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UNIT-I
Basic Definitions & Index Properties: Definition and scope of soil mechanics, Historical development.
Formation of soils, Soil composition, Minerals, Influence of clay minerals on engineering behavior, Soil
structure, Three phase system, Index properties and their determination, Consistency limits,
Classification systems based on particle size and consistency limits.

 Definition and scope of soil mechanics:

Soil mechanics is a branch of soil physics and applied mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It
differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous
mixture of fluids (usually air and water) and particles (usually clay, silt, sand, and gravel) but soil may
also contain organic solids and other matter. Along with rock mechanics, soil mechanics provides the
theoretical basis for analysis in geotechnical engineering, a sub discipline of civil engineering, and
engineering geology. Soil mechanics is used to analyze the deformations of and flow of fluids within
natural and man-made structures that are supported on or made of soil, or structures that are buried in
soils. For example, applications in building and bridge foundations, retaining walls, dams, and buried
pipeline systems. Principles of soil mechanics are also used in related disciplines such as engineering
geology, geophysical engineering, coastal engineering, agricultural engineering, and hydrology and soil
physics.
 Historical development:

Soil Mechanics is one of the subjects of Civil Engineering involving the study of soil, its behavior and
application as an engineering material. According to Terzaghi : "Soil Mechanics is the application of laws
of mechanics and hydraulics to engineering problems dealing with sediments and other unconsolidated
accumulations of solid particles produced by the mechanical and chemical deformation and
transformation of rocks regardless of whether or not they contain an admixture of an organic
constituent."
 Formation of soils:

Soil formation or pedogenesis is the combined effect of physical, chemical, biological and anthropogenic
processes working on soil parent material. Soil is said to be formed when organic matter has
accumulated and colloids are washed downward, leaving deposits of clay, humus, iron oxide, carbonate,
and gypsum, producing a distinct layer called the B horizon. This is a somewhat arbitrary definition as
mixtures of sand, silt, clay and humus will support biological and agricultural activity before that time.
These constituents are moved from one level to another by water and animal activity. As a result, layers

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(horizons) form in the soil profile. The alteration and movement of materials within a soil causes the
formation of distinctive soil horizons. However, more recent definitions of soil embrace soils without any
organic matter, such as those regolith’s that formed on Mars and analogous conditions in planet Earth
deserts. An example of the development of a soil would begin with the weathering of lava flow bedrock,
which would produce the purely mineral-based parent material from which the soil texture forms.
Soil development would proceed most rapidly from bare rock of recent flows in a warm climate, under
heavy and frequent rainfall. Under such conditions, plants (in first stage nitrogen-fixing lichens and cyan
bacteria then epileptic higher plants) become established very quickly on basaltic lava, even though
there is very little organic material. The plants are supported by the porous rock as it is filled with
nutrient-bearing water that carries minerals dissolved from the rocks.

The weathering of parent material takes the form of physical weathering (disintegration), chemical
weathering (decomposition) and chemical transformation. Generally, minerals that are formed under
high temperatures and pressures at great depths within the Earth's mantle are less resistant to
weathering, while minerals formed at low temperature and pressure environment of the surface are
more resistant to weathering.[citation needed] Weathering is usually confined to the top few meters of
geologic material, because physical, chemical, and biological stresses and fluctuations generally decrease
with depth. Physical disintegration begins as rocks that have solidified deep in the Earth are exposed to
lower pressure near the surface and swell and become mechanically unstable. Chemical decomposition
is a function of mineral solubility, the rate of which doubles with each 10 °C rise in temperature, but is
strongly dependent on water to effect chemical changes. Rocks that will decompose in a few years in
tropical climates will remain unaltered for millennia in deserts. Structural changes are the result of
hydration, oxidation, and reduction. Chemical weathering mainly results from the excretion of organic
acids and chelating compounds by bacteria and fungi, thought to increase under present-day greenhouse
effect.
Physical disintegration is the first stage in the transformation of parent material into soil. Temperature
fluctuations cause expansion and contraction of the rock, splitting it along lines of weakness. Water may
then enter the cracks and freeze and cause the physical splitting of material along a path toward the
center of the rock, while temperature gradients within the rock can cause exfoliation of "shells". Cycles
of wetting and drying cause soil particles to be abraded to a finer size, as does the physical rubbing of
material as it is moved by wind, water, and gravity. Water can deposit within rocks minerals that expand
upon drying, thereby stressing the rock. Finally, organisms reduce parent material in size and create

