The Rocks and Soil Cycle

- All forms or rocks can be classifies into 3 major groups

Igneous (e.g. basalt, granite, rhyolite)
Sedimentary (e.g. shale, sandstone, conglomerate)
Metamorphic (e.g. slate, schist, gneiss)

- Igneous rocks are formed by magma (molten) or lava

- Sedimentary rocks are formed by consolidation by overlying sediments
and/or cementation of sedimented deposits
- Metamorphic rocks are derived from igneous and sedimentary rocks
exposed to heat and pressure where chemical and physical changes occur

Soil : any uncemented or weakly cemented assembly of mineral particles. The

voids between particles are filled with water or air or both

Rock : hardened mass of minerals due to

- cooling magma or earth surface (igneous rocks)
- consolidation and cementation of soil deposits with time (sedimentary
rocks)
- influence of heat and pressure on igneous and sedimentary rocks

Rock-soil formation cycle

Rocks Destructive process by mechanical

weathering
- Climate affects
- Expoliation
- Erosion by wind/rain
- Abrasion
- Organic activity
Cementation
Transportation
- Water
- Air
- glacier
Consolidation Water/win Soils
d

Igneous rocks : cooling of magma from volcanoes

Texture, composition, colour
granite : coarse grained; light coloured
gabbro : coarse grained; dark coloured (alkaline
rhyolite : fine grained; light coloured
basalt : fine grained; dark coloured
*increase alkalinity makes the rock darker

Sedimentary rocks: solidation of sediments

Sand + clay minerals --- sandstone
Clay + silt ---mudstone
Silt + clay ---siltsone, shale
Organic matter (peat) +lime --- limestones (calcites, dolomites)
Metamorphic rocks: effects of heat and pressure
Change in porosity & strength
Shale --- slates
Granite --- gneiss
Sandstone --- quartzite
Limestone --- marble

Rock Strength
Igenous > Metamorphic > Sedimentary

Effect of transport
- Residual soils : soils that are not transported and are formed in its
present location through weathering of its parent rock. Wide spread in
tropical areas and can be termed as laterite
- Alluvial deposits are transported/ deposited by water ---cause abrasian
Usually well sorted: similar grain sizes or uniformly graded
--- Alluvium river and streams deposits (sands, gravels, silts & clays)
--- Lacustrine : lake deposits
--- Marine: salt water deposits
--- Deltas : sediments deposits at river and stream mouths

- Aeolin deposits and are deposited by wind (fine particles)

Loess : clastic sediments comporsed of a uniformly sorted micture of
silt, fine sand and clay particles
Dune sands : sand deposits formed by wind waction rolling the
sand

- Glacial deposits are deposited by glacier movement

Terminal moraines : formed in front of glaciers
Lateral marines : developed along the side glaciers
Glacial till : developed beneath the glacier

- Deltaic deposits form at river and stream mouths

Littoral deposits : beach environments

- Colluvium (or Tulus) are deposited by gravity

Found at the base of the cliffs or landslide sites
Very loosely compacted

Properties of Clay minerals

- Platey surface --- large specific area
 - Adsorption (not absorption)
Water molecules attracted to the positive charge of the clay lattics
Clay surface O2- and OH- ions; H+ attracted to negative charge on
mineral surface
Property that causes expansive soils
- Cation exchange capacity
> strong cations replace weaker bonds
Al3+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ > Na+ > H+

- Flocculation and Dispersion

> inter-particles atttraction --- flocculation
> repulsion (negative chrages) --- dispersion
Marine environments --- high cation levels. Hence, flocculated structures
Fresh water clays --- dispersed structures

- Swelling and Shrinkage

High water content --- absorbed water layer; becomes thicker. i.e swelling
Drying --- reduced thickness. i.e shrinkage

- Plasticity and Cohesion

Plasticity ability to deform and retain shape
Cohesion: related to the water content , size and shape of soil grains
(strength factor)
Clayey soils are cohesive and plastic
Granular soils are non-cohesive and non- plastic

*Cohesion : quantified measurement/ index of plasticity, can be measured in kPa

( as cohesion affects strength)

Brittle and Ductile Failure

 *Brittle
failure can occur in
compacted sounds and
over-consolidated clays
The Brittle behaviour is prominent if the soil is
1) Dry/ wet granular material in a dense state
2) Heavily over consolidated or compacted

Normally consolidated --- loose soil

Consolidation is the process by which soils have their volume reduced due to
forces from overlying soil. Soils which have had this load removed are said to be
over consolidated

The force experienced by consolidated soils is the highest force it has

experienced in its geological time frame

Clay structure
Loose and Dense soils
- Loose soils in compression
generally exhibit strain

hardening (i.e. they

contract and become harder)
- Contraction takes place up to
the yield point and then
decreasing to ultimate stress

Volumetric
Strain:
v = v/v =
a + 2 L

The importance of stress-

strain relation in rock
mechanics
- To design and construct structures in rocks
(Limiting strain or deformation may be more important than strength)
 - To investigate stability of structures
(How to minimise dilation)

Factors affecting the stress-strain relationships

1) material properties (E, v)
2) confining stress
3) rate of loading
4) temperature
5) specimen geometry
6) internal pore water pressure

Stress-Strain curve for intact and jointed rocks

Stress-Strain Relationship for different confining stresses (c )

Effects of Pore Water Pressure (PWP)

Effects of Geometry (H/D ratio) or

 - modulus, E remain unchanged (has nothing to do with geometry)

- when H/D exceeds 5.0, you get noticeable buckling
- H/D ~ 2 is the standard for test specimens

