2.

Soil Properties

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

Definitions
Origin of Soil:
Soil formed in-place is called Residual. Transported soils are described by the method of transportation:
Colluvium is soil that has been transported by gravity (i.e. particles roll down a steep slope, landslides). Alluvium is soil that has been transported to its present location by water. Aeolian or Eolian is soil that has been transported to its present location by wind.

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

Definitions
Origin of Soil:
Glacial till is soil that has been gouged out of the Earths crust by ice (glaciers) at one location and dropped at another.
There is usually little or no separation of particles by weight.

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

Soil Composition
Soil consists of solids and voids Solids are mineral particles Voids are air and water between the soil particles.
TDP 2 - Soils Eng. Soil Properties

Sample 1
4

Soil Composition
Volume total = V solid + V air + V water Weight total = W solid + W air + W water

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

Soil Water
Water content (w) is the percentage of the weight of water to the weight of the dry solids.

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Also can be called moisture content A saturated soil has its voids completely filled with water. Its water content is denoted by wsat. Soil below the water table is usually considered to be saturated. Dry soil contains only air in the voids. Wet soils have both water and air
Soil Properties 6

Soil Water
Certain weight relationships have been found to be useful:
Water content is the ratio of the weight of the water to the weight of the solids. This ratio multiplied by 100 is the percentage of water content or moisture content (w).

Ww w 100 Ws
w = moisture content (%) Ww= weight of water Ws = weight of solids
TDP 2 - Soils Eng. Soil Properties 7

Soil Water
Most soils contain water. Some definitions pertaining to water in soil are as follows:
Dry weight or Dry mass is the constant weight of a soil after being dried in an oven at a temperature of 110 5 C.

Optimum water or Optimum moisture content is the percentage of water in a soil, based on its dry weight, at which the maximum unit weight or density is obtained under a given compactive effort and is denoted by wo.
Dry soils require the addition of considerable water to reach wo. Soils with water content between dry and saturated are termed wet.

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

Volume-Weight Relationships
Certain weight relationships have been found to be useful:
Unit weight () or density is defined as the weight per unit volume of a soil. The total unit weight includes the weight of soil solids and water divided by the total volume.
= unit weight

W Ww W s V V

Ws= weight of solids Ww = weight of water V = total volume W = total weight

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

Volume-Weight Relationships
Certain weight relationships have been found to be useful:
Specific gravity (Gs) is the ratio of the weight of a given volume of the soil solids to the weight of an equal volume of pure water. The volume of solids used for determining the specific gravity of solids does not include any voids. Typically, Gs is reported for sands and fines. Values usually range between 2.5 and 2.8, with most falling near 2.65.

High organic content will lead to a lower value, heavy minerals will give larger values.
Soil Properties 10

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Volume-Weight Relationships
Certain weight relationships have been found to be useful:
Units of weight and volume must be consistent.

W in lbs. V in ft.3

In soil engineering, density () and unit weight () are sometimes used interchangeably.

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

11

Volume-Weight Relationships
The unit weight of soil has specific denotations for each of the four most frequently used water contents:
Dry unit weight,

Ws , whereVw 0 V

Wet unit weight,

Saturated unit weight,

Ws Ww Wa m , where Wa 0 V

sat

Ws Ww , whereVa 0 V

Submerged unit weight, sub sat w Submerged unit weight is also known as buoyant unit weight (b).

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

12

Volume-Weight Relationships
Summary:

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.

Soil Properties

13

Three Equations to Know

1. Moisture Content or Water Content Ww w 100 Ws
w = moisture content (%)

Ww= weight of water

Ws = weight of solids

2. Wet Unit Weight or Wet Density

m
Ws Ww Wa , where Wa 0 V

3. Dry Unit Weight or Dry Density

d
Ws m , whereVw 0 or d V 1 w
Soil Properties 14

TDP 2 - Soils Eng.