SOIL MECHANICS – CIVL2210

08 – Lecture – In Situ Stresses

Semester 2, 2022
Dr Jurij Karlovšek
Acknowledgment of Country
The University of Queensland acknowledges the
Traditional Custodians of the land, on which we
meet today. Let’s pause to reflect on the fact that
we are meeting on custodial land of the oldest
living civilisation in the world.

This is a contested space, so I pay my respects to

both the Jagera people and the Turrbul people and
their Elders, past, present and emerging, for they
hold the hopes, dreams, traditions and cultures of
Aboriginal Australia.

2
Introduction
• In a given volume of soil, the solid particles are distributed randomly with void spaces between
occupied by water and/or air.

• We need to know the nature of the distribution of stress along a given cross section of the soil profile in
order to analyze problems.

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 5

Stresses in Saturated Soil without Seepage (1 of 5)
The total stress at the elevation of A is:

σ = H γ w + ( H A − H ) γ sat

H is the height of water table from the top of the soil column
𝐻𝐻𝐴𝐴 is the distance between point A and the water table
𝛾𝛾𝜔𝜔 is the unit weight of water
𝛾𝛾𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑎𝑡𝑡 is the saturated unit weight of the soil

Effective stress consideration for a saturated soil column without seepage

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 6
Stresses in Saturated Soil without Seepage (2 of 5)
• The total stress can be divided into two parts:

a) The stress carried by water through the void

spaces

b) The stress carried by the soil solids at their

points of contact

• The sum of the vertical components of the forces

developed at the points of contact of the solid
particles per unit cross-sectional area of the soil
mass is called the effective stress.

Forces acting at the points of contact of soil particles at the level of point A

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 7

Stresses in Saturated Soil without Seepage (3 of 5)
• The total stress can be approximated by:

σ= σ ′ + u
𝜎𝜎 is the total stress

𝜎𝜎′ is the effective stress

𝑢𝑢 = 𝐻𝐻𝐴𝐴 𝛾𝛾𝑤𝑤 and is referred to as neutral stress or the pore water pressure

• Effective stress is approximately the stress carried by the soil skeleton.

• The principle of effective stress is one of the most important concepts in geotechnical engineering.

• The compressibility and shearing resistance of a soil largely depend on the effective stress.

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 8

Stresses in Saturated Soil without Seepage (4 of 5)
In a general sense, the total stress is:

σ = σ ig + u (1 − as′ ) − A′ + R′
σig is the intergranular stress

aS′ = aS A is the fraction of the cross-sectional area occupied by solid-to-solid contacts

A′ and R′ are the attractive and repulsive electrical forces, respectively

For most practical soil problems, A′, R′, and as′ are very small, so:

σ ig = σ ′ ≈ σ − u

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 9

Stresses in Saturated Soil without Seepage (5 of 5)

Figure (a) Layer of soil in a tank where there is no seepage; variation of (b) total stress, (c) pore water
pressure, and (d) effective stress with depth for a submerged soil layer without seepage

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 10

Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward Seepage (1 of 3)
• The total stress at any point in the soil is a function of
the weight of the soil and the water weight above it.

At A,
- Total stress: σA = H1γw
- Pore water pressure: uA = H1γw
- Effective stress: σ′A = σA − uA = 0
At B,
- Total stress: σB = H1γw + H2γsat
- Pore water pressure: uB = (H1 + H2 + h)γw
- Effective stress: σ′B = σB − uB
= H2 (γ sat − γ w ) − hγ w
= H2γ ′ − hγ w
CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 11
Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward Seepage (2 of 3)

Figure (a) Layer of soil in a tank with upward seepage; variation of (b) total stress, (c) pore water pressure,
and (d) effective stress with depth for a soil layer with upward seepage
CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 12
Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward Seepage (3 of 3)
• As the seepage increases, 𝑖𝑖 (the hydraulic gradient) increases until a limiting condition is reached

σ C′ =zγ ′ − icr zγ w =
0

• Soil stability is then lost. This situation generally is referred to as boiling, or a quick condition.
• For most soils, the value of 𝑖𝑖𝑐𝑐𝑟𝑟 varies from 0.9 to 1.1, and is given by:

γ′
icr =
γw

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 13

Stresses in Saturated Soil with Downward Seepage

Figure (a) Layer of soil in a tank with downward seepage; variation of (b) total stress, (c) pore water pressure,
and (d) effective stress with depth for a soil layer with downward seepage
CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 14
Seepage Force (1 of 2)
• The effect of seepage is to increase or
decrease the effective stress at a point in a
layer of soil.
• The decrease in the total force because of
seepage is

P1′ − P2′ =
izγ w A

• The seepage force per unit volume of soil is

P1′ − P2′ izγ w A

= = iγ w
(Volume of soil) zA

Force due to (a) no seepage; (b) upward seepage;

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics (c) downward seepage on a volume of soil 15
Seepage Force (2 of 2)
• Seepage force per unit volume is equal to 𝑖𝑖𝛾𝛾𝜔𝜔

• In isotropic soils, the force acts in the same

direction as the direction of flow.

