Geotechnical Eng. Lab Manual

CVEN365 Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering
LABORATORY MANUAL
Giovanna Biscontin
Texas A&M University
January 19, 2007
2 CVEN365 Laboratory Manual
G. Biscontin Civil Engineering Department
Contents
1 Lab Safety and Policy 1
2 Determining Water Content of Soil Specimens 3
2.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Water Content by Microwave Oven Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2.1 Standard Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2.2 Required Materials and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2.3 Test Specimen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.4 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.5 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3 Water Content by Oven Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3.1 Standard Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3.3 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3.4 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Particle Size Analysis of Soils 9
3.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.2 Standard Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3 Particle size analysis of coarse grained fraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3.2 Test Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3.3 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.3.4 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.4 Particle size analysis of ne grained fraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4.2 Hydrometer Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4.3 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.4.4 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4 Atterberg Limits: Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils 19
4.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3 Determination of Liquid Limit (Multi-Point Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3.2 Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3.3 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3.4 Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
ii CVEN365 Laboratory Manual
4.4 Determination of Plastic Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.4.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.5 Plasticity Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5 Classication According to USCS 25
5.1 Denitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.2 Initial Classication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.2.1 Highly Organic Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.2.2 Non Highly Organic Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.3 Procedure for Classication of Fine Grained Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.4 Procedure for Classication of Coarse Grained Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6 Visual Classication of Soils 29
6.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6.3 Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6.4 Descriptive Information for Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.5 Procedure for Identifying Fine-Grained Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.6 Identication of Inorganic Fine-Grained Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6.7 Procedure for identifying Coarse-Grained Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.8 Check List For Description Of Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7 Compaction Using Standard Effort 37
7.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
7.3 Required Materials and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
7.4 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7.4.1 Specimen preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7.4.2 Compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7.5 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
8 Measuring Suction with the Filter Paper Method 43
8.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8.2 Soil Suction Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8.3 Required Materials and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
8.4 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
8.5 Soil Matric Suction Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
8.6 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
8.7 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
9 Hydraulic Conductivity 49
9.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
9.3 Fundamental Test Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
9.4 Constant head test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
9.4.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
9.4.3 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
CONTENTS iii
9.5 Falling head test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
9.5.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
9.5.3 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
10 Flow Nets 57
10.1 Denitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
10.2 Flow Net Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
10.3 Drawing Flow Nets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
10.4 Rules for Sketching Flow Nets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
10.5 Common Mistakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
10.6 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
10.7 Example Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
11 Plaxis exercise 1: Groundwater calculation 61
11.1 Groundwater calculations for an embankment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
11.1.1 Case 1: uniform embankment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
11.1.2 Initial conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
11.1.3 Case 2: Zoned embankment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
11.1.4 Case 3: anisotropic conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
12 State of Stress: Mohrs Circle 67
12.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
12.2 Two-Dimensional States of Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
12.3 Mohrs Circle of Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
12.3.1 The Pole Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
12.4 Principal Stresses and Principal Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
12.5 Mohrs Circles of Total and Effective Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
13 Instrumentation and Calibration 75
13.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
13.2 Transducers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
13.3 Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
13.3.1 Calibration Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
13.4 Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
14 Shrink/Swell Test 81
14.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
14.2 Apparatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
14.3 Specimen Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
14.4 Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
14.5 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
14.5.1 Shrinkage Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
14.6 Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Texas A&M University G. Biscontin
iv CVEN365 Laboratory Manual
15 One-Dimensional Consolidation 87
15.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
15.3 Specimen Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
15.4 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
15.5 Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
15.6 Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
16 Plaxis exercise 2: consolidation settlements calculation 93
16.1 Consolidation settlements of an embankment during construction and after completion . . . 93
16.1.1 Input of geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
16.1.2 Input of material parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
16.1.3 Generation of new mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
16.1.4 Initial conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
16.2 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
17 Direct Shear Test of Soils Under Consolidated Drained Conditions 101
17.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
17.2 Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
17.3 Apparatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
17.4 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
17.5 Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
17.6 Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
18 Triaxial Unconned Compression Test 107
18.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
18.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
18.2.1 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
18.2.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
18.3 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
18.4 Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
19 Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Test 111
19.1 Specimen preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
19.1.1 Preparation of the specimen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
19.1.2 Fitting end caps and membrane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
19.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
19.3 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
19.4 Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
A CVEN 365 Laboratory Design Project 115
A.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
A.2 Report Submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
A.2.1 Data laboratory reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
A.2.2 Design reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
A.3 Project overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
A.4 Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
A.5 Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
CONTENTS v
A.6 Part III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
A.6.1 Planned Construction Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
A.6.2 Construction Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
A.6.3 Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
A.6.4 Laboratory Test Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
vi CVEN365 Laboratory Manual
Chapter 1
Lab Safety and Policy
Safety is a primary concern in all of the CE Department Geotechnical Engineering laboratories. Both the
Undergraduate laboratory (RM-117) and Graduate laboratory (RM-116D) are outtted with equipment that
could cause injury if one is not alert while performing experiments. Following is an outline of general policy
and Dos and Donts in these laboratories. Safety is everyones concern.
1. No food or drink is allowed in the laboratories.
2. Ovens:
The large ovens in both rooms are set at 105 degrees C. Use properly insulated gloves to handle
objects you are retrieving out of the oven. The gloves are placed near the oven for this purpose.
Please return the gloves to the table by the oven.
The microwave ovens are used for moisture determination in SOILS ONLY. Never place more
than ONE soil sample at a time (in its aluminum dish) in a microwave oven during this process.
Check that a heat sink (in the form of a ceramic bowl) is in the microwave to avoid explosions.
3. There are two re extinguishers in the Undergraduate laboratory and one extinguisher in the Graduate
laboratory. Please observe the mounting locations on the walls and make a mental note of their access.
4. Safety glasses are in a large white cabinet on the north wall of the Undergraduate Laboratory. Should
one need to use a hammer or blunt instrument to break up dried soil samples then all persons of the
laboratory group will be required to wear safety glasses during this process, including the teaching
assistant.
5. Each lab island has a sink with two faucets. One faucet provides hot and cold tap water and is used for
cleanup only. The other faucet has a white button on it and is labelled DW (distilled water).
6. During some sessions noise from machinery (such as sieve shakers) may get loud. If this becomes
a problem, please notify the teaching assistant and ear protection will be provided on an as-needed
individual basis.
7. Barrels are provided for used soil when the experiment is completed. Never throw trash (foil cups,
paper, plastic, etc.) in these barrels. There are trash bins provided for the garbage.
8. At the end of each lab session always clean all the instruments and other materials used. A paper towel
dispenser hangs on the wall for cleanup.
9. Counterbalanced Load Frames:
There are four double load frames in the Undergraduate laboratory and two double load frames
in the Graduate laboratory. These frames are safe to operate when using the correct procedure.
Never touch these frames when not in use.
When using the loading frames:
Never have your head under the top counterweight. The weight may fall while making
adjustments to the set up. This typically occurs at least once a semester. You want to make
sure the weight does not fall on you, and especially your head.
Chapter 2
Determining Water Content of Soil
Specimens
2.1 Purpose
The water (or moisture) content of a soil is recorded in every test in geotechnical engineering. This basic
type of information provides insight on the conditions of the soil. The water content of undisturbed samples
from the site is also measured and reported on boring logs and in the engineering reports. Sometimes, we
need to mix a soil to a certain water content to meet specications for construction.
Traditionally, we used a standard oven set at a temperature of 110
o
C. These days we can also use a
microwave oven, which gives immediate results. The two methods are only slightly different and they are
both explained in this chapter. You will mostly use the microwave oven method, but in a few cases the
standard method is more reliable. The instructions for the specic test will tell you which method to use for
each laboratory experiment.
2.2 Water Content by Microwave Oven Method
This method is commonly used as a quicker alternative to the standard oven drying method, therefore it is
mostly used when immediate results are needed. You cannot use the microwave oven method for soils with
signicant levels of organics.
The main problem with using the microwave oven for water content determination is the possibility
of heating the soil to temperatures higher than 110
o
C. The higher temperature may actually change the
chemical structure of the clay minerals (think about pottery) and give wrong results. By drying the soil in
several steps you minimize the chance of overheating.
2.2.1 Standard Reference
ASTM D 4643 - Standard test method for determination of water (moisture) content of soil by the microwave
oven heating.
2.2.2 Required Materials and Equipment
The following items will be required for this testing method:
A microwave oven. Variable power controls are important and reduce the potential for overheating the
test specimen.
A scale having a 2000 g or greater and readability of 0.1 g is required.
Specimen container suitable for use in a microwave. These containers must be dry.
Gloves or holders to handle hot containers.
Heat sink, something that will absorb the microwave energy once all the water has been extracted from
the specimen and will prevent overheating.
Tools such as knives or spatulas for cutting the specimen before and during testing.
