Review of Soil Mechanics

Why soil is different?

• Made by nature
• Heterogeneous
• Anisotropic
• Stress-strain relation not unique (time,
stress history, saturation)
• Particulate media
 VARIABLE SOILS AT A
PROJECT SITE

Source: McCammon and Golder, 1970)

Muni Budhu 3
“Foundations and Earth
 Definitions
• Soil : Which is a natural aggregate of
mineral grains that separated by such
gentle mechanical means as agitation in
water (i.e. without blasting).
• Rock: Which is a natural aggregate of
minerals connected by strong and
permanent cohesive force (which requires
blasting to break it down).
 Rock Types
• Igneous rocks
• Sedimentary rocks
• Metamorphic rocks
 Rock Weathering and Soil
Formation
• Mechanical Weathering: In mechanical (or physical) weathering rocks
disintegrate into smaller particles by temperature change, frost action,
rainfall, running water, wind, ice, abrasion and other physical means. The
effect of temperature is specially important (expansion and contraction).
Smaller particles produced by mechanical weathering maintain the same
chemical composition of the original rock.
• Chemical Weathering: Chemical weathering causes chemical
decomposition of rock which can cause drastically change in its physical
and chemical characteristics. Chemical decomposition results from reaction
of rock minerals with oxygen, water, acids, salts and so on. This is
accomplished through the processes of oxidation, solution, carbonation,
leaching and hyrolysis.
• The chemical action can:
• Increase the volume of the material and thus cause material breakdown.
• Dissolve parts of the rock matter and thus increase voids and subsequently
causing material breakdown.
• React with cementing material and thus loosening particles
 Soils resulting from weathering of
rocks depend on the rock type
• Granite produces silty sand, sandy silt with some clay.
• Basalt and other rocks containing ferro-magnesium
minerals (but little or no silica) decompose primarily to
clay.
• Shale produces silt and clays.
• Sandstone produces sandy soil.
• Limestone produces a variety of soils but generally silts
and clays.
• Gneiss and schist produce silt-sand soils.
• Slate produces clays.
• Marble produces fine-grained soils (silt and clays).
• Quartzite produces coarse-grained soils (sand and
gravel).
 Soil Deposits
• Residual Soils: These are the soils which
remain at the same location where weathering
occur. Residual soils that have developed in
semi-arid and temperate climates are usually
stiff and stable and do not extend to great depth.
In warm humid climates where the time of
exposure has been long residual soils may
extend to depths of hundreds of meters.
Strength of residual soils varies, they may be
strong and stable but may also consist of highly
compressible materials surrounding blocks of
less weathered rocks.
 Transported Soils
• Gravity Deposits : Soil transported by action of gravity are gravity deposits (such as those
transported during a land slide). These soils are usually not carried too far from the origin and tend
to be loose.
• Alluvial Deposits: Alluvial deposits are transported by water and are found in the vicinity of the
rivers. Particles are moved to greater distance from the origin. Size of particles can vary
considerably from very fine to boulders, depending on the water velocity. Alluvial deposits are well
sorted (layered) because the size is related to velocity.
• Land forms associated with alluvial deposits include natural levees (formed from sand and gravel),
flood plains (silt and clay deposits) and deltas ( lacustrine and marine deposits). Laxustrine are
sediments deposited at the entrance of lakes. Marines deposits are sediments deposited when a
river enters a sea. Both deposits are loose and compressible.
• Glacial Deposits: These are soils transported by ice. Soil size varies from very fine to boulders.
Soil deposits are not sorted (i.e. heterogeneous deposits).
• Wind Deposits: Also known as aeolian deposits and are transported by wind. Sand dunes in
desert areas are transported by wind. They can be used for certain construction purposes.
• Fine-grained soils (silts and clays) can also be transported by wind, specially silts (because clays
posses cohesion or bond which reduces wind erosion). The fine-grained soils transported by wind
are termed “loess”. Loess is hard when dry because of the cementing agent is calcium carbonate
and iron oxide. Also excavation in dry loess can be vertical. However; loess becomes soft when
saturated.
 IDEALIZATION OF SOILS

