Semester 1, Session 2015/ 2016 CEGB233 (Soil Mechanics)

Topic 1: Introduction to soil mechanics: Soil description and classification (Part I)

1.1 The formation of the soil

 For engineering purposes soil is best considered as a naturally (mostly) occurring particulate
material of variable composition having properties of compressibility, permeability and
strength.
 All soils originate, directly or indirectly, from solid rocks and these are classified according
to their mode of formation as follows:
(i) Igneous rocks, formed by cooling from hot molten material ('magma') within or on the
surface of the earth's crust, e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, andesite, gabbro, syenite,
porphyry.
(ii) Sedimentary rocks, formed in layers from sediments settling in bodies of water, such
as seas and lakes, e.g. limestone, sandstone, mudstone, shale, conglomerate.
(iii) Metamorphic rocks, formed by alteration of existing rocks due to: (a) extreme heat,
e.g. marble, quartzite, or (b) extreme pressure, e.g. slate, schist.

 The processes that convert solid rocks into soils take place at, or near, the earth's surface
and, although they are complex, the following controlling factors are apparent:
(i) Nature and composition of the parent rock.
(ii) Climatic conditions, particularly temperature and humidity.
(iii) Topographic and general terrain conditions, such as degree of shelter or exposure,
density and type of vegetation, etc.
(iv) Length of time related to particular prevailing conditions.
(v) Interference by other agencies, e.g. cataclysmic storms, earthquakes, action of
humans, etc.
(vi) Mode and conditions of transport.

 Engineering soil terminology

(i) Rock. Hard rigid coherent deposit forming part of the earth's crust, which may be of
igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic origin.
(ii) Soil. In engineering taken to be any loose or diggable material that is worked in,
worked on or worked with.
(iii) Organic soil. This is a mixture of mineral grains and organic material of mainly
vegetable origin in varying stages of decomposition.
(iv) Peat. True peat is made up entirely of organic matter; it is very spongy, highly
compressible and combustible. Inorganic minerals may also be present and as this
increases the material will grade towards an organic soil. From an engineering point
of view, peats pose many problems because of their high compressibility, void ratio
and moisture content, and in some cases their acidity.
(v) Residual soils. These are the weathered remains of rocks that have undergone no
transportation. They are normally sandy or gravelly, with high concentrations of
oxides resulting from leaching processes, e.g. laterite, bauxite, china clay.
(vi) Alluvial soils (alluvium). These are materials, such as sands and gravels, which have
been deposited from rivers and streams. Alluvial soils are characteristically well
sorted, but they often occur in discontinuous or irregular formations.
(vii) Cohesive soils. Fine soils containing sufficient clay or silt particles to impart
significant plasticity and cohesion.

1
Semester 1, Session 2015/ 2016 CEGB233 (Soil Mechanics)

(viii) Cohesionless soils. Coarse soils, such as sands and gravels, which consist of rounded
or angular (non-flaky) particles, and which do not exhibit plasticity or cohesion.

1.2 The nature of the grains: Particle size analysis

 Soil classification principles

 It is necessary to provide a conventional classification of types of soil for the purpose of
describing the various materials encountered in site exploration.
 To be sufficiently adequate for this basic purpose, a classification system must satisfy a
number of conditions:
(i) It must incorporate as descriptions definitive terms that are brief and yet meaningful
to the user.
(ii) Its classes and sub-classes must be defined by parameters that are reasonably easy to
measure quantitatively.
(iii) Its classes and sub-classes must group together soils having characteristics that will
imply similar engineering properties.

 Most classification systems divide soils into three main groups: coarse, fine and organic.

Table 1.1: Major classes of engineering soils

Particle size analysis and grading

The range of particle sizes encountered in soils is very wide: from around 200 mm down to the
colloidal size of some clays of less than 0.001 mm. Although natural soils are mixtures of
various-sized particles, it is common to find a predominance occurring within a relatively
narrow band of sizes.

When the width of this size band is very narrow the soil will be termed poorly-graded, if it is
wide the soil is said to be well graded. A number of engineering properties, e.g. permeability,
frost susceptibility, compressibility, are related directly or indirectly to particle-size
characteristics.

2
Semester 1, Session 2015/ 2016 CEGB233 (Soil Mechanics)

Figure 1.1 shows the British Standard range of particle sizes. The particle-size analysis of a
soil is carried out by determining the weight percentages falling within bands of size
represented by these divisions and sub-divisions. In the case of a coarse soil, from which fine-
grained particles have been removed or were absent, the usual process is a sieve analysis.

