Introduction to Soil Mechanics

The term "soil" can have different meanings, depending upon the field in
which it is considered.
To a geologist, it is the material in the relative thin zone of the Earth's surface
within which roots occur, and which are formed as the products of past
surface processes. The rest of the crust is grouped under the term "rock".
To a pedologist, it is the substance existing on the surface, which supports
plant life.
To an engineer, it is a material that can be:
built on: foundations of buildings, bridges
built in: basements, culverts, tunnels
built with: embankments, roads, dams
supported: retaining walls
Soil Mechanics is a discipline of Civil Engineering involving the study of soil,
its behavior and application as an engineering material.
Soil Mechanics is the application of laws of mechanics and hydraulics to
engineering problems dealing with sediments and other unconsolidated
accumulations of solid particles, which are produced by the mechanical and
chemical disintegration of rocks, regardless of whether or not they contain an
admixture of organic constituents.
Soil consists of a multiphase aggregation of solid particles, water, and air. This
fundamental composition gives rise to unique engineering properties, and the
description of its mechanical behavior requires some of the most classic
principles of engineering mechanics.
Engineers are concerned with soil's mechanical properties: permeability,
stiffness, and strength. These depend primarily on the nature of the soil
grains, the current stress, the water content and unit weight.

Formation of Soils

In the Earth's surface, rocks extend up to as much as 20 km depth. The major

rock types are categorized as igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Igneous rocks: formed from crystalline bodies of cooled magma.
Sedimentary rocks: formed from layers of cemented sediments.
Metamorphic rocks: formed by the alteration of existing rocks due to
heat from igneous intrusions or pressure due to crustal movement.
Soils are formed from materials that have resulted from the disintegration of
rocks by various processes of physical and chemical weathering. The nature
and structure of a given soil depends on the processes and conditions that
formed it:
Breakdown of parent rock: weathering, decomposition, erosion.
Transportation to site of final deposition: gravity, flowing water, ice,
wind.
Environment of final deposition: flood plain, river terrace, glacial
moraine, lacustrine or marine.
Subsequent conditions of loading and drainage: little or no surcharge,
heavy surcharge due to ice or overlying deposits, change from saline to
freshwater, leaching, contamination.
All soils originate, directly or indirectly, from different rock types.
Physical weathering reduces the size of the parent rock material, without
any change in the original composition of the parent rock. Physical or
mechanical processes taking place on the earth's surface include the actions
of water, frost, temperature changes, wind and ice. They cause disintegration
and the products are mainly coarse soils.
The main processes involved are exfoliation, unloading, erosion, freezing, and
thawing. The principal cause is climatic change. In exfoliation, the outer shell
separates from the main rock. Heavy rain and wind cause erosion of the rock
surface. Adverse temperature changes produce fragments due to different

thermal coefficients of rock minerals. The effect is more for freeze-thaw

cycles.
Chemical weathering not only breaks up the material into smaller particles
but alters the nature of the original parent rock itself. The main processes
responsible are hydration, oxidation, and carbonation. New compounds are
formed due to the chemical alterations.
Rain water that comes in contact with the rock surface reacts to form hydrated
oxides, carbonates and sulphates. If there is a volume increase, the
disintegration continues. Due to leaching, water-soluble materials are washed
away and rocks lose their cementing properties.
Chemical weathering occurs in wet and warm conditions and consists of
degradation by decomposition and/or alteration. The results of chemical
weathering are generally fine soils with altered mineral grains.
The effects of weathering and transportation mainly determine the
basic nature of the soil (size, shape, composition and distribution of the
particles).
The environment into which deposition takes place, and the subsequent
geological events that take place there, determine the state of the soil
(density, moisture content) and the structure or fabric of the soil (bedding,
stratification, occurrence of joints or fissures)
Transportation agencies can be combinations of gravity, flowing water or air,
and moving ice. In water or air, the grains become sub-rounded or rounded,
and the grain sizes get sorted so as to form poorly-graded deposits. In moving
ice, grinding and crushing occur; size distribution becomes wider forming wellgraded deposits.
In running water, soil can be transported in the form of suspended particles, or
by rolling and sliding along the bottom. Coarser particles settle when a
decrease in velocity occurs, whereas finer particles are deposited further
downstream. In still water, horizontal layers of successive sediments are
formed, which may change with time, even seasonally or daily.

Wind can erode, transport and deposit fine-grained soils. Wind-blown soil is
generally uniformly-graded.
A glacier moves slowly but scours the bedrock surface over which it passes.
Gravity transports materials along slopes without causing much alteration.

Soil Types
Soils as they are found in different regions can be classified into two broad
categories:
(1) Residual soils
(2) Transported soils
Residual Soils
Residual soils are found at the same location where they have been formed.
Generally, the depth of residual soils varies from 5 to 20 m.
Chemical weathering rate is greater in warm, humid regions than in cold, dry
regions causing a faster breakdown of rocks. Accumulation of residual soils
takes place as the rate of rock decomposition exceeds the rate of erosion or
transportation of the weathered material. In humid regions, the presence of
surface vegetation reduces the possibility of soil transportation.
As leaching action due to percolating surface water decreases with depth,
there is a corresponding decrease in the degree of chemical weathering from
the ground surface downwards. This results in a gradual reduction of residual
soil formation with depth, until unaltered rock is found.
Residual soils comprise of a wide range of particle sizes, shapes and
composition.
Transported Soils
Weathered rock materials can be moved from their original site to new
locations by one or more of the transportation agencies to form transported
soils. Transported soils are classified based on the mode of transportation and
the final deposition environment.
(a) Soils that are carried and deposited by rivers are called alluvial deposits.

(b) Soils that are deposited by flowing water or surface runoff while entering a
lake are called lacustrine deposits. Alternate layers are formed in different
seasons depending on flow rate.
(c) If the deposits are made by rivers in sea water, they are called marine
deposits. Marine deposits contain both particulate material brought from the
shore as well as organic remnants of marine life forms.
(d) Melting of a glacier causes the deposition of all the materials scoured by it
leading to formation of glacial deposits.
(e) Soil particles carried by wind and subsequently deposited are known
as aeolian deposits.

Phase Relations of Soils

Soil is not a coherent solid material like steel and concrete, but is a particulate
material. Soils, as they exist in nature, consist of solid particles (mineral
grains, rock fragments) with water and air in the voids between the particles.
The water and air contents are readily changed by changes in ambient
conditions and location.
As the relative proportions of the three phases vary in any soil deposit, it is
useful to consider a soil model which will represent these phases distinctly
and properly quantify the amount of each phase. A schematic diagram of the
three-phase system is shown in terms of weight and volume symbols
respectively for soil solids, water, and air. The weight of air can be neglected.

The soil model is given

dimensional values for the solid,
water and air components.
Total volume, V = Vs + Vw + Vv

Three-phase System

Soils can be partially saturated (with both air and water present), or be fully
saturated (no air content) or be perfectly dry (no water content).
In a saturated soil or a dry soil, the three-phase system thus reduces to two
phases only, as shown.

For the purpose of engineering analysis and design, it is necessary to express

relations between the weights and the volumes of the three phases.
The various relations can be grouped into:
Volume relations
Weight relations
Inter-relations

Volume Relations
As the amounts of both water and air are variable, the volume of solids is
taken as the reference quantity. Thus, several relational volumetric quantities
may be defined. The following are the basic volume relations:
1. Void ratio (e) is the ratio of the volume of voids (Vv) to the volume of soil
solids (Vs), and is expressed as a decimal.

2. Porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume of soil
(V ), and is expressed as a percentage.

Void ratio and porosity are inter-related to each other as follows:

and

3. The volume of water (Vw) in a soil can vary between zero (i.e. a dry soil)
and the volume of voids. This can be expressed as the degree of saturation
(S) in percentage.

For a dry soil, S = 0%, and for a fully saturated soil, S = 100%.
4. Air content (ac) is the ratio of the volume of air (Va) to the volume of voids.

5. Percentage air voids (na) is the ratio of the volume of air to the total
volume.

Weight Relations
Density is a measure of the quantity of mass in a unit volume of material. Unit
weight is a measure of the weight of a unit volume of material. Both can be
used interchangeably. The units of density are ton/m, kg/m or g/cm. The
following are the basic weight relations:
1. The ratio of the mass of water present to the mass of solid particles is
called the water content (w), or sometimes the moisture content.

Its value is 0% for dry soil and its magnitude can exceed 100%.

2. The mass of solid particles is usually expressed in terms of their particle

unit weight

where

or specific gravity (Gs) of the soil grain solids .