 Phase Relationships

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth

Retaining Structures,” John Wiley & Sons,
2007
10
 SOME USEFUL RELATIONS


Se  wGs d 
1 w

Gs w (Gs  Se ) w
d   
1 e 1e

(Gs  e) w
 sat 
1 e

11
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN SOILS

 Sieve Analysis – stack of sieves with biggest opening of sieves at

top
 Number on sieve corresponds to the number of square openings
per square inches (number 200 sieve means 200 openings per
square inch i.e. opening size = 0.075 mm x 0.075 mm)
Used for coarse-grained soils

 Hydrometer Analysis – Stoke’s law

 Used for fine-grained soils (< 0.075 mm)

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining

Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007
12
 PARTICLE SIZE ANALYSIS

Poorly graded

D10 – diameter of particle corresponding to 10% finer

D50– average diameter of particles
Cu = uniformity coefficient = D60/D10
Cc = coefficient of curvature = D2 30/(D60 D10)
Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth
13 Retaining Structures,” John Wiley & Sons,
2007
PHYSICAL STATES OF FINE-GRAINED
SOILS

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth

Retaining Structures,” John Wiley & Sons,
2007
14
 COMPACTION OF SOILS

Importance
Soil compaction is a method of improving the strength and
settlement performance of soils and lowering the hydraulic
conductivity. It is one of the most popular and effective
methods of improving soils for foundations.

 Densification of soil by expulsion of air voids and the

rearrangement of the soil particles.

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining

Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007
15
 What is compaction?

A simple ground improvement technique, where the soil

is densified through external compactive effort.

Compactive
effort

+ water =
Purposes of Compaction
 Compaction is the application of energy to soil to reduce the
void ratio
– This is usually required for fill materials, and is sometimes used for
natural soils

 Compaction reduces settlements under working loads

 Compaction increases the soil strength

 Compaction makes water flow through soil more difficult

 Compaction can prevent liquefaction during earthquakes

Factors affecting Compaction

 Water content of soil

 The type of soil being compacted

 The amount of compactive energy used

 Laboratory Compaction Test
- to obtain the compaction curve and define the
optimum water content and maximum dry density for a
specific compactive effort.

Standard Proctor: hammer Modified Proctor:

• 3 layers • 5 layers

• 25 blows per layer • 25 blows per layer

• 2.7 kg hammer • 4.9 kg hammer

• 300 mm drop • 450 mm drop

1000 ml compaction mould

 COMPACTION OF SOILS

 Proctor test is used to determine

the maximum dry unit weight

 Gs   Gs 
γd =   γw    γw
1 + e   1 + wG s / S 
To find : (γ d ) max ; w opt

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining

Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007
20
 COMPACTION OF SOILS

 Compaction Test Results

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining

Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007

21
 FIELD EQUIPMENT

Sheepsfoot Drum type

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining

Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007
22
 COMPACTION QUALITY CONTROL

Sand cone Balloon test device Nuclear density meter

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining

Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007
23
Effects of soil type
Typical Values
3
dry )max (kN/m ) mopt (%)
Well graded sand SW 22 7
Sandy clay SC 19 12
Poorly graded sand SP 18 15
Low plasticity clay CL 18 15
Non plastic silt ML 17 17
High plasticity clay CH 15 25

Gs is constant, therefore increasing maximum dry unit weight 

is associated with decreasing optimum moisture contents

Do not use typical values for design as soil is highly variable 

 Water in Soil
Permeability and Seepage

25
Soil is permeable material because it contains 
voids.
Water flows through continuous voids. 
Flow of water through soil is called seepage. 
Seepage affects the design and construction of 
many civil engineering structures.
Examples of seepage problems: 
Seepage through earth dams and canals .1
Flow of water towards wells .2
Excavation of open cut in water bearing sand .3
Consolidation of clay .4
Uplift pressure on foundation .5
landfill liners and covers .6

