Chapter I:Introduction to soil mechanics

2020

CHAPTER I:

INTROUCTION TO SOIL AND SOIL MECHANICS

SOIL AND SOIL MECHANICS

According to the Civil Engineering, the soil means all the naturally occurring, relatively
unconsolidated organic or inorganic earth materials lie above the earth surface .The rocks are an
agglomeration of mineral particles bonded together by strong molecular force. However, many
hard soils can be termed as soft rock and vice versa. Rocks can be bed rocks or fragments of
gravels, pebbles within the soil.

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.

On the other hand, rock mechanics is a branch that applies the principles of mechanics to
understand the behavior of rock masses.

FORMATION OF SOIL

In the Earth's surface, rocks extend upto 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.

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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 temperarture 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
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form poorly-graded deposits. In moving ice, grinding and crushing occur, size distribution
becomes wider forming well-graded 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:

The soil is called Transported soil if the products of rock weathering are transported from the
place where they originated and re-deposited to any other place. The soil is called Residual soil if
the products of rock weathering are still located at the place where they originated.

(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

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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. Atlernate 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.

Based on the formation, soil can be divided into two groups: i) soils which are formed due to
physical and chemical weathering of the parent rocks ii) soil which are of organic origin. The
causes of the physical weathering of parent rocks are the impact and grinding action of flowing
water, wind, ice and splitting action of ice, plants and animals. Gravel and sand are the soil those
are formed due to physical weathering of parent rocks. The causes of the chemical weathering of
the parent rocks are oxidation, hydration, carbonation and leaching by organic acids and water.
Clay and some extent silt are the soils those are formed due to chemical weathering of parent
rocks. Figure 1.1 shows the various types of soils based on their formation.

Figure 1.2 shows the various types of soils formed due to weathering of parent rocks. The soils
those are formed due to the weathering of parent rocks can be divided into two groups: i)
Transported soil and ii) Residual soil.

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WHY CIVIL ENGINEER MUST STUDY SOIL MECHANICS??

1. Foundations

All foundations for any structure that a civil engineer constructs are bound to rest on the soil. The
bigger the building or structure, the bigger its foundation and consequently the more important it
is for a civil engineer to take into consideration the soil mechanics of the site. The foundation is
where the load the structure bears is transferred hence understanding the soil is crucial to
building a strong structure. Hard soil with sufficient strength allows an engineer to use shallow
foundations, and the alternative is also true. Weak soil will need deep foundations to provide
robust support for the structure being put up.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, located in Italy is a good example of what can happen when a
structure’s foundation is built without having the full appreciation of the soil mechanic forces at
play. Deciding on what kind of foundation to use for a given structure will therefore depend on
how a civil engineer applies his knowledge of soil mechanics to the project at hand in order to
come up with the best solution.

2. Earthen Dams

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Dams are a necessary part of today’s infrastructure. They help provide water for domestic use all
year round, provide fishing grounds, act as scenic parks, support irrigation and are used to
generate clean power when used for hydroelectric power generation. Dams are among the largest
and consequently, some of the most expensive civil engineering projects in the modern world.
Building them usually takes a lot of time and other resources such as manpower. Their
construction requires that one comes up with a proper design to ensure that they can withstand
the pressure from water and other elements in order to serve their purpose for a long time
without any incidents.

The situation is even more serious when one considers that dams act as a barrier to flowing water
that can alter soil properties. Dam failures can be catastrophic as witnessed when the Banqiao
Dam in China failed after very heavy rainfall leading to a tragic number of deaths and great
destruction of property. Understanding soil mechanics will ensure that any civil engineer
carrying out such a project takes into consideration soil properties such as its density,
permeability, and strength to come up with a solid structure.

3. Embankments

Embankments are usually constructed to raise the level of a road, railway or land above ground
level. There are usually several reasons embankments are constructed. One of them is to raise the
structure above flooding level. Anything that is built on the flat land is prone to flooding that can
destroy the structure. Constructing the structure on an embankment is, therefore, a way of
mitigating this. Embankments are also constructed to minimize or reduce the change in level due
to a terrain’s profile. The embankment helps ensure the road/railway/structure is on the same
level all through.

