Chapter 2: Deposits & Grain Sizes of Soils

Types of Rocks
Igneous: Solid magma from mantle, ejected by volcanic eruption/fissures
Sedimentary: Deposits of gravel/sand/silt/clay from weathering compacted by pressure and
cemented or chemically
Metamorphic: Changing composition/texture of rocks with heat and pressure

Rock Cycle:
Magma—Igneous—Erosion/Weather/Transport—Sediments—Compact/Cement—Sedimentary
Rock—Metamorphism—Metamorphic Rock—Melting—Magma

Transportation of Soils
Transported Soils-moved
Glacial-by ice
Alluvial-by water
Lacustrine-deposit in lakes
Marine-deposit in oceans
Aeolian- by wind
Residual Soils-formed where it is
Colluvial-by gravity (landslides)

*Weathering leads to soil segregation and mixture

Soil-Grain Size
 USCS

Symbols
G- Gravel S- Sand M-Silt C-Clay O-Organic Pt-Peat

Typical Soil Profile

A Horizon: Topsoil, rich in
organic matter

Soil leached of soluble

materials, rich in clay and
insoluble materials

Little Organic Matter

Dissolved Minerals from A
precipitated

Bedrock cracked or
Soil Compositions: Three most abundant elements weathered

Element %Weight Common Charge in Soil

Oxygen 47% -
Silicon 28% +
Aluminum 7.8% +
*SOILS ARE ALUMINUM SILICA HYDROXYLES
-Silicon oxygen tetrahedron & Aluminum octahedral are all soils’ building blocks
-Oxygen is the ONLY negative charge in soil
SIEVE ANALYSIS
Vibration segregation. For large particles > 0.075 mm (Sands, Gravels, Cobbles, Boulders)
Sieve Sizes

Mass of
Sieve Particle Size Mass of Mass Mass Total Percent
Sieve (full)
# (mm) Sieve (g) Retained (g) Passed (g) Passed
(g)

1 2.75 591.5 621.9 30.4 443 93.57

Diameter of grains are according to sieve opening sizes

10 size distribution
Grain 2.00 curve:451.1 505.9
Grain size (mm) 54.8 (Finer)
vs Percent Passing 388.2 82.00

Gradation Coefficient 393.2

40 2 0.425 630.9 Uniformity150.5
237.7 Coefficient31.79
𝐷30 𝐷
Cc=𝐷 𝐷 Curvature of the curve Cu=𝐷60 If Cu=1, uniformly sized
10 60 10
Effective Grain Size (D10)
D10 is the particle size where 10% of the weight are finer than this

HYDROMETER ANALYSIS (same grain size distrib curve layout)

-Buoyancy Force = Volume of displaced water x density of solid/fluid mix
*FOR FINES: 0.5 < D <0.001 mm
Elapsed Actual Hydrometer Reading Effective Depth of Diameter of Soil in suspension
Time T Hydrometer Composite with Composite Hydrometer L (cm) Soil Particle, P (i.e. % of Soil
(Min) Reading Correction Correction Applied, R (from Table 10-4) D (mm) Finer) (%)

-2
0.5 21 23 12.9 0.067454 46

𝐿 (𝑐𝑚)
Diameter of Soil (mm) D = 𝐾√𝑇 (min)
K =constant depending on temperature of suspension and specific gravity of soil particles
L=distance from surface of suspension to level at which density of suspension is being measured
(cm)
𝑅𝑎
Percent Finer (%): 𝑃 = 𝑀 × 100
R= hydrometer reading with composite correction applied
a= correction factor to be applied to reading of hydrometer 152 H (Table 10-2)
M = mass of total oven dried hydrometer analysis sample
Stokes Law:
If density of water is 1g/cm^3

𝐿 (𝑐𝑚)
D=K √𝑡 (min)
L- amount of soil in suspension (depth from
surface of water to center of gravity of
hydrometer bulb)
**LARGE PARTICLES SETTLE FASTER THAN
SMALL PARTICLES ACCORDING TO STOKES

Curve I: Poorly graded Soil

Curve II: Well graded (grain sizes distributed
over wide range)
Curve III: gap graded(has gap in the grain
size)

Well Graded Gravel: Cu > 4.0 & 1.0 < Cc <3.0

Well Graded Sand: Cu > 6.0 & 1.0 < Cc <3.0
Poorly Graded Soil: Any soil, including uniform soil, that does not comply w/ well graded
Gap Graded Soil: Missing sizes, such as separated by slopes

Specific Gravity of Soil

-Unit weight (density) of PURE soil SOLID to the unit weight (density) of water
-How heavy the material is compared to water
𝜌𝑠
𝐺𝑠 =
𝜌𝑤
-For soil, typically between 2.5 to 3.5
-Solid soil is 1.5-2.5x heavier than pure water
Chapter 3: Phase Relationships: Weight of air =0 Vv= volume of voild V=total volume