2.2.3 Test Specimen
Select the minimum mass of soil to use for moisture content determination based on the following table:
No more than 10% of sample 90% or more of sample Recommended mass of
made of particles larger than: passes sieve moist specimen
(mm) No. (g)
2.0 10 100 to 200
4.75 4 300 to 500
19 mm 3/4 in 500 to 1000
Table 2.1: Minimum mass of specimen
2.2.4 Procedure
It is important to prepare the specimen as quickly as possible to minimize moisture loss that will result in
the wrong water content measurement. Break up the soil into small size pieces. If the specimens cannot be
tested immediately, store them in a sealed container to prevent loss of moisture.
1. Make sure you have a copy of the appropriate moisture content determination form ready for use. You
can nd it at the end of this chapter.
2. Determine the mass of a clean, dry container or dish, and record it.
3. Place the soil specimen in the container, and immediately determine and record the total mass.
4. Place the soil specimen in the container in a microwave oven with the heat sink and turn the oven on
for 3 min.
5. After the set time has elapsed, remove the container and soil from the oven taking care not to burn
yourself, and immediately record the mass.
6. Mix the soil carefully with a small spatula, make sure you do not lose any soil.
7. Return the container and soil to the oven and reheat for 1 min.
8. Repeat step 5 through 7 until the change in the measured mass becomes insignicant on the calculated
moisture content. A change of 0.1% or less of the initial wet mass of the soil should be acceptable for
most specimens.
9. Use the nal mass determination in calculating the water content.
2. Determining Water Content of Soil Specimens 5
2.2.5 Calculations
Calculate the Water content of the sample as follows:
w =
M
cws
M
cs
M
cs
M
c
100 =
M
w
M
s
100 (2.1)
where:
w = water content, %
M
cws
= mass of container and wet specimen, g
M
cs
= mass of container and oven dry specimen, g
M
c
= mass of container, g
M
w
= mass of water, g and
M
s
= mass of solid particles.
Moisture Content Determination by Microwave Oven
Sample No. B-24 Project
Boring No. 12-L Location
Depth 2.4 m
Description of sample Brown silty clay
Date 09/05/03 Tested by Jane Doe
Mass of container, M
c
(g) 20.0
After 3
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
Initial mass of container + wet specimen, M
cws
(g) 155.0 155.0 155.0 155.0 155.0
Mass of container + dry specimen, M
cs
(g) 131.8 122.3 121.5 121.3 121.2
Mass of water, M
w
= M
cws
M
cs
(g) 23.2 32.7 33.5 33.7 33.8
Mass of solid particles, M
s
= M
cs
M
c
(g) 111.8 102.3 101.5 101.3 101.2
Moisture content w =
Mw
Ms
100% (%) 20.75 31.96 33.00 33.27 33.39
Percent difference in water content (%) 11.21 1.04 0.27 0.12
Figure 2.1: Example of water content by microwave oven calculation
2.3 Water Content by Oven Method
Drying takes at least 12 hours in a standard oven, but the temperature is constant avoiding problems with
overheating. If you have a large sample, overheating is likely in a microwave oven, therefore the standard
oven is recommended.
2.3.1 Standard Reference
ASTM D 2216 - Standard test method for laboratory determination of water (moisture) content of soil and
rock by mass.
The following items will be required for this testing method:
A drying oven at a temperature of 110
o
C 5
o
C.
A scale with readability of 0.01 g is required for specimens with mass of less than 200 g.
Specimen container suitable for use in an oven. For small samples (less than 200 g) use the aluminum
containers with a lid to prevent moisture loss before drying and moisture gain from the air after drying.
The containers must be dry.
Gloves or holders to handle the container.
Tools such as knives, or spatulas.
A marker, if the container does not have an identifying feature.
2.3.3 Procedure
1. Make sure you have a copy of the appropriate moisture content determination form ready for use.
2. Determine the mass of a clean, dry container or dish, and record it. Remember to record the container
ID or mark the container. Many similar containers are placed in the oven at the same time and may be
moved. You want to make sure you will be able to nd your specimen.
3. Place the soil specimen in the container, and immediately determine and record the total mass.
4. Place contained and soil specimen in the oven for at least 12 hours. Longer drying times will not
compromise the results.
5. After the set time has elapsed, remove the container and soil from the oven taking care not to burn
yourself, and immediately record the mass.
6. Calculate the water content.
2.3.4 Calculations
Follow the same procedure as above in section 2.2.5.
2. Determining Water Content of Soil Specimens 7
Moisture Content Determination by Microwave Oven
Sample No. Project
Boring No. Location
Depth
Description of sample
Date Tested by
c
(g)
After 3
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
cws
(g)
cs
(g)
Mass of water, M
w
= M
cws
M
cs
(g)
s
= M
cs
M
c
(g)
Mw
Ms
100% (%)
Percent difference in water content (%)
Moisture Content Determination by Oven
Sample No. Project
Boring No. Location
Depth
Date Tested by
c
(g)
cws
(g)
cs
(g)
Mass of water, M
w
= M
cws
M
cs
(g)
s
= M
cs
M
c
(g)
Mw
Ms
100% (%)
Chapter 3
Particle Size Analysis of Soils
3.1 Purpose
The particle size distribution of a soil (also called a gradation curve) is primarily used for classication
purposes. The distribution of particle sizes larger then 0.075 mm (retained on the No. 200 sieve) is deter-
mined by sieving, while distribution of particles sizes smaller then 0.075 mm is determined by sedimentation
process using a hydrometer.
3.2 Standard Reference
ASTM D 422 - Standard test method for particle-size analysis of soils.
3.3 Particle size analysis of coarse grained fraction
A scale sensitive to 0.01 g
Sieves, bottom pan, and a lid (The table below provides a list of common sieve sizes)
Mechanical sieve shaker
Sieve No. Opening (mm)
4 4.75
10 2.00
40 0.425
80 0.180
100 0.150
200 0.075
3.3.2 Test Sample
The size of the sample (i.e., the amount of soil) will depend on the maximum size of the particles present in
the sample itself, according to the following table:
Nominal diameter of Approximate Minimum
largest particles Mass of Portion
in. (mm) g
3/8 (9.5) 500
3/4 (19.0) 1000
1 (25.4) 2000
1.5 (38.1) 3000
2 (50.8) 4000
3 (76.2) 5000
3.3.3 Procedure
1. Clean each sieve to remove any soil left over from previous tests. Use the soft brush on the ner mesh
sieve and the wire brush on the coarser mesh sieve. Take care not to damage the mesh.
2. Measure and record the mass of each sieve, including the bottom pan.
3. Obtain the appropriate amount of sample.
4. Weigh and record the mass of the sample selected.
5. Assemble the sieves in order from largest to smallest so that the coarsest is at the top and the nest is
on the bottom followed by the pan.
6. Place the sample on to the top sieve taking care not to lose any of the mass and place the lid securely
on top.
7. Place the set of sieves in the sieve shaker and adjust the clamps to secure the sieves.
8. Set the shaker on high and set the timer to ve minutes.
9. Remove the sieves from the sieve shaker
10. To insure that all the particles passed though the appropriate sieve, tap each sieve over a sheet of paper,
starting with the top sieve. Put any material that falls on to the paper into the next sieve and repeat the
process with the next sieve.
11. Measure and record the mass retained in each sieve.
12. Sum the mass of the material retained on each sieve to verify that there has been no change in the total
mass of the sample. (Note: A mass loss of less than 2% is acceptable.)
3.3.4 Calculations
Determine the weight of soil that is retained on each sieve, W
i
.
Calculate the percent of soil that is retained on each sieve (%R
i
):
%R
i
=
W
i
W
100 (3.1)
3. Particle Size Analysis of Soils 11
Calculate the percent passing each sieve (%P
i
):
%P
i
= 100
i
k=1
%R
i
(3.2)
Plot the percent passing values on the grain size analysis chart provided.
3.4 Particle size analysis of ne grained fraction
Stirring apparatus.
Hydrometer, type 151H or 152H.
Sedimentation cylinder, glass cylinder marked for a volume of 1000 ml.
A solution of 40 g/l solution of sodium hexametaphosphate (or Calgon) in distilled water is used as a
dispersing agent and will be provided
Thermometer, accurate to 1
o
F (0.5
o
C).
Graduated beaker to 250 ml capacity.
Timer.
3.4.2 Hydrometer Calibration
The specic gravity of the solution of water and dispersing agent is higher than the specic gravity of distilled
water. This difference must be accounted for when using the equations for percentage of soil remaining in
suspension in section 3.4.4, which were developed for distilled water. In addition, the hydrometers were
calibrated at a constant temperature of 68
o
F (20
o
C), which cannot be ensured in our laboratory. Finally,
hydrometers are graduated by the manufacturer to be read at the bottom of the meniscus formed by the
liquid on the stem. However, given the difculty of conducting a reading at the bottom of the meniscus
through the soil-water suspension, the readings should be taken at the top of the meniscus and then corrected.
The combined amount of the corrections for these three items is called composite correction and should be
determined before or while conducting the actual test.