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crevices and pores through the mechanical action of plant roots and the digging activity of animals.
Grinding of parent material by rock-eating animals also contributes to incipient soil formation.
Chemical decomposition and structural changes result when minerals are made soluble by water or are
changed in structure. The first three of the following list are solubility changes and the last three are
structural changes.
The solution of salts in water results from the action of bipolar water molecules on ionic salt compounds
producing a solution of ions and water, removing those minerals and reducing the rock's integrity, at a
rate depending on water flow and pore channels. Hydrolysis is the transformation of minerals into polar
molecules by the splitting of intervening water. This results in soluble acid-base pairs. For example, the
hydrolysis of orthoclase-feldspar transforms it to acid silicate clay and basic potassium hydroxide, both
of which are more soluble. In carbonation, the solution of carbon dioxide in water forms carbonic acid.
Carbonic acid will transform calcite into more soluble calcium bicarbonate.
Hydration is the inclusion of water in a mineral structure, causing it to swell and leaving it stressed and
easily decomposed. Oxidation of a mineral compound is the inclusion of oxygen in a mineral, causing it
to increase its oxidation number and swell due to the relatively large size of oxygen, leaving it stressed
and more easily attacked by water (hydrolysis) or carbonic acid (carbonation). Reduction, the opposite
of oxidation, means the removal of oxygen, hence the oxidation number of some part of the mineral is
reduced, which occurs when oxygen is scarce. The reduction of minerals leaves them electrically
unstable, more soluble and internally stressed and easily decomposed. It mainly occurs in waterlogged
conditions.
 Soil composition:

Soils are formed from materials that have resulted from the disintegration of rocks by various processes
of physical and chemical weathering. The nature and structure of a given soil depends on the processes
and conditions that formed it:
 Breakdown of parent rock: weathering, decomposition, erosion.
 Transportation to site of final deposition: gravity, flowing water, ice, wind.
 Environment of final deposition: flood plain, river terrace, glacial moraine, lacustrine or marine.
 Subsequent conditions of loading and drainage: little or no surcharge, heavy surcharge due to ice
or overlying deposits, change from saline to freshwater, leaching, contamination.

Silts, sands and gravels are classified by their size, and hence they may consist of a variety of minerals.
Owing to the stability of quartz compared to other rock minerals, quartz is the most common

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constituent of sand and silt. Mica and feldspar are other common minerals present in sands and silts.
The mineral constituents of gravel may be more similar to that of the parent rock.
The common clay minerals are Montmorillonite, Illite, and Kaolinite. These minerals tend to form in
sheet or plate like structures, with length typically ranging between 10 −7 m and 4x10−6 m and thickness
typically ranging between 10−9 m and 2x10−6 m, and they have a relatively large specific surface area. The
specific surface area (SSA) is defined as the ratio of the surface area of particles to the mass of the
particles. Clay minerals typically have specific surface areas in the range of 10 to 1,000 square meters per
gram of solid. Due to the large surface area available for chemical, electrostatic, and van der Waals
interaction, the mechanical behavior of clay minerals is very sensitive to the amount of pore fluid
available and the type and amount of dissolved ions in the pore fluid. To anticipate the effect of clay on
the way a soil will behave, it is necessary to know the kinds of clays as well as the amount present. As
home builders and highway engineers know all too well, soils containing certain high-activity clays make
very unstable material on which to build because they swell when wet and shrink when dry. This shrink-
and-swell action can easily crack foundations and cause retaining walls to collapse. These clays also
become extremely sticky and difficult to work with when they are wet. In contrast, low-activity clays,
formed under different conditions, can be very stable and easy to work with.
The minerals of soils are predominantly formed by atoms of oxygen, silicon, hydrogen, and aluminum,
organized in various crystalline forms. These elements along with calcium, sodium, potassium,
magnesium, and carbon constitute over 99 per cent of the solid mass of soils.

