1

SOIL MECHANICS A CIVL3401

INTRODUCTION

Geotechnical Engineering is that part of engineering which is concerned with the

behaviour of soil and rock. Soil Mechanics is the part concerned solely with soils. From
an engineering perspective soils generally refer to sedimentary materials that have not
been cemented and have not been subjected to high compressive stresses.

As the name Soil Mechanics implies the subject is concerned with the deformation and
strength of bodies of soil. It deals with the mechanical properties of the soil materials
and with the application of the knowledge of these properties to engineering problems.
In particular it is concerned with the interaction of structures with their foundation
material. This includes both conventional structures and also structures such as earth
dams, embankments and roads which are themselves made of soil.

As for other branches of engineering the major issues are stability and serviceability.
When a structure is built it will apply a load to the underlying soil; if the load is too great
the strength of the soil will be exceeded and failure may ensue. It is important to realise
that not only buildings are of concern, the failure of an earth dam can have catastrophic
consequences, as can failures of natural and man made slopes and excavations.
Buildings or earth structures may be rendered unserviceable by excessive deformation of
the ground, although it is usually differential settlement, where one side of a building
settles more than the other, that is most damaging. Criteria for allowable settlement vary
from case to case; for example the settlement allowed in a factory that contains sensitive
equipment is likely to be far more stringent than that for a warehouse. Another
important aspect to be considered during design is the effect of any construction on
adjacent structures, for example the excavation of a basement and then the construction
of a large building will cause deformations in the surrounding ground and may have a
detrimental effect on adjacent buildings or other structures such as railway tunnels.

Many of the problems arising in Geotechnical Engineering stem from the interaction of
soil and water. For example, when a basement is excavated water will tend to flow into
the excavation. The question of how much water flows in needs to be answered so that
suitable pumps can be obtained to keep the excavation dry. The flow of water can have
detrimental effects on the stability of the excavation, and is often the initiator of
landslides in natural and man made slopes. Some of the effects associated with the
interaction of soil and water are quite subtle, for example if an earthquake occurs, then a
loose soil deposit will tend to compress causing the water pressures to rise. If the water
pressures should increase so that they become greater than the stress due to the weight
of the overlying soil then a quicksand condition will develop and buildings founded on
this soil may fail.

Soil mechanics differs from other branches of engineering in that generally there is little
control over the material properties, we have to make do with the soil at the site and this
is often highly variable. By taking samples at a few scattered locations we have to
determine the soil properties and their variability. At this stage in a project knowledge of
the site geology and geological processes is essential to successful geotechnical
engineering.
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Soil mechanics is a relatively new branch of engineering science, the first major
conference occurred in 1936 and the mechanical properties of soils are still incompletely
understood. The first complete mechanical model for soil was published as recently as
1968. Over the last 40 years there has been rapid development in our understanding of
soil behaviour and the application of this knowledge in engineering practice. The subject
has now reached a phase of development similar to that of structural mechanics a
century ago and the words of William Anderson in 1893 about structural engineers are
relevant today for geotechnical engineering, "There is a tendency among the young and
inexperienced to put blind faith in formulas (computer programs), forgetting that most of
them are based upon premises which are not accurately reproduced in practice, and
which, in any case, are frequently unable to take into account collateral disturbances
which only observation and experience can foresee, and common sense provide against."
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1. SOILS AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION

1.1 Introduction

Soil mechanics is concerned with particulate materials (soils) found in the ground that
are not cemented and not greatly compressed. These soils usually have a sedimentary
origin, however, they can also occur as the result of rock weathering without any
transport of the particles. The soil particles can have varying sizes, shapes and
mineralogies, although these properties are usually interrelated. For instance the larger
sized particles are generally composed of quartz and feldspars, minerals that have high
strengths and the particles are fairly round. The smaller sized particles are generally
composed of the clay minerals kaolin, illite and montmorillonite, minerals that have
low strengths and form plate like particles. One of the most important aspects of
particulate materials is that there are gaps or voids between the particles. The amount
of voids is also influenced by the size, shape and mineralogy of the particles.

Because of the wide range of particle sizes, shapes and mineralogies in a typical soil a
detailed classification of each soil would be very expensive and inappropriate for most
geotechnical engineering purposes. However, some form of simple classification
system giving information about the engineering properties is required on all sites. Why
is this necessary?

Usually the soil on site has to be used. Soils differ from other engineering materials
in that one has very little, if any, control over their properties.

The extent and properties of the soil at the site have to be determined.

Cheap and simple tests are required to give an indication of the engineering
properties such as stiffness and strength for preliminary design.

