SOIL DEPOSITS-ORIGIN/GRAIN-SIZE, AND

SHAPE
This chapter provides :
• A broad outline of the process by which various type of rocks are formed.
• Weathering of rock and the nature of formation of various types of soil
deposits.
• Grain-size analysis and shape of soil particles.
Rock Cycle and the Origin of Soil
Igneous Rock
Igneous rocks are
formed by the solidification
of molten magma ejected
from deep within the
earth’s mantle.
Bowen(1922) was able to explain the relation of
the rate of magma cooling to the formation of
different types of rock.This expalanation-known
as Bowen’s reation principle
BOWEN CLASSIFIED THESE REACTION INTO TWO
GROUPS:
 WEATHERING
Weathering is the process of breaking down
rocks by mechanical and chemical processes
into smaller pieces
“ The products of weathering may stay in the same place
Transportation of Weathering Products

or may be moved to other places by ice, water, wind and

gravity.
The transported soils may be classified into several groups:
1.Glacial soils-formed by transportation and deposition of glaciers
”
2.Alluvial soils- transported by running water and deposited along streams

3.Lacustrine soils- formed by deposition in quiet lakes

4.Marine soils- formed by deposition in the seas

5.Aeolian soils- transported and deposited by wind

 Sedimentary Rock

The deposits of gravel,

sand ,silt, and clay formed
by weathering may
become compacted by
overburden pressure and
cemented by agents like
iron oxide, dolomite, and
quartz. Cementing agents
are generally carried in
solution by groundwater
.They fill the spaces
between particles and
form sedimentary rocks.
 METAMORPHIC ROCK
• Metamorphism is the
process of changing the
composition and texture of
rocks(without melting)by
heat and pressure.
 • Residual soils are found in areas where the rate of
weathering is more than the rate of which the
Residual Soil weathered materials are carried away by
transporting agents.

• Residual soils on a steep natural slope can move slowly

downward and this is usually referred to as creep.When the
downward soil movement is sudden and rapid it is called a
Gravity landslide.The soil deposits formed by landslides are
collivium.Mud flows are one type of gravity transported soil.
Transported Soil
ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS
 Deposits from Braided Streams

Braided streams are high-gradient,rapidly

flowing streams that are highly erosive
and carry large amounts of sediment.
CHARACTERISTIC:
 The grain size usually range from gravel to silt.

 Although grain size varies widely, the soil in given pocket or lens is
rather uniform.

 At any given depth, the void ratio and unit weight may vary over
a wide range within a lateral distance of only a few meters.
 Meander Belt Deposits
The term meander is derived from the Greek word
maiandros, after the Maindros(now Menderes) River
in Asia, famous for its winding course. Mature
streams in a valley curve back and forth. The valley
floor in which a river meanders is referred to as the
meander belt.
Acustrine Deposits
-Water from rivers and springs flow
into flakes.

 Glacial Deposits
-The glaciers carried large amounts
of sand, silt, clay, gravel and boulders.

 Drift
- general term usually applied to the
deposits laid down by glaciers.
 Till
- Unstratified deposits laid down by melting glaciers.

 Moraines
-The landforms that developed from the deposits of
till.
 Aeolian Soil Deposits

- Wind is also a major transporting agent leading to the

formation of soil deposits.

-The process tends to form a compact sand deposit

on the windward side,and a rather loose deposit on the
leeward side of the dume.
DUNESAND
 Organic Soil
Organic soils are usually found in low-
lying areas where the water table is
near or above the ground surface.
 Characteristic of Organic Soil
• Their natural moisture content may range from 200 to 300%

• They are highly compressible.