 Grain size distribution:

Soils consist of a mixture of particles of different size, shape and mineralogy. Because the size of the
particles obviously has a significant effect on the soil behavior, the grain size and grain size distribution
are used to classify soils. The grain size distribution describes the relative proportions of particles of
various sizes. The grain size is often visualized in a cumulative distribution graph which, for example,
plots the percentage of particles finer than a given size as a function of size. The median grain size D50, is
the size for which 50% of the particle mass consists of finer particles. Soil behavior, especially the
hydraulic conductivity, tends to be dominated by the smaller particles; hence, the term "effective size",
denoted by D10, is defined as the size for which 10% of the particle mass consists of finer particles.
Sands and gravels that possess a wide range of particle sizes with a smooth distribution of particle sizes
are called well graded soils. If the soil particles in a sample are predominantly in a relatively narrow
range of sizes, the sample is uniformly graded. If a soil sample has distinct gaps in the gradation curve,
e.g., a mixture of gravel and fine sand, with no coarse sand, the sample may be gap graded. Uniformly
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graded and gap graded soils are both considered to be poorly graded. There are many methods for
measuring particle-size distribution. The two traditional methods are sieve analysis and hydrometer
analysis. For measuring the distribution of particle sizes in a soil sample, it is necessary to conduct
different particle-size tests. Wet sieving is carried out for separating fine grains from coarse grains by
washing the soil specimen on a 75 micron sieve mesh. Dry sieve analysis is carried out on particles
coarser than 75 micron. Samples (with fines removed) are dried and shaken through a set of sieves of
descending size. The weight retained in each sieve is measured. The cumulative percentage quantities
finer than the sieve sizes (passing each given sieve size) are then determined. The resulting data is
presented as a distribution curve with grain size along x-axis (log scale) and percentage passing along y-
axis (arithmetic scale).
Sedimentation analysis is used only for the soil fraction finer than 75 microns. Soil particles are allowed
to settle from a suspension. The decreasing density of the suspension is measured at various time
intervals. The procedure is based on the principle that in a suspension, the terminal velocity of a
spherical particle is governed by the diameter of the particle and the properties of the suspension.
In this method, the soil is placed as a suspension in a jar filled with distilled water to which a
deflocculating agent is added. The soil particles are then allowed to settle down. The concentration of
particles remaining in the suspension at a particular level can be determined by using a hydrometer.
Specific gravity readings of the solution at that same level at different time intervals provide information
about the size of particles that have settled down and the mass of soil remaining in solution.
The results are then plotted between % finer (passing) and log size.

 Minerals:
 Montmorillonite

Montmorillonite clay is made of four planes of oxygen with two silicon and one central aluminum plane
intervening. The aluminum-silicate Montmorillonite clay is said to have a 2:1 ratio of silicon to
aluminum. The seven planes together form a single crystal of Montmorillonite. The crystals are weakly
held together and water may intervene, causing the clay to swell up to ten times its dry volume. It occurs
in soils which have had little leaching, hence it is found in arid regions. As the crystals are not bonded
face to face, the entire surface is exposed and available for surface reactions, hence it has a high cation
exchange capacity (CEC).

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 Illite

Illite is clay similar in structure to Montmorillonite but has potassium bridges between the faces of the
clay crystals and the degree of swelling depends on the degree of weathering of the potassium. The
active surface area is reduced due to the potassium bonds. Illite originates from the modification of
mica, a primary mineral. It is often found together with Montmorillonite and its primary minerals. It has
moderate CEC, Vermiculite is a mica-based clay similar to Illite, but the crystals of clay are held together
more loosely by hydrated magnesium and it will swell, but not as much as does Montmorillonite. It has
very high CEC. Chlorite is similar to vermiculite, but the loose bonding by occasional hydrated
magnesium, as in vermiculite, is replaced by a hydrated magnesium sheet that firmly bonds the planes
above and below it. It has two planes of silicon, one of aluminum and one of magnesium; hence it is a
clay.

Fig: 1.1 Clay Minerals

 Kaolinite

Kaolinite is very common, highly weathered clay, and more common than Montmorillonite in acid soils.
It has one part of silica and one part alumina plane per crystal; hence it is type clay. One plane of silica of
Montmorillonite is dissolved and is replaced with hydroxyls, which produces strong hydrogen bonds to
the oxygen in the next crystal of clay. As a result, Kaolinite does not swell in water and has a low specific
surface area, and as almost no isomorphs substitution has occurred it has a low CEC. Where rainfall is
high, acid soils selectively leach more silica than alumina from the original clays, leaving Kaolinite. Even
heavier weathering results in sesquioxide clays.