To achieve this continuous samples are recovered from boreholes, drilled to a depth
that will depend on the scale of the project. Observation of the core enables the
different soil layers to be determined and then classification tests are performed for
these different strata. The extent of the different soil layers can be determined by
correlating the results from different boreholes and this information is used to build a
picture of the sub-surface profile.

An indication of the engineering properties is determined on the basis of particle size.

This crude approach is used because the engineering behaviour of soils with very small
particles, usually containing clay minerals, is significantly different from the behaviour
of soils with larger particles. Clays can cause problems because they are relatively
compressible, drain poorly, have low strengths and can swell in the presence of water.

1.2 Particle Size Definitions

The precise boundaries between different soil types are somewhat arbitrary, but the
following scale is now in use worldwide.

Gravel Sand Silt Clay

C M F C M F C M F C M F
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60 20 6 2 0.6 0.2 0.06 0.02 .006 .002 .0006 .0002

where C, M, F stand for coarse, medium and fine respectively, and the particle sizes are
in millimetres.

Note
the logarithmic scale. Most soils contain mixtures of sand, silt and clay particles, so
the range of particle sizes can be very large.
not all particles less than 2 m are comprised of clay minerals, and some clay
mineral particles can be greater than 2 m. (A micron, m, is 10-6m).

1.3 Broad Classification

1.3.1 Coarse-grained soils

These include sands, gravels and larger particles. For these soils the grains are well
defined and may be seen by the naked eye. The individual particles may vary from
perfectly round to highly angular reflecting their geological origins.

1.3.2 Fine-grained soils

These include the silts and clays and have particles smaller than 60 m.

Silts These can be visually differentiated from clays because they exhibit the
property of dilatancy. If a moist sample is shaken in the hand water will appear
on the surface. If the sample is then squeezed in the fingers the water will
disappear. Their gritty feel can also identify silts.

Clays Clays exhibit plasticity, they may be readily remoulded when moist,
and if left to dry can attain high strengths

Organic These may be of either clay or silt sized particles. They contain
significant amounts of vegetable matter. The soils as a result are
usually dark grey or black and have a noticeable odour from decaying
matter. Generally only a surface phenonomen but layers of peat may
be found at depth. These are very poor soils for most engineering
purposes.

1.4 Procedure for grain size determination

Different procedures are required for fine and coarse-grained material. Detailed
procedures are described in the Australian Standard AS 1289.A1, Methods of testing
soil for engineering purposes. These will be demonstrated in a laboratory session.

Coarse Sieve analysis is used to determine the distribution of the larger grain
sizes. The soil is passed through a series of sieves with the mesh size
reducing progressively, and the proportions by weight of the soil
retained on each sieve are measured. There are a range of sieve sizes
that can be used, and the finest is usually a 75 m sieve. Sieving can be
performed either wet or dry. Because of the tendency for fine particles
to clump together, wet sieving is often required with fine-grained soils.
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Fine To determine the grain size distribution of material passing the 75m sieve the
hydrometer method is commonly used. The soil is mixed with water and
a dispersing agent, stirred vigorously, and allowed to settle to the
bottom of a measuring cylinder. As the soil particles settle out of
suspension the specific gravity of the mixture reduces. An hydrometer is
used to record the variation of specific gravity with time. By making
use of Stokes Law, which relates the velocity of a free falling sphere to
its diameter, the test data is reduced to provide particle diameters and
the % by weight of the sample finer than a particular particle size.

Figure 1 A schematic view of the hydrometer test

1.5 Grading curves

The results from the particle size determination tests are plotted as grading curves.
These show the particle size plotted against the percentage of the sample by weight
that is finer than that size. The results are presented on a semi-logarithmic plot as
shown in Figure 2 below. The shape and position of the grading curve are used to
identify some characteristics of the soil.
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100

80
% Finer

60

40

20

0
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Particle size (mm)
Figure 2 Typical grading curves

Some typical grading curves are shown on the figure. The following descriptions are
applied to these curves

W Well graded material

U Uniform material
P Poorly graded material
C Well graded with some clay
F Well graded with an excess of fines

The use of names to describe typical grading curve shapes and positions has developed
as the suitability of different gradings for different purposes has become apparent. For
example, well graded sands and gravels can be easily compacted to relatively high
densities which result in higher strengths and stiffnesses. For this reason soils of this
type are preferred for road bases. The suitability of different gradings is discussed in
some detail by Terzaghi and Peck (1967).

