Technological University of the Philippines

Ayala Blvd. Ermita, Manila

College of Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering




CE 410 4A
Soil Mechanics



Assignment No. 1
Introduction to Soil Mechanics





Fesalbon, Mayson R.
10-205-041
June 25, 2013




Engr. Jesus Ray M. Mansayon
Instructor








Soil Mechanics Geotechnical Engineering Foundation Engineering


Soil Mechanics
In general, Soil Mechanics is the branch of science that deals
with the study of the physical properties of soil and the
behaviour of soil masses subjected to various types of forces.

[1]

Karl Terzaghi, the father of modern soil mechanics
[2]
,
defined soil mechanics as follows:

Soil Mechanics is the application of the laws of
mechanics and hydraulics to engineering problems dealing
with sediments and other unconsolidated accumulations of
solid particles produced by the mechanical and chemical
disintegration of rocks regardless of whether or not they
contain an admixture of organic constituents.
[3]





It differs from fluid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids
(usually air and water) and particles (usually clay, silt, sand, and gravel) but soil may also contain
organic solids, liquids, and gasses and other matter. Soil mechanics is used to analyse the
deformations of and flow of fluids within natural and man-made structures that are supported on
or made of soil, or structures that are buried in soils.
[4]
The term Soil Mechanics is now accepted
quite generally to designate the discipline of engineering science which deals with the properties
and behaviour of soil as a structural material.
[3]


Our main objective in the study of soil mechanics is to lay down certain principles, theories and
procedures for the design of a safe and sound structure.
[3]


Geotechnical Engineering
Geotechnical engineering is the sub-discipline of civil engineering that involves natural materials
found close to the surface of the earth. It includes the application of the principles of soil
mechanics and rock mechanics to the design of foundations, retaining structures and earth
structures.
[1]
It requires knowledge of strength and stiffness of soils and rocks, methods of
analyses of structures and hydraulics of groundwater flow.
[5]


Foundation Engineering
Foundation engineering is an engineering field of study that deals to the design of those
structures which support other structures like buildings, bridges or transportation infrastructures
under different soil and environment conditions. It is at the periphery
of Civil, Structural and Geotechnical Engineering disciplines and has distinct focus on soil-
structure interaction.
[3][6]
Karl Terzaghi (1883 - 1963)
Source:
http://benriya.files.wordpress.com/
2008/10/terzagi.jpg?w=198&h=300

Major Periods of Geotechnical Engineering
[7]

The record of a persons first use of soil as a construction material is lost in antiquity. For years,
the art of geotechnical engineering was based on only past experiences through successive
experimentation without any scientific character. Based on experimentations, many structures
were built some of which have crumbled while others are still standing.

Date Event
2750 B.C.
The five most important pyramids (Saqqarah, medium, Dashmur South and
North and Cheops) were built in Egypt.
2000 B.C.
Dykes were built in the basin of the Indus to protect the town of Mohenjo
Dara (Pakistan)
1120 B.C. to 249 B.C. Dykes were built in China during the Chan dynasty for irrigation purposes.
68 A.D. Thousands of pagodas were built in China during the Eastern Han dynasty.
1173 A.D. The construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy began.
12
th
Century The Garisenda Tower was built in Bologna, Italy.



The Leaning Tower of Pisa weighs about 15,600
metric tons and is supported by a circular base
having a diameter of 20 m. The tower has tilted in
the past to the east, north, west and finally to the
south. Investigations showed that the weak clay
layer exist a depth about 11m below the ground
surface compression which caused the tower to tilt.
It was closed in1990 because of it was feared to
collapse with more than 5m out of plumb.

It has been stabilized by excavating soil from under
the north side of the tower. About 70 metric tons of
earth was removed in 41 separate extractions that
spanned the width of the tower.





Leaning Tower of Pisa
Source:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-
3ijUwVQcmN0/UNAShgdfUBI/AAAAAAAAf88
/FtYVvmFciEw/s1600/Super+Goof+Pisa.jpg

Other structures below also exhibited tilting that may account for the soil-bearing capacity in the
construction of the said structures.





