Similarly, Figure 4.19b shows the case of a very dense state of packing.

Figure
4.19b
also shows an isolated cube, for which each side measures d . It can be shown th
at, for
this case, e  0.35.
Real soil differs from the equal-spheres model in that soil particles are neithe
r
equal in size nor spherical. The smaller-size particles may occupy the void spac
es
between the larger particles, thus the void ratio of soils is decreased compared
with that
for equal spheres. However, the irregularity in the particle shapes generally yi
elds an
increase in the void ratio of soils. As a result of these two factors, the void
ratios
encountered in real soils have approximately the same range as those obtained in
equal
spheres.
In the honeycombed structure (Figure 4.20), relatively ?ne sand and silt form sm
all
arches with chains of particles. Soils that exhibit a honeycombed structure have
large void
ratios, and they can carry an ordinary static load. However, under a heavy load
or when
subjected to shock loading, the structure breaks down, which results in a large
amount of
settlement.
Structures in Cohesive Soils
a
b
12
understand the basic structures in cohesive soils, we need to know the types of
forces that act between clay particles suspended in water. In Chapter 2, we disc
ussed
the negative charge on the surface of the clay particles and the diffuse double
layer surrounding
each particle. When
two
clay particles in suspension come close to each other,
the
tendency
for interpenetration of the diffuse
double layers results in repulsion
between
the particles. At
the same time,
an attractive force exists between the clay particles
that is caused by van
der Waals
forces and is independent of the characteristics of
ater.
Both repulsi
and attractive
forces increase with decreasing distance between
the
particles,
but at different rates. When the spacing between the particles is very
small, the force of attraction is greater than the force of repulsion. These are

the forces
treated by colloidal theories.

4.8 Soil Structure 91

The fact that local concentrations of positive charges occur at the edges of cla
y particles was discussed in Chapter 2. If the clay particles are very close to each
other, the
positively charged edges can be attracted to the negatively charged faces of the
particles.
Let us consider the behavior of clay in the form of a dilute suspension. When th
e
clay is initially dispersed in water, the particles repel one another. This repu
lsion occurs
because with larger interparticle spacing, the forces of repulsion between the p
articles
are greater than the forces of attraction (van der Waals forces). The force of g
ravity on
each particle is negligible. Thus, the individual particles may settle very slow
ly or
remain in suspension, undergoing Brownian motion (a random zigzag motion of coll
oidal
particles in suspension). The
sediment formed by the settling of the individual
particles
has a dispersed structure,
and all particles are oriented more or less parallel to one
another (Figure 4.21a).
If the clay particles initially dispersed in water come close to one another dur
ing random
motion in suspension,
they might aggregate into visible ?ocs with edge-to-face contact.
In this instance,
the particles are held together by electrostatic attraction of positively
charged edges to negatively charged faces. This aggregation is known as ?occulat
ion.
When the ?ocs become large, they settle under the force of gravity. The sediment
formed
in this manner has a ?occulent structure (Figure 4.21b).
When salt is added to a clay-water suspension that has been initially dispersed,
the
ions tend to depress the double layer around the particles. This depression redu
ces the
interparticle repulsion. The clay particles are attracted to one another to form
?ocs and
settle. The ?occulent structure of the sediments formed is shown in Figure 4.21c
. In ?occulent
sediment structures of the salt type, the particle orientation approaches a larg
e degree