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SOIL MECHANICS-І

CHAPTER FIVE
stress in soils

Birhanu Belete (MSc)

 Contents
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 In Situ Stresses (Total and Effective)

 Stresses In Soil From Surface Loads
 Total and Effective Stresses
 Let us consider an element of a saturated soil subjected
to a normal stress, sigma , applied on the horizontal
boundary, as shown in Figure
Total and Effective Stresses
 The resistance or reaction to 𝜎 is provided by a
combination of the stresses from the solids, called
effective stress (𝜎′), and from water in the pores,
called porewater pressure (u).
 The equilibrium equation is:
Principle of Effective Stress

 This Equation is called the principle of effective stress

and was first recognized by Terzaghi (1883–1963)..
Father of Modern Soil Mechanics
 Deformations of soils are a function of effective stresses,
not total stresses.
 The principle of effective stresses applies only to normal
stresses and not to shear stresses. Why?
 Effective Stresses Due to Geostatic Stress Fields

 The effective stress in a soil mass not subjected to

external loads is found from the unit weight of the soil
and the depth of groundwater.
Geostatic Stress Fields
 Case a
Geostatic Stress Fields
 Case B
 Example 1
 Calculate the effective stress for a soil element at
depth 5 m in a uniform deposit of soil, as shown in
Figure. Assume that the pore air pressure is zero.
 Solution
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 Solution
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 Example 2
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 A layer of sand 5 meters deep overlies a thick bed of clay.

Draw diagrams indicating the total and effective stresses
and pore water pressure on horizontal planes to a depth of
9 meters below the ground surface in the following cases:
a. If the water table is at the ground level.
b. If the water table is at 2 meters below ground level and
the sand above remains saturated with capillary moisture.
c. If the water table is at the top of the clay and the sand
dry.
For Sand: γsat=20.9 KN/m3 , γdry=17.4 KN/m3
For Clay: γsat=17.8 KN/m3
 Example 2
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 Solution
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 Example 3
 The water table is located at a depth of 3.0 m below
the ground surface in a deposit of sand 11.0 m thick
(Fig). The sand is saturated below the water table.
The total unit weight of the sand is 20 kN/m3.
Calculate the
a. the total pressure,
b. the pore water pressure and
c. the effective pressure at depths 0, 3.0, 7.0, and
11.0 m from the ground surface, and draw the
pressure distribution diagram.
Example 3
 Effect of Capillary
 In silts and fine sands, the soil above the
groundwater can be saturated by capillary action.
 We can get an understanding of capillarity in soils
by idealizing the continuous void spaces as
capillary tubes
 Consider a single idealized tube, as shown in Figure
 Effect of Capillary
 The height at which water will rise in the tube can be
found from statics.
 Summing forces vertically (upward forces are
negative), we get:
 Effect of Capillary
 where T is the surface tension (force per unit length), 𝜃
is the contact angle, zc is the height of capillary rise,
and d is the diameter of the tube representing the
diameter of the void space.
 For soils, d is assumed to be equivalent to 0.1D10
where D10 is the effective size.
 The surface tension of water is 0.073 N/m
 For example, for the capillary zone, zc, the porewater
pressure at the top is:
 Effect of Seepage
 As water flows through soil it exerts a frictional drag
on the soil particles, resulting in head losses.
 The frictional drag is called seepage force in soil
mechanics.
 It is often convenient to define seepage as the
seepage force per unit volume (it has units similar to
unit weight)
Direction of Seepage

 For Downward Seepage:

 For Upward Seepage

 Example 4
 Water is seeping downward through a soil layer, as
shown in Figure . Two piezometers (A and B) located
2 m apart (vertically) showed a head loss of 0.2 m.
Calculate the resultant vertical effective stress for a
soil element at a depth of 6 m.
 Solution
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 You have to calculate the seepage stress. But to obtain

this you must know the hydraulic gradient, which you
can find from the data given.
STRESSES IN SOILS FROM SURFACE LOADS
 Introduction
 The distribution of surface stresses within a soil is
determined by assuming that the soil is a semi-infinite,
homogeneous, linear, isotropic, elastic material
 A semi-infinite mass is bounded on one side and extends
infinitely in all other directions; this is also called an
“elastic half space.”
 Surface loads are divided into two general classes, finite
and infinite.
 Intro Cont.
 Examples of finite loads are point loads, circular loads,
and rectangular loads.
 Examples of infinite loads are fills and surcharges
 The increases in soil stresses from surface loads are
added to the effective stress’s to give total effective
stresses.
 These increases in stresses are resisted initially by
both the porewater and the soil particles.
 Types of Surface Loads
➢ Point Load
➢ Line Load
➢ Line Load Near a Buried Earth Retaining Structure
➢ Strip Load
➢ Uniformly Loaded Circular Area
➢ Uniformly Loaded Rectangular Area
➢ Approximate Method for Rectangular Loads
➢ Vertical Stress Below Arbitrarily Shaped Area
 1. Point Load
 Boussinesq (1885) presented a solution for the
distribution of stresses for a point load applied on the
soil surface.
 An example of a point load is the vertical load
transferred to the soil from an electric power line pole.
 1. Point Load
 Point load and vertical load distribution with depth and
radial distance.
 The increases in stresses on a soil element located at point
A
 1. Point Loads
 Radial stress increase is:

 Tangential Stress and shear stress increases are:

 1. Point Load

 Most often, the increase in vertical stress is needed in

practice.
5/ 2
Q  
z = 2 I I = 3  1 
z 2  1 + (r / z ) 2 
 The vertical displacement (Elastic Settlement) is:
1. Point load
Variation of I for Various Values of r/z
 2. Line Load
 With reference to Figure, the increases in stresses due
to a line load, Q (force/length), are:

I can be found according to the elastic formula calculation or

according to the graph next slide
2. Line load
 Example on line load
 Figure shows two line loads on the ground surface.
determine the increase of stress at point A.
Solution

Can you do it using the

graph?
3. Strip Load

 A strip load is the load transmitted by a structure of

finite width and infinite length on a soil surface
 Two types of strip loads are common in geotechnical
engineering.
1. Uniform Stress distribution
2. Triangular stress distribution
3. Strip Load-Uniform. Surface Stress
 Uniform Stress Distribution; the increases in
stresses due to qs are:
Stress influence chart for the
increase in vertical total stress
from a strip load imposing a
uniform surface stress. The
isobars (equal pressures) are
called pressure bulbs.
 4. Uniformly Loaded Circular Area
 An example of circular area that transmits stresses to a
soil mass in a circular foundation of an oil or water tank
 The increase of vertical and radial stresses under a
circular area of radius r0 are

  1  
3/ 2

 z = qs 1 −    = qs I c
2 
  1 + (r0 z )  
4. Uniformly Loaded Circular Area
 Where Ic
  
3/ 2 
  1  
Ic = 1−
  1 + (r0 z ) 2 
 
 
 Radial and Tangential Stresses (Axisymmetric
condition)

qs  2(1 +  ) 1 
 r =   = (1 + 2 ) − + 
2 
 1 +( r0 z ) 2

1 / 2

1 + ( r0 z ) 2

3/ 2


4. Uniformly Loaded Circular Area

Stress influence chart for

the increase in vertical
total stress from a
uniformly loaded
circular area. Note that
the abscissa is
logarithmic scale
Example
Find the vertical stress increase at a depth z=5m under
the center of a circular uniformly distributed surface stress
of intensity 100kPa and radius ro=10m along the center
(r=0),
Solution
Then the depth factor is z/ro = 5/10 = 0.5 and the
lateral distance factor is r/ro = 0/10 = 0. You now look
up the stress intensity factor I from the chart using the
curve corresponding to the lateral distance factor of 0
and a depth factor of 0.5. In Figure 6.4, I = Ic ≈0.91. The
vertical stress increase is then Δσz = qsIc = 100 × 0.91 =
91kPa.
 4. Uniformly Loaded Circular Area
 The vertical elastic settlement at the surface of due to
a circular flexible loaded area of diameter, D =2r, is:

q s D(1 −  ) 2
Below center of loaded area : z =
E
2 qs D (1 −  2 )
Below edge : z =
 E
5. Uniformly loaded Annular Area
 For annular shaped foundation, apply the equation
for uniform circular load and the principle of
superpositioning
  
3/ 2 
1
 z = q s 1 −    = qs I c
  1 + (r0 z ) 2 
 
 

 z = qs ( I c (l arg e) − Ic ( Small ))
 6. Uniformly Loaded Rectangular Area

 Many structural foundations are rectangular or

approximately rectangular in shape
 The increase in stresses below the corner of a
rectangular area is qsI
6. Uniformly Loaded Rectangular Area
Stress influence chart for the
increase in vertical total
stress from a uniformly
stressed square loaded
area. The isobars (equal
pressures) are called
pressure bulbs.
Stress influence chart for the increase in vertical total stress under
the corner of a uniformly stressed rectangular loaded area.
6. Uniformly Loaded Rectangular Area

 You need to be extra careful with rectangular surface loads.

The equation and chart are for vertical stress increase at a
corner of the rectangle. To use the equation or chart for the
vertical stress increase at any point other than at the corner,
you have to subdivide the original rectangular loaded area
into smaller or larger rectangular areas such that the point
at which the vertical stress increase is desired is directly
under the corner of any of the subdivided rectangular area.
 Solution

From slide 54 chart I1

I2
I3
∆𝜎𝐴 = (𝐼1 +𝐼2 + 𝐼3 )𝑞𝑠 = 0.1935 + 0.1202 + 0.1202 =0.4339 𝑞𝑠

∆𝜎𝐴 =0.4339*1000psf = 433.9 psf

 7. Approximate Method for Rectangular Loads

 In preliminary analyses of vertical stress increases under

the center of rectangular loads, geotechnical engineers
often use an approximate method (sometimes called the
2:1 method).
 The surface load on an area BxL, , is dispersed at a depth
z over an area (B+z)*(L+Z) as illustrated in Fig
 The approximate method is reasonably accurate
(compared with Boussinesq’s elastic solution) when z > B.
7. Approximate Method for Rectangular Loads

 The vertical load increase under the center of the

rectangle is:
q s BL
 z =
( B + z )(L + z )
 8. Embankment/infinite

Combination of a rectangular and two triangular strip loads

Stress influence chart
for the increase in
vertical total stress due
to an embankment.
Newmark’s Method ( For Arbitrarily shaped Areas)

 Reading Assignment