Soil Mechanics
Er. Sushil Adhikari
Department of Civil and Geomatics Engineering,
Pashchimanchal campus
SYLLABUS
Chapter Descriptions Hours
1 Introduction 1
2 Solids-water-air relation and index 5
properties of soils
3 Soil classification and identifications 4
4 Soil structure and clay minerals 2
5 Soil compaction 3
6 Principal of effective stress, capillary 5
and permeability
7 Seepage through soil 4
SYLLABUS
Chapter Descriptions Hours
8 Vertical stresses below applied loads 4
9 Compressibility of soil 6
10 Shear strength of soil 6
11 Stability of slopes 5
INTERNAL EVALUATION
• Assessment + Assignment = 20 marks
• Practical + Viva + Attendance + Discipline =
25 marks
FINAL EVALUATION = 80 marks
TOTAL = 125 marks
SUGGESTED REFERENCE BOOKS
1 Terzaghi K and Peck.R. B. John Wiley "Soil
mechanics in Engineering Practice", New York.
2 Braja M. Das "Principles of Geotechnical
Engineering', Thomson/Brookcole
3 Joseph E Bowles 'Physical and Geological
Properties of Soils", McCraw Hill Co. Ltd.
4 Gopal Ranjan and ASR Rao, "Basic and Applied
Soil Mechanics', New Age lnternational
publishers.
5
SUGGESTED REFERENCE BOOKS
5. K. R. Arora, "Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering‘ Standard Publisher Distribution.
6. S.R. Kaniraj, "Design Aids in Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering", Tata McGraw Hill
Education Limited.
7. V.N.S. Murthy 'A Text Book of Soil Mechanics
and Foundation Engineering in Sl units"UBS
Publishers Distributors Ltd.
8. Dr. Sehgal S.B, "A Text Book of Soil Mechanics' ,
CBS Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi
6
INTRODUCTION
Soil
The word soil is derive from the Latin word solum.
It is the branch of soil physics and applied mechanics that
descried the behavior of soil.
Branch of civil engineering that studies the mechanical
(load bearing) properties of soil which vary according to
the soil’s air, water and mineral content.
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INTRODUCTION
Soil Mechanics
Soil mechanics is a branch of Civil Engineering concerned with
the study of soil and its behavior under different types of loads
using the principles of engineering mechanics, fluid mechanics,
mechanics of dynamics, thermal dynamics, etc.
Geotechnical Engineering
Geotechnical engineering deals with the application of soil
mechanics to civil engineering field problems.
Soil mechanics is a science, but its application is an art.
(Karl Terzaghi)
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOIL MECHANICS
Development of structure from cave to modern structure.
Base on art of using earth as a construction material
Base on experience and modification
Land marks
Pyramids of Egypt
Hanging garden of Babylonian
Great wall of china
Pam island
1776- Theory of earth pressure – Coulomb
1856 – Darcy’s law of permeability and stokes law of velocity
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOIL MECHANICS
1871 – Mohr’s rupture theory and Mohr’s stress circles
1885 – Stress distribution – Boussinesq’s theory
1911 – Atterberg limits
1925 – First text book of soil mechanics ( By Terzaghi)
Landmarks in understanding of soil behavior. So,
called the father of soil mechanics.
The growth of literature in soil mechanics after second
world war has been phenomenal.
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SOIL FORMATION
Soil is formed due to the weathering of rocks.
Weathering
Weathering is a process whereby an intact rock mass
is decomposed or broken into a loose material by the
action of various atmospheric agents.
Types of Weathering
1. Mechanical/Physical Weathering
2. Chemical Weathering
1
MECHANICAL WEATHERING
Mechanical weathering •Soils formed by mechanical
agents; weathering have the same
1. Temperature changes composition as that of the parent
2. Freezing & Thawing rock.
3. Erosion/Abrasion due to •Soils formed by mechanical
flowing of water/wind weathering retains the minerals
and material fibers as that of the
4. Natural disasters parent rock.
(landsides, earthquakes,
etc) •Coarse grained soils (gravels,
sands and their mixtures) are the
5. Activities by plants, examples of mechanical
animals, humans, etc. weathering.
1
CHEMICAL WEATHERING
• Weathering caused by • Chemical weathering
decomposition of rock processes;
mineral by different chemical 1. Oxidation
processes such as oxidation,
2. Carbonation
hydration, carbonation,
leaching, solution, etc is 3. Hydration
known as chemical 4. Leaching
weathering. 5. Solution
• Different types of clays
and organic soils are the
common soils formed by
chemical weathering.
1
ROCK-SOIL CYCLE
Igneous
Rocks
Weathering
Weathering
Sedimentary Weathering Metamorphic
Rocks SOIL
compression + Rocks
cementation
Heat + Pressure + Solution
1
SOIL DEPOSITS
1. Residual soil deposits (at the base of parent rock)
i. Coarse grained
ii. Fine grained
2. Transported soil deposits
i. Alluvial deposits (river basin)
ii. Aeolian deposits (desert)
iii. Colluvial deposits (at base of hill or mountain)
iv. Glacial deposits (Mountain or Himal)
v. Lucastrine deposits (Lake basin)
vi. Marine deposits (Sea basin)
vii. Pyroclastic deposits (volcano)
3. Organic soil deposits
i. Peat (partially decomposed organic matter)
ii. Muck (completely decomposed organic matter)
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RESIDUAL vs TRANSPORTED SOILS
Residual soils Transported soils
Deposited at the place of Moved and deposited at
decomposition. other places.
• Properties of coarse grained Particle size generally depends
soils generally depend upon on mode of transportation
size of particles.
Transported soils can be
• Properties of fine-grained categorize based on the mode
soils are greatly influenced by of transportation and
mineral content, moisture deposition.
content, etc.
• The knowledge of "classical"
geotechnical engineering is
mostly based on behavior of
transported soils. The
understanding of residual
soils is insufficient in general. 16
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