Texas Tech University

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Chapter 3:
Soil Mechanics/Review

Priyantha Jayawickrama, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
 Chapter 3: Soil Mechanics

Lecture No.1
 3.1 Soil Composition

 Soil-a 3-phase material

 Soil Characterization (particle size,
soil plasticity)
 3.2 Soil Classification
 3.3 Groundwater
 3.4 Stress (Total vs. Effective)
CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design
 Chapter 3: Soil Mechanics

Lecture No.2
 3.5 Compressibility and

settlement
Lecture No.3
 3.6 Strength

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Soil: A 3-Phase Material

Air
Water

Solid

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

The Mineral Skeleton

Solid Particles

Volume

Voids (air or water)

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Three Phase Diagram

Air

Water

Solid

Mineral Skeleton Idealization:

Three Phase Diagram
CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design
 Fully Saturated Soils

Water

Solid

Mineral Skeleton Fully Saturated

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Dry Soils

Air

Solid

Mineral Skeleton Dry Soil

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Partly Saturated Soils

Air

Water

Solid

Mineral Skeleton Partly Saturated Soils

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Three Phase System

Va Air Wa~0
Vv

Vw
Water Ww
VT WT

Vs Solid Ws

Volume Weight

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Weight Relationships
 Weight Components:
 Weight of Solids = Ws
 Weight of Water = Ww
 Weight of Air ~ 0

Ww
Water Content , w(%)  100%
Ws

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Volumetric Relationships
 Volume Components:
 Volume of Solids = Vs
 Volume of Water = Vw
 Volume of Air = Va
 Volume of Voids = Va + Vw = Vv

Vv
Void Ratio, e 
Vs
Vv
Porosity , n(%)  100%
VT
CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design
Volumetric Relationships
 Volume Components:
 Volume of Solids = Vs
 Volume of Water = Vw
 Volume of Air = Va
 Volume of Voids = Va + Vw = Vv

Vw
Degree of Saturation, S (%)  100%
VV

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Specific Gravity
Weight of a Subs tan ce
Specific Gravity 
Weight of an Equal Volume of Water

Unit Weight of a Subs tan ce

Specific Gravity 
Unit Weight of Water
 Unit weight of Water, w
 w = 1.0 g/cm3 (strictly accurate at 4° C)
 w = 62.4 pcf
 w = 9.81 kN/m3

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Specific Gravity
 Iron 7.86
 Aluminum 2.55-2.80
 Lead 11.34
 Mercury 13.55

 Granite 2.69
 Marble 2.69
 Quartz 2.60
 Feldspar 2.54-2.62

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Specific Gravity, Gs

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Example: Volumetric Ratios

 Determine void ratio,

porosity and degree of
saturation of a soil core
sample
Data:
 Weight of soil sample = 1013g
 Vol. of soil sample = 585.0cm3
 Specific Gravity, Gs = 2.65
 Dry weight of soil = 904.0g

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Example

134.9cm3 Wa~0
Air
W =1.00
243.9cm3
109.0cm3 Water 109.0g

585.0cm3 1013.0g
s =2.65
341.1cm3 Solid 904.0g

Volumes Weights

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Example

134.9cm3 Air
W =1.00
243.9cm3
109.0cm3 Water
585.0cm3
s =2.65
341.1cm3 Solid
Vv 243.9
e   0.72
Vs 341.1
Volumes
Vv 243.9
n(%)   100%  100  41.7%
VT 585.0
Vw 109.0
CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design S (%)  100%  100  44.7%
Vv 243.9
 Soil Unit weight (lb/ft3 or kN/m3)

 Bulk (or Total) Unit weight

 = WT / VT
 Dry unit weight
d = W s / V T
 Buoyant (submerged) unit weight
b = - w

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Typical Unit weights

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 TWO KINDS of Soil...

 Two kinds of soil in

this world…
 COARSE
 FINE

 Basis for division is...

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Fine-Grained vs.
Coarse-Grained Soils
 U.S. Standard
Sieve - No. 200
 0.0029 inches
 0.074 mm

 “No. 200”
means...

