ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF

SOIL

Lecture 2
Engineering properties of soil
 The internal characteristics (properties) of soil, mainly
physical, constitute the properties that would be
considered for engineering purposes.
 These properties must be accurately evaluated in order
to ensure safe and economical designs OR
 To assess the possibility of transport of contaminants in
the sub-surface.
 Consequently, it is advantageous to classify soils into
groups that exhibit distinct engineering properties.
 These engineering properties form the basis for soil
classification.
Engineering properties of soil
Density
 Density, by definition is the mass per unit volume of any
solid, liquid, gas or any combinations of all three.
 The soil mass is a system consisting of solids, water and

air which controls the physical properties of soils

including its response to external forces (loads) and the
ability to transmit fluids.
 The solid component of soil makes up most of the soil
mass and is usually mineral material with some organic
material.
Engineering properties of soil
 The spaces (pore space) between the individual solid
grains are occupied by either water, air or both.
 Figure 1 gives a section through a representative soil
mass in which the various grain sizes evenly distributed
throughout the mass, with the spaces containing air and
water.

Figure 1: Vertical cross-section through a

representative soil profile. After Johnson and
De Graff, 1994.
 Engineering properties of soil
 for a better understanding of the proportion of solid, liquid
and gas, consider a conceptual view (figure 2) representing
soil by its solid, water and air components as if separated
with the solid at the bottom and air and water stacked on
top of the cross-section.
 Such a representation is called a phase diagram.

Figure 2: Phase diagram labeled with weight

and volume relationships that define soil
mass. After Johnson and De Graff, 1994.
Engineering properties of soil
 These descriptive characteristics enable engineers and
geologists alike to determine the physical properties of
a particular soil.
 The relative amounts of solid, air and water determine
the unit mass of a soil mass (γ) (which is the density!),
where γ = mass of soil/ volume of soil.
 The unit mass of soil includes the mass of solids, water
and air with the mass of air being so minuscule that it is
ignored.
 However, the volume includes the space occupied by all
three components including air.
 The unit mass of soil with solids, water and air is
specifically called the moist unit mass (γm) (or simply
wet density).
Engineering properties of soil
 γm = Mt/Vt
 Where Mt is the total mass and Vt is the total
volume.
 The total mass of the soil is the sum of the mass of
solids (MS) and the mass of water (Mw) and is
divided by the total volume (Vt), which is the sum of
the volume of solids (Vs) and the volume of voids
(Vv) [voids or pore spaces are the spaces in
between the individual grains in the soil].
 Therefore, γm can be expressed as
 γ m = Ms + M w / V s + Vv
Engineering properties of soil
 Please note again that the unit mass is a representation of
the soil density.
 For example, the unit mass of water (γm) is constant. At 40C,
one cubic meter of water weighs 1000 kg, therefore the unit
mass of water is 1000 kg/m3.
 When the soil consists of solids and water occupying all the
voids/spaces, the unit mass is the mass of the solids and
water divided by the volume of the solids and water.
 This is termed the saturated unit mass of the soil γsat or
simply wet density.
 If the soil consists only of solids (no water present), such as is
the case with oven-dried laboratory samples, the unit mass
would be based on the mass of solids divided by the volume
of solids and voids/pore spaces.
 This is termed the dry unit mass γd or simply dry density.
Engineering properties of soil
Moisture Content
 The moisture content is an important property of soil

to determine since in situ soils are used as the bases

for the construction of highways and other structures
and the amount of water affects the degree of
compaction of a particular soil.
 Also the moisture content will influence the ability of

soils to transport contaminants.

 Moisture content is the ratio of the mass of water to
the mass of solids in a given volume of soil,
expressed as a percentage.
Moisture content continued
 Moisture contents can range from a few percent for
rocks to several hundred percent for very soft highly
organic coastal clays.
 The consistency of clays may be very soft or very
hard depending on the water content.
 Between these extremes, the clay can be molded
and shaped without cracking or rupturing the soil
mass.
Moisture content continued
 The equation is given as:

 w = Mw/ Ms x 100

 Where w = moisture content of soil (expressed as a

percentage).

 Mw = mass of water in soil sample (i.e. the total mass of

moist soil less the mass of dried soil).

 Ms = mass of solids in the soil sample (i.e. the soils mass

after it is dried)
Compaction
 The evaluation of the density reached as a result of
a program of compaction with rollers, is the most
commonly employed quality control method made
on soils at a construction site.
 This can also influence the soils capacity to transport
contaminants through the sub-surface.
 Soils are usually compacted to improve their density
and other properties.
 Increasing a soils density increases its strength,
lowers its permeability and reduces future
settlement.
Compaction
 A soil compacted dry will have a lower dry density
than soils compacted with a moisture content.
 This occurs since water lubricates the grains allowing
them to slide into a denser structure.
 Also, air is forced out leaving more space for soil
solids as well as the added water.
 The relationship/variation of dry density with water
content is illustrated in Figure 3.
Compaction

Figure 3: Variation of dry density with water

content. After Atkins, 2003.
Permeability
 Permeability is the property indicating the ease with
which water passes through a material.
 This water movement is called percolation.
 The knowledge and extent of this condition is
particularly important to the evaluation of the
possibility of contaminant transport and the remediation
of contaminated sites.
 Soil texture, gradation, degree of compaction and
primary structure strongly influence the relative
permeability of soil.
 Generally, coarse grained soils are much more
permeable than fine grained soils, although this is easily
altered by the presence of fines or cementing agents,
openings and so on.
Permeability
 According to Darcy’s law, the flow rate of water (q)
through a soil cross-sectional area (A) is directly
proportional to the imposed or natural
slope/gradient (i) such that: q/A ~ I
 If a constant (k) is introduced we obtain the
equation, where k is known as the coefficient of
permeability or just permeability.