26
 What is permeability?
A measure of how easily a fluid (e.g., water)
can pass through a porous medium (e.g.,
soils)

water

Loose soil Dense soil

- easy to flow - difficult to flow
- high permeability - low permeability
27 27
Copyright©2001

Bernoulli’s Equation
For flow through soils, velocity (and thus
velocity head) is very small. Therefore,

0
fluid particle
Velocity head
+
z
Total head = Pressure head
+ datum
Elevation head
u
h z Unit of each term is length (m or ft)

SIVA w 28
Copyright©2001

Some Notes
Hydraulic gradient (i) between A and B is
the total head loss per unit length.

TH A  TH B
i water
l AB
A B

length AB, along the

stream line
29
SIVA
Copyright©2001

Darcy’s Law
Velocity (v) of flow is proportional to the
hydraulic gradient (i) – Darcy (1856)
v=ki

Permeability
• or hydraulic conductivity
• unit of velocity (cm/s)

Typical values from 100 to less than 10-2 cm/sec.

(See Tables 5-1 to 5-3 in Liu and Evett).

30
SIVA
Copyright©2001

Permeability Values (cm/s)

10-6 10-3 100
clays silts sands gravels

Fines Coarse

For coarse grain soils, k = f(e or D10)

31
SIVA
 Measurement of k
• Laboratory Methods
• Constant Head Method:
• Falling Head Method
• In-Situ Permeability Tests

32
 TWO-DIMENSIONAL FLOW OF WATER

 Laplace’s equation – solution gives spatial

variation of hydraulic head
2H 2H
kx  kz 2  0
x 2
z
 Bernoulli’s law: Total head, H, is sum of
elevation head (depends on selected datum),
pressure head (water pressure) and velocity
head (small for soils and is neglected)
Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining
Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007
33
 SOLUTION OF LAPLACE’S EQUATION

 Flow net sketching

 Numerical methods

 Physical modeling

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining

Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007
34
 FLOW NET SKETCHING- 2

Procedure
 Draw the structure and soil mass to a suitable
scale.
 Identify impermeable and permeable
boundaries. The soil-impermeable boundary
interfaces are flow lines because water can flow
along these interfaces. The soil-permeable
boundary interfaces are equipotential lines
because the total head is constant along these
interfaces.
 Sketch a series of flow lines (4 or 5) and then
sketch an appropriate number of equipotential
lines such that the area between a pair of flow
lines and a pair of equipotential lines (cell) is
approximately a curvilinear square. You would
have to adjust the flow lines and equipotential
lines to make curvilinear squares. You should
check that the average width (b) and the
average length (l) of a cell are approximately
equal. You should also sketch the entire flow
net before making adjustments.

Muni Budhu “Foundations and Earth Retaining

Structures,” John Wiley & Sons, 2007
35
 GEOSTATIC AND EFFECTIVE STRESS

   soil  z 
u   w  zw u

  u
'

'

Groundwater level at ground surface i.e. z = zw

  (  sat   w )z   z
' '
Muni Budhu “Foundations
Retaining Structures,” John Wile
36
 EXAMPLE – EFFECTIVE VERTICAL
STRESS
, ' , u (kPa)

33.6

u

'

39.2 73.6 112.8

A  16.8  2  33.6 kN / m 2  B  16.8  2  19.8  4  112.8 kN / m 2

u A  0.0 kN / m 2 u B  9.8  4  39.2 kN / m 2
 A  33.6  0  33.6 kN / m
' 2 'B  112.8  39.2  73.6 kN / m 2

37
CONSOLIDATION OF CLAY
 End of
Construction
Time

SAND

Settlement CLAY

39
 Consolidation Process ( Spring
Analogy
• Assumptions:
• One dimensional consolidation
• clay is saturated.
• Compression only due to squeeze of water
out of soil voids (solid particles and water
are incompressible).