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 Soil structure & Three phase system:

Fig: 1.2 Three Phase System of Soil

For the purpose of engineering analysis and design, it is necessary to express relations between the
weights and the volumes of the three phases. The various relations can be grouped into:
 Volume relations
 Weight relations
 Inter-relations

As the amounts of both water and air are variable, the volume of solids is taken as the reference
quantity. Thus, several relational volumetric quantities may be defined. The following are the basic
volume relations:
 Void ratio (e)

Void ratio is the ratio of the volume of voids (Vv) to the volume of soil solids (Vs)
𝑽𝒗
e= x100
𝑽𝒔

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 Porosity (n)

Porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume of soil (V), and is expressed as a
percentage.
𝑽𝒗
n= x100
𝑽
Void ratio and porosity are inter-related to each other as follows:
𝒏
e=
𝟏−𝒏
 Degree of saturation (S)

The volume of water (Vw) in a soil can vary between zero (i.e. a dry soil) and the volume of voids. This
can be expressed as the degree of saturation (S) in percentage.
𝑽𝒘
S= x100
𝑽𝒗

 Air Content (ac)

Air content (ac) is the ratio of the volume of air (V a) to the volume of voids.
𝑽𝒂
ac = x100
𝑽𝒗
 Index properties of Soil and their determination:

Index properties are the properties of soil that help in identification and classification of soil. These
properties are generally determined in the laboratory. In situ density and relative density require
undisturbed sample extraction while other quantities can be determined from disturbed soil sampling.
Following are the major properties of soils:
 Water Content (w)
 Unit weight of Soil/ In-situ density (γ)
 Specific Gravity (G)
 Consistency Limits
 Particle Size Distribution
 Sensitivity and activity of Clays

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Fig: 1.3 Index Properties of Soil

Soil index properties are properties which facilitate identification and classification of soils for
engineering purposes. The nature of some properties differs for coarse- and fine-grained soils.
Coarse-grained (non-cohesive) soil index properties are:
 Particle-size distribution
 Particle shape
 Relative density
 Consistency
 Clay and clay minerals content

Fine-grained (cohesive) soil index properties are:

 Consistency
 Clay and clay minerals content
 Water content

One of soil index properties which describe non-cohesive soils is particle size distribution. Soil that
contains wide range of particle sizes is named well-graded. The opposite type of soil, which contains
narrow range of particle sizes, is categorized as poorly graded. Well-graded soils can be more densely
packed. Particle shape also influences how closely particles can be packed together. The density of soil
(especially of coarse-grained) is the indication of strength and stiffness. The relative density is the ratio
of the actual bulk density and the maximum possible density of the soil. Relative density is a good

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indicator of potential increases in density, and thus deformations that may occur under the different
loads.
Consistency is the resistance of soils to deformation and rupture. The unconfined compression strength
is often used as an indication of consistency. In practice, the terms soft, medium, stiff, very stiff, and
hard are applied to rate consistency of soil. This soil index property describes both cohesive and non-
cohesive soils. Consistency at non-cohesive soil depends primarily on particle shape and size
distribution, while at cohesive soils this property primarily depends on water content.
Clay and clay minerals content is important soil index characteristic for both coarse- and fine-grained
soils. Clay minerals are fine-sized platy silicates which are highly plastic. Therefore, depending on
percentage and type of clay minerals, clayey soils are less or more plastic.
Water content is very important soil index property of fine-grained soils since their behavior largely
changes with water concentration variations. According to Atterberg’s there are four states: liquid,
plastic, semi-solid and solid. Marginal water contents that separate these states are known as Atterberg
limits and these are: shrinkage (SL), plastic (PL) and liquid limit (LL). These limits have different values for
different types of fine-grained soils.
The Unified Soil Classification gives each soil type a two-letter designation. For coarse grained soils, the
first letter, either G for gravel or S for sand, refers to the dominant particle size in the soil. The second
letter is either W, for well graded or P, for poorly graded. The second letter can also be M for silt or C for
clay if coarse-grained soils contain more than 12% of silt or clay. The first letter of the designation for
fine-grained soils is M or C (silt or clay). The second letter, either H (high) or L (low), refers to the
plasticity of the soil.
 Consistency limits:

The consistency of a fine-grained soil refers to its firmness, and it varies with the water content of the
soil. A gradual increase in water content causes the soil to change from solid to semi-solid to plastic to
liquid states. The water contents at which the consistency changes from one state to the other are called
consistency limits (or Atterberg limits).
Two of these are utilized in the classification of fine soils:
 Liquid limit (WL) - change of consistency from plastic to liquid state.
 Plastic limit (WP) - change of consistency from brittle/crumbly to plastic state.