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Sieve Analysis
(Mechanical Analysis)

 This procedure is
suitable for coarse
grained soils
 e.g. No.10 sieve ….
has 10 apertures per
linear inch

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Hydrometer
Analysis
 Also called
Sedimentation
Analysis
 Stoke’s Law

D 2 w (Gs  GL )
v
18

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Grain Size Distribution Curves

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Soil Plasticity
 Further classification within fine-grained soils
(i.e. soil that passes #200 sieve) is done
based on soil plasticity.
 Albert Atterberg, Swedish Soil Scientist
(1846-1916)…..series of tests for evaluating
soil plasticity
 Arthur Casagrande adopted these tests for
geotechnical engineering purposes

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Atterberg Limits
 Consistency of fine-grained soil varies in
proportion to the water content

liquid (pea soup)

Liquid limit
Plasticity
Index plastic (pea nut butter)
Plastic limit
semi-solid (cheese)
Shrinkage limit
solid (hard candy)
CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design
Liquid Limit (LL or wL)
 Empirical Definition
 The moisture content at which a 2
mm-wide groove in a soil pat will
close for a distance of 0.5 in when
dropped 25 times in a standard brass
cup falling 1 cm each time at a rate of
2 drops/sec in a standard liquid limit
device

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Engineering Characterization of
Soils
Soil Properties that Control its Engineering Behavior

Particle Size

coarse-grained fine-grained
Particle/Grain Size  Soil Plasticity
Distribution
Particle Shape

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Clay Morphology
 Scanning
Electron
Microscope (SEM)
 Shows that clay
particles consist
of stacks of
plate-like layers

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Soil Consistency Limits
 Albert Atterberg
(1846-1916) Swedish
Soil Scientist
….. Developed series of tests
for evaluating consistency
limits of soil (1911)
 Arthur Casagrande
(1902-1981)
……Adopted these tests for
geotechnical engineering
purposes
CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design
 Arthur Casagrande (1902-1981)
 Joined Karl Terzaghi at MIT
in 1926 as his graduate
student
 Research project funded by
Bureau of Public Roads
 After completion of Ph.D at
MIT Casagrande initiated
Geotechnical Engineering
Program at Harvard
 Soil Plasticity and Soil
Classification (1932)
CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design
Casagrande Apparatus

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Casagrande Apparatus

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Casagrande Apparatus

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Liquid Limit Determination

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Plastic Limit (PL, wP)
 The moisture content at which a thread of
soil just begins to crack and crumble when
rolled to a diameter of 1/8 inches

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Plastic Limit (PL, wP)

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Plasticity Index ( PI, IP )

 PI = LL – PL
or IP=wL-wP
 Note: These are water contents,
but the percentage sign is not
typically shown.

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Plasticity Chart

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

USCS Classification Chart

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

USCS Classification Chart

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

Plasticity Chart

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Groundwater

Zw

U = porewater pressure = wZw

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design
 Stresses in Soil Masses

X X
Area = A

 = P/A
Soil Unit
Assume the soil is fully saturated, all voids are
filled with water.
CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design
 Effective Stress

 From the standpoint of the soil skeleton, the

water carries some of the load. This has the
effect of lowering the stress level for the soil.
 Therefore, we may define
effective stress = total stress minus pore
pressure

′ =  - u where, ′ = effective stress

 = total stress
u = pore pressure

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Effective Stress

′ =  - u
 The effective stress is the force carried by
the soil skeleton divided by the total area
of the surface.
 The effective stress controls certain
aspects of soil behavior, notably,
compression & strength.

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Effective Stress Calculations

′ =  iHi - u
z

where,
H = layer thickness
sat = saturated unit weight
U = pore pressure = w Zw

When you encounter a groundwater table, you

must use effective stress principles; i.e.,
subtract the pore pressure from the total
stress.

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

 Geostatic Stresses

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

See p.79

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design

See p.79

CE 4321: Geotechnical Engineering Design