40
 q kN/m2

SAND

GWT

CLAY

A σ΄z ,
uo

SAND

41
Total Excess Pore
Stress Pressure

Time Time

Effective Settlement
Stress

Time Time

Fig. 1 Variation of total stress and pore pressure with time

42
Laboratory One-Dimensional Consolidation
Test: The Oedometer

Load Displacement
Loading cap measuring device

Cell

water
Soil sample
Porous disks

43
 Presentation of the Results
• Deformation- pressure curves (most popular void
ratio-log pressure)
• Dial reading versus time curves (most popular square
root time and log time methods )

• Calculated Parameters
1. Cc = compression index
2. Cr = recompression index
3. eo = initial void ratio
4. σ΄p = maximum past preconsolidation pressure
5. Cv = coefficient of consolidation
6. k = coefficient of permeability

44
 The maximum Past
Preconsolidation Pressure (σ΄p)
D
e

A C

E B

 pc
 log (’)

45
 Overconsolidation Ratio (OCR)

σ΄vo = effective overburden stress

 p
define Overconsolidation ratio 
 vo
If OCR = 1 Clay is normally consolidated (NC)
If OCR > 1 Clay is overconsolidated (OC)
If OCR < 1 Clay is under consolidated ; it has no physical meaning
and does not exist in nature, Because soil was already made
long time ago

46
Causes of Overconsolidation:
Removal of soil or load

Soil
Soil removed
removed

NC clay OC clay

47
Causes of Overconsolidation:
Rise in groundwater table

Ground
water rose

NC clay OC clay

48
Computation of Consolidation settlement
Normally Consolidated Clay (NC):

σ΄p= σ΄vo

Cr σ΄vo+ Δσz
1

Cc Cc H o     z
e Sc  Log vo
1  eo  vo
Cr 1
1

Log p΄

49
 Overconsolidated Clay (OC):
case 1: σ΄vo+ Δσz < σ΄p Only recompression will happen

σ΄vo
σ΄vo+ Δσz

σp
Cr

e Cc
Cr 1

Log
΄p

Cr H o     z
Sc  Log vo
1  eo 
 vo
case 2: σ΄vo+ Δσz < σ΄p
Both recompression and primary compression will happen

σvo

σp
Cr

σ΄vo +Δσz
e Cc

Cr

΄Log p

Cr H o  p C c H o     z
Sc  Log  Log vo
1  eo  vo 1  eo  p
 Time Rate of Consolidation
Assumptions:
1. Soil is saturated
2. Darcy's Law for flow of water in soil is valid (v=ki)
3. Soil solid particles and water are incompressible and
deformation occurs only due to flow of water out of soil
voids.
4. Flow of water only occurs in vertical direction (one-
dimensional ) and thus the settlement is only vertical
5. The coefficient of permeability k and the coefficient of
volume change mv are constant during the load
increment

52
 Terzaghi One-Dimensional
Consolidation Equation
u u 2
 Cv 2
t z
Where:
Δu = excess pore water pressure (water pressure in excess of hydrostatic water pressure),
k
Cv = coefficient of consolidation = (k and mv were defined above)
mv w
t = time
z = depth

53
 Solution
in terms of two dimesionless parameters T
and U
Time Factor T

Average Degree of Consolidation U

St
U = (amount of settlement at time t) / (Final total settlement ) =
S

54
 T and U are related:
At t =0, T=0, U =0
At t= t , T = T , U = U
At t=  , T =  , U = 1 or 100% consolidation

Useful Approximations:

  U%
For U < 60 % T  U2  ( )2
4 4 100

For U > 60 % T  1.781  0.933 Log (100  U %)

55
U (%) T
0 0
10 0.007
20 0.0314
30 0.0707
40 0.126 0
50 0.196 20
U (%) 40
60 0.286
60
70 0.403
80
80 0.567
100
90 0.848 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
T
95 1.13
99 1.78
99.9 2.71
100
56
 Method to Determine the Coefficient of
Consolidation (CV): Casagrande Log
time fitting method

