Soil Mechanics-I Physical Properties of Soils

CHAPTER 2
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS
2.1 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to soils. You will learn some basic descriptions
of soils and some fundamental physical soil properties that you should retain for future use in
this course and in geotechnical engineering practice. Soils, derived from the weathering of
rocks, are very complex materials and vary widely. One of the primary tasks of a geotechnical
engineer is to collect, classify and investigate the physical properties of soils. In this chapter we
will deal with descriptions of soils, tests to determine the physical properties of soils, and soil
classification systems.

2.2 PHASE RELATIONSHIPS

Soil is composed of solids, liquids and gases (fig.2.1a). The solid phase may be mineral,
organic matter, or both. We will not deal with the organic matter in this course. The spaces
between the solids (soil particles) are called voids and are filled with liquids or gases or both.
Water is the predominant liquid and air is the predominant gas. We will use the terms water
and air instead of liquids and gases.

As a result, soils are three-phase systems consisting of solids, water, and air. We can
idealize the three phases of soil as shown in Fig. 2.1b. The weight-volume interrelationships
between these phases are important in understanding the behavior of a given soil sample
because the physical properties of soils are affected by the relative proportions of each of
these phases. Let’s take a soil skeleton of volume V and cross-sectional area as unity.

Figure 2.1 Three phases of a soil a) realistic b) idealized

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The total volume of the soil is the sum of the volume of solids (Vs), volume of water (Vw), and
the volume of air (Va), that is:

V = Vs + Vw + Va = Vs + Vv (2.1)

where Vv is the volume of voids. The weight of the soil is the sum of the weight of solids (Ws),
and weight of water (Ww). The weight of air is negligible. Thus,

W = Ws + Ww (2.2)

The following definitions have been established to describe the proportion of each constituent
in soil. Each equation can be represented with different variables. The most popular and
convenient ones are given here. You should try to memorize these definitions and equations.

The volume ratio relationships commonly used for the three phases in a soil element are void
ratio, porosity, and degree of saturation.

(1) Void ratio (e) is defined as the ratio of the volume of voids to the volume of solids, i.e.
Vv
e = (2.3)
Vs

Void ratio is usually expressed as a decimal.

(2) Porosity (n) is defined as the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume of soil, i.e.
Vv
n =
V (2.4)

Porosity is expressed as a percentage. Porosity of a soil cannot be more than 100 %.

(3) The degree of saturation (S) is defined as the ratio of the volume of water to the
volume of voids, or
Vw
S =
Vv (2.5)

The degree of saturation of a soil is usually expressed as a percentage.

If S=100%, the soil is said to be saturated or fully saturated whereas if S=0 the soil is dry.
Porosity and void ratio are related by the expression,
e
n=
1+ e (2.6)
The proof of Eq. (2.6) is simple and is shown below,

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Soil Mechanics-I Physical Properties of Soils
Vv Vv Vv V s e
n= = = =
V Vv + V s Vv V s + V s V s 1+ e

Rearranging eq. (2.6) the void ratio can be expressed in terms of porosity as:
n
e= (2.7)
1− n

Another volume relationship that is useful in relating volumes is Specific Volume (V’) which is
defined as the volume of soil per unit volume of solids.
Vs Vv
+
V Vs + Vv Vs Vs
V' = = = =1 + e (2.8)
Vs Vs Vs
Vs
The most common weight-volume relationships including weights of constituents of the three
phase system are moisture content (water content), and unit weight.
(4) Moisture content (ω) is defined as the ratio of the weight of water to the weight of
solids in a given volume of soil.

Ww
ω = (2.9)
Ws
The moisture content is expressed as a percentage. Generally, fine-grained soils such as clays
have more water content that that of coarse-grained soils such as sands.

(5) Unit weight (γ) also known as moist or bulk unit weight is defined as the weight of
soil per unit volume, i.e.
W
γ = (2.10)
V
If we further expand this equation,
Ww
Ws + Ws
W Ws + Ww Ws Ws + Wsω Ws (1 + ω )
γ = = = = =
V V V V V (2.11)

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Special Cases of unit weight

 Dry unit weight (γd): is the weight of solids per unit total volume of soil.

Ws
γd = (2.12)
V
Using eqn (2.11) and (2.12) the relationship between bulk and dry unit weight is

γ
γd = (2.13)
(1 + ω )
The dry unit weight can also be defined as the bulk unit weight when the soil is dry (S=0). The
larger the value of the dry unit weight the more dense is the soil & indicates compact condition.

Unit weight is usually expressed as Kilo-Newton per cubic meter (KN/m3). It may sometimes
be convenient to work with mass density (ρ) of soil expressed as Kilogram per cubic meter
(Kg/m3). We can therefore write equation. (2.10) and (2.12) as,
M Ms
ρ= ρd =
V and V

 Saturated unit weight (γsat) is the bulk unit weight of the soil when it is fully saturated
(S=1 or 100%)

Wsat
γ sat = (2.14)
V
Generally γsat > γ > γd

 Submerged unit weight (γsub or γ') also known as effective or buoyant unit weight is
defined as the unit weight of saturated soil (γsat) minus unit weight of water (γw). It is
thus the unit weight of saturated soil, surrounded by water, per unit volume of soil.