For convenience, measurement of the composite correction can be made at a few different temperatures
spanning the range expected during the test, and the result graphed. The correction for intermediate temper-
atures can be estimated using a linear approximation.
Calibration procedure
1. In a graduate cylinder, mix 125 ml of the 40 g/l solution of sodium hexametaphosphate (or Calgon)
and then distilled water up to 1000 ml.
2. Allow the temperature of the solution to become in equilibrium with the temperature in the room.
3. Place the hydrometer in the solution, allow to adjust to the temperature and stop moving.
4. Read the hydrometer at the top of the meniscus formed on the stem.
5. The composite correction for hydrometer 151H is the difference between this reading and one; for
hydrometer 152GH it is the difference between the reading and zero.
6. Repeat the measurement in parallel with your hydrometer measurements in the soil-water-dispersing
agent mix, when the room temperature changes.
3.4.3 Procedure
1. Obtain the equivalent of 50 g of air dried soil from the material passing the #200 sieve (do not oven
dry the soil).
2. Determine the hygroscopic water content (due to humidity in the air) using an additional 10-15 g of
soil.
3. Mix the soil to a thick slurry using 125 ml of the distilled water-dispersing agent solution.
4. Mix the slurry in a stirring apparatus for 60 seconds.
5. Transfer to the sedimentation cylinder and ll with distilled water up to the 1000 ml mark.
6. Mix thoroughly: cover the sedimentation cylinder mouth using a rubber glove and your hand and turn
the cylinder upside down and back for 1 minute.
7. Set the cylinder down and quickly start the timer. Take readings using the hydrometer at 4, 15, 30, 60,
90, 120 seconds. Be careful in inserting the hydrometer, so that it will be stabilized as soon as possible
and leave in the suspension for the rst 2 minutes. Take readings at the top of the meniscus.
8. Repeat the mixing process and take a second set of readings for the rst 2 minutes.
9. Remove the hydrometer from the suspension and place with a spinning motion in a cylinder lled with
distilled water. To take the following readings, carefully place the hydrometer in the suspension about
20-25 s before the reading is due.
10. Take readings at 5, 15, 30, 60, and 1140 minutes. Place the hydrometer into the distilled water imme-
diately after each reading. After each reading, take the temperature of the suspension by inserting the
thermometer into the suspension.
11. At the end of the experiment, obtain the nal dry weight of soil.
3.4.4 Calculations
Hygroscopic correction factor
Determine the hygroscopic correction factor based on the determination of the hygroscopic water content
results:
HygroscopicCF =
W
s
W
t
(3.3)
where: W
s
is the weight of the soil after oven drying and W
t
is the initial weight of the air dry sample.
Diameter of soil particles
The diameter of the soil particles is calculating according to Stokes law, assuming that the particles are
spherical, and measuring the density of the suspension:
D =
18L
(G
s
G
1
)
w
T
(3.4)
where:
= viscosity of water (10.09 millipoise at 20
o
C)
L = depth at which the density of the suspension is being measured (that is, where the center of gravity
of the hydrometer is). See appendix for values of L given hydrometer reading.
w
= unit weight of water
G
s
= specic gravity of the solid particles
G
1
= specic gravity of the solution (usually assumed to be 1)
T = elapsed time
For convenience, the above calculations can be simplied as follows:
D(mm) = K
L
T
(3.5)
where: K is a constant that depends on temperature and specic gravity of the solid particles, given in
the appendix.
Percentage of soil in suspension
Calculate the (oven) dry weight (W) of the soil by multiplying the air-dry weight of the soil to be used in the
hydrometer analysis by the hygroscopic correction factor.
The percentage of soil remaining in suspension at the level at which the hydrometer is measuring the
density is calculated differently for the two hydrometers.
For Hydrometer 151H:
P =
100, 000
W
G
s
G
s
G
1
(R
h
G
1
) (3.6)
For Hydrometer 152H:
P =
R
h
W
100 (3.7)
where:
P = percentage of soil remaining in suspension at the level at which the hydrometer is measuring
R
h
= corrected hydrometer reading
W = weight of the oven dry soil, after hygroscopic correction
G
s
= specic gravity of the solid particles
G
1
= specic gravity of the dispersing solution (usually 1)
= correction factor, see appendix
Sieve Analysis of Coarse Fraction
Sample No. Project
Boring No. Location
Depth
Date Tested by
Total weight of sample
Sieve No. Weight of
Sieve
Weight of
Sieve + Soil
Weight of Soil
Retained
Percentage
Retained
Percentage
Passed
(g) (g) (g) (%) (%)
Total weight of soil (g)
H
y
d
r
o
m
e
t
e
r
A
n
a
l
y
s
i
s
D
a
t
e
T
e
s
t
e
d
b
y
S
a
m
p
l
e
N
o
.
P
r
o
j
e
c
t
B
o
r
i
n
g
D
e
p
t
h
(
A
)
H
y
g
r
o
s
c
o
p
i
c
w
a
t
e
r
c
o
n
t
e
n
t
(
1
)
C
u
p
N
o
.
(
2
)
M
a
s
s
o
f
c
u
p
(
3
)
M
a
s
s
c
u
p
+
s
o
i
l
(
a
i
r
d
r
y
)
(
4
)
M
a
s
s
c
u
p
+
s
o
i
l
(
o
v
e
n
d
r
y
)
(
5
)
M
a
s
s
o
f
w
a
t
e
r
(
6
)
M
a
s
s
o
f
s
o
i
l
(
o
v
e
n
d
r
y
)
(
7
)
M
a
s
s
o
f
s
o
i
l
(
a
i
r
d
r
y
)
(
8
)
H
y
g
r
o
s
c
o
p
i
c
w
a
t
e
r
c
o
n
t
e
n
t
(
9
)
H
y
g
r
o
s
c
o
p
i
c
c
o
r
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
f
a
c
t
o
r
(
B
)
H
y
d
r
o
m
e
t
e
r
A
n
a
l
y
s
i
s
H
y
d
r
o
m
e
t
e
r
T
y
p
e
S
p
e
c
i
c
G
r
a
v
i
t
y
o
f
S
o
i
l
(
G
s
)
M
a
s
s
o
f
a
i
r
d
r
y
s
o
i
l
C
a
l
c
u
l
a
t
e
m
a
s
s
o
f
o
v
e
n
d
r
y
s
o
i
l
D
a
t
e
T
i
m
e
E
l
a
p
s
e
d
T
i
m
e
A
c
t
u
a
l
H
y
-
d
r
o
m
e
t
e
r
R
e
a
d
i
n
g
C
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
e
C
o
r
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
H
y
d
r
o
m
e
t
e
r
R
e
a
d
i
n
g
-
C
o
r
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
E
f
f
e
c
t
i
v
e
H
y
d
r
o
m
e
-
t
e
r
D
e
p
t
h
K
f
r
o
m
t
a
b
l
e
D
i
a
m
e
t
e
r
o
f
p
a
r
t
i
c
l
e
,
D
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
n
e
r
i
n
s
u
s
p
e
n
s
i
o
n
(
m
i
n
)
(
r
h
)
(
R
h
)
(
d
e
g
r
e
e
s
C
)
(
m
m
)
(
%
)
Chapter 4
Atterberg Limits: Liquid Limit, Plastic
Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils
4.1 Purpose
The liquid limit, plastic limit, and the plasticity index of soils are used extensively to correlate with engi-
neering behavior such as compressibility, hydraulic conductivity, shrink-swell, and shear strength. Atterberg
dened four possible states of consistency for soils: liquid, plastic, semi-solid and solid. The liquid limit
divides the plastic and liquid states and is dened as the water content at which the soil ows to close a
standard size groove when shaken in a standardized device. At this water content the soil has an approximate
shear strength of 2.5 kPa. The plastic limit separates plastic and semi-solid states. At water contents below
the plastic limit the soil cannot be molded without cracking.
ASTM D 4318 - Standard test method for liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index of soils.
4.3 Determination of Liquid Limit (Multi-Point Method)
Liquid limit device cup
Grooving tool
200-250 g of soil passing the No. 40 sieve, 425m aperture size
Scale with accuracy of 0.001 g
Water content cup
Spatula and mixing tools
Figure 4.1: Procedure for adjusting the liquid limit device.
4.3.2 Preparation
Inspection of Wear
Clean the liquid limit device and make sure it is in good working order. The results of the test will be
incorrect if the device is not working properly. In particular, check for:
signs of wear on the base where the cup makes contact. The worn spot should be no greater than
10mm (
3
8
in.) in diameter.
wear on the rim of the cup (reduced to no less than half its original thickness). and in the center where
the groove is dug into the soil (indentation should be less than 1mm or 0.004 in.).
side to side movement of the cup should be less than 3mm (
1
8
in.).
the cup should not drop before the cup hanger loses contact with the cam
excessive wear of the grooving tool
If your liquid limit device is not in good order please alert your laboratory instructor to obtain a new
liquid limit device.