Ro
R1 a
R a
Primary
t1 t2 consolidation

Dial R50
Reading Secondary
(mm) t50 compression

R100

Log t

T 50( H / 2) 2
For U=50%, T = 0.197 (from table or chart). Thus Cv  (The sample in
t50
consolidation test is double drained 57
Taylor Square Root Method
Ro

Dial
Reading 0.15d
(mm) d

R90

t90
t

1. For U=90%, T=0.848 (from table or chart). Thus:

T90 ( H / 2) 2
Cv  58
t90
 Why study shear strength of soils?
• Shear strength of soils is of great importance
and the determination of the shear strength is
one of the most frequent tasks in geotechnical
engineering.
• Problems in civil engineering require the
knowledge of shear strength are:
1. Bearing capacity of foundations,
2. Retaining walls ,
3. Stability of slopes,
4. Stability of dams
5. Pavements
 Shear failure
Soils generally fail in shear

embankment

strip footing

failure surface mobilised shear

resistance

At failure, shear stress along the failure surface

reaches the shear strength.
 Shear failure

At failure, shear stress along the failure surface

() reaches the shear strength (f).
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 Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion

 f  c   tan 


friction angle
cohesion
f
c


f is the maximum shear stress the soil can take
without failure, under normal stress of . 62
Mohr Circles & Failure Envelope
As loading progresses, Mohr
circle becomes larger…

GL


c
Y c
c

.. and finally failure occurs

when Mohr circle touches the
envelope
Mohr circles in terms of  & ’
v v’ u

h h’ u
X
= X
+ X

effective stresses
total stresses

h’ v’ h v
u
 Envelopes in terms of  & ’
Identical specimens
initially subjected to f
different isotropic stresses
(c) and then loaded c c
axially to failure
c c

uf
Initially… Failure

c, 

in terms of 
At failure,
3 = c; 1 = c+f c’, ’
3’ = 3 – uf ; 1’ = 1 - uf in terms of ’
 Determination of the Shear
Strength of Soil
• The laboratory tests are:
1. Direct shear
2. Triaxial
3. Unconfined compression

The field tests are:

1. Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
2. Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
3. Pressure meter
4. Vane shear
5. Screw plate
6. Dilatometer SPT and CPT are most used field tests.
 Direct Shear Test (Shear Box
Test)
Normal load
Top platen

Load cell to
Motor measure
drive Shear Force
Soil

Porous plates

Rollers
 Triaxial Test Apparatus
piston (to apply deviatoric stress)

failure plane
O-ring

impervious
membrane
soil sample at
failure
porous
stone
perspex cell

water

cell pressure
pore pressure or
back pressure
pedestal volume change

68
SIVA Copyright©2001
 Types of Triaxial Tests
deviatoric stress ()

Under all-around Shearing (loading)

cell pressure c

Is the drainage valve open? Is the drainage valve open?

yes no yes no

Consolidated Unconsolidated Drained Undrained

sample sample loading loading
69
SIVA Copyright©2001
 Types of Triaxial Tests
Depending on whether drainage is allowed
or not during
 initial isotropic cell pressure application, and
 shearing,
there are three special types of triaxial tests
that have practical significances. They are:

Consolidated Drained (CD) test

Consolidated Undrained (CU) test
Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) test

70
SIVA Copyright©2001
 Shear Strength Description of
Sand

Description φ΄ (degrees) Total unit weight γ Relative Density,

(kN/m3) Dr, (%)
Very loose 26-28 11-13 0-15
Loose 29-34 14-16 16-35
Medium dense 35-40 17-19 36-65
Dense 38-45 20-21 66-85
Very dense >45 >21 >86
Shear Strength Description of
Clays

Description Undrained shear strength (kN/m2) (c)

Very soft < 10
Soft 10- 25
Medium stiff or firm 25-50
Stiff 50 -100
Very stiff 100-200
Hard >200
Typical Stress-Strain Curves for
Soils
Δσ OC Clay
(or dense
sand)

NC Clay
(or loose
sand)

Axial
strain

Δv
Dilation (increase
in volume) Axial
strain

NC Clay
Compression (or loose
(decrease in sand)
volume.