γ sub = γ sat − γ w (2.15)

Some common soil types with typical values of unit weights are presented in the table below.

Soil type γsat (kN/m3) γd (kN/m3)

Gravel 20-22 15-17
Sand 18-20 13-16
Silt 18-20 14-18
Clay 16-22 14-21
Table 2.1: Typical values of unit weight for soils

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(6) Specific gravity of solids (Gs) is defined as the ratio of the unit weight of solids to the
unit weight of water at 4˚C. In other words, it is the ratio of the weight of solids to the
weight of water of equal volume.

Ws
Gs = (2.16)
Vs γ w

The specific gravity of most soils ranges from approximately 2.6 to 2.8 and in most
situations it could be assumed to be equal to 2.7 with little margin of error. The unit
weight of water is usually taken to be 9.81KN/m3. Coarse-grained soils generally have
smaller specific gravity than fine-grained soils as shown in the table below.

Soil type Values of Gs

Gravel 2.65 - 2.68
Sand 2.65 -2.68
Silty sand 2.66 - 2.70
Silt 2.66 - 2.70
Clay (Inorganic) 2.68 - 2.80
Organic soils Below 2.00 (variable)
Table 2.2: Typical values of specific gravity for soils
(7) Relative Density (Dr) is an index that is commonly used to describe the in situ
denseness or looseness of granular soils. It is expressed as a percentage and is given by;
emax − e
Dr = (2.17)
emax − emin

Where emax is the maximum void ratio (loosest condition), emin is the minimum void ratio
(densest condition), and e is the in situ void ratio of the soil.
The values of Dr may vary from a minimum of 0% for very loose soil to a maximum of 100%
for very dense soils. It correlates very well with the strength of coarse-grained soils, denser
soils being stronger than looser soils. A description of sand based on relative density is given
below.
Relative density (%) Description of soil deposit
< 15 Very loose
15-35 Loose
35-65 Medium Dense
65-85 Dense
85-100 Very dense
Table 2.3: Description of granular soils based on relative density

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2.2.1 Relationships

So far we have defined the basic volumetric ratios and weight-volume ratios. But we can also
established different relationships among volumetric ratios and weight-volume ratios. There are
two approaches in the phase diagram method, the first one is the specific volume approach in
which the volume of solids is set as 1 (Vs=1) and the second one is the unit volume approach
where the total volume is set as 1 (V=1).
A) Specific volume approach: in this method the volume of solids is set as 1 (Vs=1).
Hence the phase diagram will be as shown below.

Figure 2.2: Three phase diagram in terms of void ratio, e (Specific volume approach)
Vv Vv
Since Vs=1, from e = = ⇒ Vv = e
Vs 1
Ws W
From Gs = ⇒ Ws = Gsγ w and from ω = w ⇒ Ww = ωWs = ωGsγ w
Vsγ w Ws

Ww W ωG s γ w
From γ w = ⇒ Vw = w = = ωG s
Vw γw γw

Vw ωGs
From S = = ⇒ Se = ωGs hence Va = Vv − Vw = e − ωGs = e - Se = e(1 − S )
Vv e

Bulk unit weight:

W Ws + Ww Gsγ w + ωGsγ w Gsγ w (1 + ω )
γ = = = =
V Vs + Vv 1+ e 1+ e
 G + Se 
or γ =  s γ w
 1+ e 

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G + e
For a fully saturated soil (S=100%), the Saturated unit weight is: γ sat =  s γ w
 1+ e 
Ws Ws Gγ
Dry unit weight: γ d = = = s w
V Vs + Vv 1 + e

 G − 1
Submerged unit weight: γ sub = γ sat − γ w =  s γ w
 1+ e 
These can be expressed using density as:

M M + Mw G ρ V + ρ wVw G ρ + ρ w .Se ρW (Gs + Se)

ρ= = s = s w s = s w ⇒ ρ =
V 1+ e 1+ e 1+ e 1+ e

Ms G .ρ G + e  G − 1
ρd = = s w ρ sat =  s  ρ w ρ sub = ρ sat − ρ w =  s  ρ w
V 1+ e  1 + e   1 + e 

B) Unit volume approach: in this method the total volume is set as 1 (V=1). Hence the
phase diagram will be as shown below.

Figure 2.3: Three phase diagram in terms of porosity, n (unit volume approach)

Vv Vv
Since V=1, from n = = ⇒ Vv = n
V 1
Volume of solids, Vs= V - Vv = (1-n)

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Bulk unit weight:
W Ws + Ww Gsγ w (1 − n) + ωGsγ w (1 − n)
γ = = = = Gsγ w (1 − n)(1 + ω )
V V 1
or using Se = ωGs ⇒ γ = γ w [Gs (1 − n) + Sn]

For a fully saturated soil (S=100%), the Saturated unit weight is: γ sat = γ w [Gs (1 − n) + n]

Ws Gsγ w (1 − n)
Dry unit weight: γ d = = = Gsγ w (1 − n)
V 1
Submerged unit weight: γ sub = γ sat − γ w = γ w [Gs (1 − n) + n] − γ w = γ w [Gs (1 − n) + (n − 1)]

The table below shows various relationships among unit weights.

Table 2.4: Various forms of relationships for unit weight.

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