Department of Civil Engineering Technology

Instructor: Eng. Tech. Bilal Muhammad Ismail Memon

bilalismail100@gmail.com
SOIL

 Material resulted from disintegration of rocks

 Including sediments and deposits in rivers and seas and on land

 Organic and Inorganic in nature

 Type and Characteristics depends on origin

 Transportation causes
MECHANICS

 It is the science which deals with the physical state of rest or motion
of bodies under the action of the forces.

 It can be further divided in two main branches:

i. Statics deals with the study of bodies at rest

ii. Dynamics deals with the study of bodies in motion

SOIL MECHANICS

 Branch of engineering science which enables an engineer to know

theoretically or experimentally the behavior of soil under the action of;
i. Loads (static or dynamic)
ii. Gravitational forces
iii. Water
iv. Temperature

 It deals with properties, behavior and performance of soil as a construction

material or foundation support.
Karl Terzaghi defines soil mechanics as;

“It is application of Laws of Hydraulics and Mechanics to

engineering problem dealing with sediments and other
unconsolidated accumulations of solid particles produced by
Mechanical and Chemical Disintegration of rocks.”
 SLOPE STABILITY ANALYSIS

 By analyzing the soil properties and the forces acting on the slope, engineers can
predict the potential for landslides and design measures to prevent them.

 Major cause is the moisture variation resulting in;

i. Reduction of shear strength

ii. Increase of moisture

iii. Increase in unit weight

 Excavation of trenches for buildings require braced excavation.

 RETAINING WALL DESIGN

 Earth retaining structure (e.g., Retaining walls) are constructed to retains (holds
back) any material (usually earth) and prevents it from sliding or eroding away.

 By analyzing the soil properties, engineers can determine the appropriate

dimensions and reinforcement required for the retaining wall.

EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

By analyzing the soil properties, engineers can design structures that can resist
ground shaking and liquefaction.
 PAVEMENT DESIGN
 By analyzing the soil properties, engineers can determine the thickness and
composition of the pavement layers required to support the anticipated traffic loads.
 For Design and construction of roads following must be considered:
i. Compaction Characteristics
ii. Moisture Variation

SOIL STABILIZATION

By adding materials such as lime, cement, or asphalt to the soil, engineers can improve its
strength and stability.
 FOUNDATION DESIGN

By analyzing the soil properties, engineers can determine the load-bearing

capacity of the soil and design the foundation accordingly.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

By analyzing the soil properties, engineers can ensure that the landfill is stable

and can prevent contamination of the surrounding environment.

 Earth’s crust consists of weathered rock (soil) up to an approximate
depth of 20 km.

 The principal minerals subjected to weathering to produce soil at or

near earth’s surface are quartz, feldspar, pyroxene, amphibole etc.

 Continuous weathering processes in past, have decomposed the rock

to fragments, creating soils.

 The type of soil developed depends on rock type, its mineral

constituents and climatic regime of area.
 Cooling and hardening of molten magma resulted in the formation of

igneous rocks.

 Slow cooling of magma yields large crystals while rapid cooling results

in small crystals.

 Granite, syenites, diorites and gabbro have large crystals while basalts,

rhyolites and andesite have small crystals.

 Rocks containing quartz or orthoclase as primary minerals with high

silica content (e.g. granite and rhyolite) mostly decompose into sand or

gravelly soil with little clay.

 Rocks (e.g., gabbro and basalt) containing iron, magnesium, calcium or

sodium as secondary minerals with little silica decomposes into fine-

textured silty and clayey soils.

 Transportation agents such as wind, water and ice may move loose soil
and deposit them in layers called sediments.

 Such sediments, with cementing properties, when subjected under

heavy pressure to compaction and cementations, results in sedimentary
rocks.

 Sedimentary rocks are classified as chemical (e.g. limestones and

dolomites), clastic (e.g. shale and sandstone) and biochemical or
organic (e.g. fossil limestone, chalk, coral and coal in the form of peat,
lignite, bitumen or anthracite).
 Sedimentary rocks and to a lesser extent igneous rocks, when subjected to

metamorphism (changes by combination of heat, pressure and plastic

flow), undergo changes in texture, structure and mineral composition

resulting in rocks called metamorphic rocks.

 Metamorphism can be thermal (occurs primarily due to temperature

increase and high hydrostatic pressure) and dynamic (due to differential

pressure).
 Metamorphism changes limestone to marble, sandstone to quartzite and

shale to slate.

 Metamorphic rocks can be foliated (occurs during metamorphism when

some metamorphic rocks reduce back to sedimentary rocks) or non-

foliated.

 Gneiss and schist decompose into silt-sand mixtures with mica, slate and

phyllites to clays, marble to limestone and quartzite to sands and gravels.