= Unit weight of water

For most inorganic soils, the value of Gs lies between 2.60 and 2.80. The
presence of organic material reduces the value of Gs.
3. Dry unit weight
volume.

is a measure of the amount of solid particles per unit

4. Bulk unit weight

water per unit volume.

5. Saturated unit weight

is filled up with water.

is a measure of the amount of solid particles plus

is equal to the bulk density when the total voids

6. Buoyant unit weight

or submerged unit weight is the effective mass
per unit volume when the soil is submerged below standing water or below the
ground water table.

Inter-Relations
It is important to quantify the state of a soil immediately after receiving in the
laboratory and prior to commencing other tests. The water content and unit
weight are particularly important, since they may change during transportation
and storage.
Some physical state properties are calculated following the practical
measurement of others. For example, dry unit weight can be determined from
bulk unit weight and water content. The following are some inter-relations:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6.
7.

Worked Examples

Soil Classification
It is necessary to adopt a formal system of soil description and classification in
order to describe the various materials found in ground investigation. Such a
system must be meaningful and concise in an engineering context, so that
engineers will be able to understand and interpret.
It is important to distinguish between description and classification:
Description of soil is a statement that describes the physical nature and
state of the soil. It can be a description of a sample, or a soil in situ. It is
arrived at by using visual examination, simple tests, observation of site
conditions, geological history, etc.
Classification of soil is the separation of soil into classes or groups each
having similar characteristics and potentially similar behaviour. A classification
for engineering purposes should be based mainly on mechanical properties:
permeability, stiffness, strength. The class to which a soil belongs can be used
in its description.
The aim of a classification system is to establish a set of conditions which will
allow useful comparisons to be made between different soils. The system
must be simple. The relevant criteria for classifying soils are the size
distribution of particles and the plasticity of the soil.

Particle Size Distribution

For measuring the distribution of particle sizes in a soil sample, it is necessary
to conduct different particle-size tests.
Wet sieving is carried out for separating fine grains from coarse grains by
washing the soil specimen on a 75 micron sieve mesh.
Dry sieve analysis is carried out on particles coarser than 75 micron.
Samples (with fines removed) are dried and shaken through a set of sieves of
descending size. The weight retained in each sieve is measured. The
cumulative percentage quantities finer than the sieve sizes (passing each
given sieve size) are then determined.
The resulting data is presented as a distribution curve with grain size along xaxis (log scale) and percentage passing along y-axis (arithmetic scale).
Sedimentation analysis is used only for the soil fraction finer than 75
microns. Soil particles are allowed to settle from a suspension. The
decreasing density of the suspension is measured at various time intervals.
The procedure is based on the principle that in a suspension, the terminal
velocity of a spherical particle is governed by the diameter of the particle and
the properties of the suspension.
In this method, the soil is placed as a suspension in a jar filled with distilled
water to which a deflocculating agent is added. The soil particles are then
allowed to settle down. The concentration of particles remaining in the
suspension at a particular level can be determined by using a hydrometer.
Specific gravity readings of the solution at that same level at different time
intervals provide information about the size of particles that have settled down
and the mass of soil remaining in solution.
The results are then plotted between % finer (passing) and log size.

Grain-Size Distribution Curve

The size distribution curves, as obtained from coarse and fine grained
portions, can be combined to form one complete grain-size distribution
curve (also known as grading curve). A typical grading curve is shown.

From the complete grain-size distribution curve, useful information can be

obtained such as:
1. Grading characteristics, which indicate the uniformity and range in grainsize
distribution.
2. Percentages (or fractions) of gravel, sand, silt and clay-size.

Grading Characteristics
A grading curve is a useful aid to soil description. The geometric properties of
a grading curve are called grading characteristics

To obtain the grading characteristics, three points are located first on the
grading curve.
D60 = size at 60% finer by weight
D30 = size at 30% finer by weight
D10 = size at 10% finer by weight
The grading characteristics are then determined as follows:
1. Effective size = D10

Both Cu and Cc will be 1 for a single-sized soil.

Cu > 5 indicates a well-graded soil, i.e. a soil which has a distribution of
particles over a wide size range.

Cc between 1 and 3 also indicate a well-graded soil.

Cu < 3 indicates a uniform soil, i.e. a soil which has a very narrow particle
size range.

Consistency of Soils
The consistency of a fine-grained soil refers to its firmness, and it varies with
the water content of the soil.
A gradual increase in water content causes the soil to change
from solid to semi-solid to plastic to liquid states. The water contents at
which the consistency changes from one state to the other are
called consistency limits (or Atterberg limits).
The three limits are known as the shrinkage limit (WS), plastic limit (WP), and
liquid limit (WL) as shown. The values of these limits can be obtained from
laboratory tests.

Two of these are

classification of fine

utilized in the
soils:

Liquid limit (WL) change of

consistency from
plastic to liquid
state
Plastic limit (WP) - change of consistency from brittle/crumbly to plastic state
The difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit is known as
the plasticity index (IP), and it is in this range of water content that the soil
has a plastic consistency. The consistency of most soils in the field will be
plastic or semi-solid.

Indian Standard Soil Classification System

Classification Based on Grain Size
The range of particle sizes encountered in soils is very large: from boulders
with dimension of over 300 mm down to clay particles that are less than 0.002

mm. Some clay contains particles less than 0.001 mm in size which behave
as colloids, i.e. do not settle water in.In the Indian Standard Soil
Classification System (ISSCS), soils are classified into groups according to
size, and the groups are further divided into coarse, medium and fine subgroups. The grain-size range is used as the basis for grouping soil particles
into boulder, cobble, gravel, sand, silt or clay.
Very coarse
soils
Coarse
soils

Boulder size
Cobble size
Gravel size
(G)
Sand size (S)

Coarse
Fine
Coarse
Mediu
m
Fine

> 300 mm
80 - 300 mm
20 - 80 mm
4.75 - 20 mm
2 - 4.75 mm
0.425 - 2 mm

0.075 - 0.425 mm
Fine soils
Silt size (M)
0.002 - 0.075 mm
Clay size (C)
< 0.002 mm
Gravel, sand, silt, and clay are represented by group symbols G, S, M, and
C respectively.
Physical weathering produces very coarse and coarse soils. Chemical
weatherings produce generally fine soils.
Coarse-grained soils are those for which more than 50% of the soil material
by
weight
has
particle
sizes
greater
than
0.075 mm. They are basically divided into either gravels (G) or sands (S).
According to gradation, they are further grouped as well-graded (W) or poorly
graded (P). If fine soils are present, they are grouped as containing silt fines
(M) or as containing clay fines (C).
For example, the combined symbol SW refers to well-graded sand with no
fines.
Both the position and the shape of the grading curve for a soil can aid in
establishing its identity and description. Some typical grading curves are
shown.

Curve A -

a poorly-graded medium SAND

Curve B (i.e.
and

a well-graded GRAVEL-SAND
having equal amounts of gravel
sand)

Curve C - a gap-graded COBBLES-SAND

Curve D - a sandy SILT
Curve E - a silty CLAY (i.e. having little amount of sand)
Fine-grained soils are those for which more than 50% of the material has
particle sizes less than 0.075 mm. Clay particles have a flaky shape to which
water adheres, thus imparting the property of plasticity.
A plasticity chart , based on the values of liquid limit (WL) and plasticity index
(IP), is provided in ISSCS to aid classification. The 'A' line in this chart is
expressed as IP = 0.73 (WL - 20).

Depending on the point in the chart, fine soils are divided into clays (C), silts
(M), or organic soils (O). The organic content is expressed as a percentage
of the mass of organic matter in a given mass of soil to the mass of the dry
soil solids. Three divisions of plasticity are also defined as follows.