Calibration
It is very important to calibrate your device so that the drop height is correct. The wrong drop height will
cause the test results to be incorrect.
Adjust the height of drop of the cup so that the point on the cup that comes in contact with the base rises
to a height of 10 0.2 mm. Place a piece of masking tape across the contact spot on the bottom of the cup
and running parallel to the hinged side. Slide the height gage (usually at the end of the grooving tool) under
the cup. The gage should touch both the cup and the tape (see g. 4.1). If the drop height is correct you
should hear a clicking sound, but produce no motion when cranking the handle. Adjust as needed.
4.3.3 Procedure
Soils should be tested starting from the natural water content to ensure the results are more representative of
the actual eld conditions. In our laboratory we will be using air dried samples because it is easier to store
the soil and ensure a constant supply.
4. Atterberg Limits: Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils 21
The liquid limit is dened as the water content at which a standard groove cut in the remolded soil sample
by a grooving tool closes over a length of 13 mm (0.5 in) at exactly 25 blows of the liquid limit cup falling
from a height of 10 mm on a hard rubber base. It is very difcult to mix the soil at the right water content,
even after a number of trials. However, if different trials are plotted on a semi-logarithmic scale they should
lie on a straight line and the liquid limit could be taken as the value of water content where the line crosses
the 25 blows mark. For this reason, in a liquid limit test we try to mix the soil at least three different water
contents aiming at blow counts above and below 25.
1. Mix the soil thoroughly with enough distilled water to reach a consistency requiring about 25 to 35
blows of the liquid limit device to close the groove. This is about the consistency of creamy peanut
butter. Keep in mind that it is easier to add water than to take it away, so try to aim for the thicker
consistency.
2. Using a spatula, place a portion of the prepared soil in the cup of the liquid limit device at the point
where the cup rests on the base, squeeze it down, and spread it into the cup to a depth of about 10 mm
at its deepest point, tapering to form an approximately horizontal surface. Take care to eliminate air
bubbles from the soil pat, but form the pat with as few strokes as possible. Keep the unused soil in the
mixing/storage dish. Cover the dish to retain the moisture in the soil.
3. Form a groove in the soil pat by drawing the tool, beveled edge forward, through the soil on a line
joining the highest point to the lowest point on the rim of the cup. When cutting the groove, hold the
grooving tool against the surface of the cup and draw in an arc, maintaining the tool perpendicular to
the surface of the cup throughout its movement.
4. Verify that no crumbs of soil are present on the base or the underside of the cup. Lift and drop the cup
by turning the crank at a rate of approximately 2 drops per second until the two halves of the soil pat
come in contact at the bottom of the groove along a distance of 13mm (
1
2
in).
5. Record the number of drops, N, required to close the groove.
6. Quickly remove a slice of soil approximately the width of the spatula, along the groove and including
the portion of the groove in which the soil owed together, place in a container of known mass, and
obtain a water content. Try to determine water content as soon as possible. The sample is small and
looses water quickly through evaporation.
7. Return the soil remaining in the cup to the mixing cup. Wash and dry the cup and grooving tool and
reattach the cup to the carriage in preparation for the next trial.
8. Remix the entire soil specimen in the dish adding distilled water to increase the water content of the
soil and decrease the number of blows required to close the groove.
9. Repeat steps 1-8 for at least two additional trials producing successively lower numbers of blows to
close the groove. One of the trials shall be for a closure requiring 25 to 35 blows, one for closure
between 20 and 30 blows, and one trial for a closure requiring 15 to 25 blows.
4.3.4 Calculation
Plot the relationship between the water content, w
n
, and the corresponding number of drops, N, on the
graph provided. Draw the best straight line through the three or more plotted points.
Take the water content corresponding to the intersection of the line with the 25-drop abscissa as the
liquid limit of the soil and round to the nearest whole number. Computational methods may be substi-
tuted for the graphical method for tting a straight line to the data and determining the liquid limit.
4.4 Determination of Plastic Limit
Ground glass plate
Metal rod, 3.2 mm diameter
Balance
Water content cup
4.4.2 Procedure
1. Select about 20 g of soil from the material prepared for the liquid limit test.
2. Reduce the water content of the soil to a consistency at which it can be rolled without sticking to the
hands by spreading or mixing on the glass plate.
3. From this plastic limit specimen, select a 1.5 to 2.0 g portion. Form the selected portion into a ball.
4. Roll the mass between the palm or ngers and the glass plate to form a thread of uniform diameter
throughout its length. Keep rolling until the thread reaches 3.2 mm (
1
8
in) diameter. Compare to the
metal rod to determine if the diameter is 3.2 mm. The process should take no more than 2 minutes for
each thread.
5. When the thread has reached a 3.2 mm diameter, break it into pieced and knead together in a ball.
Repeat the rolling and kneading process until the thread crumbles and the soil can no longer be rolled
into a 3.2 mm thread. Do not cheat, be consistent: apply the same rolling pressure during each stage of
the rolling and do not pretend to roll while you wait for the soil to dry and crumble. If the soil breaks
into threads of shorter length, roll each of these shorter pieces into threads 3.2 mm in diameter and
repeat the kneading and rolling process.
6. Collect the broken pieces in a water content cup and cover to prevent further drying while rolling the
next 1.5-2.0 g of soil.
7. Select another 1.5 to 2.0 g portion of soil from the plastic limit specimen and repeat the operations
steps 3-6 until the container has at least 6g of soil.
8. Use the 6 g of soil to obtain the water content according to the procedures in chapter 2.
9. Go through the procedure in steps 1-8 until you have obtained two 6 g samples and water content
values. The water contents should not have a difference of more than 1.4%. The plastic limit is the
average of the two water content values.
4.5 Plasticity Index
Calculate the plasticity index as follows:
PI = LL PL (4.1)
where:
4. Atterberg Limits: Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils 23
LL = liquid limit
PL = plastic limit
Atterberg Limits Determination
Sample No. Project
Boring No. Location
Depth
Date Tested by
Liquid Limit Determination
Can No.
Mass of can (g)
Mass of wet soil + can (g)
Mass of dry soil + can (g)
Mass of dry soil (g)
Mass of water (g)
Water content, (%)
No. of drops
LIQUID LIMIT =
PLASTIC LIMIT =
PLASTICITY INDEX =
Plastic Limit Determination
Can No.
Mass of can (g)
Mass of wet soil + can (g)
Mass of dry soil + can (g)
Mass of water (g)
Water content, (%)
Chapter 5
Classication of Soils According to the
Unied Soil Classication SyStem (USCS)
The Unied Soil Classication System (USCS) is based on the classication scheme developed by Arthur
Casagrande for the United States Army in the 1940s. In its simplest form, it consists in assigning a two- or
four-letter group symbol to the soil sample.
5.1 Denitions
nes: soil particles passing the #200 sieve (nominal diameter smaller than 0.075mm).
Coefcient of uniformity: C
u
=
D
60
D
10
.
Coefcient of curvature: C
c
= C
z
=
D
2
30
D
10
D60
.
Plasticity Index: PI = LL-PL.
5.2 Initial Classication
5.2.1 Highly Organic Soils
Organic soils are recognized by:
large presence of organic materials;
dark brown, dark gray or black color;
organic odor, especially when wet
very soft consistency
In this case, the material is classied as a peat, with symbol PT, and no further analysis is necessary.
5.2.2 Non Highly Organic Soils
1. Determine gradation curve by sieve analysis. Use only the material with size smaller than 3in (75mm).
But report the percentage (by weight) of these large particles.
2. If the soil contains less than 5% nes a detailed sieve analysis is required to estimate the values of the
coefcient of uniformity, C
u
, and the coefcient of curvature, C
c
or C
z
.
3. If the soil contains between 5% and 12% nes, the liquid limit and the plastic limit of the nes should
be determined, in addition to the detailed gradation curve and C
u
, C
c
.
4. If the soil contains more than 12% nes the liquid limit and the plastic limit of the nes should be
determined, but it is sufcient to estimate the percentage of soil in the sand and gravel range. The
gradation characteristics, C
u
and C
c
, are not required.
5.3 Procedure for Classication of Fine Grained Soils
Follow this procedure if 50% or more by weight passes the #200 sieve. This is equivalent to saying that 50%
or more by weight has a nominal diameter smaller than 0.075mm.
Figure 5.1: Plasticity chart (from ASTM Standard D2487).
1. Calculate the plasticity index (PI).
2. Compare with the plasticity chart:
LL>50 and PI>A line High plasticity clay (CH)
LL>50 and PI<A line High plasticity silt (MH)
LL<50 and PI>A line Low plasticity clay (CL)
LL<50 and PI<A line Low plasticity silt (ML)
In the shaded area with 16<LL<25-30 and 4<PI<7 above the A line Silty clay (CL-ML)
5. Classication According to USCS 27
If the soil has organic content: refer to ASTM standard D2487 on the proper procedure. In short,
you need to oven dry the specimen to eliminate the organic material and calculate the LL on the
oven dried specimen. The classication is based on the difference between the LL before and
after oven drying.
