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College of Engineering
Civil Engineering Department
CE 410 4B
Soil Mechanics, Lec.
Assignment no. 1
Introduction to Soil Mechanics
Cuizon, Stephen A.
12-205-033
Date of Submission: June 25, 2015
symbol f for soil friction angle. He also provided the first ultimate bearing-capacity theory
for shallow foundations. In 1846 Alexandre Collin (18081890), an engineer, provided
the details for deep slips in clay slopes, cutting, and embankments. Collin theorized that
in all cases the failure takes place when the mobilized cohesion exceeds the existing
cohesion of the soil. He also observed that the actual failure surfaces could be
approximated as arcs of cycloids.
The end of Phase I of the classical soil mechanics period is generally marked by
the year (1857) of the first publication by William John Macquorn Rankine (18201872),
a professor of civil engineering at the University of Glasgow. This study provided a
notable theory on earth pressure and equilibrium of earth masses. Rankines theory is a
simplification of Coulombs theory.
capacity of shallow foundations in clay (see Bell, 1915). He also used shear-box tests to
measure the undrained shear strength of undisturbed clay specimens.
Wolmar Fellenius (18761957), an engineer from Sweden, developed the
stability analysis of saturated clay slopes (that is, =0 condition) with the assumption
that the critical surface of sliding is the arc of a circle. These were elaborated upon in
his papers published in 1918 and 1926. The paper published in 1926 gave correct
numerical solutions for the stability numbers of circular slip surfaces passing through the
toe of the slope.
Karl Terzaghi (18831963) of Austria developed the theory of consolidation for
clays as we know today. The theory was developed when Terzaghi was teaching at the
American Roberts College in Istanbul, Turkey. His study spanned a five-year period
from 1919 to 1924. Five different clay soils were used. The liquid limit of those soils
ranged between 36 to 67, and the plasticity index was in the range of 18 to 38. The
consolidation theory was published in Terzaghis celebrated book Erdbaumechanik in
1925.
Reference:
Principles of Geotechnical Engineering 7 th Edition by BM DAS page 4 - 7
3. Origin of Soil
To the civil engineer, soil is any uncemented or weakly cemented accumulation of
mineral particles formed by the weathering of rocks as part of the rock cycle (Figure
1.1), the void space between the particles containing water and/or air. Weak
cementation can be due to carbonates or oxides precipitated between the particles, or
due to organic matter. Subsequent deposition and compression of soils, combined with
cementation between particles, transforms soils into sedimentary rocks (a process
known as lithification). If the products of weathering remain at their original location
they constitute a residual soil. If the products are transported and deposited in a
different location they constitute a transported soil, the agents of transportation being
gravity, wind, water and glaciers. During transportation, the size and shape of particles
can undergo change and the particles can be sorted into specific size ranges. Particle
sizes in soils can vary from over 100 mm to less than 0.001 mm. In the UK, the size
ranges are described as shown in Figure 1.2. In Figure 1.2, the terms clay, silt etc. are
used to describe only the sizes of particles between specified limits. However, the same
terms are also used to describe particular types of soil, classified according to their
mechanical behavior (see Section 1.5).
The type of transportation and subsequent deposition of soil particles has a
strong influence on the distribution of particle sizes at a particular location. Some
common depositional regimes are shown in Figure 1.3. In glacial regimes, soil material
is eroded from underlying rock by the frictional and freezethaw action of glaciers. The
material, which is typically very varied in particle size from clay to
boulder-sized particles, is carried along at the base of the glacier and deposited as the
ice melts; the resulting material is known as (glacial) till. Similar material is also
deposited as a terminal moraine at the edge of the glacier. As the glacier melts, moraine
is transported in the outwash; it is easier for smaller, lighter particles to be carried in
suspension, leading to a gradation in particle size with distance from the glacier as
shown in Figure 1.3(a). In warmer temperate climates the chief transporting action is
water (i.e. rivers and seas), as shown in Figure 1.3(b). The deposited material is known
as alluvium, the composition of which depends on the speed of water flow. Fasterflowing rivers can carry larger particles in suspension, resulting in alluvium, which is a
mixture of sand and gravel-sized particles, while slower-flowing water will tend to carry
only smaller particles. At estuarine locations where rivers meet the sea, material may be
deposited as a shelf or delta. In arid (desert) environments (Figure 1.3(c)) wind is the
key agent of transportation, eroding rock outcrops and forming a pediment (the desert
floor) of fine wind-blown sediment (loess). Towards the coast, a playa of temporary
evaporating lakes, leaving salt deposits, may also be formed. The large temperature
differences between night and day additionally cause thermal weathering of rock
outcrops, producing scree. These surface processes are geologically very recent, and
are referred to as drift deposits on geological maps. Soil which has undergone significant compression/consolidation following deposition is typically much older and is
referred to as solid, alongside rocks, on geological maps.
Figure 1.3 Common depositional environments: (a) glacial (b) fluvial (c) desert
Rock
Rocks are made from various types of minerals. Minerals are substances of
crystalline form made up from a particular chemical combination. The main minerals
found in rocks include quartz, feldspar, calcite and mica. Geologists classify all rocks
into three basic groups: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
Igneous rocks
These rocks have become solid from a melted liquid state. Extrusive igneous
rocks are those that arrived on the surface of the Earth as molten lava and cooled.
Intrusive igneous rocks are formed from magma (molten rock) that forced itself through
cracks into rocks beds below the surface and solidified there.