• A flow net may be used to determine the

hydraulic gradient for the flow.

Seepage force per unit volume — determination from flow net

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 16
Heaving in Soil Due to Flow around Sheet Piles (1 of 3)
• Heaving can cause failure of sheet-pile
structures.
• Heaving generally occurs within a distance
of half the depth of embedment of sheet
piles into the permeable layer, D/2.
• The factor of safety against heaving is
given by:

W′
FS =
U

• Wʹ is the weight of the soil block, and U is

the uplifting force caused by seepage

(a) Check for heaving on the downstream side for a row of sheet
CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics piles driven into a permeable layer; (b) enlargement of heave zone
17
Heaving in Soil Due to Flow around Sheet Piles (2 of 3)
• Substituting the values of Wʹ and U, we can write:

γ′
FS =
iavγ w

where iaν is the average hydraulic gradient at the bottom of the block of soil

• According to Harza (1935), the factor of safety against heaving can be expressed as:

icr
FS =
iexit

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 18

Heaving in Soil Due to Flow around Sheet Piles (3 of 3)
iexit is the maximum exit gradient, and it can be
determined using a flow net

∆h H
iexit
= =
l Nd l

Definition of iexit

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 19

Use of Filters to Increase the Factor of Safety against Heave
• A filter is a granular material with openings small
enough to prevent the flow of soil particles
• With a filter, the factor of safety is:

 D1 
γ′+  γ ′F
FS = D
iavγ w

D1 is the thickness of the filter material

γF′ is the effective unit weight of the filter

Factor of safety against heave, with a filter

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 20

Effective Stress in Partially Saturated Soil
• For a partially saturated soil, the effective stress is:

σ ′= σ − ua + χ (ua − uw )

- ua is the pore air pressure

- uw is the pore water pressure
- χ is the fraction of a unit cross-sectional area occupied by
water, and is 0 for dry soil and 1 for saturated soil

Partially saturated soil

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 21

Capillary Rise in Soils (1 of 4)
• Void spaces in soil behave as capillary tubes.

• The fundamental concept of the height of rise in a

capillary tube is shown.

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 22

Capillary Rise in Soils (2 of 4)
• The height of rise of water in a
capillary tube is given by summing
the forces in the vertical direction:

4T cos α
hc =
dγ w

T is the surface tension, and is

72 mN/m for water
α is the angle of contact, and is 0
for pure water
d is the diameter of the capillary
tube

Nature of variation of capillary rise with diameter of capillary tube

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 23

Capillary Rise in Soils (3 of 4)
• The capillary tubes formed in soils have variable
cross sections because of the continuity of voids.
• An approximation for the capillary rise is:

C
h1 (mm) =
eD10

D10 is the effective size

C is a constant that varies from
10 to 50 mm2

Capillary effect in sandy soil: (a) a soil column in contact with

water; (b) variation of degree of saturation in the soil column
CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 24
Capillary Rise in Soils (4 of 4)
• Typical ranges for the capillary rise in soils are given in Table

Range of capillary rise

Soil type m
Coarse sand 0.1–0.2
Fine sand 0.3–1.2
Silt 0.75–7.5
Clay 7.5–23

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 25

Effective Stress in the Zone of Capillary Rise
• The general relationship among total stress, effective stress, and pore water pressure is

σ = σ′+u
• If partial saturation is caused by capillary action, it can be approximated as:

 S 
u = −  γ wh
 100 

- where S is the degree of saturation

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 26

Summary
The total stress at a point in the soil mass is the sum of the effective stress and the pore water pressure:

σ= σ ′ + u

There is a critical hydraulic gradient that causes boiling or a quick condition in soil:

γ ′ effective unit weight of soil

icr =
=
γw unit weight of water

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 27

Summary (2 of 2)
• The seepage force per unit volume is iγw in the direction of the flow.

• The relationships to check for heaving for flow under a hydraulic structure with the possibility of using
filters to increase the factor of safety against heaving.

• The effective stress at a point in partially saturated soil is:

σ ′ = σ − ua + χ (ua − uw )

- ua and uw are the pore air and pore water pressures, respectively, and χ is a factor that is 1 for
saturated soil and 0 for dry soil
• Capillary rise can range from 0.1 m to 0.2 m in coarse sand to 7.5 m to 23 m in clay.

CIVL2210 – Soil Mechanics 28

Thank you
Dr Jurij Karlovšek | Lecturer
School of Civil Engineering
[email protected]

CRICOS code 00025B