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Outcomes Based Teaching & Learning

(OBTL)
Course Title : Soil Mechanics
Course Code: CA3687
Course Aims: The course introduces basic concepts in soil
mechanics, encompassing physical and mechanical
properties of different types of soil. The course forms a
foundation for students to take advanced geotechnical
courses.
Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)
Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs)
Assessment Tasks/Activities

Outcomes Based Teaching & Learning


(OBTL)
Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

No.
1

CILOs

interpret soil physical and mechanical properties from data


obtained in laboratory experiments;

predict soil behavior under compression and shearing, and


water flow in soil; and

Characterize soil behavior using stress paths and soil models.

experience the procedures in carrying out laboratory tests for


basic soil properties which are commonly used in the
construction industry;

Outcomes Based Teaching & Learning


(OBTL)
Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs):
Semester Hours: 4 hours per week

No. TLAs
Hands-on experience during laboratory sessions
1

Hours
18

Introduction in each laboratory session


Question and answer mode of learning during laboratory
sessions
Examples and exercises during lectures

10

Lectures
Experimental based demonstrations during lectures
Examples and exercises during lectures

12

Lectures
Examples and exercises during lectures

12

Outcomes Based Teaching & Learning


(OBTL)
Assessment Tasks/Activities:
Coursework: 50%; Examination: 50%

CILO No. Type of assessment tasks/activities


Laboratory reports
1
2

3
4

Laboratory reports
Assignments and quiz
Final examination
Assignments and quiz
Final examination
Assignments and quiz
Final examination

Course Organisation
Lecturers:

Dr Yu Wang & Dr Shiyu Xu (lectures and laboratory)


PhD students (laboratory)

Lectures:

Tuesday 13:00 14:50 (AC1 LT-11)

Laboratory
Session:

*Begin in week 4
Tuesday (L01), Thursday (L02, L03)
Soil Mechanics and Geology Laboratory
(FYW 2330, via Lift 11)

Coursework:

Laboratory test reports


20% of the final grade
Assignments and quiz
30% of the final grade

Examinations: Final examination


50% of the final grade

Course Overview
Topic 1 Basic soil properties
Topic 2 Stresses in soil
Topic 3 Soil hydraulics
Topic 4 Soil compression and Consolidation
Topic 5 Shear strength
Topic 6 Stress paths
Topic 7 Critical state theory
Topic 8 Soil models

Textbook:
Craig R.F. (2004). Craigs soil mechanics. 7th edition, Spon Press
Available at CityU Bookstore
6th edition, available online through CityU library
(TA710 .C685 1997eb World Wide Web)

Why do we need to study Soil Mechanics?


Foundations

Liquefaction

Why do we need to study Soil Mechanics?


Slopes

Why do we need to study Soil Mechanics?


Landslides

Why do we need to study Soil Mechanics?


Excavations

Why do we need to study Soil Mechanics?

Construction
Management

Shanghai 06/2009

Course Overview
Topic 1 Basic soil properties
Topic 2 Stresses in soil
Topic 3 Soil hydraulics
Topic 4 Soil compression and Consolidation
Topic 5 Shear strength
Topic 6 Stress paths
Topic 7 Critical state theory
Topic 8 Soil models

Textbook:
Craig R.F. (2004). Craigs soil mechanics. 7th edition, Spon Press
Available at CityU Bookstore
6th edition, available online through CityU library
(TA710 .C685 1997eb World Wide Web)

Expectation at the beginning of


the course
Engineering mathematics:
1.
2.
3.
4.

+, -, ,,
log, ln
d/dx,
Vectors

Basic physics:
1. F = ma
2. displacement, velocity and acceleration
What if the above looks unfamiliar to you?

Expectation at the end of the course


1. Describe soil properties using soil mechanics
terminology
2. Explain the purpose and methodology of
common soil experiments
3. Find out stress distribution in soil
4. Estimate water flow pattern in soil
5. Qualitatively and quantitatively describe soil
behaviour under compressive and shear
stresses
6. Characterize soil behavior using stress paths
and soil models.

Topic 1
Basic Soil Properties

Outcomes Based Teaching & Learning


(OBTL)
CILOs

experience the procedures in carrying out laboratory tests for


basic soil properties which are commonly used in the
construction industry;
interpret soil physical and mechanical properties from data
obtained in laboratory experiments;

TLAs

Lectures
Introduction in each laboratory session
Hands-on experience during laboratory sessions
Question and answer mode of learning during laboratory
sessions
Examples and exercises during lectures

Asses
sment

Laboratory reports
Assignments and quiz
Final Examination

What is Soil ?
In civil engineering and construction
industry, soil is any uncemented or
weakly cemented accumulation of mineral
particles formed by the weathering of
rocks, the void space between the
particles containing water and/or air.

Origin of Soil
All soils originates, directly or indirectly, from solid rocks.

