Nature, definition and of soil mechanics

LEARNING ELEMENT OBJECTIVES

After you have learned this element you should be able to:
- explain the principles and function of soil mechanics;
- describe how soils can be characterised;
- describe for which purposes soil mechanics are applied in road construction.
GENERAL
Soil mechanics are applied to find out what different soils consist of and how they behave; also, to find out how soils (or mixtures of
soils) can be improved so that they are suitable for various purposes (dam building, base layers, surface layers, etc.).
Soils can be characterised by a description of the following properties:
(i) the proportions of different grain sizes;
(ii) permeability;
(iii) cohesion;
(iv) plasticity;
(v) consolidation.
Simple tests are carried out to define these properties. It should be remembered that many soils are mixtures of e.g.
gravel/sand/clay or silt/sand/clay. Therefore, although a series of simple field tests will provide an indication of the properties to be
expected from a particular soil, laboratory tests will be necessary if a detailed soil classification is required.
Road construction
There are many different types of soil and some are not suitable for road construction. Before starting to build a road it is therefore
important to find out which kinds of soil there are along the planned alignment. By taking samples of the soil and examining them,
one can find the places which would cause problems, e.g. areas with black cotton soil or loose sand.
If the road cannot be taken around such areas of difficult soil, it is sometimes possible to improve the behaviour of the soil. Some
ways of doing this are: (i) mixing it with another type of soil, (ii) adding chemicals to it, and (iii) providing a surface layer.
A knowledge of soil mechanics will help you in judging what to do in different circumstances.