The 'A' line and Low plasticity

WL< 35%
at WL equal
to 35% and 50 Intermediate plasticity 35% < WL< 50%
soils
into
High plasticity
WL> 50%
For
example,
symbol CH refer
plasticity.
Soil classification using group symbols is as follows:
Group
Classification
Symbol
Coarse soils
GW
Well-graded GRAVEL
GP
Poorly-graded GRAVEL
GM
Silty GRAVEL
GC
Clayey GRAVEL
SW
SP
SM
SC

Well-graded SAND
Poorly-graded SAND
Silty SAND
Clayey SAND

Fine soils
ML
SILT of low plasticity
MI
SILT of intermediate plasticity
MH
SILT of high plasticity
CL
CI
CH

CLAY of low plasticity

CLAY of intermediate plasticity
CLAY of high plasticity

OL
OI

Organic soil of low plasticity

Organic soil of intermediate
plasticity

vertical

lines

% separate the
various classes.
the
combined
s to clay of high

OH

Organic soil of high plasticity

Pt

Peat

Activity
"Clayey soils" necessarily do not consist of 100% clay size particles. The
proportion of clay mineral flakes (< 0.002 mm size) in a fine soil increases its
tendency to swell and shrink with changes in water content. This is called
the activity of the clayey soil, and it represents the degree of plasticity related
to the clay content.
Activity = (Plasticity index) /(% clay particles by weight)
Classification as per activity is:
Activity

Classification

Liquidity Index
In fine soils, especially with
< 0.75
clay size content, the
Inactive
existing state is dependent
on the current water
0.75 - 1.25
Normal
content (w) with respect to
the consistency limits (or
> 1.25
Active
Atterberg limits).
The liquidity index
(LI) provides a quantitative measure of the present state.
Classification as per liquidity index is:

Liquidity index

Classification

>1

Liquid

0.75 - 1.00

Very soft

0.50 - 0.75

Soft

0.25 - 0. 50

Medium stiff

0 - 0.25

Stiff

<0

Semi-solid

Visual Classification
Soils possess a number of physical characteristics which can be used as aids
to identification in the field. A handful of soil rubbed through the fingers can
yield the following:
SAND (and coarser) particles are visible to the naked eye.
SILT particles become dusty when dry and are easily brushed off hands.
CLAY particles are sticky when wet and hard when dry, and have to be
scraped or washed off hands.

Worked Example
The following test results were obtained for a fine-grained soil:
WL= 48% ; WP = 26%
Clay content = 55%
Silt content = 35%
Sand content = 10%
In situ moisture content = 39% = w
Classify the soil, and determine its activity and liquidity index
Solution:
Plasticity index, IP = WL WP = 48 26 = 22%
Liquid limit lies between 35% and 50%.

According to the Plasticity Chart, the soil is classified as CI, i.e. clay of
intermediate plasticity.

Liquidity index ,

= 0.59

The clay is of normal activity and is of soft consistency.

Formation of Clay Minerals

A soil particle may be a mineral or a rock fragment. A mineral is a chemical
compound formed in nature during a geological process, whereas a rock
fragment has a combination of one or more minerals. Based on the nature of
atoms, minerals are classified as silicates, aluminates, oxides, carbonates and
phosphates.
Out of these, silicate minerals are the most important as they influence the
properties of clay soils. Different arrangements of atoms in the silicate
minerals give rise to different silicate structures.
Basic Structural Units

Soil minerals are formed from two basic structural units: tetrahedral and
octahedral. Considering the valencies of the atoms forming the units, it is clear
that the units are not electrically neutral and as such do not exist as single
units.
The basic units combine to form sheets in which the oxygen or hydroxyl ions
are shared among adjacent units. Three types of sheets are thus formed,
namely silica sheet, gibbsite sheet and brucite sheet.
Isomorphous substitution is the replacement of the central atom of the
tetrahedral or octahedral unit by another atom during the formation of the
sheets.
The sheets then combine to form various two-layer or three-layer sheet
minerals. As the basic units of clay minerals are sheet-like structures, the
particle formed from stacking of the basic units is also plate-like. As a result,
the surface area per unit mass becomes very large.

Structure of Clay Minerals

A tetrahedral unit consists of a central silicon atom that is surrounded by four
oxygen atoms located at the corners of a tetrahedron. A combination of
tetrahedrons forms a silica sheet.

An octahedral unit consists of a central ion, either aluminium or magnesium,

that is surrounded by six hydroxyl ions located at the corners of an
octahedron. A combination of aluminium-hydroxyl octahedrons forms
a gibbsite sheet, whereas a combination of magnesium-hydroxyl
octahedrons forms a brucite sheet.

Two-layer Sheet Minerals

Kaolinite and halloysite clay minerals are the most common.
Kaolinite Mineral
The basic kaolinite unit is a two-layer unit that is formed by stacking a gibbsite
sheet on a silica sheet. These basic units are then stacked one on top of the
other to form a lattice of the mineral. The units are held together by hydrogen
bonds. The strong bonding does not permit water to enter the lattice. Thus,
kaolinite minerals are stable and do not expand under saturation.
Kaolinite is the most abundant constituent of residual clay deposits.

Halloysite Mineral
The basic unit is also a two-layer sheet similar to that of kaolinite except for
the presence of water between the sheets.

Three-layer Sheet Minerals

Montmorillonite and illite clay minerals are the most common. A basic threelayer sheet unit is formed by keeping one silica sheet each on the top and at
the bottom of a gibbsite sheet. These units are stacked to form a lattice as
shown.
Montmorillonite Mineral
The bonding between the three-layer units is by van der Waals forces. This
bonding is very weak and water can enter easily. Thus, this mineral can
imbibe a large quantity of water causing swelling. During dry weather, there
will be shrinkage.

Illite
Illites

Mineral

consists
of
the
basic
montmorillonite units but are
bonded
by secondary
valence
forces an
d potassium ions, as shown.
There is
about 20% replacement of
aluminum with silicon in the gibbsite sheet due to Isomorphous substitution.
This mineral is very stable and does not swell or shrink.

Fine Soil Fabric

Natural soils are rarely the same from one point in the ground to another. The
content and nature of grains varies, but more importantly, so does the
arrangement of these. The arrangement and organisation of particles and
other features within a soil mass is termed its fabric.
CLAY particles are flaky. Their thickness is very small relative to their length &
breadth, in some cases as thin as 1/100th of the length. They therefore have
high specific surface values. These surfaces carry negative electrical charge,
which attracts positive ions present in the pore water. Thus a lot of water may
be held as adsorbed water within a clay mass.

Stresses in the Ground

Total Stress
When a load is applied to soil, it is carried by the solid grains and the water in
the pores. The total vertical stress acting at a point below the ground
surface is due to the weight of everything that lies above, including soil, water,
and surface loading. Total stress thus increases with depth and with unit
weight.
Vertical total stress at depth z, v = .Z

Below a water body, the total stress is the sum of the weight of the soil up to
the surface and the weight of water above this. v = .Z + w.Zw

The total stress may also be denoted by z or just . It varies with changes in
water level and with excavation.
Pore Water Pressure
The pressure of water in the pores of the soil is called pore water pressure
(u). The magnitude of pore water pressure depends on:
the depth below the water table.
the conditions of seepage flow.

Under hydrostatic conditions, no water flow takes place, and the pore
pressure at a given point is given by
u = w.h
where h = depth below water table or overlying water surface
It is convenient to think of pore water pressure as the pressure exerted by a
column of water in an imaginary standpipe inserted at the given point.
The natural level of ground water is called the water table or the phreatic
surface. Under conditions of no seepage flow, the water table is horizontal.
The magnitude of the pore water pressure at the water table is zero. Below
the water table, pore water pressures are positive.

Principle of Effective Stress

The principle of effective stress was enunciated by Karl Terzaghi in the
year 1936. This principle is valid only for saturated soils, and consists of two
parts:
1. At any point in a soil mass, the effective stress (represented by

or ' ) is related to total stress () and pore water pressure (u) as

=-u
Both the total stress and pore water pressure can be measured at any point.
2. All measurable effects of a change of stress, such as compression and a
change of shearing resistance, are exclusively due to changes in effective
stress.
Compression =
Shear Strength =

In a saturated soil system, as the voids are completely filled with water, the
pore water pressure acts equally in all directions.
The effective stress is not the exact contact stress between particles but the
distribution of load carried by the soil particles over the area considered. It
cannot be measured and can only be computed.
If the total stress is increased due to additional load applied to the soil, the
pore water pressure initially increases to counteract the additional stress. This
increase in pressure within the pores might cause water to drain out of the soil
mass, and the load is transferred to the solid grains. This will lead to the
increase of effective stress

Effective Stress in Unsaturated Zone

Above the water table, when the soil is saturated, pore pressure will be
negative (less than atmospheric). The height above the water table to which
the soil is saturated is called the capillary rise, and this depends on the grain
size and the size of pores. In coarse soils, the capillary rise is very small.

Between the top of the saturated zone and the ground surface, the soil is
partially saturated, with a consequent reduction in unit weight . The pore
pressure in a partially saturated soil consists of two components:

Pore water pressure = uw

Pore air pressure = ua
Water is incompressible, whereas air is compressible. The combined effect is
a complex relationship involving partial pressures and the degree of saturation
of the soil.

Effective Stress Under Hydrodynamic Conditions

There is a change in pore water pressure in conditions of seepage flow within
the ground. Consider seepage occurring between two points P and Q. The
potential driving the water flow is the hydraulic gradient between the two
points, which is equal to the head drop per unit length. In steady state
seepage, the gradient remains constant.

