60 Chapter 3: WeightVolume Relationships

Example 3.1
For a saturated soil, show that
1w
gsat
a ba b gw
e
w 1e
Solution
From Eqs. (3.19) and (3.20),
1Gs  e 2gw
gsat
(a)
1e
and
e
wGs
or
e
Gs
(b)
w
Combining Eqs. (a) and (b) gives

a  e b gw
e
1w

a ba b gw
w e
gsat

1e w 1e

Example 3.2

For a moist soil sample, the following are given.

Total volume: V
1.2 m3
Total mass: M
2350 kg
Moisture content: w
8.6%
Specic gravity of soil solids: Gs
2.71
Determine the following.
a. Moist density
b. Dry density
c. Void ratio
d. Porosity
e. Degree of saturation
f. Volume of water in the soil sample

Solution
Part a
From Eq. (3.13),
M 2350
r


1958.3 kg/m3
V 1.2
 3.4 Various Unit-Weight Relationships 61

Part b
From Eq. (3.14),
Ms M 2350
rd



1803.3 kg/m3
11  w2V
a1  b 11.22
V 8.6
100

Part c
From Eq. (3.22),
Gsrw
rd

1e
Gs rw 12.712 110002
e
1
 1
0.503
rd 1803.3

Part d
From Eq. (3.7),

e 0.503
n


0.335
1e 1  0.503

Part e
From Eq. (3.18),

a b 12.71 2
8.6
wGs 100
S


0.463
46.3%
e 0.503

Part f
Volume of water:

2350
M 2350  8.6
M 1
Mw M  Ms 1w 100




0.186 m3
rw rw rw 1000

Alternate Solution
Refer to Figure 3.7.
Part a

M 2350
r


1958.3 kg/m3
V 1.2
62 Chapter 3: WeightVolume Relationships

Mass (kg) Volume (m3)

V
0.402
M
186.1 V
0.186

M
2350 V
1.2

Ms
2163.9 Vs
0.798

Air Water Solid Figure 3.7

Part b
M 2350
Ms


2163.9 kg
1w 8.6
1
100
Ms M 2350
rd



1803.3 kg/m3
11  w2V
a1  b 11.22
V 8.6
100
Part c
Ms 2163.9


0.798 m3
12.71 2 110002
The volume of solids:
Gsrw
The volume of voids: Vv
V  Vs
1.2  0.798
0.402 m3
Vv 0.402
Void ratio: e


0.503
Vs 0.798
Part d
Vv 0.402
Porosity: n


0.335
V 1.2

Part e
Vw
S

Vv
Mw 186.1
Volume of water: Vw


0.186 m3
rw 1000
 3.4 Various Unit-Weight Relationships 63

Hence,
0.186
S

0.463
46.3%
0.402
Part f
From Part e,
Vw
0.186 m3

Example 3.3

The following data are given for a soil:

Porosity: n
0.4
Specific gravity of the soil solids: Gs
2.68
Moisture content: w
12%
Determine the mass of water to be added to 10 m3 of soil for full saturation.

Solution
Equation (3.27) can be rewritten in terms of density as

Gsw (1  n)(1 + w)
Similarly, from Eq. (3.28)
sat
[(1  n)Gs + n]w
Thus,

(2.68)(1000)(1  0.4)(1 + 0.12)
1800.96 kg/m3
sat
[(1  0.4)(2.68) + 0.4] (1000)
2008 kg/m3
Mass of water needed per cubic meter equals
sat  
2008  1800.96
207.04 kg
So, total mass of water to be added equals
207.04  10
2070.4 kg

Example 3.4
A saturated soil has a dry unit weight of 103 lb/ft3. Its moisture content is 23%.
Determine:
a. Saturated unit weight, sat
b. Specific gravity, Gs
c. Void ratio, e
64 Chapter 3: WeightVolume Relationships

Solution
Part a: Saturated Unit Weight
From Eq. (3.12),

gsat
gd 11  w2
1103 2 a 1  b
126.69 lb/ft3
126.7lb/ft3

23
100
Part b: Specific Gravity, Gs
From Eq. (3.16),
Gsgw
gd

1e
Also from Eq. (3.20) for saturated soils, e
wGs. Thus,
Gsgw
gd

1  wGs
So,
Gs 162.42
103

1  10.23 2 1Gs 2
or
103  23.69Gs
62.4Gs
Gs
2.66
Part c: Void Ratio, e
For saturated soils,
e
wGs
(0.23)(2.66)
0.61

3.5 Relative Density

The term relative density is commonly used to indicate the in situ denseness or looseness
of granular soil. It is dened as

emax  e
Dr
(3.30)
emax  emin

where Dr
relative density, usually given as a percentage

e
in situ void ratio of the soil
emax
void ratio of the soil in the loosest state
emin
void ratio of the soil in the densest state
The values of Dr may vary from a minimum of 0% for very loose soil to a maximum
of 100% for very dense soils. Soils engineers qualitatively describe the granular soil
deposits according to their relative densities, as shown in Table 3.3. In-place soils seldom
 Problems 69

1.0

0.8
Void ratio range, emax  emin

0.6

0.06
emax  emin
0.23 
D50
0.4

0.2

0.0
0.1 1.0 10
Mean grain size, D50 (mm)

Clean sands (FC
0 5%)