 This cyclic process of transformation is a continuous process through chemical and
physical processes.
 This phenomenon is referred to as the geological cycle.
Based on method of formation soil may be categorized as;

Residual: Remains at the location of origin with little or no

movement of particles.

Transported: Formed at one location but transported and deposited

at another location.
 1. RESIDUAL SOILS

 Weathering and leaching of water-soluble materials in rock are the geological

process in formation of these soils
 Rate of rock decomposition is greater than rate of erosion or transportation of
weathered materials and results in accumulation of residual soils
 Leaching action decreases with depth, there is lesser degree of rock weathering
from surface downwards, resulting in reduced soil formation
 Residual soils comprises wide range of sizes, shapes and composition
 Rate of weathering is greater in warm humid regions than in cold dry regions
 In presence of vegetation, there is less possibility of transportation of
decomposed materials as sediments.
 2. TRANSPORTED SOILS

 Moved from their original location to new locations

 Transportation agencies i.e. water, glacier, wind and gravity
 Classified depending on the mode of transportation agent;

i. Water-transported soils
 Transported in the form of suspended particles or by rolling sliding along the bottom
 Ranges in size from boulders to clay
 Coarser particles are dropped when decrease in water velocity occurs or river
deepens, widens or changes direction
 Fine particles get deposited in quitter waters downstream
 Soils carried and deposited by rivers are called alluvial deposits
 River deltas are formed in this manner
 In lake, water deposits all the coarse particles because of decrease in velocity and is
called lake deltas
 Fine particles move to center of lake and settles when water becomes quite and
alternate layers are formed with season, such deposits are called lacustrine deposits
which are weak and compressible and pose problems for foundations.
 If coarse and fine-grained deposits are formed in sea water, called marine deposits
 Marine deposits are made up of terrestrial (eroded from shore as well as mineral
matter) and marine contributions (organic and inorganic remnants of dead marine
life)
ii. Glacial Deposits
 Compaction and re-crystallization of snow leads to formation of glaciers which
moves slowly but deforms and scour surface and bedrock over which it passes
 Melting of glacier causes deposition of all materials, and such deposit is called
a Till
 The land form or topographic surface after glacier has receded is called till
plain.
 Till deposits contains coarser particles and form good construction material
 Soil deposited by surface or sub-surface glacial rivers that remains in form of
long-winding ridges called eskers.
 Large boulders picked up by glacier, transported to new location and dropped
are called erratics.
iii. Wind-Transported Soils

 Carried by wind are subsequently deposited as Aeolian deposits.

 Dunes are formed due to accumulation of such deposits

 Wind-blown silts and clays deposited with some cementing minerals in

loose and stable condition are classified as loess having low density,

high compressibility poor bearing resistance in wet condition

 The structure of loess deposit is susceptible to collapse on saturation

iv. Gravity Deposits
 Gravity carries materials only for short distance with no appreciable change in material
 Termed as Talus including material at the base of cliff and landslide deposits
 Generally loose and porous

v. Swamp and Marsh Deposits

 It develops where water table is fluctuating and vegetation growth is possible
 Such deposits are soft, high in organic content and unpleasant in odor
 Partially or fully decomposed aquatic plants in swamps or marshes is called muck or
peat
 Muck is spongy, light in weight, highly compressible and not suitable for construction
 3. DESICCATED SOILS

 Water is drawn from the interior to the surface of fine-grained soil

exposed to atmosphere, from which it gets evaporated known as

drainage by desiccation

 Soil becomes stiffer and hardens

 In soft clays, desiccation proceeds very slowly and forms a thick crust

and thickness grown with age

 Soil particle does not have specific size and shape
 A linear dimension can be assigned
 A representative Size for particle is fixed on certain analysis (sieve or hydrometer)
 Size ranges are;
Cobbles or pebbles 150 – 300 mm Gravel 4.75 – 150 mm
Sand 0.075 – 4.75 mm Silt 0.002 – 0.075 mm
Clay < 0.002 mm (2 µm)

 Sand and above (> 0.075 mm) are coarse-grained soil

 Silt and below (< 0.075 mm) are fine-grained soil
The Shape depends on;
i. Parent rocks
ii. Age
iii. Degree of weathering
iv. Transporting processes

 All soil particles except clay size particles, are equidimensional

 Common shapes of clay size particles are plate-like, rods and laths.
 Edges of new coarse-grained particle are angular and rough but with time
they become round and smooth
 The sharpness of edges and corners of particle is referred to as degree of
roundness
 Degree of roundness in increasing order may be given as;
i. Angular
ii. Sub-angular
iii. Sub-rounded
iv. Rounded
v. Well-rounded
 Surface texture is independent of size, shape or degree of roundness of particle
 The surface texture of particle are termed as;
i. Dull
ii. Polished
iii. Smooth
iv. Rough
v. Striated
vi. Frosted
vii. Etched
viii. Pitted