Definition and Characteristics of Soil Frost action, temperature

changes(freezing and thawing), moisture

Soil is defined as the uncemented aggregate of changes (cycles of wetting and drying),
mineral grains and decayed organic matter(solid
wind, glaciers, streams, unloading of
particles) with liquid and gas in the empty
spaces between the solid particles. rock masses (sheet jointing), and

biogenic processes (plants, animals, etc.).

 Chemical weathering

Hydrolysis, Hydration, Oxidation

Soil

The difference between residual and

transported soil is that residual soil stays above
1.1.2 Characteristic its parent rock while transported is washed
away. A parent rock is the layer of the rock
 Nonlinear Stress-Strain Behavior where soil forms from biological, biochemical,
 Heterogeneous and human activity.
 Anisotropic isotropy
 Soil behavior depends on pressure,  Residual Soil
 time and environment  Transported Soil
 Very sensitive to disturbance from Academic Classification of Geotechnical
 Sampling Anisotropy Engineering
Origin of Soil  Soil Mechanics
 Rock to soil cycle Soil mechanics is the science of
Rock Weathering Soil Rocks are constantly being equilibrium and motion of soil bodies.
formed, worn down and become soil by Here soil is understood to be the
weathering. weathered material in the upper layers
of the earth’s crust. The non-weathered
 Rock (1) material in this crust is denoted as rock,
 Weathering (2) and its mechanics is the discipline of
 Soil (3) rock mechanics. In general the
difference between soil and rock is
Rock roughly that in soils it is possible to dig a
trench with simple tools such as a spade
 Igneous rock or even by hand.
 Sedimentary rock
 Metamorphic rock

Weathering

 Mechanical weathering
 Rock Mechanics  Slope Stability

The field of slope stability encompasses

Rock mechanics is a theoretical and
the analysis of static and dynamic
applied science of the mechanical
behavior of rock and rock masses; stability of slopes of earth and rock-fill
compared to geology, it is that branch dams, slopes of other types of
of mechanics concerned with the
response of rock and rock masses to embankments, excavated slopes, and
the force fields of their physical natural slopes in soil and soft rock.
environment.

 Tunnel Engineering
 Foundation Engineering There are a lots of tunnel type such as
Foundation Engineering is the an underground or underwater
engineering field of study devoted to passageway, enclosed except for
the design of those structures which entrance and exit etc. But they have
support other structures, most typically same
buildings, bridges or transportation
infrastructure. It is at the periphery of purpose, to connect more people and
Civil, Structural and Geotechnical places. Tunnel engineering is to make
Engineering disciplines and has distinct tunnels possible in every kinds of land
focus on soil-structure interaction. conditions.

 Earth Retaining Structures  Soil Improvement

Earth retaining structures or systems The main goal of most soil improvement
are used to hold back earth and techniques used for reducing
maintain a difference in the elevation of
the ground surface. liquefaction hazards is to avoid large
increases in pore water pressure during

earthquake shaking. This can be

 Highway Engineering achieved by densification of the soil
Highway engineering is an engineering and/or
discipline branching from civil improvement of its drainage capacity
engineering that involves the planning,  Earth Dam
design, construction, operation, and
An earth dam is a dam built with highly
maintenance of roads, bridges, and compacted earth. This dam is classified
tunnels to ensure safe and effective
as a type of embankment dam, being
transportation of people and goods. built in the shape of an embankment or
 wedge which blocks a waterway. These  Foundations
dams have been built by various human  Shallow Foundations

societies for centuries, and they Shallow foundations are, usually,

continue to be produced in some embedded from one to two meters
regions of the beneath the final finish elevation.

world when they appear to be suitable  Deep Foundations

for the location and intended use.
A deep footing is an engineered
structure used to transfer load from a
structure to
 Geo-environmental Engineering
stronger deeper soil layers or bedrock.
Geo Environmental Engineering is a
Different types of deep foundations
geotechnical and environmental
include driven
consultancy
piles, drilled piles, drilled shafts,
dealing in the design, implementation
caissons, piers, earth stabilized
and project management of cost
columns, and helical piles.
effective

site assessments and ground

investigations.  Bearing capacity

The bearing capacity of soil is the

average contact stress between a
 Soil Dynamics
foundation and the
Soil dynamics deals with behavior of
soil which will cause shear failure in the
soil, material properties of soil under
soil. Allowable bearing stress is the
dynamic stress and foundations under bearing
dynamic loads, vary in their magnitude,
capacity divided by a factor of safety.
direction or position with time. And soil
 Soil as a Construction Material
dynamics analysis is usually about the
 Slopes and Excavations
stability of earth supported/ retaining  Underground and Earth Retaining
structures. Structures
 Special Problems
 (1) Vibration
Soil Problems in Geotechnical  (2) Blasting and Earthquake
Engineering  (3) Soil Contaminant
 (4) Frost
Solution of Geotechnical Engineering Problems Micro-nutrients: B, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cl

