Scribd
Upload
176 views

Quicksand

Quicksand is a condition where saturated, cohesionless soil loses its shear strength and behaves like a liquid due to excess water pressure reducing effective stress to zero. It commonly forms near bodies of water where fine-grained sand or soil becomes saturated. When the upward pressure of water exceeds the soil's strength, it loses its structure and takes on properties of a liquid. Quick conditions can occur in places with layered soils of varying permeability or in areas like cofferdams where water pressure builds.

Uploaded by

alyssa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
176 views

Quicksand

Quicksand is a condition where saturated, cohesionless soil loses its shear strength and behaves like a liquid due to excess water pressure reducing effective stress to zero. It commonly forms near bodies of water where fine-grained sand or soil becomes saturated. When the upward pressure of water exceeds the soil's strength, it loses its structure and takes on properties of a liquid. Quick conditions can occur in places with layered soils of varying permeability or in areas like cofferdams where water pressure builds.

Uploaded by

alyssa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Quicksand is consisting of fine granular materials that has been saturated with water.

It
is not any special type of sand, but it is a condition of zero effective stress in
cohesionless soils.
Quick sand can not support the weight of man or animal and it behaves like a liquid with
a unit weight about twice that of water.

You're much more likely to run (or step) into quicksand near riverbanks, beaches, lake
shorelines, underground springs and marshes.
Special Case of Quicksand- Liquefaction
Soil Liquefaction describes a phenomenon whereby a saturated or partially
saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress

The shear strength of cohesionless soil depends upon the effective stress. The shear
strength is give by

Where

= effective stress.

= angle of shearing resistance.


The effective stress is reduced due to upward movement of flow of water. When the
head causing upward flow is increased, a stage is reached when the effective stress is
reduced to zero. The condition so developed is known as quick sand condition. It is the
condition when the upward water pressure gradient and water flow reduce the effective
stress. Sandy soils may lose their shear strength, and the soil may behave as a fluid.
The critical gradient is exceeded, the soil moves upward, and the soil surface
appears to be boiling. The quick condition is also known as boiling condition.

Quick condition can occur in:


-cofferdam
- layered soil sequence where the individual beds have different permeabilities.

Fun Fact:

Quicksand is denser than water and the human body is less dense than quicksand,
which means you can actually floatmore easily in quicksand than a swimming pool. If

You might also like