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Soil Characteristics and Classification Guide

Chapter Two discusses the physical characteristics of soils, including their formation, types, and classification based on texture. It highlights the differences between coarse and fine-grained soils, their engineering properties, and the phase relationships within soil, including concepts such as water content, void ratio, and specific gravity. The chapter also addresses the influence of surface forces and adsorbed water on soil behavior.

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21 views26 pages

Soil Characteristics and Classification Guide

Chapter Two discusses the physical characteristics of soils, including their formation, types, and classification based on texture. It highlights the differences between coarse and fine-grained soils, their engineering properties, and the phase relationships within soil, including concepts such as water content, void ratio, and specific gravity. The chapter also addresses the influence of surface forces and adsorbed water on soil behavior.

Uploaded by

oli222m1
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CHAPTER TWO

Physical Characteristics of
Soils

1
Chapter Objective

 Knowing soil constitutes and their relationships


 Determining particle size distribution in a soil mass
 Determining index properties of soils
 Classifying soils
Soil Formation

 Soils are formed from the physical and chemical


weathering of rocks.
 Residual soils: soils that remain at the site of
weathering.
 Alluvial soils, also called fluvial soils: soils that were
transported by rivers and streams.
 Glacial soils: soils that were transported by glaciers
(large body of ice moving slowly down a slope).
…Soil Formation

 Marine soils: soils deposited in a marine


environment.
 Loess: wind blown, uniform, fine-grained soil.
Soil Types

 In the most common geotechnical cases, soils are


classified into four based on their texture as: gravels,
sands, silts and clays.
 Gravels and sands are grouped as coarse grained
soils while silts and clays are grouped as fine grained
soils.
 The characteristics of coarse grained soils is highly
dependent on their particle size, while characterizing
fine grained soils need further information like their
mineral content.
…Soil Types

 The main groups of crystalline minerals that make up


clays are kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite.
Surface Forces and Adsorbed Water

 The surface area per unit mass (specific surface) of


sands is typically 0.01 m2 per gram, while for clays it
is as high as 1000 m2 per gram (montmorillonite).
 Because of their large surfaces, surface forces
significantly influence the behavior of fine-grained
soils compared to coarse-grained soils.
…Surface Forces and Adsorbed Water

 The surface charges on fine-grained soils are negative


(anions). These negative surface charges attract
cations and the positively charged side of water
molecules from surrounding water.
 Consequently a thin film or layer of water, called
adsorbed water, is bonded to the mineral surface.
 The thin film or layer of water is known as the diffuse
double layer.
Soil Fabric

 During deposition, the mineral particles are arranged


into structural frameworks that we call soil fabric.
 Two common types of soil fabric are flocculated and
dispersed.
Comparison of Coarse and Fine
Grained Soils for Engineering Use
Coarse Grained Soils Fine Grained Soils
They have relatively good load bearing They have relatively poor load bearing
capacity capacity
They have good drainage qualities They are practically impermeable
Their strength and volume change Their strength and volume change
characteristics are not significantly affected characteristics are affected by change in
by change in moisture conditions moisture conditions
They are practically incompressible when They are prone to settlement due to
dense, but significant volume change can moisture movement
occur when they are loose
The engineering properties of coarse- The engineering properties of fine-
grained soils are controlled mainly by the grained soils are controlled by
grain size of the particles and their mineralogical factors rather than grain
structural arrangement size
Phase Relationships

 Soil is composed of solids, liquids and gases.


 The solid phase may be mineral, organic matter, or
both.
 The spaces between the solids (soil particles) are
called voids and are filled with liquids or gases or
both where water is the predominant liquid and air is
the predominant gas.
…Phase Relationships
…Phase Relationships

 The soil water is commonly called pore water and


plays a very important role in the behavior of soils
under load.
 If all the voids are filled with water, the soil is
saturated.
 Otherwise, the soil is unsaturated.
 If the voids are filled with air the soil is said to be dry.
…Phase Relationships

 The physical properties of soils are affected by the


relative proportions of each of these phases.
 The total volume of the soil is the sum of the volume
of solids (Vs), volume of water (Vw), and the volume
of air (Va), that is:

V  Vs  Vw  Va  Vs  Vv
…Phase Relationships

 The weight of the soil is the sum of the weight of


solids (Ws), and weight of water (Ww). The weight of
air is negligible

W  Ws  Ww
 The following definitions have been established to
describe the proportion of each constituent in soil.
…Phase Relationships

1. Water content (w) is the ratio, often expressed by


percentage, of the weight of water to the weight of
solids.

Ww
w  100%
Ws
…Phase Relationships

2. Void ratio (e) is the ratio of the volume of void


space to the volume of solids.

Vv
e 
Vs
…Phase Relationships

3. Specific Volume (V’) is the volume of soil per unit


volume of solids.

V
V 
'
1 e
Vs
…Phase Relationships

4. Porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of voids to


the total volume. Porosity is usually expressed as a
percentage.
Vv
n
V
 Porosity and void ratio are related by the expression,

e
n
1 e
…Phase Relationships

5. Specific gravity (Gs) is the ratio of the weight of the


soil solids to the weight of water of equal volume:

Ws
Gs 
Vs  w
 The specific gravity of soils ranges from
approximately 2.6 to 2.8.
 For most problems, Gs can be assumed, with little
error, to be equal to 2.7.
…Phase Relationships

6. Degree of saturation (S) is the ratio, often


expressed as a percentage, of the volume of water
to the volume of voids:
Vw wGs
S  or Se  wGs
Vv e

 If S = 1 or 100%, the soil is saturated. If S = 0, the soil


is dry. It is practically impossible to obtain a soil with
S = 0.
…Phase Relationships

7. Unit weight is the weight of a soil per unit volume.


We will use the term bulk unit weight to denote the
unit weight of a soil:
W  G s  Se 
     w
V  1 e 
…Phase Relationships

 Special Cases
a. Saturated unit weight (S = 1):
 Gs  e 
 sat    w
 1 e 

b. Dry unit weight (S = 0):

Ws  G s  
d     w 
V 1  e  1 w
…Phase Relationships

 Special Cases
c. Effective or buoyant unit weight is the weight of
a saturated soil, surrounded by water, per unit
weight of soil:
 Gs  1 
   sat   w
'
   w
 1 e 
…Phase Relationships

8. Relative Density (Dr) is an index that quantifies the


degree of packing between the loosest and densest
possible state of coarse-grained soils as determined
by experiments:
emax  e
Dr 
emax  emin
…Phase Relationships

9. Swell factor (SF) or free swell factor is the ratio of


the volume of excavated material to the volume of
in situ material (sometimes called borrow pit
material or bank material):

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