• Soil Texture
 % Sand, Silt, and Clay in a soil mass.
 Soil Texture is not subject to change in
the field but can be changed in potting
“mixed”

Soil Texture
Soil texture provides information about:
 1. Water holding capacity
 2. Absorption of nutrient/fertility
potential/leaching
 3. Water flow potential/aeration or
air and water
movement
 4. Suitability for many urban uses

 Physical Properties
1. Texture
2. Structure
3. Bulk Density
4. Particle Density
5. Pore Space
6. Consistency
7. Color
8. Soil water/Moisture

Importance of soil physical properties

  Movement of water and solutes over and

through the soil
  Used to classify soil
  Used in determining the suitability of soils
for proposed uses

SOIL AS A POROUS MEDIUM

 Physical support of plants

 Provides water and air
 Provides essential elements

Macro-nutrients: N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S

For coarse Fragments > 2 mm CLAY
 Gravels (2 mm – 75mm)
  Aluminum-silicate minerals
 cobbles (3 mm – 254mm)
 Smallest of the three soil separates
 boulders (254mm – 609.6mm)
(< 0.002 mm)
SAND  10,000 particles laid down = 1 inch
 Large surface area exposed
  small rock fragments and hard
(spoonful = football field)
minerals (quartz)
 Very sticky and plastic when wet
 < 2 mm to > 0.02 mm
 Easily formed into long ribbons
 Visible without a microscope
 Pore spaces are very small
 Rounded or angular
 Movement of air and water very
 Sand grains usually quartz if sand looks
slow
white and it is brown if it has many
  Can adsorb more water but not all
minerals
available for plants
 Large nutrient-holding capacity
 High clay is hard to plow,
 Some sands in soils will be brown,
compacted & poor drainage but has
yellow, or red because of Fe and/or Al++
good water-holding capacity
+ oxide coatings.
 Feels gritty
Soil Texture Determination
 Considered non-cohesive — does not
stick together in a mass unless it is very
 Feel/Roll method
wet
A. Feel method.
o Sand soils
  Low specific surface area
o Silty soils
  Fewer nutrients for plants than
o Clayey soils
smaller particles
= feels gritty and rough
  Voids between sand particles promote
= smooth and floury
free drainage and early entry of air
= plastic and sticky
  Holds little water and is prone to
drought
B. Roll method.
  Moderate amount of sand in soil
o Sandy soils do not form rods
improves drainage, aeration, and tilth
o Medium textured (loam & silt loam) -
SILT breaks
easily when the loop is formed.
 Ground-up sand (quartz) and rock o Clayey soils (Silty clay, Sandy clay &
minerals Clay) - form
 <0.02 mm to >0.002 mm a continuous rod and can be molded
 Does not feel gritty into a ring
 Floury feel-smooth without cracking or breaking.
 Wet silt does not exhibit
stickiness/plasticity
 Does not release many nutrients for
plant growth
  Sieve method May shrink/swell – depends upon the type of
Seive method clay minerals
 True only to soil
particles of sandy soil
 Makes use of the sieve, C. Medium textured soils
60 mesh sieve (coarse)
and 100 mesh (fine) Loams,Clay loams,Sandy loams,Silt loams
 Pipette method
 Hydrometer method
Based on the principle expressed by
STOKE’S LAW. It states
that the settling velocity (v) for spherical
particles in viscous
medium is equal to the square of the
diameter (D) of the
particle multiplied by a constant (K).

SOIL TEXTURAL CLASSES AND MANAGEMENT

A. Coarse texture soils: <18 % clay and > 65 %

sand.

 Sand (85 % or more sand)

 Loamy sands (75-85 %)

 Sandy loam (43-52 % sand)

 Hold low amounts of water and nutrients.

Irrigate and apply

fertilize frequently

 Not highly erosive – less runoff

 Very permeable – good for waste disposal

B. Fine textured soils

Clays, Sandy clays, and Silty clays: 40 % clay and

higher, 45 % sand and < 40 silt

Hold large amounts of nutrients and water

Erosive – slow infiltration, high runoff /much

erosion

Slow permeability – often unacceptable for

septic tanks