Embankments are usually constructed using soil as the main component. It provides the
structural strength necessary to enable the structure to meet its purpose and is also economical.
Being aware and able to factor things such as slope stability, consolidation and compaction of
soil and the resulting settlement as well as aspects such as effects of soil seepage all contribute to
successfully designing and constructing an embankment.

4. Canals or Other Retaining and Underground Structures

Canals are manmade waterways used for water distribution and transportation. The canals are
designed to retain water and redirect it as intended. Any civil engineer, therefore, needs to
carefully consider the properties of the soil on which the canal is to be constructed. Factors such
as shear strength of the soil should be taken into consideration to ensure that the canal that is put
up can withstand the force of water that flows through and minimize seepage as much as
possible. The retaining walls, whether made of compacted soil or concrete, should also be
designed accordingly having taken into consideration the soil mechanics that will be at play
depending on the given surroundings soil type.

Today, most urban centers usually construct their infrastructure such as gas lines, electricity
lines, drainage structures, subways and internet distribution cables underground. For large urban
areas and cities, this can mean digging and tunneling through miles and miles of heterogeneous

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soil to be able to reach the millions of houses that make up the city. The need to understand soil
mechanics in such civil engineering works is more pronounced for these underground projects.

Being able to predict how the soil will behave and affect an underground pipeline or a subway is
important so that the completed project can withstand the conditions underground and serve its
purpose.

5.Excavations

The world today is heavily reliant on earth-extracted resources such as oil, gas, coal, metals and
other minerals. The process of extracting these resources usually involves digging up and
excavating soil. During excavation, one is bound to notice that soil can vary greatly depending
on the depth and breadth even within a small region. Having a deep understanding of the types of
soil and how they behave is, therefore, important in such excavation activities. Soil mechanics
can help an engineer anticipate areas that may cave in or cause landslides during the resource
extraction and come up with appropriate ways of preventing such disastrous incidents. Soil
mechanics can also help civil engineers and geologists working at excavation sites identify areas
with better prospects such as nodes that are capable of producing more of the resource being
mined like copper, hence, directing the excavation activity as necessary.

ROCK CYCLE

The Rock Cycle is a group of changes. Igneous rock can change into sedimentary rock or into
metamorphic rock. Sedimentary rock can change into metamorphic rock or into igneous rock.
Metamorphic rock can change into igneous or sedimentary rock.

Igneous rock forms when magma cools and makes crystals. Magma is a hot liquid made of
melted minerals. The minerals can form crystals when they cool. Igneous rock can form
underground, where the magma cools slowly. Or, igneous rock can form above ground, where
the magma cools quickly. When it pours out on Earth's surface, magma is called lava. Yes, the
same liquid rock matter that you see coming out of volcanoes.

On Earth's surface, wind and water can break rock into pieces. They can also carry rock pieces to
another place. Usually, the rock pieces, called sediments, drop from the wind or water to make a
layer. The layer can be buried under other layers of sediments. After a long time the sediments
can be cemented together to make sedimentary rock. In this way, igneous rock can become
sedimentary rock.

All rock can be heated. But where does the heat come from? Inside Earth there is heat from
pressure (push your hands together very hard and feel the heat). There is heat from friction (rub
your hands together and feel the heat). There is also heat from radioactive decay (the process that
gives us nuclear power plants that make electricity).

So, what does the heat do to the rock? It bakes the rock.

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Baked rock does not melt, but it does change. It forms crystals. If it has crystals already, it forms
larger crystals. Because this rock changes, it is called metamorphic. Remember that a caterpillar
changes to become a butterfly. That change is called metamorphosis. Metamorphosis can occur
in rock when they are heated to 300 to 700 degrees Celsius.

When Earth's tectonic plates move around, they produce heat. When they collide, they build
mountains and metamorphose (met-ah-MORE-foes) the rock.

The rock cycle continues. Mountains made of metamorphic rocks can be broken up and washed
away by streams. New sediments from these mountains can make new sedimentary rock.

The rock cycle never stops.

Fig: Rock Cycle

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