Sands with nes (5 FC  15%)
Sands with clay (15 FC  30%, PC
5 20%)
Silty soils (30 FC  70%, PC
5 20%)
Gravelly sands (FC 6%, PC
17 36%)
Gravels

Figure 3.9 Plot of emax  emin versus the mean grain size (Cubrinovski and Ishihara, 2002)

Problems
3.1 For a given soil, show that
sat
d + n w
3.2 For a given soil, show that
gsat
gd  a b gw
e
1e
3.3 For a given soil, show that
eSgw
gd

11  e2w
3.4 A 0.4-m3 moist soil sample has the following:
Moist mass
711.2 kg
Dry mass
623.9 kg
Specific gravity of soil solids
2.68
Estimate:
a. Moisture content
b. Moist density
70 Chapter 3: WeightVolume Relationships

c. Dry density
d. Void ratio
e. Porosity
3.5 In its natural state, a moist soil has a volume of 0.33 ft3 and weighs 39.93 lb.
The oven-dry weight of the soil is 34.54 lb. If Gs
2.67, calculate the moisture
content, moist unit weight, dry unit weight, void ratio, porosity, and degree of satu-
ration.
3.6 The moist weight of 0.2 ft3 of a soil is 23 lb. The moisture content and the specific
gravity of the soil solids are determined in the laboratory to be 11% and 2.7,
respectively. Calculate the following:
a. Moist unit weight (lb/ft3)
b. Dry unit weight (lb/ft3)
c. Void ratio
d. Porosity
e. Degree of saturation (%)
f. Volume occupied by water (ft3)
3.7 The saturated unit weight of a soil is 19.8 kN/m3. The moisture content of the soil
is 17.1%. Determine the following:
a. Dry unit weight
b. Specific gravity of soil solids
c. Void ratio
3.8 The unit weight of a soil is 95 lb/ft3. The moisture content of this soil is 19.2%
when the degree of saturation is 60%. Determine:
a. Void ratio
b. Specific gravity of soil solids
c. Saturated unit weight
3.9 For a given soil, the following are given: Gs
2.67; moist unit weight,
112 lb/ft3;
and moisture content, w
10.8%. Determine:
a. Dry unit weight
b. Void ratio
c. Porosity
d. Degree of saturation
3.10 Refer to Problem 3.9. Determine the weight of water, in pounds, to be added per
cubic foot of soil for:
a. 80% degree of saturation
b. 100% degree of saturation
3.11 The moist density of a soil is 1680 kg/m3. Given w
18% and Gs
2.73,
determine:
a. Dry density
b. Porosity
c. Degree of saturation
d. Mass of water, in kg/m3, to be added to reach full saturation
3.12 The dry density of a soil is 1780 kg/m3. Given Gs
2.68, what would be the
moisture content of the soil when saturated?
3.13 The porosity of a soil is 0.35. Given Gs
2.69, calculate:
a. Saturated unit weight (kN/m3)
b. Moisture content when moist unit weight
17.5 kN/m3
 Problems 71

3.14 A saturated soil has w
23% and Gs
2.62. Determine its saturated and dry den-
sities in kg/m3.
3.15 A soil has e
0.75, w
21.5%, and Gs
2.71. Determine:
a. Moist unit weight (lb/ft3)
b. Dry unit weight (lb/ft3)
c. Degree of saturation (%)
3.16 A soil has w
18.2%, Gs
2.67, and S
80%. Determine the moist and dry unit
weights of the soil in lb/ft3.
3.17 The moist unit weight of a soil is 112.32 lb/ft3 at a moisture content of 10%. Given
Gs
2.7, determine:
a. e
b. Saturated unit weight
3.18 The moist unit weights and degrees of saturation of a soil are given in the table.

(lb/ft3) S (%)

105.73 50
112.67 75

Determine:
a. e
b. Gs
3.19 Refer to Problem 3.18. Determine the weight of water, in lb, that will be in 2.5 ft3
of the soil when it is saturated.
3.20 For a given sand, the maximum and minimum void ratios are 0.78 and 0.43,
respectively. Given Gs
2.67, determine the dry unit weight of the soil in kN/m3
when the relative density is 65%.
3.21 For a given sandy soil, emax
0.75, emin
0.46, and Gs
2.68. What will be
the moist unit weight of compaction (kN/m3) in the field if Dr
78% and
w
9%?
3.22 For a given sandy soil, the maximum and minimum dry unit weights are 108
lb/ft3 and 92 lb/ft3, respectively. Given Gs
2.65, determine the moist unit
weight of this soil when the relative density is 60% and the moisture content
is 8%.
3.23 The moisture content of a soil sample is 18.4%, and its dry unit weight is 100
lb/ft3. Assuming that the specific gravity of solids is 2.65,
a. Calculate the degree of saturation.
b. What is the maximum dry unit weight to which this soil can be compacted
without change in its moisture content?
3.24 A loose, uncompacted sand fill 6 ft in depth has a relative density of 40%.
Laboratory tests indicated that the minimum and maximum void ratios of the
sand are 0.46 and 0.90, respectively. The specific gravity of solids of the sand
is 2.65.
a. What is the dry unit weight of the sand?
b. If the sand is compacted to a relative density of 75%, what is the decrease in
thickness of the 6-ft fill?