As water percolates through soil, it exerts a drag on soil particles it comes in

contact with. Depending on the flow direction, either downward of upward, the
drag either increases or decreases inter-particle contact forces.
A downward flow increases effective stress.
In contrast, an upward flow opposes the force of gravity and can even cause
to counteract completely the contact forces. In such a situation, effective
stress is reduced to zero and the soil behaves like a very viscous liquid. Such
a state is known as quick sand condition. In nature, this condition is usually
observed in coarse silt or fine sand subject to artesian conditions.

At the bottom of the soil column

This shows that when water flows upward under a hydraulic gradient of about
1, it completely neutralizes the force on account of the weight of particles, and
thus leaves the particles suspended in water.

The Importance of Effective Stress

At any point within the soil mass, the magitudes of both total stress and pore
water pressure are dependent on the ground water position. With a shift in the
water table due to seasonal fluctuations, there is a resulting change in the
distribution in pore water pressure with depth.
Changes in water level below ground result in changes in effective stresses
below the water table. A rise increases the pore water pressure at all
elevations thus causing a decrease in effective stress. In contrast, a fall in the
water table produces an increase in the effective stress.

Changes in water level above ground do not cause changes in effective

stresses in the ground below. A rise above ground surface increases both the
total stress and the pore water pressure by the same amount, and
consequently effective stress is not altered.
In some analyses it is better to work with the changes of quantity, rather than
in absolute quantities. The effective stress expression then becomes:
= - u
If both total stress and pore water pressure change by the same amount, the
effective stress remains constant.
Total and effective stresses must be distinguishable in all calculations. Ground
movements and instabilities can be caused by changes in total stress, such as
caused by loading by foundations and unloading due to excavations. They
can also be caused by changes in pore water pressures, such as failure of
slopes after rainfall.

Worked Examples
Example 1: For the soil deposit shown below, draw the total stress, pore
water pressure and effective stress diagrams.The water table is at ground
level.

Permeability of Soils
Pressure, Elevation and Total Heads
In soils, the interconnected pores provide passage for water. A large number
of such flow paths act together, and the average rate of flow is termed the
coefficient of permeability, or just permeability. It is a measure of the ease that
the soil provides to the flow of water through its pores.

At point A, the pore water pressure (u) can be measured from the height of
water in a standpipe located at that point.
The height of the water column is the pressure head (hw).
hw = u/ w
To identify any difference in pore water pressure at different points, it is
necessary to eliminate the effect of the points of measurement. With this in
view, a datum is required from which locations are measured.
The elevation head (hz) of any point is its height above the datum line. The
height of water level in the standpipe above the datum is the piezometric
head (h).
h = hz + hw
Total head consists of three components: elevation head, pressure head,
and velocity head. As seepage velocity in soils is normally low, velocity head
is ignored, and total head becomes equal to the piezometric head. Due to the
low seepage velocity and small size of pores, the flow of water in the pores is
steady and laminar in most cases. Water flow takes place between two points
in soil due to the difference in total heads.

Darcy's Law
Darcy's law states that there is a linear relationship between flow velocity (v)
and hydraulic gradient (i) for any given saturated soil under steady laminar
flow conditions.

If the rate of flow is q (volume/time) through cross-sectional area (A) of the

soil mass, Darcy's Law can be expressed as
v = q/A = k.i
where k = permeability of the soil
i = h/L
h = difference in total heads
L = length of the soil mass
The flow velocity (v) is also called the Darcian velocity or the superficial
velocity. It is different from the actual velocity inside the soil pores, which is
known as the seepage velocity, vS. At the particulate level, the water follows
a tortuous path through the pores. Seepage velocity is always greater than the
superficial velocity, and it is expressed as:

where AV = Area of voids on a cross section normal to the direction of flow

n = porosity of the soil

Permeability of Different Soils

Permeability (k) is an engineering property of soils and is a function of the soil
type. Its value depends on the average size of the pores and is related to the
distribution of particle sizes, particle shape and soil structure. The ratio of
permeabilities of typical sands/gravels to those of typical clays is of the order

of 106. A small proportion of fine material in a coarse-grained soil can lead to a

significant reduction in permeability.
For different soil types as per grain size, the orders of magnitude for
permeability are as follows:
Soil

k (cm/sec)

Gravel

100

Coarse sand
Medium
sand
Fine sand
Silty sand
Silt

100 to 10-1

Clay

10-7 to 10-9

10-1 to 10-2
10-2 to 10-3
10-3 to 10-4
1 x 10-5

Factors affecting Permeability

In soils, the permeant or pore fluid is mostly water whose variation in property
is generally very less. Permeability of all soils is strongly influenced by the
density of packing of the soil particles, which can be represented by void ratio
(e) or porosity (n).
For Sands
In sands, permeability can be empirically related to the square of some
representative grain size from its grain-size distribution. For filter sands, Allen
Hazen in 1911 found that k 100 (D10)2 cm/s where D10= effective grain size in
cm.
Different relationships have been attempted relating void ratio and
permeability, such as k e3/(1+e), and k e2. They have been obtained
from the Kozeny-Carman equation for laminar flow in saturated soils.

where ko and kT are factors depending on the shape and tortuosity of the
pores respectively, SS is the surface area of the solid particles per unit volume
of solid material, and w and are unit weight and viscosity of the pore
water. The equation can be reduced to a simpler form as

For Silts and Clays

For silts and clays, the Kozeny-Carman equation does not work well, and log
k versus e plot has been found to indicate a linear relationship.
For clays, it is typically found that

where Ckis the permeability change index and ek is a reference void ratio.

Laboratory Measurement of Permeability

Constant Head Flow
Constant head permeameter is recommended for coarse-grained soils only
since for such soils, flow rate is measurable with adequate precision. As water
flows through a sample of cross-section area A, steady total head drop h is
measured across length L.

Falling Head Flow

Falling head permeameter is recommended for fine-grained soils.

Field Tests for Permeability

Field or in-situ measurement of permeability avoids the difficulties involved in
obtaining and setting up undisturbed samples in a permeameter. It also
provides information about bulk permeability, rather than merely the
permeability of a small sample.
A field permeability test consists of pumping out water from a main well and
observing the resulting drawdown surface of the original horizontal water table
from at least two observation wells. When a steady state of flow is reached,
the flow quantity and the levels in the observation wells are noted.
Two important field tests for determining permeability are: Unconfined flow
pumping test, and confined flow pumping test.
Unconfined Flow Pumping Test

In this test, the pumping causes a drawdown in an unconfined (i.e. open

surface) soil stratum, and generates a radial flow of water towards the
pumping well. The steady-state heads h1 and h2 in observation wells at
radii r1 and r2 are monitored till the flow rate q becomes steady.
The rate of radial flow through any cylindrical surface around the pumping
well is equal to the amount of water pumped out. Consider such a surface
having radius r, thickness dr and height h. The hydraulic gradient is

Field Tests for Permeability

Confined Flow Pumping Test
Artesian conditions can exist in a aquifer of thickness D confined both above
and below by impermeable strata. In this, the drawdown water table is above
the upper surface of the aquifer.

Permeability of Stratified Deposits

When a soil deposit consists of a number of horizontal layers having different
permeabilities, the average value of permeability can be obtained separately
for both vertical flow and horizontal flow, as kVand kH respectively.
Consider a stratified soil having horizontal layers of thickness H1, H2, H3, etc.
with coefficients of permeability k1, k2,k3, etc.

Worked Example
Example 1: Determine the following:
(a) Equivalent coefficient of vertical permeability of the three layers
(b) The rate of flow per m2 of plan area
(c) The total head loss in the three layers

Example 2: For a field pumping test, a well was sunk through a horizontal
stratum of sand 14.5 thick and underlain by a clay stratum.Two observation
wells were sunk at horizontal distances of 16 m and 34 m respectively from
the pumping well. The initial position of the water table was 2.2 m below
ground
level.
At a steady-state pumping rate of 1850 litres/min, the drawdowns in the

observation wells were found to be 2.45 m and 1.20 m respectively. Calculate

the coefficient of permeability of the sand.

Seepage in Soils

A rectangular soil element is shown with dimensions dx and dz in the plane,

and thickness dy perpendicuar to this plane. Consider planar flow into the
rectangular soil element .
In the x-direction, the net amount of the water entering and leaving the
element is

Similarly in the z-direction, the difference between the water inflow and
outflow is

For a two-dimensional steady flow of pore water, any imbalance in flows into
and out of an element in the z-direction must be compensated by a
corresponding opposite imbalance in the x-direction. Combining the above,
and dividing bydx.dy.dz , the continuity equation is expressed as

One-dimensional Flow

Two-dimensional Flow
Flow Nets
Graphical form of solutions to Laplace equation for two-dimensional seepage
can be presented as flow nets. Two orthogonal sets of curves form a flow net:
Equipotential lines connecting points of equal total head h
Flow lines indicating the direction of seepage down a hydraulic gradient

Two flow lines can never meet and similarly, two equipotential lines can never
meet. The space between two adjacent flow lines is known as a flow
channel, and the figure formed on the flownet between any two adjacent flow
lines and two adjacent equipotential lines is referred to as a field. Seepage
through an embankment dam is shown.