Igneous Rock:

Sedimentary Rock:
Metamorphic Rock:

formed by cooling from hot molten


material within or the surface of the
earths crust
formed in layers from sediments settling in
water, such as seas and lakes
formed by recrystallisation of existing
solid rocks due to pressure or heat

Process of weathering: physical, chemical and biological activities


(such as action of sun, rain, water, snow, ice and frost)

Rocks in Hong Kong

Weathering

Grade I fresh
Grade II slightly weathered
Grade III moderately weathered
Grade IV highly weathered
Grade V completed weathered
Grade VI residual soil

Source: GCO(1987). Geoguide 3: Guide to Soil


and Rock Descriptions. The Government of Hong
Kong Special Administration Region. Hong Kong.

Soils in Hong Kong

Soil Mineralogy
11 oxides account for 99% by weight of the rocks in the Earths crust.
For example: Silicon oxide 59.1%
Aluminium oxide 15.2%
Common minerals:
Mineral

Grain size (m) Specific surface (m2/g)

Quartz

100

0.02

Kaolinite

0.3-2

20

Illite

0.2-2

80

Montmorillonite 0.01-1

800

Soil Composition
Demonstration
Coarse particles
Fine particles
Water
Air

Philosophy of Life
Career (?)
Family (?)
Fun (beer?)

Phase Diagram
Masses

Volumes

Ma=0
Mt

This course:

Ma=0
Mt=Ms

Va

Air

Vv

Mw

Water

Vw

Ms

Soil Particles

Vs

Vt

Partially saturated (or unsaturated) soil

Air

Soil Particles
Dry soil

Vw=Vv

Va=Vv

Mw

Vs

Ms Soil Particles Vs

Water

Saturated soil

Fundamental Definitions
1. Void ratio (e)
= Volume of voids Volume of solids = Vv/Vs
2. Specific volume (v)
= Total volume Volume of solids = (Vs+Vv)/Vs = 1+e
3. Porosity (n)
= Volume of voids Total volume = Vv/(Vs+Vv) = e/(1+e) = (v-1)/v
4. Degree of saturation (Sr)
= Volume of water Volume of voids = Vw/Vv
5. Water content (w)
= Mass of water Mass of solid = Mw/Ms

Relative Density Index (ID)


(emax e)
ID =
(emax emin )
emax = the loosest state the soil can achieve
emin = the densest state the soil can achieve under a certain
vibration energy
It gives an initial assessment of density of a soil (mainly
coarse-grained).

Density (unit weight) measurements


1. Particle density (or specific gravity) (Gs)
= (Mass of solids Volume of solids)/ Water density = Ms/(Vs w)
2. Bulk density ()
= Total mass Total volume = Mt/Vt
3. Dry density (d)
= Mass of solids Total volume = Ms/Vt
4. Saturated density (s)
= Bulk density when soil is fully saturated
5. Submerged (or effective) density (')
= - w

What is the difference between


density and unit weight?

Phase Relationships
= (1 + w) d
wGs
Sr =
e
G s w (1 + w)
=
1+ e
Gs 1
'=
w
1+ e

Gs
d =
w
1+ e

= (1 + w) d
Ms + Mw
V s + V w + Va
Ms
Mw
=
+
V s + V w + Va V s + V w + Va
Mw
= d +
V s + V w + Va

= d +

wM s
Vs + Vw + Va

= d + w d

= (1 + w) d

Example 1
1. A sample of soil is taken using a thin walled sampling tube into a soil
deposit. After the soil is extruded from the sampling tube a sample of
diameter 50 mm and length 80 mm is cut and is found to have a mass of
290 g. Soil trimmings created during the cutting process are weighed and
found to have a mass of 55 g. These trimmings are then oven dried and
found to have a mass of 45 g. Determine the phase distributions, void
ratio, degree of saturation and relevant unit weights. Given that Gs = 2.65.

Example 2
2. A sample of saturated clay was placed in a container and weighed. The
weight was 6N. The clay in its container was placed in an oven for 24
hours at 105C. The weight reduced to a constant value of 5N. The
weight of the container is 1N. If Gs=2.7, determine the (a) water content; (b)
void ratio; (c) bulk unit weight; (d) dry unit weight; and (e) effective unit
weight.

Soil Description
Based on particle size:
Particle size (mm)
0.002 0.006

0.02

0.06

0.2

0.6

20

60

fine med coarse fine med coarse fine med coarse

Clay

Silt

Fine-grained soils

Sand

Gravel

Coarse-grained soils

It may sometimes be a mixture of different things


e.g. Clayey-Silty Sand

Cobbles

Particle shape (angularity)


Kaolinite flake
(15000)

Gravels

Borehole Records

MARINE DEPOSIT
Sandy silty CLAY

Grade V CDG
Sandy clayey SILT

Particle Size Distribution


SAMPLE:......................
BOREHOLE:.................
DEPTH:..............
DATE:................