After encountering several foundation related problems during the construction over the past
centuries, engineers and scientist began to address the properties and behaviours of soils in a
more methodical manner starting the early part of the 18
th
century. The time span from 1700 to
1927 was divided into four major periods based on the emphasis and the nature of study in
geotechnical engineering.

1. Pre-classical (1700 to 1766 A.D.)
2. Classical Soil Mechanics Phase I (1776 to 1865 A.D.)
3. Classical Soil Mechanics Phase II (1856 to 1910 A.D.)
4. Modern Soil Mechanics (1910 to 1927 A.D.)


Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-
M4v3aWbx6Uc/TtfqwZ8zAJI/AAAAAAAABnI/q98m3tkzMeU/s1600/20111029_WOC000.gif
Pre-classical Period of Soil Mechanics (1700 to 1766 A.D.)
This period concentrated on the studies relating the natural slope and unit weights of various
types of soil.

Henri Gautier (1660 - 1737). Henri Gautier is a French royal engineer who studied in
1717 the natural slopes of soil when tipped in a heap for formulating the design
procedures of retaining walls. According to the study, the following results were obtained:

Classification of Soil
Natural
Slope
Unit Weight
kN/m
3
lb/ft
3
Clean Dry Sand 31 18.1 115
Ordinary Earth 45 13.4 85


Bernard Forest de Belidor (1671 - 1761). He published a textbook for military and civil
engineers in France. In his book, he proposed a theory of lateral earth pressure on
retaining walls as a follow-up on Gautiers original study. He also specified a soil
classification system shown in the table below.











Francois Gadroy (1705 - 1759). A French engineer who reported the first laboratory
model test results on a 76-mm-high retaining wall built with sand backfill in 1746. He also
observed the existence of slip planes in the soil at failure.


Classical Period of Soil Mechanics Phase I (1776 to 1856)

Charles Augustin Coulomb (1736 - 1806). A French scientist who presented a report
using the principles of maxima and minima to determine the true position of the sliding
surface in soil behind a retaining wall in 1776. He also used the laws of friction and
cohesion for solid bodies.

Classification
Unit Weight
kN/m
3
lb/ft
3
Rock - -
Firm or hard sand 16.7 to 106 to
Compressible Sand 18.4 117
Ordinary earth (found in dry locations) 13.4 85
Soft earth (primarily silt) 16.0 102
Clay 18.9 120
Peat - -
Jacques Frederic Francais (1775 - 1833) & Claude Louis Marie Henri Navier (1785 -
1836). Their study is related to inclined backfills and backfills supporting surcharge.

Jean Victor Poncelet (1788 - 1867). An army engineer and professor of mechanics
provides a graphical method for determining the magnitude of lateral earth pressure on
vertical and inclined retaining walls with arbitrarily broken polygonal ground surfaces. He
was also the first to use the Greek letter Phi for soil friction angle. He also provided the
first ultimate-bearing capacity theory for shallow foundations.

Alexandre Collins (1808 - 1890). In 1846, he provides the details for deep ships in clay
slopes, cutting and embankments. He also observed that the actual failure surfaces could
be approximated as arcs and cycloids.

William John Macquorn Rankine (1820 - 1872). In 1852, he published a study on
theory on earth pressure and equilibrium of earth masses that ends the Phase I of
classical soil mechanics.


Classical Period of Soil Mechanics Phase II (1856 to 1910)

Henri Philibert Gaspard Darcy (1803 - 1858). A French engineer who published a study
on the permeability of sand filters in 1856. He defined the term coefficient of permeability
or hydraulic conductivity of soil.

Sir George Howard Darwin (1845 - 1912). A professor in astronomy who conducted
laboratory tests to determine the overturning moment on a hinged wall retaining sand in
loose and dense state of compaction.

Joseph Valentin Boussinesq (1842 - 1929). He published a development of the theory
of stress distribution under loaded bearing areas in a homogenous, semi -infinite, elastic
and isotropic medium in 1885.

Osborne Reynolds (1842 - 1912). He demonstrated the phenomenon of dilatency of
sand in 1887.


