The properties on which the distinctions of soil are based are known as

index properties and test required to determine the index properties

are classification tests.
Index properties are divided into two classes:
Classes of index properties
Soil Grain properties Soil Aggregate Properties
Cohesion Size and Shape of Cohesion less Relative Density:
less soil the grains soil Aggregate properties of
sand and gravel
described as loose,
medium and dense
Cohesive Mineralogical Cohesive soils Consistency: Aggregate
soils Character of the properties of clay are
smallest grains described by hard, stiff,
medium and soft.
Index Properties of soft clays.
 natural water content
 liquid limit
 Plastic limit
 Clay fraction
 Effective vertical overburden pressure
 Preconsolidation pressure
 Effective- stress friction angle.

Soil can be divide into 2 based on their origin.

Those that were made from chemical and physical rock weathering
Those that are a mostly of organic origin.
PRINCIPAL TYPE OF SOILS
Hard pan: is a soil that has an exceptionally great resistance to the
penetration of drilling tools.
Inorganic silt : is a fine grained soil with little or no plasticity.
When it has least plastic it is called rock flour

When it contain more plastic it is called plastic silt

Till is an un-stratified glacial deposit of clay, silt, sand, gravel and
boulders.
Tuff: is a fine grained water or wind laid aggregate of very small mineral
or rock fragment ejected from volcanoes during explosions.

Loess is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by

the accumulation of wind-blown dust.

Diatomaceous earth: (kieselguhr), is a naturally occurring, soft,

siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to
off-white powder.
Adobe soils are soils with high clay content that swell and shrink
dramatically and bare ground commonly has cracks in it in summer.
"An adobe soil may be defined as a heavy soil which readily cracks, and
certain adobe soils have not only high wilting and hygroscopic
coefficients, but also high shrinkage coefficients.
lake marl: is a white fine grained powdery calcareous deposit
precipitated by plants in ponds
Marl deposits are bad news for soil drainage. It's basically a hard
packed clay -like layer that does not allow water to pass through it. .

Shale: Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed

of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-
sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The
compressive strength of shale rang from less than 2.5MPa to more than
100MPa.
Caliche is layer of soil in which the soil particles are cemented together
by calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
Varved clay consists of alternating layers of medium gray inorganic silt
and darker silty clay.
Bentonite: is a clay with high content of montmorillonite.

The most important grain property of fine-grained soil materials is the

mineralogical composition. For these particles the force of gravity in
each particle is insignificant compared to the electrical forces acting at
the surface of the particle thus they care in the colloidal state.
All clay minerals are crystalline hydrous alumino silicates having a
lattice structure in which the atoms.
Clay particles are always in contact with water.
Clay minerials
Kaolinite
Halloysite
Allophane: Allophane aggregate are relatively incompressible. They are
cemented by iron or aluminum oxides.the are susceptible to structural
breakdown upon mechanical manipulation as by heavy equipment.
Therefore they can change from granualar material to plastic sticky
mass that cannot be handled easily.
Illite
Chlorite
Montmorillonite
Attapulgite
Mechanical Analysis of soils
Practical application
 Soil description
 Soil classification
 Correlation to permeability: the permeability of sand in a loose
state depends on two quantities the effective size and the
uniformity coefficient.
The effective size is the diameter D10 corresponds to P=10% on the
grain size diagram.
The uniformity coefficient Cu is equal to D60/D10 where D60 is the grain
size corresponding to P=60%
From the mechanical Analysis we express the grain-size, degree of
uniformity and the dominant soil fraction in the soil.
The coefficient of curvature Cc, defined as D302/D10.D60.
Soil Aggregate
Soil aggregates may differ in texture and consistency.
Texture: refers to the degree of fineness and uniformity of a soil. It is
described by expressions as floury, smooth gritty, or sharp, in
accordance with the sensation produced by rubbing the soil between
the fingers.
Structure may refer to fabric of the aggregate. It refer to features
acquired after deposition such as the root holes contained in loess. Stiff
clays may contain tubular root holes extending to depth of several
meters below the surface. Other sample of structure include hair cracks
known as joint, slickensides.
Consistency refers to the degree of adhesion between the soil particles
and to the resistance offered against forces that tend to deform or
rupture the soil aggregate. It may be described as hard, stiff, brittle,
friable, sticky, plastic and soft.

The porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume
of the soil, i.e.
n= Vv/V
Natural sands are found with porosities varying from about 25 to 50 %.
The porosity of soft natural clays with flat particles usually ranges
between 30 and 60%.
The void ratio (e) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the volume of
solids, i.e.
e = Vv/Vs

Relative density

To bring a soil to its loose state, corresponding to the void ratio emax
the sand is first dried and then poured from a small height into a vessel.
The densest state of clean sand is established by prolong vibration
under a small vertical load at a frequency of 20 to 30 hz.
The degree of density of clays and other cohesive soils depends chiefly
on the loads that these soils have carried and on the rate at which the
loads were applied. The degree of density of these soils is most clearly
reflected by the liquidity index.
The water content (w), or moisture content (m), is the ratio of the mass
of water to the mass of solids in the soil, i.e.
w = Mw/Ms
The degree of saturation (Sr) is the ratio of the volume of water to the
total volume of void space, i.e.
Sr = Vw/Vv

For sand grains the average density is usually about 2.65 Mg/m3. For
clay particles the density varies from 2.5 to 2.9Mg/m3
Soil exploration is the field and laboratory investigations required to
obtain the physical properties of the soil.
If a foundation is to be established on fairly homogenouse layer of clay
a large amount of soil testing would yield relatively accurate forecast,
but if the foundation is located on a deposit consisting of pockets and
lenses of sand, clay and silt, the same amount of testing would add very
little information that could be obtained from index properties of
several dozen representative sample from different holes. Subsurface
sounding would yield better results, because the location of the pocket
is most important to avoid compression stops.
Consistency and Sensitivity of undisturbed soils
The consistency of clays is measured by the unconfined compressive
strength of the soil.

Clays that have been kneaded or working at unaltered water content

are called remolded clay.
Sensitivity indicates the effect of remolding on the consistency of a clay.
The degree of sensitivity St of a clay is express as the ratio between the
unconfined compressive strength of an undisturbed specimen and the
strength of the same specimen at the same water content but in a
remolded state.

st
2-4 Most clay
4-8 Sensitive clays
8-16 Extra sensitive clays
Quick clays

When the remolded strength of some saturated clays may be so low

that an unconfined specimen cannot stand with out excessive
deformation under its own weight. Then this happens, the undisturbed
and remoulded shearing strength is determined using vane shear test.
Liquid limit
Plastic limit
Shrinkage limit
Plasticity index: the range of water content within which a soil
possesses plasticity is known as the plastic range. Liquid limit –plastic
limit= plasticity index Ip.
As the water content w of a cohesive soil approaches the lower limit of
the plastic range, the stiffness and degree of compaction of the soil
increase.
Liquidity index of the soil.
If the water content of natural soil stratum is greater than the liquid
limit ( liquidity index greater than 1) remoulding transforms the into a
thick viscous slurry.
If the natural water content is less than the plastic limit ( liquidity index
negative) the soil canot be remolded.
Liquid index Unconfined compressive strength
of indisturbed clays
Near 1 30 -100 kPa
Near 0 100-500kpa
Soil profile indicated a vertical section through the subsoil that shows
the thickness and sequence of the individual strata
The stratum is a well-defined layer of soil in contact with other layers of
conspicuously different character. If the boundaries between strata is
more or less parallel then the soil profile is simple or regular if not it is
erratic
The A horizon of a soil is the part of soil that is influenced by seasonal
changes of moisture and temperature and biological agents as roots,
worms, and bacteria(ground surface to a depth of about 2m). The lower
part is the B horizon and is where the substances washed out of the A
horizon are precipitated and accumulated.
The A and B horizons this part of the soil is of importance to the
agronomists and road builders.
Foundation and earthwork engineers are interested primarily in the
parent material. The individual stata of the parent material is fairly
homogeneous.
Primary structure of the deposit are the shape, size and arrangement of
the smaller elements.
The most common primary structure of soil deposited is the
stratification.
If the individual layers are not thicker than about 20mm and a roughly
of equal thicknesss, the soil is called laminated.

Methods of drilling
 Wash boring
 Rotary drilling
 Auger Borings
 Hammer Drilling
 Inspection shafts
Wash boring: uses water as its circulating fluid, the circulating fluid
facilitates the removal of the cuttings, and prevents the accumulation
of cuttings at the bottom of the hole
Rotary drilling uses drilling mud(bentonite) as its circulating fluid
Auger Borings
Auger borings cannot be made in sand below the water table because
the material will not adhere to the auger.
Cohesive soil a brought to the surface by the auger contains all it
soil constituents, but the structure of the soil is completely destroyed,
and the water content is likely to be greater than that of the soil in
place. When this method is used spoon samples required to obtain
undisturbed soil. Auger boring does not disclose the real position
between two strata. By means of Mechanized equipment, auger
borings can also be made to depths greater than 50m and with
diameters up to a meter or more.
Hammer Drilling
Is used for deposits containing cobbles and boulder

Inspection shafts are holes large enough for an inspector to be lowered

and observe or sample the material

Sampling
 Types of sampler
 Split spoon sampler
 Thin walled tube samplers
 Piston samplers
 Sampling combined with coring
 Hand-carved samples in clay
 Block sampling in Bore Holes

Split spoon sampler

 The sample from the split should be used to determine the index
properties. Clay samples obtained by means of a sampling spoon retain
at least part of the characteristics of the the undisturbed soil. On the
other hand, samples of soils with a high permeability are almost
thoroughly compacted. Thus in order to obtain some information
concerning the degree of compactness or the stiffness of the soil in situ.
I count of the number of blows of the drop weight required to drive the
sampling spoon a specified distance into the ground.
Standard penetration test (SPT)
Dynamic standard penetration test (DSPT)