From the typical grading curves it can be seen that soils are rarely all sand or all clay,
and in general will contain particles with a wide range of sizes. Many organisations
have produced charts to classify soils giving names for the various combinations of
particle sizes. One such example is given in Figure 3 below.
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0
100
10
90
20
80
30
70
40 Clay

Cla
(%
60

y
es
50

Siz
Siz

50

e s (%
d

60
San

Sandy Clay Silty Clay 40

)
70
30
80 Clay-Sand Clay-Silt
20
90
Silty Sand Sandy Silt 10
100 Sand
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Silt Sizes (%)
LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DIVISION,
U. S. ENGINEER DEPT.

Figure 3 Classification Chart

Important observations from figure 3 are that any soil containing more than 50% of
clay sized particles would be classified as a clay, whereas sand and silt require 80% of
the particles to be in that size range. Also any soil having more than 20% clay would
have some clay like properties.

The hydrometer test is usually terminated when the percentage of clay sized particles
has been determined. However, there are significant differences between the behaviour
of the different clay minerals. To provide additional information on the soil behaviour
further classification tests are performed. One such set of tests, the Atterberg Limit
Tests, involve measuring the moisture contents of the soil at which changes in the soil
properties occur.

1.6 Atterberg Limits

These tests are only used for the fine-grained, silt and clay, fraction of a soil (actually
the % passing a 425 m sieve). If we take a very soft (high moisture content) clay
Volume

specimen and allow it to dry we would obtain a relation similar to that shown in Figure
4.

As the soil dries its strength and stiffness will increase. Three limits are indicated, the
definitions of which are given below. The liquid and plastic limits appear to be fairly
arbitrary,Volume
but recent research has suggested they are related to the strength of the soil.

SL PL LL
Moisture Content (%)
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Figure 4. Moisture content versus volume relation

(SL) The Shrinkage Limit - This is the moisture content the soil would have had if it
were fully saturated at the point at which no further shrinkage occurs on drying.
weight of water w
moisture content w (1)
weight of solids ws

In the shrinkage test the soil is left to dry and the soil is therefore not saturated when
the shrinkage limit is reached. To estimate SL it is necessary to measure the total
volume, V, and the weight of the solids, ws. Then

wV 1
SL m (2)
ws Gs

where w is the unit weight of water, and

Gs is the specific gravity

(PL) The Plastic Limit - This is the minimum water content at which the soil will
deform plastically

(LL) The Liquid Limit - This is the minimum water content at which the soil will
flow under a small disturbing force

(PI or Ip) The Plasticity Index. This is derived simply from the LL and PL

IP = LL - PL (3)

(LI) The Liquidity Index - This is defined as

m PL m PL
LI (4)
LL PL Ip
The Atterberg Limits and relationships derived from them are simple measures of the
water absorbing ability of soils containing clay minerals. For example, if a clay has a
very high LI and LL it is capable of absorbing large amounts of water, and for instance
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would be unsuitable for the base of a pavement. The LL and PL are also related to the
soil strength.

Remember that only the fraction finer than 425 m is tested in the Atterberg Tests. If
this fraction is only small (that is, the soil contains significant amounts of sand or
gravel) it might be expected that the soil would have better properties. While this is
true to some extent it is important to realise that the soil behaviour is controlled by the
finest 10 - 25 % of the particles

1.7 Classification Systems for Soils

Several systems are used for classifying soil. This is because these systems have two
main purposes

1. To determine the suitability of different soils for various purposes (see p8 Data
Sheets)

2. To develop correlations with useful soil properties, for example, compressibility and
strength

The reason for the large number of such systems is the use of particular systems for
certain types of construction, and the development of localised systems.

1.7.1 PRA (AASHO) system

An example is the PRA system of AASHO (American Association of State Highway

Officials), which ranks soils from 1 to 8 to indicate their suitability as a subgrade for
pavements. The detailed classification is given in the Data Sheets p9.

1. Well graded gravel or sand; may include fines

2. Sands and Gravels with excess fines
3. Fine sands
4. Low compressibility silts
5. High compressibility silts
6. Low to medium compressibility clays
7. High compressibility clays
8. Peat, organic soils

1.7.2 Unified Soil Classification

The standard system used worldwide for most major construction projects is known as
the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). This is based on an original system
devised by Cassagrande. Soils are identified by symbols determined from sieve analysis
and Atterberg Limit tests.