Modern Soil Mechanics (1910 to 1927)

Albert Mauritz Attenberg (1848 - 1916). A Swedish chemist and soil scientist who
defined clay-size fractions as a percentage by weight of particles smaller than 2 microns
in size in 1908. In 1911, he explained the consistency of cohesive soils by defining liquid,
plastic and shrinkage limits. He also defined the plasticity index as the difference
between liquid limit and plastic limit.

Jean Fontard (1884 - 1962). A French engineer who carried out an investigation to
determine the cause of failure of the 17-m high earth dam in Charmes, France that
happened on October 1909. He conducted undrained double shear test on clay
specimens (0.77 m
2
& 200 mm thick) under constant vertical stress to determine shear
strength parameters.

Arthur Langley Bell (1874 - 1956). A civil engineer who worked in the design and
construction of the outer sea wall at Rosyth Dockyard. He developed relationships for
lateral pressure and resistance in clay as well as bearing capacity of shallow foundations
in clay. He also used shear-box test to measure the undrained shear strength of
undisturbed clay specimens.

Wolmar Fellenius (1876 - 1957). An engineer from Sweden who developed the stability
analysis of saturated clay slopes ( = 0) with the assumption that the critical surface of
sliding is the arc of the circle.

Karl Terzaghi (1883 - 1963). An Austrian who developed the theory of consolidation for
clays. It was published in his book Erdbaumechanik in 1925.

SOIL Its Origin and Types

The term Soil comes with different meanings, depending on the general field in which it is
considered and used.
[8]

To an Agriculturist:
Soil is the top thin layer of earth within which organic forces are predominant and which is
responsible for the support of plant life.
[8]

To a Geologist:
Soil is the material in the relative thin surface zone within which roots occur and all the
rest of the crust is grouped under the term rock irrespective of its hardness.
[9]


To an ENGINEER:
Soil is the uncemented aggregate of mineral grains and decayed organic matter (solid
particles) with liquid and gas in the empty spaces between the solid particles.
[1]


Soil includes all earth materials, organic and inorganic, occurring in the zone overlying
the earths crust.
[8]


Soil is also defined as a natural aggregate of mineral grains, with or without organic
constituents, which can be separated by mechanical means such as agitation of water.
[10]
Origin of Soil
In general, soils are formed by weathering of rocks. The physical properties of soil are derived
primarily by the minerals that constitute the soil particles and, hence, the rock from which is
derived.
[8]


From the knowledge that soils comes from the weathering of rocks, this section will discuss its
process of weathering and the rock cycle.

Weathering
[9][10]
Weathering is a process of breaking down rocks by mechanical and chemical processes into
smaller pieces to form soil or loose particles at or near the Earths surface. There are two types of
weathering which are the mechanical weathering and chemical weathering.

Mechanical Weathering. Mechanical weathering is a type of weathering where the
physical characteristics of a rock have been changed like change in size, shape, texture,
etc. It may be caused by the expansion and contraction of rocks from the continuous gain
and loss of heat which results in ultimate disintegration. Other physical agents that help
disintegrate rocks are glacier ice, wind, running water in rivers and streams, and ocean
waves.

Chemical Weathering. Chemical weathering is a type of weathering in which the original
rock is transformed into new minerals by means of a chemical reaction. In this type of
weathering, water plays an important role by providing oxygen and mobility of moving
ions that will cause a chemical reaction. The rate of chemical weathering depends on
three factors: temperature, surface area of the rock exposed and availability of water or
natural acid. Thus, tropical environment experiences most severe chemical weathering.


Transportation of Weathering Products. The products of weathering may stay in the same
place or may be moved to other places by different causes. The soils formed by the weathered
products at their place of origin are called residual soils. An important characteristic of residual
soil is the gradation of particle size. Fine grained soil is found at the surface, and the grain size
increases with depth. At greater depth, angular rock fragments may also be found. Transported
soil may be classified according to their mode of transportation and deposition.

1. Glacial soils formed by the 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 and deposited by the wind
5. Aeolian soils transported and deposited by the wind
6. Colluvial soils formed by the movement of soil by gravity



Types of Soil

According to their Particle Size
[14]
Soils generally are called gravel, sand, silt or clay, depending on the predominant size of particles
within the soil. Several organizations developed particle-size classification of soil.