• Laboratory tests have shown that, under loads ,a large amount of

settlement is derived from secondary consolidation.
 Soil-Particle Size

• Gravels are pieces of rocks with

occasional particles of quartz,
feldspar, and other minerals.
• Sand particles are made of mostly
quartz and feldspar .Other mineral
grains may also be present at times.
• Silts are the microscopic soil
fractions that consist of very fine
quartz grains and some flake-
shaped particles that arc fragments
of micaceous minerals
 SOIL PARTICLE SIZE
Grain Size (mm)
Name of organization
Gravel Sand Silt Clay

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

>2 2 to 0.06 0.06 to 0.002 <0.002
(MIT)

>2
U.S. department of Agricultureb(USDA) 2 to 0.05 0.05 to 0.002 <0.002

American Association of State Highway

76.2 to 2 2 to 0.075 0.075 to 0.002 <0.002
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

Fines
76.2 to 4.75 4.75 to 0.075
Unified Soil Classification System (i.e., silts and clay)
<0.075
 CLAYMINERALS
Clay minerals are complex aluminum silicates
composed of one of two basic units:

1.Silica Tetrahedron

2.Alumina Octahedron
The combination of tetrahedral silica unit gives a silica sheet.

Three oxygen atoms at the base of each tetrahedron are

shared by neighboring tetrahedral. The octahedral unit
consist of six hydroxyls surrounding an aluminum atom and
the combination of the octahedral aluminum hydroxyl units
gives an octahedral sheet.

Kaolinite - consists of repeating layers of elemental silica-

gibbsite sheets.

Illite - consists of a gibbsite sheet bonded to two silica sheets.

Montmorillonite - has a similar structure to illite.

“
”
Specific Gravity(Gs)
-The specific gravity of the soil solids is used in various calculations in soil mechanics.
 MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF SOIL

• Mechanical analysis is the determination

of the size range of particles present in a
soil, expressed as a percentage of the
total dry weight(or mass).
 SIEVE
ANALYSIS
Sieve analysis consist of
shaking the soil sample
through a set of sieves
that have progressively
smaller openings.
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION CURVE
 HYDROMETER ANALYSIS

is based on the
principle of
sedimentation of soil
grains in water
ASTM 152H type of hydrometer
placed inside the sedimentation
ASTM 152H hydrometer cylinder.
Definition of L in Hydrometer test
FOR SIMPLICITY, IT IS ASSUMED THAT ALL THE SOIL
PARTICLES ARE SPHERES, AND THE VELOCITY OF SOIL
PARTICLES CAN BE EXPRESSED BY STOKE’S LAW:

EQUATION 2.1
 FROM EQUATION 2.2

COMBINING EQs. (2.2) AND (2.3) GIVES NOTE THAT

EQUATION 2.3
OR
EQUATION 2.3
WHERE
 EFFECTIVE SIZE, UNIFORMITY COEFFICIENT,
AND COEFFICIENT OF GRADATION

Three soil parameters are:

1.Effective size
2.Uniformity coefficient
3.Coefficient of gradation
EXAMPLE 2.1
Requirements:
A. Determine the percent finer than each sieve size and
plot a grain-size distributions curve.

B. Determine D60, D30, and D10 from grain-

size distribution curve.

C. Calculate the Uniformity coefficient of Cu.

D. Calculate the coefficient of gradation Cc.

FROM THE FIGURE

D60 = 0.27 D30 = 0.17 D10 = 0.15

EXAMPLE 2.2
QUESTIONS
A. Draw the particle size distribution curve.

B. Determine the percentages of gravel, sand,

silt, and clay according to the MIT system.

C. Repeat part b using the USDA system.

D. Repeat part b using the AASHTO system.

SOLUTION
A. Draw the particle size distribution curve.
B. Determine the percentages
C. Repeat part b using D. Repeat part b using the AASHTO
of gravel, sand, silt, and clay
the USDA system. system.
according to the MIT system.
 Particle shape
THE PARTICLE SHAPE GENERALLY CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE MAJOR
CATEGORIES.
1. BULKY – ARE FORMED MOSTLY BY MECHANICAL WEATHERING OF ROCK
AND MINERALS. GEOLOGISTS USE SUCH TERMS AS ANGULAR, SUBANGULAR,
SUBGROUNDED, AND ROUNDED TO DESCRIBE THE SHAPES OF BULKY PARTICLES.
2. Flaky - have very low sphericity - usually 0.01 or less.
These particles are predominantly clay minerals.

3. Needle shaped – are much less common than the other

two particle types. Example of soils containing needle-
shaped particles are some coral deposits and attapulgite
clays.