Standard penetration test (SPT): the number of blows of the hammer

required to achive 3 succesive penetration of 0.15m. the number of
blows for the first 0.15m was disregarded because of the disturbance
likely to exist at the bottom of the drill hole; the number for the second
and third 0.15m were added and designated the standard penetration
resistance, N.
The SPT test is useful in finding out
 The relative density of cohesion less soils and consistency of
clayey soil.
 The Angle of shearing resistance of cohesion less soils: the
correlation between angle of internal friction and the N value of
SPT was given by Peck, Hason, Thornburn
 Unconfined compressive strength of cohesive soils: the
correlation suggested by Stroud and Butler give the value of
underained shear strength. Cu=4.5xN
Thin walled Tube samplers: are used when information concerning the
shearing resistance or stress- deformation charateristics of a deposit.
The degree of disturbance depends on the manner in which the
sampler is forced into the soil and on the dimensions of the sampler
(the area ratio).

Area ratio= Ar(%)=

Area Ratio vs disturbance

Type of sample Area Ratio Disturbance
12% Undisturbed
Split spoon SPT 112% Disturbed
sample
The unconfined compressive strength of 50mm tube sample of the clay
was roughly equal to 75% of that of the hand-cut samples, whereas
complete remolding reduced the strength of the hand-cut to 30% of its
original value.
Piston Samplers
Piston sampler with small area ratios are capable of producing excellent
samples of cohesive even if very soft and sensitive. The presence of the
piston prevents excess soil from squeezing in to the tube and thus,
maintains the integrity of the sample. Once the piston stops moving up
then drilling should stop.

Sampling Combined with Coring

Is used when the thin-walled tubes cannot be used due to the soil being
to stiff or compact to permit penetration without damaging the cutting
edge or buckling the tube.
If the deposit contains soft and hard layer the a pitcher sampler
Denson sampler is used to obtain stiff to hard cohesive soil including
soft shales.

Hand-carved samples in clay

Are gotten without the use of a drill holes. They are gotten in shaft, cut
or tunnels projects. The clay around the location of the proposed
sample is carved away, leaving a block somewhat larger than the
sample.

Quality of samples
When it comes to sof clay and silt it is important to determine the
quality of samples. This is done by determining the magnitude of the
volumetric strain of a specimen when subjected in an oedometer test
to the in situ vertical stress or in triaxial compression test to the
effective vertical and lateral stresses under which it existed in the field.
Once the volumetric strain is determined the Specimen quality
designation (SQD).

Sampling in Sand
Above water table: soil content impart trace of cohesion. Thus they can
be secured from drill holes with sampling spoons, for less disturbed
samples are gotten by means of a thin walled piston samplers.
Blow water table: Sand below water table cannot be retained in
ordinary samplers. Such samples can be recovered by means of piston
samplers especially if the soil contains cohesive zones.

Subsurface sounding/ penetrometer

The significant change in the character of the subsoil are associated
with a change in the resistance of the soil against penetration.
If a pile is very dense a pile cannot be driven deeper than 3 to 5m.
Driving is very hard and resistance to penetration increases rapidly with
depth. If the sand is very loose, piles can be driven to any depth, and
the increase of resistance with depth is small.
The variation of the penetration resistance of a soil along vertical lines
can be determined rapidly at moderate expense by subsurface
soundings. This is done with the use of a penetrometer.
Subsurface sounding can be divided into 2 large groups Static and
dynamic method
Static methods the sounding road is pushed into the ground by static
pressure. Examples are Dutch cone apparatus, the friction cone
penetrometer or push cone penetrometer (PCPT). The PCPT measures
the frictional resistance or adhesion separately from the point
resistance.
Force applied to the drill rod measures the point resistance.
The force applied to the inner rod then measures the sum of the point
and frictional resistance. The fictional resistance is calculated as the
difference between the two forces.
For The force applied to the rod is measures the point and frictional
resistance.
The point resistance qc is calculated by dividing the force required to
advance the point by the area of the point (1000mm2).
The frictional resistance Fs is obtained by dividing the frictional force by
the area of the sleeve in contact with the soil. The point and frictional
resistance should not be determined at the exactly the same depth.
Some cone penetrometer are equipped with porous filter to permit the
direct measurement of the porewater pressure. Such a device is termed
a piezocone.
The FRICTION RATIO fs/qc and be correlated in a general way with the
type of soil.

Dynamic methods consist of driving the rod by the impact of a drop

hammer and measuring the number of blows to achieve a given
penetration. (standard penetration test

In situ Tests
Vane test: Is used to determine the undrained shearing strength and
sensitivity of soft deposits of clay. If the vane is rotated rapidly through
several revolutions the soil becomes remolded and the shearing
strength can be determined again.
Pressuremeter
Provides information about the stress- strain properties and strength of
a soil by expanding the wall of a drill hole while the radial pressure and
corresponding radial deformation

Cone penetration can be used to obtain the (Dynamic Con penetration

resistance (Nc)
The relative density
Allowable bearing pressure and
Other properties of cohesion less soils