 1850gm x 100 = 24.3% 'Density' is measured as either a total (bulk) or a wet density. There is also a density of the particles themselves. Total density for the above example is determined as:

= Mt / Vt = 2300gm / 1000cc = 2.3 gm/cc

Part II
I. Soil Consistency The ease to which a soil can be deformed is referred to as its 'consistency'. It is strongly influenced by the size of particles present in the soil and the water content. Most granular soils are not affected by consistency properties. However, fine-grained soils can deform readily which may have important implications if the soil is to be used in an engineering works. The way in which a soil is evaluated for its consistency is through a set of parameters called the 'Atterberg Limits'.

A. Atterberg Limits: Atterberg, a Swedish soil scientist, designed a set of evaluation criteria in early 1900's that are still used to assign consistency properties to a soil as a function of the water content. The suite of tests and parameters are named after him. Starting from a dry condition, increasing the water content will have the following effects at specific limits:

1. Plastic Limit: this is the water content where a soil begins to behave as a plastic solid. At lower water content, the soil will not exhibit sticking behavior. At the PL, soil can be rolled into a thin thread ~3mm diameter before breaking. Obviously, the higher the clay content, the lower the PL. 2. Liquid Limit: this is the water content under which a soil begins to exhibit a liquid behavior. It will not flow readily, but will act as a viscous liquid. In engineering works, soils are generally not useful at the LL. 3. Plastic Index: this describes the range of plastic behavior and is found as the difference between the LL and PL:

PI = LL - PL The following diagram illustrates where these values lay as the state of the soil changes with water content.

B. Liquidity Index: this is a measure of soil sensitivity. At a LI = 1.0, the soil exhibits liquid properties and so is very sensitive. A LI = 0.0 indicates a soil at the Plastic Limit and the soil is no longer sensitive. We mean sensitive in respect to the soils response to sudden shear forces, such as vibrations from industry, earthquakes, etc. LI is defined as:

LI = (wn - PL) / PI; where wn = water content in natural conditions

II. Cohesive Soil Properties A. Clay Structure: Clays consist of layered aluminosilicates that exsist as tetrahedral or octahedral sheets made up of Si, Al and O molecules, and are called ' layered silicates'. The net surface charge of these layers is negative and their structure provides a very large surface area.

1. Surface Charge: a surface charge can develop on a clay crystal as a result of two distinct processes:

a) when a crystal breaks, more ions are exposed to at atmospheric interface. This will increase the net charge on the crystal. b) 'isomorphous substitution' occurs when one cation exchanges for another leaving a different charge state than what was there originally.

In the tetrahedral sheet, Al+3 substitutes for Si+4, producing an increase in the negative (-) charge. In the Octahedral sheet, Mg+2, Fe+2, or 2Na+ can all substitute for Al+3 producing a net increase in the negative (-) charge. 2. CEC: the 'cation exchange capacity', or CEC, is the result of the excessive negative surface charge due to the above processes and is balanced by a swarm of hydrated cations. B. Surface Area: this property is directly related to CEC and particle size. Granular soils do not have a CEC since they consist almost exclusively of quartz and nonreactive minerals. Fine-grained soils consist of much smaller grains, such as silt and clay, which are composed of aluminosilicates and are reactive. Since they are small in size and platy in shape, they have a high relative surface area. C. Compaction: clay naturally absorbs water and as a result, swells to a greater volume. The higher the CEC, the greater is the capacity of the particle to swell. In an engineering situation, it may become necessary to reduce this increased volume by mechanically driving out water which will not only reduce volume but increase the density of the soil. 'De-watering' of a soil lowers its PI and is performed to achieve some optimum strength characteristic for the intended use.

III. Soil Stress A. Definition: a soil under the surface will be under stress due to the weight of the overlying material, i.e., there will be a force acting on an area. This force will increase with depth and is supported by 2 separate components of the soil:

1. effective stress ('): this is the measure for the portion of the total stress that is borne by the grain-to-grain soil matrix. 2. pore water pressure (): this is the measure for the portion of the total stress borne by the water existing between the pores. In a geologic setting, say a sedimentary basin, as depth increases, the pore water pressure becomes less (if it is dewatered by the compaction) and effective stress will increases as compaction and dewatering of the sediments occur. It is common in such an environment for the pore water pressure to increase with depth and actually bear the majority of the stress. When, and if, these fluids are tapped by a well, dewatering of the fluid will be accompanied by a transfer of the stress from the pore fluids to the grain structure. The result is a general collapse of the grain structure and the land surface will subside, or sink, as a result. Total stress is equal to the stress borne by these 2 components, or:

 = ' +

Web Links
The International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, ISSMGE More information on soils can be found at the USDA-NRCS National Soil Survey Center A companion page on the Merlot site that discusses basics of rock mechanics