Calculation of flow in a channel

If standpipe piezometers were inserted into the ground with their tips on a
single equipotential line, then the water would rise to the same level in each
standpipe. The pore pressures would be different because of their different
elevations.There can be no flow along an equipotential line as there is no
hydraulic gradient.

There is an advantage in sketching flow nets in the form of curvilinear

'squares' so that a circle can be insrcibed within each four-sided figure
bounded by two equipotential lines and two flow lines.
In such a square, b = L , and the flow rate is obtained as q = k.h
Thus the flow rate through such a flow channel is the permeability k multiplied
by the uniform interval h between adjacent equipotential lines.
Calculation of total flow
For a complete problem, the flow net can be drawn with the overall head
drop h divided into Nd so that h = h / Nd.
If Nf is the no. of flow channels, then the total flow rate is

Procedure for Drawing Flow Nets

At every point (x,z) where there is flow, there will be a value of head h(x,z). In
order to represent these values, contours of equal head are drawn.
A flow net is to be drawn by trial and error. For a given set of boundary
conditions, the flow net will remain the same even if the direction of flow is
reversed. Flow nets are constructed such that the head lost between
successiveequipotential lines is the same, say h. It is useful in visualising
the flow in a soil to plot the flow lines, as these are lines that are tangential to
the flow at any given point. The steps of construction are:
1. Mark all boundary conditions, and draw the flow cross section to some
convenient scale.
2. Draw a coarse net which is consistent with the boundary conditions and
which has orthogonal equipotential and flow lines. As it is usually easier to
visualise the pattern of flow, start by drawing the flow lines first.

3. Modify the mesh such that it meets the conditions outlined above and the
fields between adjacent flow lines and equipotential lines are 'square'.
4. Refine the flow net by repeating step 3.
The most common boundary conditions are:
(a) A submerged permeable soil boundary is an equipotential line. This could
have been determined by considering imaginary standpipes placed at the soil
boundary, as for every point the water level in the standpipe would be the
same as the water level. (Such a boundary is marked as CD and EF in the
following figure.)
(b) The boundary between permeable and impermeable soil materials is a
flow line (This is marked as AB in the same figure).
(c) Equipotential lines intersecting a phreatic surface do so at equal vertical
intervals

Uses of Flow Nets

The graphical properties of a flow net can be used in obtaining solutions for
many seepage problems such as:

1. Estimation of seepage losses from reservoirs: It is possible to use the

flow net in the transformed space to calculate the flow underneath the dam.
2. Determination of uplift pressures below dams: From the flow net, the
pressure head at any point at the base of the dam can be determined. The
uplift pressure distribution along the base can be drawn and then summed up.
3. Checking the possibility of piping beneath dams: At the toe of a dam
when the upward exit hydraulic gradient approaches unity, boiling condition
can occur leading to erosion in soil and consequent piping. Many dams on soil
foundations have failed because of a sudden formation of a piped shaped
discharge channel. As the stored water rushes out, the channel widens and
catastrophic failure results. This is also often referred to as piping failure.

Compression and Consolidation of Soils

When a soil layer is subjected to vertical stress, volume change can take
place through rearrangement of soil grains, and some amount of grain fracture
may also take place. The volume of soil grains remains constant, so change in
total volume is due to change in volume of water. In saturated soils, this can
happen only if water is pushed out of the voids. The movement of water takes
time and is controlled by the permeability of the soil and the locations of free
draining boundary surfaces.
It is necessary to determine both the magnitude of volume change (or the
settlement) and the time required for the volume change to occur. The
magnitude of settlement is dependent on the magnitude of applied stress,
thickness of the soil layer, and the compressibility of the soil.

When soil is loaded undrained, the pore pressure increases. As the excess
pore pressure dissipates and water leaves the soil, settlement takes place.
This process takes time, and the rate of settlement decreases over time. In
coarse soils (sands and gravels), volume change occurs immediately as pore
pressures are dissipated rapidly due to high permeability. In fine soils (silts
and clays), slow seepage occurs due to low permeability.
Components of Total Settlement
The total settlement of a loaded soil has three components: Elastic settlement,
primary consolidation, and secondary compression.
Elastic settlement is on account of change in shape at constant volume, i.e.
due to vertical compression and lateral expansion. Primary consolidation (or
simply consolidation) is on account of flow of water from the voids, and is a
function of the permeability and compressibility of soil. Secondary
compression is on account of creep-like behaviour.
Primary consolidation is the major component and it can be reasonably
estimated. A general theory for consolidation, incorporating three-dimensional
flow is complicated and only applicable to a very limited range of problems in
geotechnical engineering. For the vast majority of practical settlement
problems, it is sufficient to consider that both seepage and strain take place in
one direction only, as one-dimensional consolidation in the vertical
direction.

Compressibility Characteristics
Soils are often subjected to uniform loading over large areas, such as
from wide foundations, fills or embankments. Under such conditions, the soil
which is remote from the edges of the loaded area undergoes vertical strain,
but no horizontal strain. Thus, the settlement occurs only in one-dimension.
The compressibility of soils under one-dimensional compression can be
described from the decrease in the volume of voids with the increase of
effective stress. This relation of void ratio and effective stress can be depicted
either as anarithmetic plot or a semi-log plot.

In the arithmetic plot as shown, as the soil compresses, for the same increase
of effective stress ', the void ratio reduces by a smaller magnitude,
from e1 to e2. This is on account of an increasingly denser packing of the
soil particles as the pore water is forced out. In fine soils, a much longer time
is required for the pore water to escape, as compared to coarse soils.
It can be said that the compressibility of a soil decreases as the effective
stress increases. This can be represented by the slope of the void ratio
effective stress relation, which is called the coefficient of compressibility, av.

Normally Consolidated and Over-Consolidated Clays

The figure shows the relation of void ratio and effective stress of a clay soil as
a semi-log plot.

OP corresponds to initial loading of the soil. PQ corresponds to unloading of

the soil. QFR corresponds to a reloading of the soil. Upon reloading
beyond P, the soil continues along the path that it would have followed if
loaded from O to R continuously.
The preconsolidation stress, 'pc, is defined to be the maximum effective
stress experienced by the soil. This stress is identified in comparison with the
effective stress in its present state. For soil at state Q or F, this would
correspond to the effective stress at point P.
If the current effective stress, ', is equal (note that it cannot be greater than)
to the preconsolidation stress, then the deposit is said to be normally
consolidated (NC). If the current effective stress is less than the
preconsolidation stress, then the soil is said to be over-consolidated (OC).
It may be seen that for the same increase in effective stress, the change in
void ratio is much less for an overconsolidated soil (from e0 to ef), than it
would have been for a normally consolidated soil as in path OP. In unloading,
the soil swells but the increase in volume is much less than the initial
decrease in volume for the same stress difference.
The distance from the normal consolidation line has an important influence on
soil behaviour. This is described numerically by the overconsolidation ratio
(OCR), which is defined as the ratio of the preconsolidation stress to the
current effective stress.

Settlements will generally be much smaller for structures built on

overconsolidated soils. Most soils are overconsolidated to some degree. This
can be due to shrinking and swelling of the soil on drying and rewetting,
changes in ground water levels, and unloading due to erosion of overlying
strata.
For NC clays, the plot of void ratio versus log of effective stress can be
approximated to a straight line, and the slope of this line is indicated by a
parameter termed as compression index, Cc.

Estimation of Preconsolidation Stress

It is possible to determine the preconsolidation stress that the soil had
experienced. The soil sample is to be loaded in the laboratory so as to obtain
the void ratio - effective stress relationship. Empirical procedures are used to
estimate
the
preconsolidation
stress,
the
most
widely
used
being Casagrande's construction which is illustrated

The steps in the construction are:

Draw the graph using an appropriate scale.

 Determine the point of maximum curvature A.

At A, draw a tangent AB to the curve.
At A, draw a horizontal line AC.
Draw the extension ED of the straight line portion of the curve.
Where the line ED cuts the bisector AF of angle CAB, that point
corresponds to the preconsolidation stress.

Analysis of Consolidation - Terzaghi's Theory

The total stress increases when additional vertical load is first applied.
Instantaneously, the pore water pressure increases by exactly the same
amount. Subsequently there will be flow from regions of higher excess pore
pressure to regions of lower excess pore pressure causing dissipation. The
effective stress will change and the soil will consolidate with time. This is
shown schematically.