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Fig: 1.4 Consistency Limits

The difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit is known as the plasticity index (IP), and it is
in this range of water content that the soil has a plastic consistency. The consistency of most soils in the
field will be plastic or semi-solid.
The three limits are known as the shrinkage limit (WS), plastic limit (WP), and liquid limit (WL) as shown.
The values of these limits can be obtained from laboratory tests.

 Classification Based on Grain Size:

The range of particle sizes encountered in soils is very large: from boulders with dimension of over 300
mm down to clay particles that are less than 0.002 mm. Some clay contains particles less than 0.0021
mm in size which behave as colloids, i.e. do not settle in water.
In the Indian Standard Soil Classification System (ISSCS), soils are classified into groups according to size,
and the groups are further divided into coarse, medium and fine sub-groups.
The grain-size range is used as the basis for grouping soil particles into boulder, cobble, gravel, sand, silt
or clay.
Table 1.1 Classification of soil based on Grain Size
Very coarse soils Boulder size > 300 mm
Cobble size 80 - 300 mm
Coarse soils Gravel size (G) Coarse 20 - 80 mm
Fine 4.75 - 20 mm
Sand size (S) Coarse 2 - 4.75 mm
Medium 0.425 - 2 mm
Fine 0.075 - 0.425 mm
Fine soils Silt size (M) 0.002 - 0.075 mm
Clay size (C) < 0.002 mm

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 Indian Standard Soil Classification System (ISSCS):

According to this system, the symbols of the various soils are as: Gravel (G), Sand (S), Silt or Silty (M),
Clay or Clayey (C), Organic (O), Peat (Pt), well graded (W), poorly graded (P). To classify the fine-grained
soil, plasticity chart (as shown in Figure 1.5) is used. The difference between the plasticity charts used for
Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) and Indian Standard Soil Classification System (ISSCS) is that in
USCS, the soil is classified as High Plasticity (if liquid limit >50%) or Low Plasticity (if liquid limit < 50%)
soil, but in ISSCS, the soil is classified as High Plasticity (if liquid limit >50%) or Intermediate Plasticity (if
liquid limit is in between 35% to 50%) or Low Plasticity (if liquid limit < 35%). For example, if a soil
sample has liquid limit (wL) 45% and plasticity index (IP) 25, according to the Unified Soil Classification
System (USCS) the point is above ‘A’ line (point A in Figure 1.5) and it is classified as CL. However,
according to Indian Standard Soil Classification System (ISSCS) the point is also above ‘A’ line (point B in
Figure 1.5), but it is classified as CI.

Fig: 1.5 Plasticity chart as per Indian Standard Soil Classification System (ISSCS)

The soil is called fine-grained soil if 50% or more soil is passed through 0.075 mm sieve. The fine-grained
soils are classified based on plasticity chart (as shown in Figure 1.5). The soil has low plasticity (CL: Clay
with low plasticity, ML: Silt with low plasticity) if the liquid limit of the soil is less than 50% and if the
liquid limit of the soil is greater than 50% the soil has high plasticity (CH: Clay with high plasticity, MH:

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Silt with high plasticity). However, more than one group can be termed as boundary soils (like GW-GM:
Well graded gravel mixed with silt).

 AASHTO Soil Classification System:

According to the AASHTO soil classification system, the soils are classified based on the Group Index (GI)
value which can be calculated as:
GI = 0.2 a + 0.005 ac + 0.01 bd
Where,
a is that part of the percent passing through the 75 m (0.075 mm) sieve greater than 35 and not
exceeding 75, expressed as a positive whole number (range 1 to 40).
b is that part of the percent passing through the 75 m (0.075 mm) sieve greater than 15 and not
exceeding 55, expressed as a positive whole number (range 1 to 40).
c is that part of liquid limit greater than 40 and not exceeding 60, expressed as a positive whole number
(range 1 to 20).
d is that part of plasticity index greater than 10 and not exceeding 30, expressed as a positive whole
number (range 1 to 20).
The group index should be rounded off to the nearest whole number. If the calculated group index value
is negative, then it is taken as zero. A group index value equal to zero indicates a good sub grade
material, whereas group index value equal to or greater than 20 indicates a very poor sub grade
material.

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