3. You can add more information on the soil specimen classication after the main group symbol.
If 15% to 30% of the soil had nominal diameter larger than 0.075mm, use with sand or with
gravel, depending on which is predominant.
If 30% to 50% of the soil had nominal diameter larger than 0.075mm, use sandy or with
gravelly, depending on which is predominant.
5.4 Procedure for Classication of Coarse Grained Soils
Follow this procedure if 50% or more by weight is retained by the #200 sieve. This is equivalent to saying
that 50% or more by weight has a nominal diameter larger than 0.075mm.
1. >50% of the specimen is retained on the #4 sieve (nominal diameter larger than 4.75mm) Gravel
(G)
If <5% nes and C
u
4 and 1 C
c
3 Well-graded gravel (GW)
If <5% nes and C
u
4 and/or not 1 C
c
3 Poorly-graded gravel (GP)
If 5% < fines < 12% and the nes are clay Well-graded gravel with clay (GW-GC) or
Poorly-graded gravel with clay (GP-GC) based on C
u
and C
c
tests above.
If 5% < fines < 12% and the nes are silt Well-graded gravel with silt (GW-GM) or
Poorly-graded gravel with silt (GP-GM) based on C
u
and C
c
tests above.
If >12% nes and nes are clay based on plasticity chart Clayey gravel (GC)
If >12% nes and nes are silt based on plasticity chart Silty gravel (GM)
If >12% nes and nes are CL-ML based on plasticity chart Silty clayey gravel (GM-GC)
2. >50% of the specimen is retained between the #4 and the #200 sieves (nominal diameter between
0.075 and 4.75mm) Sand (S)
If <5% nes and C
u
6 and 1 C
c
3 Well-graded sand (SW)
If <5% nes and C
u
6 and/or not 1 C
c
3 Poorly-graded sand (SP)
If 5% < fines < 12% and the nes are clay Well-graded sand with clay (SW-SC) or Poorly-
graded sand with clay (SP-SC) based on C
u
and C
c
tests above.
If 5% < fines < 12% and the nes are silt Well-graded sand with silt (SW-SM) or Poorly-
graded sand with silt (SP-SM) based on C
u
and C
c
tests above.
If >12% nes and nes are clay based on plasticity chart Clayey sand (SC)
If >12% nes and nes are silt based on plasticity chart Silty sand (SM)
If >12% nes and nes are CL-ML based on plasticity chart Silty clayey sand (SM-SC)
Chapter 6
Visual Classication of Soils
6.1 Purpose
During drilling and sampling operations in the eld classication has to be carried out quickly and without
gradation analyses or Atterberg limits. An approximate procedure is then used and the description is noted
on the boring log. The initial boring log is often checked later in the laboratory with the help of the retrieved
soil samples. Even in the laboratory a small portion of the samples will be actually tested for classication
purposes. The specimens for classication testing are chosen from the different layers that were identied
during eld operations and from previous information, where available. The remaining samples are classied
based on their similarities in the tested samples and visual-manual procedures illustrated below.
ASTM D2488 - Standard practice for description and identication of soils (visual-manual procedure).
6.3 Terminology
Gravel Particles of rock that will pass a 3 in (75 mm) sieve and be retained on a No. 4 (4.75 mm) sieve with
the following subdivisions:
coarse - passes 3 in (75 mm) sieve and retained on
3
4
in (19 mm) sieve.
ne - passes a 3.4 in (19 mm) sieve and retained on a No.4 (4.75 mm) sieve.
Sand Particles of rock that will pass a No. 4 (4.75 mm) sieve and be retained on a No. 200 (75 m) sieve
with the following subdivisions:
coarse - passes a No. 4 (4.75 mm) and retained on No. 10 (2.00 mm) sieve
medium - Passes a No. 10 (2.00 mm) sieve and is retained on a No. 40 (425 m) sieve.
Silt Soil passing a No. 200 (75 m) sieve that is non-plastic or very slightly plastic and that exhibits little of
no strength when dry. For classications, a silt is ne grained soil or the ne grained portion of a soil,
with a plasticity index less than 4, or the plot of plasticity index versus liquid limit falls below the A
line.
Clay Soil passing a No. 200 (75 m) sieve that can be made to exhibit plasticity within a range of water
contents, and that exhibits considerable strength when air-dry. For classications a clay is a ne
grained soil or a ne grained portion of a soil, with a plasticity index equal to or greater than 4, and
the plot of plasticity index versus liquid limit falls on or above the A line.
Organic Silt A silt with sufcient organic content to inuence the soil properties. For classications, an
organic silt is a soil that would be classied as a silt, except that its liquid limit value after oven drying
is less than 75% of its liquid limit value before oven drying.
Organic Clay A clay with sufcient organic content to inuence the soil properties. For classication, an
organic clay is a soil that would be classied as a clay, except that its liquid limit value after oven
drying is less than 75% of its liquid limit value before oven drying.
6.4 Descriptive Information for Soils
Angularity Describe the angularity of the sand (coarse sizes only), gravel, cobbles, and boulders, as angular,
subangular, subrounded, or rounded in accordance with the criteria in table 6.1. A range of angularity
may be stated, such as subrounded to rounded.
Shape Describe the shape of gravel, cobbles, and boulders as at, elongated, or at and elongated if they
meet the criteria if they meet in table 6.2. Otherwise do not mention the shape. Indicate the fraction
of particles that have that shape; for example: one-third of the gravel is at.
Color Described the color of the sample when moist.
Odor Describe the odor of the sample if organic or unusual
Moisture Condition Describe the moisture condition as dry, moist, or wet in accordance with the criteria
in table 6.3
Consistency For intact ne-grained soil, describe the consistency as very soft, soft, rm, hard, or very hard
in accordance with the criteria in table 6.4. This observation is inappropriate for soils with signicant
amounts of gravel.
Cementation Describe the cementation of intact coarse grained soil as weak, moderate, or strong, in accor-
dance with Table 6.5.
Range of particle sizes For gravel and sand components, described the range of particle sizes within each
components. For example, about 20% ne to coarse gravel, about 40% ne to coarse sand.
Maximum particle size Describe the maximum particle size found in the sample for each size classica-
tion. For example, the largest particle size for sand size particles and the largest particle for gravel size
particles.
Description Criteria
Angular Particles have sharp edges and relatively plane sides with unpolished surfaces
Subangular Particles are similar to angular description but have corners and edges
Subrounded Particles have nearly plane sides but have rounded corners and edges
Rounded Particles have smoothly curved sides and no edges
Table 6.1: Criteria for describing angularity of coarse-grained particles.
6. Visual Classication of Soils 31
The particle shape shall be described as follows where length, width, and thickness refer to
the greatness, intermediate, and least dimensions of a particle respectively.
Flat Particles with width/thickness > 3
Elongated Particles with length/width > 3
Flat and Elongated Particles meet criteria for both at and elongated
Table 6.2: Criteria for describing particle shape.
Dry Absence of moisture, dusty, dry to the touch
Moist Damp but no visible water
Wet Visible free water, usually soil is below water table
Table 6.3: Criteria for describing moisture conditions.
Very soft Thumb will penetrate soil more that 1in. (25mm)
Soft Thumb will penetrate soil about 1in. (25mm)
Firm Thumb will indent soil about 1/4in. (6mm)
Hard Thumb will not indent soil but will readily intent with thumbnail
Very Hard Thumbnail will not indent soil
Table 6.4: Criteria for describing consistency
Weak Crumbles or breaks with handling of little nger pressure
Moderate Crumbles or breaks with considerable nger pressure
Strong Will not crumble with nger pressure
Table 6.5: Criteria for Describing Cementation
Hardness Describe the hardness of coarse sand and larger particles.
6.5 Procedure for Identifying Fine-Grained Soils
Select a representative sample of the material for examination. Remove particles larger than the No. 40 sieve
until a specimen equivalent to about a handful of material is available. Use this specimen for performing the
dry strength, dilatancy, and toughness test.
Dry Strength Select a few dry lumps of about 1/2in. in diameter. Test the strength of the dry pieces by
crushing between the ngers. Note the strength as none, low, medium, high, or very high in accordance
with the criteria in Table 6.6. If natural dry lumps are used do not use the results of any of the lumps
that are found to contain particles of coarse sand.
Dilatancy From the specimen select enough material to mold into a ball about 1/2in. in diameter. Mole the
material, adding water if necessary, until it has a soft, but not sticky consistency. Smooth the soil in
the palm of one hand with a small spatula. Shake horizontally, striking the side of the hand vigorously
against the other hand several times. Note the reaction of water appearing on the surface of the soil.