On the assumption that the excess pore water drains only along vertical lines,
an analytical procedure can be developed for computing the rate of
consolidation.
Consider a saturated soil element of sides dx, dy and dz.

The Darcy eqn. can be substituted in the continuity eqn., and the
porosity n can be expressed in terms of void ratio e, to obtain the flow
equation as

If e0 is the initial void ratio of the consolidating layer, the initial volume of solids
in the element is (dx dy dz ) / (1 +e0), which remains constant. The change in
water volume can be represented by small changes e in the current void
ratio e.
The flow eqn. can then be written as

This is Terzaghi's one-dimensional consolidation equation. A solution of

this for a set of boundary conditions will describe how the excess pore water
pressure u dissipates with time t and location z. When all the u has dissipated
completely throughout the depth of the compressible soil layer, consolidation
is complete and the transient flow situation ceases to exist.

Solution of Terzaghi's Theory

During the consolidation process, the following are assumed to be constant:
1. The total additional stress on the compressible soil layer is assumed to
remain
constant.
2. The coefficient of volume compressibility (mV) of the soil is assumed to be
constant.
3. The coefficient of permeability (k) for vertical flow is assumed to be
constant.
There are three variables in the consolidation equation:
1. the depth of the soil element in the layer (z)
2. the excess pore water pressure (u)
3. the time elapsed since application of the loading (t)

To take care of these three variables, three non-dimensional parameters are

provided:

1. Drainage path ratio,

, where H = drainage path which is the longest
path taken by the pore water to reach a permeable sub-surface layer above or
below.

2. Consolidation ratio at depth z, Uz , which is the ratio of dissipated pore

pressure to the initial excess pore pressure. This represents the stage of
consolidation at a certain location in the compressible layer.
3. Time factor,
The graphical solution of Terzaghi's one-dimensional consolidation
equation using the non-dimensional parameters is shown

The

figure

is

symmetrical

about

the

horizontal

line

at

1.

For double drainage conditions, pore water above this location flows
upwards whereas water below this location flows downwards. Thus, the
horizontal line at Z = 1 is equivalent to an imperious boundary. For single
drainage conditions, only either the top half or bottom half of the figure is to
be used, and the drainage path is equal to the thickness of the compressible
layer.
The above graphical solution shows how consolidation proceeds with time at
different locations for a particular set of boundary conditions, but it does not
describe how much consolidation occurs as a whole in the entire
compressible layer.

The variation of total consolidation with time is most conveniently plotted in

the form of the average degree of consolidation (U) for the entire stratum
versus dimensionless time T, and this is illustrated below.

There are useful approximations relating the degree of consolidation and the
time factor, viz:
For U 0.60, T = ( /4).U2
For U > 0.60, T = 1.781 0.933 log10(100 - U%)
Consolidation Settlement and Time
To estimate the amount of consolidation which would occur and the time it
would take to occur, it is necessary to know:
1. The boundary and drainage conditions
2. The loading conditions
3. The relevant parameters of the soil, including initial void ratio, coefficient
of compressibility, coefficient of volume compressibility , compression
index, and coefficient of consolidation. They are obtained from
consolidation tests on representative undisturbed samples of the
compressible soil stratum

Worked Examples
Example 1: A 3 m thick layer of saturated clay in the field under a surcharge
loading will achieve 90% consolidation in 75 days in double drainage
conditions. Find the coefficient of consolidation of the clay.

Example 2: A 3 m thick clay layer in the field under a given surcharge will
undergo 7 cm of total primary consolidation.If the first 4 cm of settlement takes
90 days, calculate the time required for the first 2 cm of settlement.
Solution:

Example 3: For a laboratory consolidation test on a soil specimen that is

drained on both sides, the following were obtained:
Thickness of the clay specimen = 25 mm
P1 = 50 kN/m2 ; e1 = 0.92
P2 = 120 kN/m2 ;e2 = 0.78
Time for 50% consolidation = 2.5 min
Determine the soil permeability for the loading range.
Solution:

Shear Strength of Soils

Soils consist of individual particles that can slide and roll relative to one
another. Shear strength of a soil is equal to the maximum value of shear
stress that can be mobilized within a soil mass without failure taking place.
The shear strength of a soil is a function of the stresses applied to it as well as
the manner in which these stresses are applied. A knowledge of shear
strength of soils is necessary to determine the bearing capacity of
foundations, the lateral pressure exerted on retaining walls, and the stability of
slopes.
Mohr Circle of Stresses
In soil testing, cylindrical samples are commonly used in which radial and
axial stresses act on principal planes. The vertical plane is usually the minor
principal plane whereas the horizontal plane is the major principal plane. The
radial stress (r) is the minor principal stress (3), and the axial stress (a) is
the major principal stress (1).

To visualise the normal and shear stresses acting on any plane within the soil
sample, a graphical representation of stresses called the Mohr circle is
obtained by plotting the principal stresses. The sign convention in the
construction is to consider compressive stresses as positive and angles
measured counter-clockwise also positive.

Draw a line inclined at angle

with the horizontal through the pole of the

Mohr circle so as to intersect the circle. The coordinates of the point of

intersection are the normal and shear stresses acting on the plane, which is
inclined at angle within the soil sample.

Normal stress
Shear stress
The plane inclined at an angle of
maximum shear stress equal to

to the horizontal has acting on it the

, and the normal stress on this plane is

equal to
.
The plane with the maximum ratio of shear stress to normal stress is inclined
at an angle of
to the horizontal, where is the slope of the line tangent
to the Mohr circle and passing through the origin.

Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion

When the soil sample has failed, the shear stress on the failure plane defines
the shear strength of the soil. Thus, it is necessary to identify the failure plane.
Is it the plane on which the maximum shear stress acts, or is it the plane
where the ratio of shear stress to normal stress is the maximum?

For the present, it can be assumed that a failure plane exists and it is possible
to apply principal stresses and measure them in the laboratory by conducting
a triaxial test. Then, the Mohr circle of stress at failure for the sample can be
drawn using the known values of the principal stresses.
If data from several tests, carried out on different samples upto failure is
available, a series of Mohr circles can be plotted. It is convenient to show only
the upper half of the Mohr circle. A line tangential to the Mohr circles can be
drawn, and is called the Mohr-Coulomb failure envelope.

If the stress condition for any other soil sample is represented by a Mohr circle
that lies below the failure envelope, every plane within the sample
experiences a shear stress which is smaller than the shear strength of the
sample. Thus, the point of tangency of the envelope to the Mohr circle at
failure gives a clue to the determination of the inclination of the failure plane.
The orientation of the failure plane can be finally determined by the pole
method.

The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion can be written as the equation for the line
that represents the failure envelope. The general equation is

Where = shear stress on the failure plane

c = apparent cohesion
normal stress on the failure plane
= angle of internal friction
The failure criterion can be expressed in terms of the relationship between the
principal stresses. From the geometry of the Mohr circle,

Rearranging,

where

Methods of Shear Strength Determination

Direct Shear Test
The test is carried out on a soil sample confined in a metal box of square
cross-section which is split horizontally at mid-height. A small clearance is
maintained between the two halves of the box.The soil is sheared along a
predetermined plane by moving the top half of the box relative to the bottom

half.
The
box
is
usually
square
60 mm x 60 mm. A typical shear box is shown.

in

plan

of

size

If the soil sample is fully or partially saturated, perforated metal plates and
porous stones are placed below and above the sample to allow free drainage.
If the sample is dry, solid metal plates are used. A load normal to the plane of
shearing can be applied to the soil sample through the lid of the box.
Tests on sands and gravels can be performed quickly, and are usually
performed dry as it is found that water does not significantly affect the drained
strength. For clays, the rate of shearing must be chosen to prevent excess
pore pressures building up.
As a vertical normal load is applied to the sample, shear stress is gradually
applied horizontally, by causing the two halves of the box to move relative to
each other. The shear load is measured together with the corresponding shear
displacement. The change of thickness of the sample is also measured.
A number of samples of the soil are tested each under different vertical loads
and the value of shear stress at failure is plotted against the normal stress for
each test. Provided there is no excess pore water pressure in the soil, the
total and effective stresses will be identical. From the stresses at failure, the
failure envelope can be obtained.
The test has several advantages:
It is easy to test sands and gravels.
Large samples can be tested in large shear boxes, as small samples can
give misleading results due to imperfections such as fractures and fissures, or
may not be truly representative.

 Samples can be sheared along predetermined planes, when the shear

strength along fissures or other selected planes are needed.
The disadvantages of the test include:
The failure plane is always horizontal in the test, and this may not be the
weakest plane in the sample. Failure of the soil occurs progressively from the
edges towards the centre of the sample.
There is no provision for measuring pore water pressure in the shear box
and so it is not possible to determine effective stresses from undrained tests.
The shear box apparatus cannot give reliable undrained strengths because it
is impossible to prevent localised drainage away from the shear plane.