Name of Organization
Grain Size (mm)
Gravel Sand Silt Clay
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT)
>2 2 to 0.06 0.06 to 0.002 <0.002
US Department of Agriculture
(USDA)
>2 2 to 0.05 0.05 to 0.002 <0.002
American Association of State
Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO)
76.2 to 2 2 to 0.075 0.075 to 0.002 <0.002
Unified Soil Classification System 76.2 to 4.75 4.75 to 0.075 <0.075 <0.075









Illustration of Particle-Size of Soil
Source: http://selectsg.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/dirt-sizes.275203602_std.jpg

According to their Origin
[15]
On the basis of origin of their constituents, soils can be divided into two large groups:

Residual Soils. Residual soils are those that remain at the place of their formation as a
result of the weathering of parent rocks. The depth of residual soils depends primarily on
climatic conditions and the time of exposure. Its sizes of grains are indefinite.

Transported Soils. Transported soils are soils that are found at locations far removed
from their place of formation. The agents of transport of these soils are the same as the
modes of transportation of the weathering products as discussed earlier on the topic
about weathering.


Soils that are generally used in practice
[15]

Bentoite is a clay formed by the decomposition of volcanic ash with a high content of
montmorillonite. It exhibits the properties of clay to an extreme degree.

Varved Clays consist of thin alternating layers of silt and fat clays of glacial origin. They possess
the undesirable properties of both silt and clay.

Kaolin, China Clay is very pure forms of white clay used in ceramic industry.

Boulder Clay is a mixture of an unstratified sediment deposit of glacial clay, containing unsorted
rock fragments of all sizes ranging from boulders, cobbles and gravel to finely pulverize clay
material.

Calcareous Soil is a soil containing calcium carbonate. Such soil effervesces when tested with
weak hydrochloric acid.

Marl consists if a mixture of calcareous sands, clays or loam.

Hardpan is a relatively hard, densely cemented soil layer, like rock which does not soften when
wet.

Caliche is an admixture of clay, sand and gravel cemented by calcium carbonated deposited
from ground water.

Peat is a fibrous aggregate of finer fragments of decayed vegetable matter. It is very
compressible and should be cautious when using it for supporting foundations of structures.

Loam is a mixture of sand, silt and clay.

Shale is a material in the state of transition from clay to slate. When exposed to air or to take in
water, it rapidly decomposes.



ROCKS Its Origin and Cycle

Rock can be defined as a compact, semi-hard to hard mass of natural material composed of one
or more minerals. The rocks are encountered at the surface of the earth or beneath and are
commonly classified into three groups according to their modes of origin: igneous, sedimentary
and metamorphic rocks which are also inter-correlated to each other by a cycle called the rock
cycle.
[8]

The Rock Cycle
Since soil came from weathered rocks, the rock cycle contributes a great part in the origin and
formation of soil.


The Rock Cycle
Source: http://etap.org/demo/Earth_Science/es3/1003_rock_cycle.jpg
Igneous Rocks. Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of molten magma
ejected from within the earths mantle. After a volcanic eruption, some of the molten
magma cools on the surface of the earth. Sometimes magma ceases its mobility below
the earths surface and cools to form intrusive igneous rocks that are called plutons.
[11]

There are two main classes of igneous rocks. They are the following:
[8]


1. Extrusive these are igneous rocks that poured out at the atmosphere
2. Intrusive these are igneous rocks that have been formed below the earths
surface.

Sedimentary Rocks. Sedimentary rocks are formed when the products of the
disintegration and decomposition of any rock type are transported, redeposited and partly
or fully consolidated or cemented into a new type of rock.
[17]


Methamorphic Rocks. Methamorphic rocks are formed when an any type of rock
undergoes a process called metamorphism.
[16]
Metamorphism is a process when a rock
undergoes a complete or incomplete crystallization by high temperature, high pressures
and/or high shearing stresses without melting the rock.
[16][17]





Application of Soil Mechanics

Soil mechanics is a discipline that applies principles from engineering mechanics to predict the
mechanical behaviour of soils. Every man-made structure needs foundations to support the
forces applied to it. Any structure that is built lies on the ultimate foundation the earth.
[18]