 q = kiA
 Therefore the greater the value of k, the greater
the flow will be for a given slope and x-sectional
area.
Elasticity
 Elasticity is the property indicating the ability of a
material to return to its original form after having been
deformed by a load (applied force) for a short period
of time.
 Any load applied that exceeds the shear strength
(measure of a material’s resistance to breaking or
shearing) of a soil will also exceed the elastic limit of
the soil.
 Therefore the deformed soil will not return to its original
shape but will fail by plastic deformation.
 For example, when a soil is disturbed by pile driving,
the elastic limit of the soil must be exceeded in order
for the pile to be advanced.
Other engineering properties
Plasticity
 Plasticity is the property indicating the ability of a
material to be deformed permanently without
cracking or crumbling.
Cohesion
 Cohesion is a very important contributing property
to the shear strength of a soil, and is the capacity to
resist shearing stresses (loads or forces).
 Cohesion varies depending on the water content,
density and plasticity of the soil and is given as one
half (1/2) the unconfined compressive strength of a
soil.
Other engineering properties
Angle of Internal Friction
 This is a measure of the natural angle of repose (rest)
of a soil.
 For example, in dry sand this is the angle of
approximately 300 observed on the slopes of
stockpiles.
 For a clay soils exhibiting moderate to high plasticity, a
typical internal angle of friction is 150 when pore
pressures reach equilibrium (effect of cohesion limited).
 This is because negative pore pressures generated by
low permeability of the soil matrix hide the expression
of the frictional properties of the soil.
Other engineering properties
Shrink/Swell Potential
 Shrinking/swelling is a property of fine-grained soils,
especially clays, resulting from the build-up and release
of capillary tensile stresses within the soil’s pore water
and the varying degree of affinity for water that
certain clay minerals exhibit.
Compressibility
 This is a property greatly influenced by soil structure
and the load history of the deposit. Therefore, drilled
shafts or footings should not bear in a material that is
susceptible to a high degree of compression or
consolidation.
Grain size distribution
 The grain size distribution or range of particle sizes in a
soil sample influences several soil properties and is one
of two properties used in the classification of soils.
 One of these properties is the permeability of the soil.
 A granular soil with a wide range of grain sizes (well
graded), especially in the finer ranges, will be less
permeable than a granular soil with most of the grain
sizes in a narrow range.
 While compactability is influenced by permeability, it is
also directly influenced by grain size distribution.
Grain size distribution
 Soil consisting of particles/grains within a narrow size range
(poorly or uniformly graded) may be difficult to compact
since there is a lack of other particles to interlock with the
dominant particle size.
 The result is density is hard to achieve at the soil’s surface.
 The terms used to describe the grain size distribution of a
soil sample are well graded, which refers to the size of the
particles being distributed over a wide range of sizes,
 uniformly/poorly graded, which refers to the size of particles
being distributed over a narrow range of sizes,
 and gap graded which refers to the presence of several
distinct size ranges (figure 4).
Grain size distribution

 Figure 4: Typical particle size gradations presented in a grain size distribution chart. After Atkins, 2003.
Grain size distribution
 Grain sizes in soil samples are determined in two
ways; through sieve analysis, which is used for sands
and gravels,
 And the hydrometer test, which is used for silts and
clays.
 Sieve analysis – standard sieves are sized according
to their adjacent wire spacing. Typically the sizes
have been specified according to Table 1. Sizes are
measured on a geometric or logarithmic scale since
a change from 1 to 2 mm is more significant than a
change from 101 to 102 mm.
Grain size
distribution
 Table 1: Various
size grade scales in
common use. After
Blatt et al., 1972.
Grain size distribution
 The scale adopted most universally is that proposed by
Udden (1898) and refined by Wentworth (1922) and
was based on a center of 1 mm and a multiplier, or
divisor, of 2.
 The Udden-Wentworth grade scale is, however, not the
only scale in common use (see table 1).
 For example, in 1934, Krumbein introduced a
logarithmic transformation of the Udden-Wentworth
scale, which he named the phi () scale (see table 1):
  = -log2 d
 Where d is the diameter in millimeters.
 Try to convert from phi () scale to millimeters and vice
versa.
Grain size distribution
 The Hydrometer Test – This is used to find the size of
smaller grains. It is a sedimentation test, i.e. the rate at
which particles settle is used as an indication of their
size.
 Stokes Law states that particles in suspension settle out
at a rate that varies with their size.
 Using this law, we can determine the size of a particle
that has settled at a known distance in the suspension at
any time from the beginning of sedimentation.
 How the hydrometer test works is by measuring the
density of the water-soil suspension at various times as
the particles settle (figure 5).
Grain size distribution

 Figure 5: The Hydrometer Test. After Atkins, 2003.

Grain size distribution
 Using Stokes law the size of the particle that has
settled to the centre of the hydrometer bulb can be
calculated.
 And the density of the solution indicates the
percentage of sample still in the suspension.
 Using this data a grain-size distribution curve can
be established.
References
 Atkins, H.N. 2003. Highway materials, soils, and concretes. 4th ed. Prentice
Hall: U.S.A.

 Blatt, H., Middleton, G. and Murray, R., 1972. Origin of Sedimentary

Rocks. Prentice Hall: U.S.A.


 Krumbein, W.C., 1934. Size Frequency Distribution of Sediments. Jour. Sed.

Pet., 4, p. 65-77.

 Johnson, R.B. and De Graff, J.V. 1994. Engineering Geology: A Laboratory

Manual. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

 Udden, J.A., 1898. Mechanical Composition of Wind Deposits, Augustana

Library Publ., no. 1.


 Wentworth, C.K., 1919. A Laboratory and Field Study of Cobble Abrasion,

Jour. Geol., 27, p. 507-521.