Coarse Grained Materials

If more than half of the material is coarser than the 75 m sieve, the soil is classified as
coarse. The following steps are then followed to determine the appropriate 2 letter
symbol
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1. Determine the prefix (1st letter of the symbol)

If more than half of the coarse fraction is sand then use prefix S

If more than half of the coarse fraction is gravel then use prefix G

2. Determine the suffix (2nd letter of symbol)

This depends on the uniformity coefficient Cu and the coefficient of curvature Cc

obtained from the grading curve, on the percentage of fines, and the type of fines.

First determine the percentage of fines, that is the % of material passing the 75 m
sieve.

Then if % fines is < 5% use W or P as suffix

> 12% use M or C as suffix
between 5% and 12% use dual symbols. Use the prefix from
above with first one of W or P and then with one of M or C.

If W or P are required for the suffix then Cu and Cc must be evaluated

D60
Cu
D10
D302
Cc
( D60 D10 )

If prefix is G then suffix is W if Cu > 4 and Cc is between 1 and 3

otherwise use P

If prefix is S then suffix is W if Cu > 6 and Cc is between 1 and 3

otherwise use P

If M or C are required they have to be determined from the procedure used for fine
grained materials discussed below. Note that M stands for Silt and C for Clay. This is
determined from whether the soil lies above or below the A-line in the plasticity chart
shown in Figure 5.

For a coarse grained soil which is predominantly sand the following symbols are
possible

SW, SP, SM, SC

SW-SM, SW-SC, SP-SM, SP-SC
Fine grained materials

These are classified solely according to the results from the Atterberg Limit Tests.
Values of the Plasticity Index and Liquid Limit are used to determine a point in the
plasticity chart shown in Figure 5. The classification symbol is determined from the
region of the chart in which the point lies.
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Examples CH High plasticity clay

CL Low plasticity clay
MH High plasticity silt
ML Low plasticity silt
OH High plasticity organic soil (Rare)
Pt Peat

60
Comparing soils at equal liquid limit
50 Toughness and dry strength increase
with increasing plasticity index
40
Plasticity index

CH
30

20 OH
CL or
10 CL OL
or MH
ML
0 ML
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Liquid limit
Figure 5 Plasticity chart for laboratory Plasticity chart
classification of fine grained soils
for laboratory classification of fine grained soils
The final stage of the classification is to give a description of the soil to go with the 2-
symbol class. For a coarse grained soil this should include:

the percentages of sand and gravel

maximum particle size
angularity
surface condition
hardness of the coarse grains
local or geological name
any other relevant information

If the soil is undisturbed mention is also required of

stratification
degree of compactness
cementation
moisture conditions
drainage characteristics

The information required, along with all the details of the Unified Classification
Procedure is given in Figure 6. Note that slightly different information is required for
fine-grained soils.
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Unified soil classification (including identification and description)

Field identification procedures Group Information required for Laboratory classification

(Excluding particles larger than 75mm and basing fractions on symbols Typical names describing soils criteria
estimated weights) 1

Depending on percentages of fines (fraction smaller than .075mm

Wide range of grain size and substantial GW Well graded gravels, gravel- D
Give typical names: indicate ap- C U = --- 60 Greater than 4

Bordeline case requiring use of dual symbols

Gravels with Clean gravels

Determine percentages of gravel and sand from grain size curve

(little or no

amounts of all intermediate particle sand mixtures, little or no proximate percentages of sand D10
2
fines)

sizes fines and gravel: maximum size: (D )

More than half of coarse

C c = ------------30
--------- Between 1 and 3
fraction is larger than

Predominantly one size or a range of GP Poorly graded gravels, gravel- angularity, surface condition, D10 x D60

sieve size) coarse grained soils are classified as follows

sizes with some intermediate sizes sand mixtures, little or no and hardness of the coarse
More than half of material is larger than

missing fines grains: local or geological name Not meeting all gradation requirements for GW
2.36mm
Gravels

and other pertinent descriptive

amount of fines)

Use grain size curve in identifying the fractions as given under field identification
Non-plastic fines (for identification GM Silty gravels, poorly information and symbol in
(apreciable

procedures see ML below) graded gravel-sand-silt mixtures parentheses. Atterberg limits below Above "A" line with
fines

PI between 4 and 7
The .075mm sieve size is about the smallest particle visible to the naked eye

"A" line or PI less than 4

Coarse grained soils
.075mm sieve size

Plastic fines (for identification pro- GC Clayey gravels, poorly graded For undisturbed soils add infor- are borderline cases
cedures see CL below) gravel-sand-clay mixtures mation on stratification, degree Atterberg limits above "A" requiring use of dual