None The dry specimen crumbles into powder under mere pressure of handling
Low The dry specimen crumbles into powder with some nger pressure
Medium The dry specimen breaks into pieces or crumbles with considerable nger pressure
High The dry specimen cannot be broken with nger pressure
Very High The dry specimen cannot be broken with thumb and a hard surface
Table 6.6: Criteria for Describing Dry Strength
Squeeze the sample by closing the hand or pinching the soil between the ngers, and note the reaction
as none, slow, or rapid in accordance with the criteria in Table 6.7. The reaction is the speed at which
the water appears while shaking, and disappears while squeezing.
None No visible change in specimen
Slow Water appears slowly on the surface during shaking and does not disappear or
disappears slowly upon squeezing
Rapid Water appears quickly during shaking and disappears quickly during squeezing
Table 6.7: Criteria for Describing Dilatancy
Toughness Following the completion of the dilatancy test, the test specimen is shaped into an elongated pat
and rolled by hand on a smooth surface or between the palms into a thread about 1/8in. in diameter.
Fold the threads and reroll repeatedly until the thread crumbles at a diameter of about 1/8in. The thread
will crumble at a diameter of 1/8 in. when the soil is near the plastic limit. Note the pressure required
to roll the thread near the plastic limit. Also, note the strength of the thread. After the thread crumbles,
the pieces should be lumped together and kneaded until the lump crumbles. Note the toughness of the
material during kneading.Describe the toughness of the thread and lump as low, medium or high in
accordance with the criteria in table 6.8.
Low Only slight pressure is required to roll the thread near the plastic limit. The
thread and lump are soft and weak
Medium Medium pressure is required to roll the thread to near the plastic limit. The
thread and lump have medium stiffness.
High Considerable pressure is needed to roll thread near the plastic limit. The thread
and lump have very high stiffness
Table 6.8: Criteria for Describing Toughness
Plasticity On the basis of observations made during the toughness test, describe the plasticity of the material
in accordance with the criteria given in Table 6.9.
6.6 Identication of Inorganic Fine-Grained Soils
Identify the soil as follows:
Nonplastic A 1/8in. thread cannot be rolled at any water content
Low The thread can barely be rolled and the lump cannot be formed when drier than
the plastic limit
Medium The thread is easy to roll and not much time is required to reach the plastic
limit. The thread cannot be rolled after reaching the plastic limit. The lump
crumbles drier than the plastic limit
High It takes considerable time rolling and kneading to reach the plastic limit. The
thread can be rolled several times after reaching the plastic limit. The lump
can be formed without crumbling when drier than the plastic limit.
Table 6.9: Criteria for Describing Plasticity
Soil Symbol Dry Strength Dilatancy Toughness
ML None to Low Slow to rapid Low or thread cannot be formed
CL Medium to High None to Slow Medium
MH Low to Medium None to Slow Medium
CH High toVery High None High
Table 6.10: Identication of Inorganic Fine-Grained Soils from Manual Test
6.7 Procedure for identifying Coarse-Grained Soils
1. The soil is a gravel if the percentage of gravel is estimated to be more than the percentage of sand.
2. The soil is a sand if the percentage of gravel is estimated to be equal to or less than the percentage of
sand.
3. The soil is a clean gravel or clean sand if the percentage of nes is estimated to be 5% of less.
4. Identify the soil as well-graded gravel, GW, or as well-graded sand, SW, if it has a wide range of
particle sizes and substantial amounts of the intermediate particle sizes.
5. Identify the soil as a poorly graded gravel, GP, or as a poorly graded sand, SP, if it consists predom-
inantly of one size (uniformly graded), or it has a wide range of sizes with some intermediate sizes
obviously missing.
6. The soil is either a gravel with nes or a sand with nes if the percentage of nes is estimated to be
15% or more.
7. Identify the soil as a clayey gravel, GC, or a clayey sand, SC, if the nes have the properties of clays.
8. Identify soil as a silty gravel, GM, or a silty sand, SM, if the nes have the properties of a silt.
9. If the soil is estimated to contain 10% nes, give the soil a dual identication using two group symbols.
The rst group symbol shall correspond to a clean gravel or sand (GW,GP, SW, SP) and the second
symbol shall correspond to a gravel or sand with nes (GC, GM, SC, SM).
10. The group name shall correspond to the rst group symbol plus the words with clay or with silt
to indicate the plasticity characteristics of the nes. For example: well-graded gravel with clay,
GW-GC or poorly graded sand with silt, SP-SM.
11. If the specimen is predominantly sand or gravel but contains an estimated 15% or more of the other
coarse-grained constituent, the words with gravel or with sand shall be added to the group name.
For example: poorly graded gravel with sand, GP or clayey sand with gravel, SC.
12. If the specimen is predominantly sand or gravel but contains an estimated 15% or more of the other
coarse-grained constituent, the words with gravel or with sand shall be added to the group name.
For example: poorly graded gravel with sand, GP or clayey sand with gravel, SC.
13. If the eld sample contains any cobbles or boulders, or both the words with cobbles or with cobbles
and boulders shall be added to the group name. For example: silty gravel with cobbles, GM.
6.8 Check List For Description Of Soil
1. Group Name
2. Group Symbol
3. Percent of cobbles or boulders, or both
4. Percent of gravel, sand or nes, or all three (by dry weight)
5. Particle size range gravel - ne or coarse, sand - ne, medium or coarse
6. Particle angularity: angular, subangular, subrounded, rounded.
7. Particle shape: (if appropriate) at, elongated, at and elongated
8. Maximum particle size dimension
9. Hardness of coarse sand and larger particles
10. Plasticity of nes: nonplastic, low, medium, high, very high
11. Dry strength: none, low, medium, high, very, high
12. Dilatancy: none,slow, rapid
13. Toughness: lox, medium, high
14. Color (in moist conditions)
15. Odor (if unusual or organic)
16. Moisture: dry, moist, wet
17. Consistency (ne-grained soils only): very soft, soft, rm, hard, very hard
18. Cementation: weak, moderate, strong
19. Local name (if any)
20. Geologic interpretation
21. Any additional comments
Classication Data Sheet
Sample Classication Comments
Chapter 7
Compaction Using Standard Effort
7.1 Purpose
Soil placed as engineering ll (embankments, foundation pads, road bases) must be compacted to the se-
lected density and water content to ensure the desired performance and engineering properties such as shear
strength, compressibility, or permeability. Also, foundation soils are often compacted to improve their en-
gineering properties. Laboratory compaction tests provide the basis for determining the percent compaction
and water content needed in the eld, and for controlling construction to assure that the target values are
achieved.
In a geotechnical laboratory you would prepare at least four (preferably ve) specimens with water
contents bracketing the estimated optimum water content. A specimen having a water content close to
optimum would be prepared rst by trial additions of water and mixing and then water contents for the rest
of the specimens would be selected to provide at least two specimens wet and two specimens dry of optimum,
and water contents varying by about 2%, but no more than 4%. In this laboratory exercise each group in your
section will compact one of the specimens at a specic water content, as directed by the laboratory instructor,
and the results from all the groups will be combined later.
The data, when plotted, represents a curvilinear relationship known as the compaction curve. The values
of optimum water content and standard maximum dry unit weight are determined from the compaction curve.
These test methods apply only to soils (materials) that have 20% or less by mass of particles retained on
the No.4 (4.75 mm) sieve.
ASTM D 698 - Standard test methods for laboratory compaction characteristics of soil using standard effort
(12,400 ft-lbf/ft
3
(600 kN-m/m
3
)).
7.3 Required Materials and Equipment
Mold - A cylindrical metal mold having a 4.000 0.016 in (101.6 0.4 mm) average inside diameter,
a height of 4.584 0.018 in (116.4 0.5 mm) and a volume of 0.0333 0.0005 ft
3
(944 14 cm
3
).
Rammer - with free fall of 12 0.05 in (304.8 1.3 mm) from the surface of the specimen. The mass
of the rammer is 5.5 0.02 lbm (2.5 0.01 kg).
Sample extruder - A jack for extruding compacted specimens from the mold.
Balance - with 1 g readability.
straight edge - for leveling off compacted sample
mixing tools - for mixing the sample of soil with increments of water.
7.4 Procedure
7.4.1 Specimen preparation
1. Obtain from your laboratory instructor a sample of the soil to be tested. You will need approximately
2 kg.
2. Without previously drying the sample, pass it through a No. 4 (4.7 mm) sieve. Determine the water
content of the processed soil. See chapter 2 for the procedure.
3. Double check the target water content for your specimen with the laboratory instructor.
4. Calculate how much water should be added or subtracted from your sample to obtain the desired water
content. Remember to account for the moisture already present in the sample and use the exact value
for the mass of the soil, not the approximate number.
5. To add water, spray it into the soil during mixing; to remove water, allowthe soil to dry in air at ambient
temperature Mix the soil frequently during drying to maintain an even water content distribution.
Thoroughly mix each specimen to ensure even distribution of water throughout and then place in a
separate covered container.