Triaxial Test
The triaxial test is carried out in a cell on a cylindrical soil sample having a
length to diameter ratio of 2. The usual sizes are 76 mm x 38 mm and 100 mm
x 50 mm. Three principal stresses are applied to the soil sample, out of which
two are applied water pressure inside the confining cell and are equal. The
third principal stress is applied by a loading ram through the top of the cell and
is different to the other two principal stresses. A typical triaxial cell is shown

The soil sample is placed inside a rubber sheath which is sealed to a top cap
and bottom pedestal by rubber O-rings. For tests with pore pressure
measurement, porous discs are placed at the bottom, and sometimes at the
top of the specimen. Filter paper drains may be provided around the outside
of the specimen in order to speed up the consolidation process. Pore pressure
generated inside the specimen during testing can be measured by means of
pressure transducers.
The triaxial compression test consists of two stages:
First stage: In this, a soil sample is set in the triaxial cell and confining
pressure is then applied.
Second stage: In this, additional axial stress (also called deviator stress) is
applied which induces shear stresses in the sample. The axial stress is
continuously increased until the sample fails.
During both the stages, the applied stresses, axial strain, and pore water
pressure or change in sample volume can be measured.
Test Types
There are several test variations, and those used mostly in practice are:

UU (unconsolidated undrained) test: In this, cell pressure is applied without

allowing drainage. Then keeping cell pressure constant, deviator stress is
increased to failure without drainage.
CU (consolidated undrained) test: In this, drainage is allowed during cell
pressure application. Then without allowing further drainage, deviator stress is
increased keeping cell pressure constant.
CD (consolidated drained) test: This is similar to CU test except that as
deviator stress is increased, drainage is permitted. The rate of loading must
be slow enough to ensure no excess pore water pressure develops.
In the UU test, if pore water pressure is measured, the test is designated by
.
In the CU test, if pore water pressure is measured in the second stage, the
test is symbolized as
.
Significance of Triaxial Testing
The first stage simulates in the laboratory the in-situ condition that soil at
different depths is subjected to different effective stresses. Consolidation will
occur if the pore water pressure which develops upon application of confining
pressure is allowed to dissipate. Otherwise the effective stress on the soil is
the confining pressure (or total stress) minus the pore water pressure which
exists in the soil.
During the shearing process, the soil sample experiences axial strain, and
either volume change or development of pore water pressure occurs. The
magnitude of shear stress acting on different planes in the soil sample is
different. When at some strain the sample fails, this limiting shear stress on
the failure plane is called the shear strength.
The Triaxial test has many advantages over the direct shear test:
The soil samples are subjected to uniform stresses and strains.
Different combinations of confining and axial stresses can be applied.
Drained and undrained tests can be carried out.

 Pore water pressures can be measured in undrained tests.

The complete stress-strain behaviour can be determined.

Total Stress Parameters

UU Tests:

For tests involving drainage in the first stage, when Mohr circles are plotted in
terms of total stresses, the diameter increases with the confining pressure.
The resulting failure envelope is an inclined line with an intercept on the
vertical axis.
It is also observed that cCU cCD and

CUCD

It can be stated that for identical soil samples tested under different triaxial
conditions of UU, CU and CD tests, the failure envelope is not unique

Effective Stress Parameters

If the same triaxial test results of UU, CU and CD tests are plotted in terms of
effective stresses taking into consideration the measured pore water
pressures, it is observed that all the Mohr circles at failure are tangent to the
same failure envelope, indicating that shear strength is a unique function of
the effective stress on the failure plane.

This failure envelope is the shear strength envelope which may then be
written as

where c' = cohesion intercept in terms of effective stress

' = angle of shearing resistance in terms of effective stress

If
is the effective stress acting on the rupture plane at failure,
stress on the same plane and is therefore the shear strength.

is the shear

The relationship between the effective stresses on the failure plane is

Pore Water Pressure Parameters

The difference between the total and effective stresses is simply the pore
water pressure u. Consequently, the total and effective stress Mohr circles
have the same diameter and are only separated along the - axis by the
magnitude of the pore water pressure.
It is easy to construct a series of total stress Mohr Circles but the inferred total
stress parameters have no relevance to actual soil behaviour. In principle, the

effective strength parameters are necessary to check the stability against

failure for any soil construction in the field. To do this, the pore water pressure
in the ground under the changed loading conditions must be known and in
general they are not.
In an undrained triaxial test with pore pressure measurement, this is possible
and the effective stresses can then be determined. Alternatively, in drained
tests, the loading rate can be made sufficiently slow so as to allow the
dissipation of all excess pore water pressure. For low permeability soils, the
drainage will require longer times.
In undrained tests, the general expression relating total pore water pressure
developed and changes in applied stresses for both the stages is:
u = u1 + u2 = B.3+ B.A.(1 3) = B[3+ A(1 3)]
where u1 = pore water pressure developed in the first stage during
application of confining stress3,
u2 = pore water pressure developed in the second stage during application
of deviator stress , and
B and A are Skempton's pore water pressure parameters.
Parameter B is a function of the degree of saturation of the soil (= 1 for
saturated soils, and = 0 for dry soils). Parameter A is also not constant, and it
varies with the over-consolidaton ratio of the soil and also with the magnitude
of deviator stress. The value of A at failure is necessary in plotting the
effective stress Mohr circles.
Consider the behaviour of saturated soil samples in undrained triaxial tests. In
the first stage, increasing the cell pressure without allowing drainage has the
effect of increasing the pore water pressure by the same amount.
Thus, there is no change in the effective stress. During the second shearing
stage, the change in pore water pressure can be either positive or negative.
For UU tests on saturated soils, pore water pressure is not dissipated in both
the stages (i.e.,u = u1 + u2).
For CU tests on saturated soils, pore water pressure is not dissipated in the
second stage only (i.e.,u = u2).

Stress-Strain Behaviour of Sands

Sands are usually sheared under drained conditions as they have relatively
higher permeability. This behaviour can be investigated in direct shear or
triaxial tests. The two most important parameters governing their behaviour
are therelative density (ID) and the magnitude of the effective stress
(). The relative density is usually defined in percentage as

where emax and emin are the maximum and minimum void ratios that can be
determined from standard tests in the laboratory, and e is the current void
ratio. This expression can be re-written in terms of dry density as

where dmax and dmin are the maximum and minimum dry densities, and d is
the current dry density. Sand is generally referred to as dense if ID > 65% and
loose if < 35%.
The influence of relative density on the behaviour of saturated sand can be
seen from the plots of CD tests performed at the same effective confining
stress. There would be no induced pore water pressures existing in the
samples.

For the dense sand sample, the deviator stress reaches a peak at a low value
of axial strain and then drops down, whereas for the loose sand sample, the
deviator stress builds up gradually with axial strain. The behaviour of the
medium sample is in between. The following observations can be made:
All samples approach the same ultimate conditions of shear stress and void
ratio, irrespective of the initial density. The denser sample attains higher peak
angle of shearing resistance in between.
Initially dense samples expand or dilate when sheared, and initially loose
samples compress.

Worked Examples
Example 1: A UU test is carried out on a saturated normally consolidated clay
sample at a confining pressure of 3 kg/cm2.The deviator stress at failure is 1
kg/cm2.
(a) Determine its total stress strength parameters.
(b) If another identical sample is tested at a confining pressure of 4 kg/cm2,
what will be the vertical axial stress at failure?

Example 2: Results of
given.
Determine

tests conducted on two saturated clay samples are

the
shear
strength
parameters.
Sample1
Sample2
2
Confining
pressure
---------------4.8
kg/cm
6.3
kg/cm2
Axial stress at failure -------------- 6.8 kg/cm 2
9.3 kg/cm2
Pore water pressure at failure --3.8 kg/cm 2
4.8 kg/cm2

Compaction of Soils
Compaction is the application of mechanical energy to a soil so as to
rearrange
its
particles
and
reduce
the
void
ratio.
It is applied to improve the properties of an existing soil or in the process of
placing fill such as in the construction of embankments, road bases, runways,
earth dams, and reinforced earth walls. Compaction is also used to prepare a
level surface during construction of buildings. There is usually no change in
the water content and in the size of the individual soil particles.
The objectives of compaction are:
To increase soil shear strength and therefore its bearing capacity.
To reduce subsequent settlement under working loads.
To reduce soil permeability making it more difficult for water to flow
through.
Laboratory Compaction
The variation in compaction with water content and compactive effort is first
determined in the laboratory. There are several tests with standard procedures
such as:
Indian Standard Light Compaction Test (similar to Standard Proctor
Test)
Indian Standard Heavy Compaction Test (similar to Modified Proctor
Test)
Indian Standard Light Compaction Test
Soil is compacted into a 1000 cm3 mould in 3 equal layers, each layer
receiving 25 blows of a 2.6 kg rammer dropped from a height of 310 mm
above the soil. The compaction is repeated at various moisture contents.
Indian Standard Heavy Compaction Test

It was found that the Light Compaction Test (Standard Test) could not
reproduce the densities measured in the field under heavier loading
conditions, and this led to the development of the Heavy Compaction Test
(Modified Test). The equipment and procedure are essentially the same as
that used for the Standard Test except that the soil is compacted in 5 layers,
each layer also receiving 25 blows. The same mould is also used. To provide
the increased compactive effort, a heavier rammer of 4.9 kg and a greater
drop height of 450 mm are used.