That is why we need to study the behaviour of the soil and its interaction with the structures we
are going to build to ensure the safety of the people who will use it.
[18]



Civil Engineering. One major field of application of soil mechanics is in the field of civil
engineering. Consider the suspension bridge shown on the next page. In the analysis of a
suspension bridge, the loads on the roadway that is suspended from two main cables by means
of vertical hangers transfer to the main cables. The forces acting on the main cables will pass
over a pair of towers that are anchored into a solid rock or concrete foundation at their ends.
[19]


Same principle will also be exhibited to other types of structures. The knowledge on the lateral
earth pressure, soil-bearing capacity and slope stability of soil mechanics will be very much
helpful in the construction of any structures.





Environmental Geotechnics. Soil mechanics plays a very important role in the design,
construction, operation and maintenance of new waste disposal and containment facilities; and in
the isolation of contaminated ground. The following must be considered in a landfill that requires
knowledge and application of soil mechanics:
[20]

1. The landfill must be safe against several possible types of stability failure.
2. The landfill must be able to withstand earthquake shaking, without gross stability
failure, rupture of linear system or failure of leachate collection and removal system.
3. The foundation soils must be able of supporting the tailing embankment.
4. The dam must be stable under both static and seismic loading at different stages of
construction and after completion to maximum height.
5. Stability of slurry trenches during excavation
6. Stresses and deformation of the ground adjacent to the slurry trench and their
potential adverse effects on structures and facilities.


Geotechnical Engineering. Geotechnical engineering uses principles of soil
mechanics and mechanics to investigate subsurface conditions and materials; determine the
relevant physical/mechanical and chemical properties of these materials; evaluate stability of
natural slopes and man-made soil deposits; assess risks posed by site conditions;
design earthworks and structure foundations; and monitor site conditions, earthwork and
foundation construction.
[21]
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay
Source: http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/800px-GoldenGateBridge-001.jpg


Mining. There are many applications of unsaturated soil in the mining field. This include the
wetting up and drain down of initially dry surface waste rock dumps; the irrigation and drain down
of heap leach materials; drain down, desiccation and rewetting of mine tailings; dewatering of
mineral products such as coal; the strength and compressibility of stored mine wastes by way of
rehabilitation.
[22]


































References:

[1]
Das, B.M. (2010). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 7
th
Edition, Cengage Learning,
pp.19-22
[2]
Das, B.M. (2010). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 7
th
Edition, Cengage Learning, p.10
[3]
Murthy, V.N.S. Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Dhanpat Rai and Sons, p.24
[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_mechanics
[5]
Atkinson, J. (2007). The Mechanics of Soils and Foundation, 2
nd
Edition, Taylor and Francis
Group, p.3
[6]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_engineering
[7]
Das, B.M. (2010). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 7
th
Edition, Cengage Learning, pp.1-
7
[8]
Murthy, V.N.S. Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Dhanpat Rai and Sons, p.26
[9]
http://www.eng.fsu.edu/~tawfiq/soilmech/lecture.html
[10]
Murthy, V.N.S. Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Dhanpat Rai and Sons, p.28
[11]
Das, B.M. (2010). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 7
th
Edition, Cengage Learning, p.15
[12]
Das, B.M. (2010). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 7
th
Edition, Cengage Learning,
pp.19-22
[13]
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~lanbo/CE240LectW012Rock2soil.pdf
[14]
Das, B.M. (2010). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 7
th
Edition, Cengage Learning, p.24
[15]
Murthy, V.N.S. Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Dhanpat Rai and Sons, pp.29-30
[16]
Das, B.M. (2010). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 7
th
Edition, Cengage Learning, p.23
[17]
Murthy, V.N.S. Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, Dhanpat Rai and Sons, pp.27
[18]
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_importance_of_soil_mechanics_in_civil_engineering
[19]
Kassimali, A. (2010) Strucutral Analysis, 4
th
Edition, Cengage Learning, p.8
[20]
Mitchell, J.K. (1995). The Role of Soil Mechanics in Environmental Geotechnics, The 3
rd

Spencer J. Buchanan Lecture, pp.2-5
[21]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geotechnical_engineering
[22]
Williams, D.J. Some Mining Application of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, pp.1-20