200

63.0
75.0

19.0
26.5
37.5

4.75
6.70
9.50
13.2

2.36

1.18mm

150
212
300
425
600

75 m

AUSTRALIAN STANDARD SIEVE SIZES

90

90

Well-graded90

10

80

80

80

20

70

70

70

30

60

60

60

40

50

50

50

50

40

60

40
Gap-graded

40
30

30

30

70

20

20

20

80

10

10

10

Uniform

90

100
FINE

0.0001

0.001

SAND FRACTION

SILT FRACTION

CLAY FRACTION

0.002

MEDIUM
0.006

0.01

COARSE

0.02

0.06

GRAVEL FRACTION
COBBLES

FINE
0.1

MEDIUM
0.2

COARSE
0.6

1.0

FINE
2

MEDIUM
6

10

COARSE
20

60

100

200

PARTICLE SIZE - mm
MONASH UNIVERSITY Department of Civil Engineering - Geomechanics Laboratory

RCA 16-3-1998 SEID258

PERCENTAGE RETAINED

PERCENTAGE PASSAGE

100

100

Particle Size Distribution


Characteristic Values

Percentage finer (%)

Uniformity coefficient, CU

d 60
CU =
d10

60

Coefficient of curvature, CZ
30

CZ

10
0

(
d 30 )
=

d10

d30

d10 d 60

d60

Particle size (mm)


d10=Maximum size of the smallest 10% of the sample
d30=Maximum size of the smallest 30% of the sample
d60=Maximum size of the smallest 60% of the sample

CU=1: single-sized soil


CU<3: uniform soil
CU>5: well-graded soil

How to measure Particle Size


Distribution (PSD)?
5%

2mm

10%

1.18mm

15%

0.6mm

15%

0.03mm

15%

0.15mm

15%

0.063mm

15%
90%
10%

100

50

50

Percentage retained (%)

3.35mm

Percentage finer (%)

For coarse grains (>63m), wet-sieving is used

?
100

0
Grain size (mm)

How to measure Particle Size


Distribution (PSD)?
For fine grains (<63m),
hydrometer test is used:
Soil passing the 63m sieve is mixed
with a dispersant and distilled water
and placed in a special graduated
cylinder in a state of liquid suspension.
The specific gravity of the mixture is
periodically measured using a
calibrated hydrometer to determine the
rate of settlement of
soil particles. The relative size and
percentage of fine particles are
determined based on Stokes law for
settlement of idealized spherical
particles.

Stokes law

s w 2
d
v =
18
d = particle diameter
s = unit weight of soil particle
w = unit weight of the suspension fluid
= viscosity of the suspension fluid

Soil Plasticity
Fine-grained (<63m) soils tend to be more compressible. Volume
change is associated with the amount of voids in the soil (i.e. void
ratio or water content). It is therefore important to characterise the
water storage capacity of fine-grained soil.

Plasticity Index: Ip

Atterberg Limits:

Water
Content

W SL

W PL

Ip

W LL

Soil Plasticity
Total volume of soil

Plasticity Index (Ip):

I P = wLL wPL
Activity (A):
Brittle soil

Plastic soil

wPL

Liquid

wLL

Water content (w)

Plastic limit (wPL):water content below


which the soil (clay)is brittle and crumbly

IP
A=
CC
Clay content (CC) = percentage by weight with
a particle size of < 2 m

Liquidity Index (IL):

( w wPL )
IL =
( wLL wPL )

Liquid limit (wLL): water content above


which the soil (clay) behaves as liquid
So, apart from particle size, we use the plasticity index (Ip) to classify
fine-grained soils, and make correlations to different soil properties

How to measure Atterberg Limits?


Plastic limit: Rolling-out test:
The plastic limit is arbitrarily defined as the water content at which
soil can just be rolled into 3 mm diameter threads without
crumbling.
Liquid limit: Fall-cone test:
The liquid limit is determined by
plunging a 80g stainless steel
cone with an apex angle of
30into soil. Liquid limit is
defined to have reached when
the penetration depth is exactly
20 mm.

Falling Cone Test


HOKLAS
Hong Kong
Laboratory
Accreditatio
n Scheme

Soil
Classification

What does CL
mean?

Soil Compaction
The characteristics of a soil under compaction is
reflected by Proctor compaction test.
By compacting a soil at different water
contents with a constant compaction
effort (input energy), the relationship
between soil density and water content
can be found.

Compaction Curve
Key information:
(i) Maximum dry density
(dmax)
(ii) Optimum moisture content
(wopt)
Relative Compaction (Rc):

d
Rc =
100%
d max
What if the hammer is made heavier?

Example 3
3. Cores of soil sample are extracted from the ground at a depth of about
2 m. The bulk density of the soil () is 2050 kg/m3, at an in-situ water
content of 19%. The average specific gravity (Gs) of the soil particles is
found to be 2.65. When the soil is used to carry out a standard Proctor
compaction test, the following results are obtained.
Water content, w (%)

12

15

18

21

24

Bulk density, (kg/m3)

1830 1935 1985 1980 1955

(a) Find the in-situ void ratio (e) and degree of saturation (Sr) of the soil.
(b) Plot the compaction curve and deduce the optimum water content
(wopt) and the corresponding dry density (d)
(c) If the soil is used to construct an embankment at its natural water
content of 19%, discuss the characteristics of the soil in terms of
stiffness and the vulnerability to wetting collapse as compared to its
optimum state?

Reading assignment
Chapter 1 in textbook
1.1 The nature of soils
1.2 Particle size distribution
1.3 Plasticity of fine soils
1.4 Soil description and classification
1.5 Phase relationship
1.6 Soil compaction

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