Examples: granite, basalt, gabbro
Sedimentary rocks
Weathering reduces the rock mass to fragmented particles, which can be more
easily transported by wind, water and ice. When dropped by the agents of weathering,
they are termed sediments. These sediments are typically deposited in layers or beds
called strata and when compacted and cemented together (lithification) they form
sediments rocks.
Examples: shale, sandstone, chalk
Metamorphic rocks
Metamorphism through high temperatures and pressures acting on sedimentary
or igneous rocks, produces metamorphic rocks. The original rock undergoes both
chemical and physical alterations.
Examples: slate, quartzite, marble.
Soil
The actions of frost, temperature, gravity, wind, rain and chemical weathering are
continually forming rock particles that eventually become soils. There are three types of
soil when considering modes of formation.
Transported soil (gravels, sands, silts an clays)
Most soils have been transported by water. As a stream or river loses its velocity
it tends to deposit some of the particles that it is carrying, dropping the larger, heavier
particles first. Hence, on the higher reaches of a river, gravel and sand are found whilst
on the lower or older parts, silts and clays predominate, especially where the river
enters the sea or a lake and loses its velocity. Ice has been another important
transportation agent, and large deposits of boulder clay and moraine are often
encountered.
In arid parts of the world wind is continually forming sand deposits in the form of
ridges. The sand particles in these ridges have been more or less rolled along and are
invariably rounded and fairly uniform in size. Light brown, wind-blown deposits of siltsize particles, known as loess, are often encounters in thin layers, the particles having
sometimes travelled considerable distances.
Residual soil (topsoil, laterites)
These soils are formed in situ by chemical weathering and may be found on level
rock surfaces where the action of the elements has produced a soil with little tendency
to move. Residual soils can also occur whenever the rate of break-up of the rock
exceeds the rate of removal. If the parent rock is igneous of metamorphic the resulting
soil sizes range from silt to gravel.
Laterites are formed by chemical weathering under warm, humid tropical
condition when the rain water leaches out the soluble rock material leaving behind the
insoluble hydroxides of iron and aluminum, given them their characteristic red-brown
color.
Organic soil
These soils contain large amounts of decomposed animal and vegetable matter.
They are usually dark in color and give off a distinctive odor. Deposits of organic silts
and clays have usually been created from river or lake sediments. Peat is special form
of organic soil and is a dark brown spongy material which almost entirely consists of
lightly to fully decomposed vegetable matter.
Reference:
An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering by Holtz and Kovacs page 3
4
Elements of Soil Mechanics 7 th Edition by GN Smith and Ian Smith page 2
4
5. Soil Types
It has been discussed earlier that soil is formed by the process of physical and
chemical weathering. The individual size of the constituent parts of even the weathered
rock might range from the smallest state (colloidal) to the largest possible (boulders).
This implies that all the weathered constituents of a parent rock cannot be termed soil.
According to their grain size, soil particles are classified as cobbles, gravel, sand, silt
and clay. Grains having diameters in the range of 4.75 to 76.2 mm are called gravel. If
the grains are visible to the naked eye, but are less than about 4.75 mm in size the soil
is described as sand. The lower limit of visibility of grains for the naked eyes is about
0.075 mm. Soil grains ranging from 0.075 to 0.002 mm are termed as silt and those that
are finer than 0.002 mm as clay. This classification is purely based on size which does
not indicate the properties of fine grained materials.
Residual and Transported Soils
On the basis of origin of their constituents, soils can be divided into two large
groups:
1. Residual soils, and
2. Transported soils.
Residual soils are those that remain at the place of their formation as a result of
the weathering of parent rocks. The depth of residual soils depends primarily on climatic
conditions and the time of exposure. In some areas, this depth might be considerable.
In temperate zones residual soils are commonly stiff and stable. An important
characteristic of residual soil is that the sizes of grains are indefinite. For example, when
a residual sample is sieved, the amount passing any given sieve size depends greatly
on the time and energy expended in shaking, because of the partially disintegrated
condition.
Transported soils are soils that are found at locations far removed from their
place of formation. The transporting agencies of such soils are glaciers, wind and water.
The soils are named according to the mode of transportation. Alluvial soils are those
that have been transported by running water. The soils that have been deposited in
quiet lakes, are lacustrine soils. Marine soils are those deposited in sea water. The soils
transported and deposited by wind are aeolian soils. Those deposited primarily through
the action of gravitational force, as in land slides, are colluvial soils. Glacial soils are
those deposited by glaciers. Many of these transported soils are loose and soft to a
depth of several hundred feet. Therefore, difficulties with foundations and other types of
construction are generally associated with transported soils.
Organic and Inorganic Soils
Soils in general are further classified as organic or inorganic. Soils of organic
origin are chiefly formed either by growth and subsequent decay of plants such as peat,
or by the accumulation of fragments of the inorganic skeletons or shells of organisms.
Hence a soil of organic origin can be either organic or inorganic. The term organic soil
ordinarily refers to a transported soil consisting of the products of rock weathering with a
more or less conspicuous admixture of decayed vegetable matter.
particles. It is formed in dry continental regions and its color is yellowish light
brown.
Shale is a material in the state of transition from clay to slate. Shale itself is
sometimes considered a rock but, when it is exposed to the air or has a chance to
take in water it may rapidly decompose.
Reference:
Geotechnical Engineering: Principle and Practices of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering by VNS Murthy page 7-9