I. VOLUME BASED RELATIONSHIPS

1. Void Ratio (e): The volume of void to volume of SOLID

sand: e=0.4~0.8, silt: e=0.4~0.1, clay: e=0.4~10; Vs is relatively unchanged

GREATER VOID = GREATER SPACE FOR WATER/BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

2. Porosity (n): volume of void to TOTAL VOLUME of soil

V is relatively unchanged; n=0~0.1

Relationship between Void Ratio & Porosity ( e & n)

3. Degree of Saturation (S) : Volume of liquid to volume of void

Vv relatively unchanged.
0 ≤ 𝑆 ≤ 1.0 0 is dry, 1 is saturated
II. WEIGHT BASED RELATIONSHIPS
1. Moisture Content (w)

sand: w=0-30%, clay: w=5~800%

III. WEIGHT VOLUME RELATIONSHIPS
1. Moist/Total Unit Weight

2. Dry Unit Weight

3. Density (Dry) : mass of soil per unit volume

4. Specific Gravity (Gs): density of soil SOLID to density of water

Relative Density
NORMALIZED Phase Diagram: By VOLUME OF SOLID (Vs)
NORMALIZED Phase Diagram by TOTAL VOLUME (V)
Consistency of Soil
Consistency- clay’s ability to be remolded due to
1. LARGE SURFACE AREA 2. SMALL PARTICLE SIZES
3. HIGH INTER PARTICLE PHYSICO-CHEMICAL FORCES
(a. VanDerWaal’s Force b. Double Layer Force)

Atterberg Limits: boundaries of different states in terms of water contents

-FOR FINE GRAINED SOILS, their cohesion/strength changes as a function of water content,
leading to different consistency.

Liquidity Index
LI < 0: SEMI SOLID/SOLID STATE
LI = 0: PLASTIC LIMIT
0 < LI < 1: PLASTIC STATE
LI=1: LIQUID LIMIT (PL)
1<LI: LIQUID/SUSPENSION STATE

Plasticity Index
Chapter 4: Soil Classification USCS

1. Group Symbol 2. Group Name

Primary Secondary Use Classification Criteria
G- gravels W-well graded 1.particle size
S- sands P-poorly graded 2. particle size distribution
M-silts M-silts 3.plasticity
C-clays C-clays 4. where soil falls in plasticity index
O-organic H-high plasticity chart
Pt-peat L-low plasticity

**PRINT UNIT 9 SUPPLEMENT

Uniformity Coefficient Gradation Coefficient

𝐷
2
𝐷30 Cu=𝐷60
Cc= 10
If Cu=1, uniformly sized 𝐷10 𝐷60

Curvature of the curve

Chapter 5: Soil Compaction Things that change after compaction:
-Total Volume -Air Volume (Bulk Density, Void Ratio)
Things that don’t change after compaction:
-Solid volume -Water volume -Total weight
Useful Equations
𝒔 𝒘 𝑮 𝜸
(1) 𝜸 = 𝜸𝒅 (𝟏 + 𝝎) (2) 𝜸𝒅 = 𝟏+𝒆
**When compacting soil, void ratio (e) decreases, so DRY/BULK DENSITY INCREASES!!

WHY COMPACT SOILS?

1. Increase dry/bulk density 2. Increase stiffness (ability to resist deformation)
3. Increase strength (ability to bear load) 4. Decrese permeability (transmit fluid)

HOW TO COMPACT SOIL?

1. Insitu- Smooth wheeled roller, rubber tired roller, sheeps foot roller
2. Standard Proctor Test-use proctor mold with known volume and diameter, compact in three
layers, 25 total blows per layer, known hammer weight and hammer travel distance
3. Modified Proctor Test-achieves higher dry unit weight and opt. moist cont decreases
TYPICAL COMPACTION CURVE

Max of graph: Optimum moisture content and maximum dry unit weight
Left of optimum moisture content: Dry of Optimum (random, stronger, ^ hydraulic conduc)
Right of optimum moist.content: Wet of Optimum
IMPORTANT EQUATIONS: Zero Air Void Unit Weight and Se=wGs
 S e = 𝝎𝑮𝒔
 If S=100%, then e= 𝝎𝑮𝒔
*ZAV CURVE IS THE DRY UNIT WT VALUE WHEN ALL AIR FILLED VOID IS VANISHED
Chapter 6: Seepage/Hydraulic Conductivity
**Fluid flows from HIGH ENERGY TO LOW ENERGY

Head Concept
𝑢𝑎 = 𝛾𝑤 ℎ𝑎 ( Pressure at A)
h is from water table to point of interest
**PRESSURE DOES NOT DETERMINE FLOW DIRECTION

Bernoulli’s Equation

1. Energy moves from high places to low places

Head-Energy per unit weight
2. Fluid moves from high head places to low head places
3. No flow at heads are the same

Elevation Heads
1. Choose datum (+) if above (-) if below
*Choose lowest point as datum, then elevation is from datum to pt, always positive

VELOCITY HEAD CAN BE IGNORED WHEN STUDYING SOIL SEEPAGE

HYDRAULIC GRADIENT