Key Understandings

1) Normally consolidated soil

- The load(and compaction) currently experienced by the clay/ soil is the
most/highest it has experienced in its geological time frame

2) Over consolidated soil

- A consolidated soil which has had its laod removed and is currently experiencing
a force that is less than it has been subject to in the past

3) Brittle-ductile transition (rock)

- The brittle-ductile transition of rock represents the moment where stress reach a
point that the rock stop behaving in a ductile manner and become brittle. This
transition occurred depending on the effects of temperature, confining stress
pwp. ect geomet

4) Strain softening
- Once the peak strength of soil has been reached/overcome by continued
sheaving, the resistance provided by the soil to the applied shear stress reduces

5) Strain hardening
- The yield stress of the material is increases with increasing loads of plastic
deformation

6) Adsorption
- The adhesion of particles due to ion attraction
 (Note : not like absorption filling of pores)

7) Cation Exchange
- Soil/ soil particles hold a charge and with this have the ability to hold/attract
cations. Cation-exchange capacity is the number of exchangeable cations(pre
dry weight) that a soil is capable of holding at a given pH, and available for
exchange with the soil water solution
- This is heavily impacted by the soil acidity, as acidity causes many organic
compounds to release ions to the soil solution

8) Dispersive soils
- In dispersive soils the soil particles disperse into solution as the soil aggregates
collapse when the soil gets wet/ saturated. This can cause the soil to slump, lose
porosity and become denser. Dispersive soils are structurally unstable.

Flocculation
- Fine particles are caused to clump together

9) Cohesion-Plasticity relationship
- Cohesion can be used as an index to measure soil plasticity as cohesion reflects
the material strength (greater cohesion = greater strength).Can be measure in
kPa

10) Confining pressure

- Pressure on the side of rock/ soil. This confining pressures/stresses increase the
axial stresses which can be applied before failure occurs

11) Rock Soil Formation cycle

12) Residual Soil

- Soils that have not be transported and are derived from their parent
rock
 Colluvium
- Material moved by gravity; obvious at the base ot step slopes as talus
comes

Classification of soils
Particle size analysis:
Soil Particles (0.001 mm to 200 m)

Methods: set of sieves --- particle size distribution

i) Sample of soil is split into a convenient specimen size and the over
dried
ii) Pass through a set of sieves arranged in a descending order of mesh
size
iii) Specimen is put on to the top sieve and the set of sieves is vibrated for
sometime
iv) Weight of soil retained on each sieve is measured
v) Cumulative percentage of the specimen weight passing each sieve is
calculated
vi) The above is plotted on a semi-log graph to produce the grading curve

Particle size distribution curve

Grading Curve
- a graphical description of particle size distribution. Various particles sizes
can be identified by the percentage finer than a prescribed aperture or
grain size
Grading Definitions

Uniformly
Coefficient: Cu
=d60 / d10

Coefficient of
Gradation: Cg =
(d30)2 / (d60 x
d10 )

If Cu < 4, uniform particles are obtained.

If Cu > 6, well graded grain size distribution is
obtained.
*U
se
Cg
, if
4< Cu < 6

Practical Applications:

Permeability of Sand : k =a (d10 )b

Dam Filters : k =f (d5 . d10 )
For sands : k =(d5 . d10 )

Example of PSD Analysis

- results of Sieve Analysis (i.e. sieve size and mass retained); The total soil
sample mass was 217.3g with the mass passing through the 63 microns
sieve =3.0g (i.e. in Pan)
Plot of Example PSD analysis
Composition: Med-coarse sand
Coarse sand 33%, Medium Sand 53%,
Fine sand 13%

Cu = d60 /
d10 3.93 (4);
(almost
uniform!!!)

Soil Classification
from PSD/ Grading
Curve

- A soil that is predominantly sand with some silt content (i.e. C) is called a
silty sand
- The more vertical the cure, the more poorly graded the soil sample. The
more spread out the curve is , the more well graded the soil sample is.

Actual OSD Curve for 3 Soil Samples

Grading of Fine
Particles
For particles in the silt-clay range, PSD is usually obtained by wet-sieving ---
sedimentation method

Procedure:
1) A small specimen is treated with a dispersing agent (Na 2HPO4) to
deflocculate or disperse the individual grains
2) Wash through a 63 micron (0.063mm) sieve
3) Soil-water suspension is made up to 500 mL, stirred well for a short
duration and then allowed to settle in a glass jar
4) Apply Stoizes law assuming that particles are near speherical
5) Equivalent particle diameter is estimated by measuring the suspension
density a given depth (say 100mm) at a series of elapsed intervals ---
Hydrometer test
*not too accurate as most clay particles are flaky(platy)

Most accurate Method: Use of Particle Size Analyser

Application of Stokes Law

 Classification of
Fine Cohesive soils

Fine-cohesive soils : shape is more important

than size
Flaky or platy particles
--- large specific surface

Grain of quartz (100 m diameter ) --- 0.023 m2/g

Kaolinite(0.3 to 2 m diameter ) ---20 m2/g
Illite(0.2 to 2 m diameter )
---80 m2/g
Montmorillonite(0.01 to 1 m diameter)---
800 m2/g

Absorbed water
content % >>>
f (specific

surface)

Quartz :
0.001 (set as reference)
Kaolinite : 1.0
Illite

: 4.0
Montmorrillonite: 40

Water
content >>> Plasticity
>>> Deformation
Saturated clays can exhibit
perfect plasticity, where
permanent deformation can occur under constant stress with
no volume change (like chewing gum for
example)
Soil Consistency
- Physical state at a given water content
a) Solid state
b) Semi-plastic solid
c) Plastic
d) Liquid