More than 12% GM, GC, SM, SC

line with PI greater than 7 symbols

GW, GP, SW, SP

of compactness, cementation,
Wide range in grain sizes and sub- moisture conditions and drain- D
SW Well graded sands, gravelly
stantial amounts of all intermediate age characteristics. C U=--- 60 Greater than 6
Clean sands
(little or no

particle sizes sands, little or no fines D 10

fines)
More than half of coarse

(D 30 )2
fraction is smaller than

Predominantely one size or a range of
sizes with some intermediate sizes missing
2.36mm
SP Poorly graded sands, gravelly
sands, little or no fines
Example:
C c = --------------
-------- Between 1 and 3
Silty sand, gravelly; about 20% D 10 x D60
hard angular gravel particles

12.5mm maximum size; rounded Not meeting all gradation requirements for SW
Sands

amount of fines)

Non-plastic fines (for identification pro- SM Silty sands, poorly graded and subangular sand grains
(appreciable

Less than 5%
Sands with

cedures, see ML below) sand-silt mixtures coarse to fine, about 15% non- Atterberg limits below Above "A" line with

5% to 12%
plastic lines with low dry "A" line or PI less than 4 PI between 4 and 7
fines

Plastic fines (for identification pro- SC Clayey sands, poorly graded strength; well compacted and are borderline cases
cedures, see CL below) sand-clay mixtures moist in places; alluvial sand; Atterberg limits above "A" requiring use of dual
(SM) line with PI greater than 7 symbols
Identification procedure on fraction smaller than .425mm
sieve size
Dry strength Dilatency Toughness
More than half of material is smaller than

crushing (consistency
Silts and clays

(reaction
less than 50
liquid limit

character- to shaking) near plastic

istics limit)
Inorganic silts and very fine sands, Give typical name; indicate degree
None to Quick to None rock flour, silty or clayey
slight slow ML and character of plasticity, 60
Fine grained soils
.075mm sieve size

fine sands with slight plasticity

amount and maximum size of Comparing soils at equal liquid limit
Medium to None to very Inorganic clays of low to medium coarse grains: colour in wet con-
high slow Medium CL,CI plasticity, gravelly clays, sandy dition, odour if any, local or
50 Toughness and dry strength increase
in
e
clays, silty clays, lean clays with increasing plasticity index "l
geological name, and other pert- "A
Slight to Organic silts and organic silt- inent descriptive information, and 40

Plasticity index
medium Slow Slight OL clays of low plasticity symbol in parentheses CH
30 CI
inorganic silts, micaceous or
Silts and clays

Slight to Slow to Slight to For undisturbed soils add infor-

greater than

MH dictomaceous fine sandy or

liquid limit

medium none medium silty soils, elastic silts mation on structure, stratif- 20 OH
ication, consistency and undis-
50

High to very Inorganic clays of high turbed and remoulded states, or

None High CL OL
high CH plasticity, fat clays moisture and drainage conditions 10
CL-ML or MH
ML
Medium to None to very Slight to Organic clays of medium to Example 0
high high medium OH high plasticity Clayey silt, brown: slightly plastic: 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Liquid limit
Readily identified by colour, odour small percentage of fine sand:
Highly organic soils spongy feel and frequently by fibrous Pt Peat and other highly organic soils numerous vertical root holes: firm Plasticity chart
texture and dry in places; loess; (ML) for laboratory classification of fine grained soils

Figure 6 Unified Soil Classification Chart

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Example - Classification using USCS

Classification tests have been performed on a soil sample and the following grading
curve and Atterberg limits obtained. Determine the USCS classification.

100

80
% F i ne r

60

40

20

0
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Particle size (mm)

Atterberg limits: Liquid limit LL = 32, Plastic Limit, PL =26

Step 1: Determine the % fines from the grading curve

%fines (% finer than 75 m) = 11% - Coarse grained, Dual symbols required

Step 2: Determine % of different particle size fractions (to determine G or S), and D10,
D30, D60 from grading curve (to determine W or P)

D10 = 0.06 mm, D30 = 0.25 mm, D60 = 0.75 mm

Cu = 12.5, Cc = 1.38, and hence Suffix1 = W

Particle size fractions: Gravel 17%

Sand 73%
Silt and Clay 10%

Of the coarse fraction about 80% is sand, hence Prefix is S

Step 3: From the Atterberg Test results determine its Plasticity chart location

LL = 32, PL = 26. Hence Plasticity Index Ip = 32 - 26 = 6

From Plasticity Chart point lies below A-line, and hence Suffix2 = M

Step 4: Dual Symbols are SW-SM

Step 5: Complete classification by including a description of the soil