A representative sample of the soil is split systematically down to a convenient sub-sample

size* and then oven-dried. This sample is then passed through a nest of standard test sieves
arranged in descending order of mesh size. Following agitation of first the whole nest and then
individual sieves, the weight of soil retained on each sieve is determined and the cumulative
percentage of the sub-sample weight passing each sieve calculated.

Figure 1.1: British standard range of particle sizes

From these figures the particle-size distribution for the soil is plotted as a semilogarithmic
curve (Figure 1.2) known as a grading curve.

Figure 1.2: Grading curve

Where the soil sample contains fine-grained particles, a wet sieving procedure is first carried
out to remove these and to determine the combined clay/silt fraction percentage. A suitably
sized sub-sample is first oven-dried and then sieved to separate the coarsest particles (>20 mm).
The sub-sample is then immersed in water containing a dispersing agent (sodium
hexametaphosphate: a 2 g/litre solution) and allowed to stand before being washed through a
63 μm mesh sieve. The retained fraction is again oven-dried and passed through a nest of sieves.
After weighing the fractions retained on each sieve and calculating the cumulative percentages

3
Semester 1, Session 2015/ 2016 CEGB233 (Soil Mechanics)

passing each sieve, the grading curve is drawn. The combined clay/silt fraction is determined
from the weight difference and expressed as a percentage of the total sub-sample weight. The
coarsest fraction (>20 mm) can also be sieved and the results used to complete the grading
curve.

The grading curve is a graphical representation of the particle-size distribution and is therefore
useful in itself as a means of describing the soil. For this reason it is always a good idea to
include copies of grading curves in laboratory and other similar reports. It should also be
remembered that the primary object is to provide a descriptive term for the type of soil. This is
easily done using the type of chart shown in Figure 1.3 by estimating the range of sizes included
in the most representative fraction of the soil. For example, curve A may be taken to represent
a poorly graded medium SAND: poorly graded because the curve is steep, indicating a narrow
range of sizes, and medium SAND, since the largest proportion of the soil (approximately 65
per cent) lies in medium-sand sub-range. Curve B represents a well-graded material containing
a wide range of particle sizes; from fine sand to medium gravel; this soil is properly described
as a well-graded GRAVEL SAND, since about half the soil is gravel and the other half sand.
Curve C also represents a well-graded material which is predominantly sand, but with a
significant silt fraction (about 20 per cent); this soil should be described as a very silty SAND,
the noun indicating the predominant fraction. Curve D indicates a sandy SILT, e.g. an estuarine
or deltaic silt; curve E indicates a typical silty CLAY, e.g. London Clay or Oxford Clay.

Figure 1.3: Typical particle size distribution curves

A further quantitative analysis of grading curves may be carried out using certain geometric
values known as grading characteristics. First of all, three points are located on the grading
curve to give the following characteristic sizes (Fig. 2.4):

d10 = Maximum size of the smallest 10 per cent of the sample

d30 = Maximum size of the smallest 30 per cent of the sample
d60 = Maximum size of the smallest 60 per cent of the sample

4
Semester 1, Session 2015/ 2016 CEGB233 (Soil Mechanics)

Fig. 2.4: Grading characteristics

From these characteristic sizes, the following grading characteristics are defined:

Effective size = d10 mm

d 60
Uniformity coefficient, Cu 
d10

Coefficient of gradation, C g 
d 30 2
d 60  d10

Both Cu and Cg will be unity for a single-sized soil, while Cu

Worked Example 1.1: The results of a dry-sieving test are given below: plot the particle size
distribution curve and give a classification for the soil.

5
Semester 1, Session 2015/ 2016 CEGB233 (Soil Mechanics)

Worked example 1.2: A full wet/ dry sieve analysis was carried out with the following
results:

6
Semester 1, Session 2015/ 2016 CEGB233 (Soil Mechanics)

7
Semester 1, Session 2015/ 2016 CEGB233 (Soil Mechanics)

1.3 The structure (Fabric) of soil

For convenience, it is useful to divide soil into two major groups: coarse and fine.
(i) Coarse soils will be classified as those having particle sizes >0.06 mm, such as SANDS
and GRAVELS. Their grains will be rounded or angular and usually consist of fragments
of rock or quartz or jasper, with iron oxide, calcite, mica often present. The relatively
equidimensional shape is a function of the crystalline structure of the minerals, and the
degree surrounding depends upon the amount of wear that has taken place.
(ii) Fine soils are finer than 0.06 mm and are typically flaky in shape, such as SILTS and
CLAYS. Very fine oxides and sulphides, and sometimes organic matter, may also be
present. Of major importance in an engineering context is the flakiness of the clay
minerals, which gives rise to very large surface areas.