Dry Density - Water Content Relationship

To assess the degree of compaction, it is necessary to use the dry unit weight,
which is an indicator of compactness of solid soil particles in a given volume.
The laboratory testing is meant to establish the maximum dry density that can
be attained for a given soil with a standard amount of compactive effort.
In the test, the dry density cannot be determined directly, and as such the bulk
density and the moisture content are obtained first to calculate the dry density
as

, where

= bulk density, and w = water content.

A series of samples of the soil are compacted at different water contents, and
a curve is drawn with axes of dry density and water content. The resulting plot
usually has a distinct peak as shown. Such inverted V curves are obtained
for cohesive soils (or soils with fines), and are known as compaction curves.

The relation between moisture content and dry unit weight for a saturated soil
is the zero air-voids line. It is not feasible to expel air completely by
compaction, no matter how much compactive effort is used and in whatever
manner.
Effect of Increasing Water Content
As water is added to a soil at low moisture contents, it becomes easier for the
particles to move past one another during the application of compacting force.
The particles come closer, the voids are reduced and this causes the dry
density to increase. As the water content increases, the soil particles develop
larger water films around them.
This increase in dry density continues till a stage is reached where water
starts occupying the space that could have been occupied by the soil grains.
Thus the water at this stage hinders the closer packing of grains and reduces
the dry unit weight. The maximum dry density (MDD) occurs at an optimum
water content (OMC), and their values can be obtained from the plot.
Effect of Increasing Compactive Effort

The effect of increasing compactive effort is shown. Different curves are

obtained for different compactive efforts. A greater compactive effort reduces
the optimum moisture content and increases the maximum dry density.

An increase in compactive effort produces a very large increase in dry density

for soil when it is compacted at water contents drier than the optimum
moisture content.It should be noted that for moisture contents greater than the
optimum, the use of heavier compaction effort will have only a small effect on
increasing dry unit weights.
It can be seen that the compaction curve is not a unique soil characteristic. It
depends on the compaction effort. For this reason, it is important to specify
the compaction procedure (light or heavy) when giving values of MDD and
OMC.
Factors Affecting Compaction
The factors that influence the achieved degree of compaction in the laboratory
are:
Plasticity of the soil
Water content
Compactive effort

Compaction of Cohesionless Soils

For cohesionless soils (or soils without any fines), the standard compaction
tests are difficult to perform. For compaction, application of vibrations is the
most effective method. Watering is another method. The seepage force of
water percolating through a cohesionless soil makes the soil grains occupy a
more stable position. However a large quantity of water is required in this
method. To achieve maximum dry density, they can be compacted either in a
dry state or in a saturated state.
For these soil types, it is usual to specify a magnitude of relative density
(ID) that must be achieved. If e is the current void ratio or d is the current dry
density, the relative density is usually defined in percentage as

where emax and emin are the maximum and minimum void ratios that can be
determined from standard tests in the laboratory, and dmin and dmax are the
respective minimum and maximum dry densities
On the basis of relative density, sands and gravels can be grouped into
different categories:
Relative
density (%)

Classification

< 15

Very loose

15-35

Loose

35-65

Medium

65-85

Dense

> 85

Very dense

It is not possible to determine the dry density from the value of the relative
density. The reason is that the values of the maximum and minimum dry

densities (or void ratios) depend on the gradation and angularity of the soil
grains.

Engineering Behaviour of Compacted Soils

The water content of a compacted soil is expressed with reference to the
OMC. Thus, soils are said to be compacteddry of optimum or wet of
optimum (i.e. on the dry side or wet side of OMC). The structure of a
compacted soil is not similar on both sides even when the dry density is the
same, and this difference has a strong influence on the engineering
characteristics.
Soil Structure
For a given compactive effort, soils have a flocculated structure on the dry
side (i.e. soil particles are oriented randomly), whereas they have a dispersed
structure on the wet side (i.e. particles are more oriented in a parallel
arrangement perpendicular to the direction of applied stress). This is due to
the well-developed adsorbed water layer (water film) surrounding each
particle on the wet side.

Swelling
Due to a higher water deficiency and partially developed water films in the dry
side, when given access to water, the soil will soak in much more water and
then swell more.
Shrinkage
During drying, soils compacted in the wet side tend to show more shrinkage
than those compacted in the dry side. In the wet side, the more orderly
orientation of particles allows them to pack more efficiently.
Construction Pore Water Pressure

The compaction of man-made deposits proceeds layer by layer, and pore

water pressures are induced in the previous layers. Soils compacted wet of
optimum will have higher pore water pressures compared to soils compacted
dry of optimum, which have initially negative pore water pressure.
Permeability
The randomly oriented soil in the dry side exhibits the same permeability in all
directions, whereas the dispersed soil in the wet side is more permeable along
particle orientation than across particle orientation.
Compressibility
At low applied stresses, the dry compacted soil is less compressible on
account of its truss-like arrangement of particles whereas the wet compacted
soil is more compressible.

The stress-strain curve of the dry compacted soil rises to a peak and drops
down when the flocculated structure collapses. At high applied stresses, the
initially flocculated and the initially dispersed soil samples will have similar
structures, and they exhibit similar compressibility and strength.

Field Compaction and Specifications

To control soil properties in the field during earthwork construction, it is usual
to specify the degree of compaction (also known as the relative
compaction). This specification is usually that a certain percentage of the
maximum dry density, as found from a laboratory tests (Light or Heavy
Compaction), must be achieved. For example, it could be specified that field
dry densities must be greater than 95% of the maximum dry density (MDD) as
determined from a laboratory test. Target values for the range of water content

near the optimum moisture content (OMC) to be adopted at the site can then
be decided, as shown in the figure.

For this reason, it is important to have a good control over moisture content
during compaction of soil layers in the field. It is then up to the field contractor
to select the thickness of each soil lift (layer of soil added) and the type of field
equipment in order to achieve the specified amount of compaction. The
standard of field compaction is usually controlled through either end-product
specifications or method specifications.
End-Product Specifications
In end-product specifications, the required field dry density is specified as a
percentage of the laboratory maximum dry density, usually 90% to 95%. The
target parameters are specified based on laboratory test results.

The field water content working range is usually within 2% of the laboratory
optimum moisture content.
It is necessary to control the moisture content so that it is near the chosen
value. From the borrow pit, if the soil is dry, water is sprinkled and mixed
thoroughly before compacting. If the soil is too wet, it is excavated in advance
and dried.
In the field, compaction is done in successive horizontal layers. After each
layer has been compacted, the water content and the in-situ density are
determined at several random locations. These are then compared with the
laboratory OMC and MDD using either of these two methods: the sand
replacement method, or the core cutter method.

Method Specifications
A procedure for the site is specified giving:
Type and weight of compaction equipment
Maximum soil layer thickness
Number of passes for each layer
They are useful for large projects. This requires a prior knowledge of working
with the borrow soils to be used.
Field Compaction Equipment
There is a wide range of compaction equipment. The compaction achieved
will depend on the thickness of lift (or layer), the type of roller, the no. of
passes of the roller, and the intensity of pressure on the soil. The selection of
equipment depends on the soil type as indicated.
Most suitable soils

Least suitable soils

Smooth steel
drum rollers(static or
vibratory)
Pneumatic tyred rollers

Well-graded sand-gravel,
crushed rock, asphalt

Uniform sands, silty

sands, soft clays

Sheepsfoot rollers

Fine grained soils, sands

Uniform gravels,
and gravels with > 20% fines very coarse soils

Equipment

Grid rollers

Vibrating plates
Tampers and rammers

Most coarse and fine soils

Very soft clays

Weathered rock, well-graded Uniform materials,

coarse soils
silty clays, clays
Coarse soils with 4 to 8%
fines
All soil types