06-87-355 GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING I

Chapter 2
Origin of Soil and Grain Size
September 10, 2013

Unfortunately, soils are made by nature and not by man, and the products of nature are always complex.
Karl von Terzaghi, 1936

Soil properties control their mechanical behaviour

From an engineering perspective Study of soil focuses on:

characteristics of soils as construction materials.

suitability of soils to withstand the load applied by structures.

SOILS PARTICLE SIZE Gravel (2 mm - 76.2 mm) Sand (0.075 mm 2 mm)

Gravel and sand can be classified according to particle size by sieve analysis.

Silt (0.002 mm 0.075 mm)

Clay (Smaller than 0.002 mm)

Particle size may be determined by observing settling velocities of the particles in a water mixture.

SOILS BY PROPERTIES Granular ( or cohesionless) Soils

Soil particles do not tend to stick together Gravel Sand Silt Soil particles tend to stick together. Clay

Cohesive Soils

Organic Soils
Spongy, crumbly, and compressible Undesirable for use in supporting structures

Unfortunately, soils are made by nature and not by man, and the products of nature are always complex.
Karl von Terzaghi, 1936

2.6 Specific Gravity (Gs)

It is defined as the ratio of the unit weight of a given material to the unit weight of water. Needed for various calculations in soil mechanics like the volume of solids in a sample
This number indicates how much heavier/lighter a material is than water.

For example: A material with SG of 2 is twice as heavy as water (2x 62.4 lbs/ft3 ) = 124.8 lbs/ft3

Specific Gravity (Gs)

Equation Form:

SG = Ms/Vs water

General Ranges of SG For Soils

Sand Silt Clay & Silty Clay Organic Soils 2.63 2.67 2.65-2.7 2.67-2.9 <2.0

2.7 Mechanical Analysis of Soil

It is the determination of the size range of particles present in a soil, expressed as a percentage of the total dry weight.

Coarse-grained soils:

Fine-grained soils:

Gravel

Sand
NO.200 0.075 mm

Silt

Clay

NO. 4 4.75 mm

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Experiment
The texture of a soil is its appearance, it depends on the relative sizes and shapes of the particles as well as the range or distribution of those sizes.

Two methods are used to find the particle-size distribution of soil:

Sieve Analysis Hydrometer Analysis

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Coarse-grained soils:

Fine-grained soils:

Gravel

Sand
0.075 mm

Silt

Clay

Sieve analysis

Hydrometer analysis

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Sieve Analysis For particle sizes larger than 0.075 mm in diameter Hydrometer Analysis For particle sizes smaller than 0.075 mm in diameter

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Engineering applications
It will be used for the soil classification (next topic). It can be used to define the grading specification of a drainage filter. It can be a criterion for selecting fill materials of embankments and earth dams, road sub-base materials, and concrete aggregates. It can be used to estimate the results of grouting and chemical injection, and dynamic compaction.

14

Mechanical Analysis of Soil Cont.

A. Sieve Analysis Pass soil through a series of sieves and plot the cumulative weight percent vs. particle size.

Well-graded = contains a variety of sizes Poorly-graded = narrow range of sizes

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Sieve Analysis Cont.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5_6lXOwmv0

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Sieve Analysis Cont.

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Sieve Analysis Cont.

ASTM
0 4 10 40 40 80 100 200

500 g/oven dried (Temp 105C)

Shaking time

5 min. to 10 min.

Pan

September 16, 2013

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Sieve Analysis Cont.

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B. Hydrometer Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8rntKMeOwY

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Hydrometer Analysis Cont.

About Hydrometer Analysis

It is based on the principle of sedimentatin of soil grains in water when a soil specimen is dispersed in water. The particles settle at different velocities depending on their shape, size, weight, and the viscosity of the water. The hydrometer is used to obtain the velocity of the particles

Mechanical Analysis of Soil Cont.

Hydrometer Analysis Cont.

Hydrometer Analysis utilizes the relationship between:

velocity of the sphere in a fluid diameter of soil sphere density of soil particles density of water viscosity of water

Stokes Law (law of sedimentation in the water) is used to express the velocity of soil particle.

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Hydrometer Analysis Cont.

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Hydrometer Analysis Cont.

Note: the value of K is a function of Gs, and which are dependent on the temperature of the test.

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Hydrometer Analysis Cont.

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Hydrometer Analysis Cont.

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Hydrometer Analysis Cont.

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Particle-Size Distribution Curve Cont.

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Particle-Size Distribution Curve Cont.

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Particle-Size Distribution Curve Cont.

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Particle-Size Distribution Curve Cont.

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Particle-Size Distribution Curve Cont.

The Particle-size distribution curve shows:

The range of particle sizes present in a soil Type of distribution of various-size particles
Well-graded = contains a variety of sizes (gradient of curve constant over large grain size range) Poorly-graded = narrow range of sizes

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Particle-Size Distribution Curve Cont.

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Example 2.1

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Example 2.2

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Particle Shape

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Particle Shape