Soil Mechanics (1) - CIV 262

Lecture 4

INDEX PROPERTIES OF SOIL

(part 1)

By
Dr. Dalia Bahaa Hamdy
Associate Professor Of Geotechnical Engineering, Civil
Engineering Dep., Badr Univ.
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

Introduction

In order to relate soil behavior to its physical properties, it is

convenient to have standard procedures for testing and
reporting of results. This lecture introduces concepts and
definitions for index properties for soil constituents and soil
mass.
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Dr. Dalia Hamdy
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

INDEX PROPERTIES OF SOIL

 Water content
 Specific gravity
 Particle size distribution
 Consistency of soil
 In- situ density
 Relative density
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Dr. Dalia Hamdy
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)
Main topics
1- Water Content

2- Specific Gravity Lecture 4

3- Particle size distribution

a- Sieve Analysis ( coarse grained soil )
b- Sedimentation Analysis (fine grained soil)

4 - Consistency of soil
a- Liquid limit (LL)
b - Plastic limit (PL) ‫حد اللدونة‬
c- Shrinkage Limit (SL) ‫حد األنكما ش‬
5- In-situ density Lecture 5
A- Sand bottle method (Sand Cone)
B- Core cutter method
6- Relative density
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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

1- Water Content

𝑤𝑤
W=
𝑊𝑠

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Dr. Dalia Hamdy
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

•A specimen of soil is weighed.

•Kept in a clean container of known weight.
•Temperature between 105 and 110o c.
•Complete drying takes about 24 hours.
•The weight of the dry specimen is obtained.
•Notice that temperature higher than 110 o c may break the
crystalline structure of clay particles.
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Dr. Dalia Hamdy
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

𝑤𝑤
W=
𝑊𝑠

W1 = weight of container

W2 = weight of container + wet soil

W3 = weight of container + dry soil

𝑤2 −𝑤3
W= *100
𝑊3 −𝑤1
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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

𝑤𝑤
W=
𝑊𝑠

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Dr. Dalia Hamdy
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

2- Specific Gravity

 The density bottle (50 cm3) is suitable for silty and clayey soils.

 The pycnometer, (900 cm3) is used for coarse grained soil.

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Dr. Dalia Hamdy
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

𝑤2 −𝑤1
Gs =
𝑊2 −𝑤1 −(𝑤3−𝑊4)

W2 – W1 = weight of soil

W3 – W4 = weight of soil – weight of water having same volume of soil.

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Dr. Dalia Hamdy
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

𝑾𝟐 −𝑾𝟏 Water (Ww)

Gs =
𝑾𝟐 −𝑾𝟏 −(𝑾𝟑−𝑾𝟒) Water (Ww)

𝑾𝒔
Gs =
𝑾𝒔 −(𝑾𝟑−𝑾𝟒)

Soil (ws) Water having the same

volume of soil ( ww')

W3-W4 = (ww + ws)- (ww+ww′)

W3-W4 = (ww + ws- ww - ww′) = (ws- ww′)
𝑾𝒔 𝑾𝒔 𝑾𝒔 𝑾𝒔
Gs = = = =
𝑾𝒔 −(𝑾𝟑−𝑾𝟒) 𝑾𝒔 −(𝑾𝒔−𝑾𝒘′) 𝑾𝒔 −𝑾𝒔+𝑾𝒘′ 𝑾𝒘′
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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

Example 2
The pycnometer is used for determination of specific gravity of
a sandy soil . Results are as follows:

Weight of pycnometer empty = 210 (gm.)

Weight of pycnometer + dry soil = 515 (gm.)
Weight of pycnometer + soil + water = 1155 (gm.)
Weight of pycnometer filled with water = 965 (gm.)
Find the specific gravity.
Solution:

𝑤2 −𝑤1
Gs =
𝑊2 −𝑤1 −(𝑤3−𝑊4)

515 −210
Gs = =2.65
515 −210 −(1155−965)
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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

3- Particle size distribution

• In general, a soil may contain both coarse and fine grained

particles.

• The particle size distribution of the coarse portion can be

obtained by sieving.

• The particles distribution of fine portion is obtained by

sedimentation analysis.
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Dr. Dalia Hamdy
CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

a- Sieve Analysis ( coarse grained soil )

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

 Sieving is performed by arranging the various sieves one over

the other in order of their mesh opening.
 the largest aperture sieve being placed at the top and the
smallest aperture sieve is placed at the bottom.
 A receiver is placed at the bottom, and a cover is placed at
the top.
 The soil sample is put on the top sieve and the sieves are put
on a sieve shaker, for about 10 minutes.
 The portion of soil sample retained on each sieve is weighed.
Percentage retained and percentage passing are calculated.
 The resulting values are plotted on a semi-log scale.
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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

 A particles size distribution curve gives an idea about the

type and the gradation of the soil.
 A soil sample may be either "well graded" or "poorly
graded".
 A well graded soil contains particles of all sizes well
represented.
 Poorly graded soil has deficiency of certain particles, or most
of the particles are of about the same size.

(Poorly graded)

(Well graded)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

Uniformity coefficient and effective diameter :

𝑫𝟔𝟎
U=
𝑫𝟏𝟎
where:
U = uniformity coefficient
D60 = particle diameter at which 60 % of the soil is finer.
D10 = particle diameter at which 10 % of the soil is finer.

 The diameter D10 is called the "effective diameter" and is

used in estimating some of the mechanical properties of
soil.

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

Coefficient of curvature:

𝑫𝟐𝟑𝟎
Cc =
𝑫𝟔𝟎 ∗𝑫𝟏𝟎

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

Example 3
Results of particle size distribution analysis of a soil sample weighing 2.77 kg
are given. Draw the grading curve. Find the effective diameter and uniformity
coefficient.

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

b- Sedimentation Analysis (fine grained soil)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

References

1- Amr Radwan, 2012. Fundamentals of soil Mechanics. 5th edition.

2 -Amr Radwan, Lectures notes, Fundamentals of soil Mechanics.

3-Braja M. Das, 2010. principles of Geotequnical engineering, 7th edition.

4-MITCHELL, J. K. (1976). Fundamentals of Soil Behavior, Wiley, New York.

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CIV 262 – Soil Mechanics (1)

Thank you

Dr. Dalia Bahaa El Din Hamdy

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