7.4.2 Compaction
1. Determine and record the mass of the mold or mold and base plate.
2. Assemble and secure the mold and collar to the base plate. Place on the concrete oor of the laboratory,
NOT on the counters.
3. The specimen is compacted in 3 layers. Remember that after compaction the layers should be approx-
imately equal in thickness and the last layer should extend above the top of the mold, but no more than
1
4
in (6 mm). Place approximately 1/3 of the loose soil into the mold for each layer and spread into a
layer of uniform thickness.
4. Compact each layer with 25 blows. In operating the manual rammer, do not lift the guide sleeve
during the rammer upstroke. Hold the guide sleeve steady and within 5
o
of vertical. Apply the blows
at a uniform rate of approximately 25 blows per minute and in such a manner as to provide complete,
uniform coverage of the specimen surface. Usually this is achieved by moving the rammer along the
perimeter of the mold and using 5 blows to cover the whole area. Then the pattern is repeated for 5
times.
5. After compaction of the rst two layers, trim any soil remaining on the mold walls or extending above
the compacted surface and include it with the soil for the next layer. Before placing the next layer of
soil scarify the surface of the compacted soil with a knife or other suitable tool to avoid separation of
the layers at the joints later in the test.
7. Compaction Using Standard Effort 39
6. If the third layer extends above the top of the mold by more than
1
4
in (6 mm) or below the top of the
compaction mold, the specimen should be discarded.
7. Following compaction of the last layer, remove the collar and base plate from the mold. A knife may
be used to trim the soil adjacent to the collar to loosen the soil from the collar before removal to avoid
disrupting the soil below the top of the mold.
8. Carefully trim the compacted specimen even with the top of the mold by means of the straightedge
scraped across the top of the mold to form a plane surface even with the top of the mold. Initial
trimming of the specimen above the top of the mold with a knife may prevent the soil from tearing
below the top of the mold. Fill any holes in the top surface with unused or trimmed soil from the
specimen, press in with the ngers, and again scrape the straightedge across the top of the mold.
9. Determine and record the mass of the specimen and mold to the nearest gram.
10. Remove the material from the mold using the sample extruder.
11. Obtain a specimen for water content by using the whole specimen or a representative sample. Select a
suitable container and record its weight.
12. Weigh the container and the specimen.
13. Place in the oven for 24 hours. If the entire specimen is used, break it up to facilitate drying.
14. Record the weight of the oven dried specimen in the container.
7.5 Calculations
Post the following information as directed by the laboratory instructor: laboratory section (week day),
group (color), date, mass of moist specimen in the mold, mass of mold, water content determination:
mass of moist soil after compaction and can, mass of can, mass of oven dried specimen an can. See
section 7.5 for a form to ll.
Calculate the total unit weight of each specimen:
t
=
M
t
g
V
m
=
(M
sm
M
m
)g
V
m
(7.1)
where:
M
t
= mass of moist soil
M
sm
= mass of the moist specimen and mold
M
m
= mass of the mold
V
m
= volume of the mold (944 cm
3
)
g = acceleration of gravity (9.807 m/s
2
)
Calculate water content of each compacted specimen:
w =
M
w
g
M
s
g
=
(M
wsc
M
sc
)
(M
sc
Mc
(7.2)
where:
M
w
= mass of water
M
s
= mass of dry soil
M
wsc
= mass of wet soil and can
M
sc
= mass of dry soils and can
M
c
= mass of can
w = water content
Calculate dry unit weight:
d
=

t
1 +w
(7.3)
Plot the values and draw the compaction curve as a smooth curve through the points (see example,
Fig. 3). Plot dry unit weight to the nearest 0.1
lbf
ft
3
, (0.2
kN
m
3
) and water content to the nearest 0.1 %.
From the compaction curve, determine the optimum water content and maximum dry unit weight.
Plot the 100% saturation curve.
7. Compaction Using Standard Effort 41
C
o
m
p
a
c
t
i
o
n
T
e
s
t
D
a
t
e
T
e
s
t
e
d
b
y
S
a
m
p
l
e
N
o
.
B
o
r
i
n
g
P
r
o
j
e
c
t
D
e
p
t
h
D
e
s
c
r
i
p
t
i
o
n
o
f
s
a
m
p
l
e
V
o
l
u
m
e
o
f
m
o
l
d
(
V
m
)
W
a
t
e
r
c
o
n
t
e
n
t
d
e
t
e
r
m
i
n
a
t
i
o
n
G
r
o
u
p
M
a
s
s
o
f
m
o
i
s
t
s
p
e
c
i
m
e
n
+
m
o
l
d
M
a
s
s
o
f
m
o
l
d
M
a
s
s
o
f
m
o
i
s
t
s
p
e
c
i
m
e
n
M
o
i
s
t
u
n
i
t
w
e
i
g
h
t
o
f
c
o
m
p
a
c
t
e
d
s
p
e
c
i
m
e
n
C
a
n
n
o
.
M
a
s
s
o
f
c
a
n
M
a
s
s
o
f
w
e
t
s
o
i
l
+
c
a
n
M
a
s
s
o
f
d
r
i
e
d
s
o
i
l
+
c
a
n
M
a
s
s
o
f
w
a
t
e
r
M
a
s
s
o
f
d
r
y
s
o
i
l
W
a
t
e
r
c
o
n
t
e
n
t
D
r
y
u
n
i
t
w
e
i
g
h
t
o
f
c
o
m
p
a
c
t
e
d
s
p
e
c
i
m
e
n
M
s
m
M
m
M
t
t
M
c
M
w
s
c
M
s
c
M
w
M
s
w
d
(
k
g
)
(
k
g
)
(
k
g
)
(
k
N
/
m
3
)
(
g
)
(
g
)
(
g
)
(
g
)
(
g
)
(
%
)
(
k
N
/
m
3
)
Moisture content Determination
Sample No. Project
Boring No. Location
Depth
Date Tested by
c
(g)
After 3
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
After 1
more
min.
cws
(g)
cs
(g)
Mass of water, M
w
= M
cws
M
cs
(g)
s
= M
cs
M
c
(g)
Mw
Ms
100% (%)
Percent difference in water content (%)
Group Data Sheet
Group Target Water
Content
Moist Unit
Weight
Water Content Dry Unit
Weight
Dry Unit
Weight for
100% Sat.
(%) (kN/m
3
) (%) (kN/m
3
) (kN/m
3
)
Chapter 8
Measuring Suction with the Filter Paper
Method
8.1 Purpose
The lter paper method has long been used in soil science and engineering practice and it has recently been
accepted as an adaptable test method for soil suction measurements because of its advantages over other
suction measurement devices. Basically, the lter paper comes to equilibrium with the soil either through
vapor (total suction measurement) or liquid (matric suction measurement) ow. At equilibrium, the suction
value of the lter paper and the soil will be equal. After equilibrium is established between the lter paper
and the soil, the water content of the lter paper disc is measured. Then, by using lter paper water content
versus suction calibration curve, the corresponding suction value is found from the curve. This is the basic
approach suggested by ASTM Standard Test Method for Measurement of Soil Potential (Suction) Using
Filter Paper (ASTM D 5298). ASTM D 5298 employs a single calibration curve that has been used to infer
both total and matric suction measurements. The ASTM D 5298 calibration curve is a combination of both
wetting and drying curves. Bulut (2001) demonstrates that the wetting and drying suction calibration
curves do not match, an observation that was also made by Houston et al. (1994). In this test, the wetting
curve as shown in Figure 8.2 is used because the lter paper becomes wet during the test.
8.2 Soil Suction Concept
In general, porous materials have a fundamental ability to attract and retain water. The existence of this
fundamental property in soils is described in engineering terms as suction, negative stress in the pore water.
In engineering practice, soil suction is composed of two components: matric and osmotic suction (Fredlund
and Rahardjo 1993). The sum of matric and osmotic suction is called total suction. Matric suction comes
from the capillarity, texture, and surface adsorptive forces of the soil. Osmotic suction arises from the
dissolved salts contained in the soil water. This relationship can be formed in an equation as follows:
h
t
= h
m
+h
(8.1)
where:
h
t
= total suction (kPa)
h
m
= matric suction (kPa)
h
p
= osmotic suction (kPa)
Total suction can be calculated using Kelvins equation, which is derived from the ideal gas law using
the principles of thermodynamics and is given as:
h
t
=
RT
V
ln
P
P
o
(8.2)
where:
h
t
= total suction
R = universal gas constant
T = absolute temperature
V = molecular volume of water
P/P
o
= relative humidity
P = partial pressure of pore water vapor
P
o
= saturation pressure of water vapor over a at surface of pure water at the same temperature.
If equation 8.2 is evaluated at a reference temperature of 25
o
, the following total suction and relative
humidity relationship can be obtained:
h
t
= 137, 182 ln(P/P
o
) (8.3)
It can be said, in general, that in a closed system under isothermal conditions the relative humidity may
be associated with the water content of the system such as 100% relative humidity refers to a fully saturated
condition. Therefore, the suction value of a soil sample can be inferred from the relative humidity and
suction relationship if the relative humidity is known. In a closed system, if the water is pure enough, the
partial pressure of the water vapor at equilibrium is equal to the saturated vapor pressure at temperature, T.
However, the partial pressure of the water vapor over a partly saturated soil will be less than the saturation
vapor pressure of pure water due to the soil matrix structure and the free ions and salts contained in the soil
water (Fredlund and Rahardjo 1993).
In engineering practice, soil suction has usually been calculated in pF units (Schoeld, 1935) (i.e., suc-
tion in pF = log
10
|suction in cm of water|). However, soil suction is also currently being represented in
log(kPa) unit system (Fredlund and Rahardjo 1993) (i.e., suction in log(kPa) = log
10
|suction in kPa|).
The relationship between these two systems of units is approximately suction in log(kPa) = suction in pF
- 1. Matric suction can be calculated from pressure plate and pressure membrane devices as the difference
between the applied air pressure and water pressure across a porous plate. Matric suction can be formed in a
relationship as follows:
h
m
= (u
a
u
w
) (8.4)
where:
h
m
= matric suction
u
a
= applied air pressure
u
w
= free water pressure at atmospheric condition
8. Measuring Suction with the Filter Paper Method 45
The osmotic suction of electrolyte solutions, that are usually employed in the calibration of lter papers
and psychrometers, can be calculated using the relationship between osmotic coefcients and osmotic suc-
tion. Osmotic coefcients are readily available in the literature for many different salt solutions. Table 1
gives the osmotic coefcients for several salt solutions. Osmotic coefcients can also be obtained from the
following relationship (Lang 1967):
=

w
vmw
ln
P
P
o
(8.5)
where:
f = osmotic coefcient
v = number of ions from one molecule of salt (i.e., v = 2 for NaCl, KCl, NH
4
Cl and v = 3 for Na
2
SO
4
,
CaCl
2
, Na
2
S
2
O
3
,etc.)
m = molality
w = molecular mass of water
w
= density of water
The relative humidity term (P/Po) in eq. 8.5 is also known as the activity of water (a
w
) in physical
chemistry of electrolyte solutions. The combination of eq. 8.2 and eq. 8.5 gives a useful relationship that
can be adopted to calculate osmotic suctions for different salt solutions:
h
= vRTm (8.6)
8.3 Required Materials and Equipment
Schleicher & Schuell No. 589-WH lter paper
Sensitive balance with accuracy of 0.0001 g
Constant temperature container (or cooler)
moisture tins and glass jars
PVC rings, electrical tape
tweezers and gloves
Oven and aluminum block
8.4 Procedure
A testing procedure for total suction measurements using lter papers can be outlined as follows:
1. At least 75% by volume of a glass jar should be lled with the soil; the smaller the empty space
remaining in the glass jar, the smaller the time period that the lter paper and the soil system require
to come to equilibrium.
2. A ring type support, which has a diameter smaller than lter paper diameter and about 1 to 2cm in
height, is put on top of the soil to provide a non-contact system between the lter paper and the soil.
Care must be taken when selecting the support material; materials that can corrode should be avoided,
plastic or glass type materials are much better for this job.
3. Two lter papers one on top of the other are inserted on the ring using tweezers. The lter papers
should not touch the soil, the inside wall of the jar, and underneath the lid in any way.
4. Then, the glass jar lid is sealed very tightly with plastic tape.
5. Steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 are repeated for every soil sample.
6. After that, the glass jars are put into the ice-chests in a controlled temperature room for equilibrium.
Researchers suggest a minimum equilibrating period of one week (ASTM D 5298; Houston et al., 1994;
Lee 1991). After the equilibration time, the procedure for the lter paper water content measurements can
be as follows:
1. Before removing the glass jar containers from the temperature room, all aluminum cans that are used
for moisture content measurements are weighed to the nearest 0.0001 g. accuracy and recorded.
2. After that, all measurements are carried out by two persons. For example, while one person is opening
the sealed glass jar, the other is putting the lter paper into the aluminum can very quickly (i.e., in a
few seconds) using tweezers.
3. Then, the weights of each can with wet lter paper inside are taken very quickly.
4. Steps 2 and 3 are followed for every glass jar. Then, all cans are put into the oven with the lids half-
open to allow evaporation. All lter papers are kept at 105 5
o
C temperature inside the oven for at
least 10 hours.
5. Before taking measurements on the dried lter papers, the cans are closed with their lids and allowed
to equilibrate for about 5 minutes. Then, a can is removed from the oven and put on an aluminum
block (i.e., heat sinker) for about 20 seconds to cool down; the aluminum block functions as a heat
sink and expedites the cooling of the can. After that, the can with the dry lter paper inside is weighed
very quickly. The dry lter paper is taken from the can and the cooled can is weighed again in a few
seconds.
6. Step 5 is repeated for every can.
8.5 Soil Matric Suction Measurements
Soil matric suction measurements are similar to the total suction measurements except instead of inserting
lter papers in a non-contact manner with the soil for total suction testing, a good intimate contact should
be provided between the lter paper and the soil for matric suction measurements. Both matric and total
suction measurements can be performed on the same soil sample in a glass jar as shown in Fig. 1. A testing
procedure for matric suction measurements using lter papers can be outlined as follows:
8. Measuring Suction with the Filter Paper Method 47
Figure 8.1: Assembly for total and matric suction measurements.
8.6 Procedure
1. A lter paper is sandwiched between two larger size protective lter papers. The lter papers used in
suction measurements are 5.5cm in diameter, so either a lter paper is cut to a smaller diameter and
sandwiched between two 5.5cm papers or bigger diameter (bigger than 5.5cm) lter papers are used
as protection.
2. Then, these sandwiched lter papers are inserted into the soil sample in a very good contact manner
(i.e., as in Fig. 1). An intimate contact between the lter paper and the soil is very important.
3. After that, the soil sample with embedded lter papers is put into the glass jar container. The glass
container is sealed up very tightly with plastic tape.
4. Steps 1, 2, and 3 are repeated for every soil sample.
5. The prepared containers are put into ice-chests in a controlled temperature room for equilibrium.
8.7 Calculations
After obtaining all of the lter paper water contents, gure 8.2 is employed to get total suction and matric
values of the soil samples.
Figure 8.2: Filter paper wetting calibration curve.
Paper Suction Determination
Sample No. Project
Boring No. Location
Depth
Date Tested by
Total Suction
Paper
Matric Suction
Paper
Container Number
Mass of container (g)
Mass of wet paper + container (g)
Mass of wet lter paper (g)
Mass of hot container (g)
Mass of dry lter paper (g)
Mass of water in lter paper (g)
Water content of lter paper (%)
Chapter 9
Hydraulic Conductivity
9.1 Purpose
Hydraulic conductivity is the parameter that tells us how fast water can ow through soil. This quantity is
measured to determine if a particular soil is a suitable material for a levee, dam or landll liner, or lter.
During this laboratory both the constant head and the falling head methods will be used.
ASTM D 2434 - Standard test method for permeability of granular soils (constant head).
9.3 Fundamental Test Conditions
The following test conditions are prerequisites for laminar ow of water through granular soils, under
constant-head conditions:
Continuity of ow with no soil volume change during a test.
Flow with the soil voids saturated with water and no air bubbles in the soil voids.
Flow is steady state with no change in hydraulic gradients.
Direct proportionality of velocity of ow with hydraulic gradients below certain values, at which
turbulent ow starts.
All other types of ow involving partial saturation of soil voids, turbulent ow, and unsteady state of
ow are transient in character and yield variable and time-dependent coefcients of permeability; therefore,
they require special test conditions and procedures.
9.4 Constant head test
Permeameter - Specimen cylinders with minimum diameter of 8 or 12 times the maximum particle
size. The permeameter should be tted with a porous disk at the bottom with a permeability greater
Figure 9.1: Schematic of constant head test set-up.
than that of the soil specimen, but with openings small enough to prevent movement of the soil par-
ticles. The permeameter should be tted with manometer outlets for measuring head loss, h, over a
length, L, equivalent to at least the diameter of the cylinder.
Sample - A representative sample of air-dried granular soil containing less than 10% of the material
passing the No. 200 sieve.
Constant head board - Board including manometer tubes with scales for measuring head of water and
a water reservoir.
Plastic tubing
Stopwatch
Thermometer
9.4.2 Procedure
1. Unscrew the three nuts on the top of the permeameter cell and remove the top. Make sure the #200
mesh screen is covering the two ports on the inside middle of the cell.
9. Hydraulic Conductivity 51
2. Place one of the porous stones in the bottom of the cell. Fill the cell with the soil sample. Place the
other porous stone on top. The top of this stone should be about 1/4 inch below the top of the cell.
3. Make sure the surface where the O-ring seals off the cell is clean and replace the top. Evenly tighten
each of the nuts on the top of the cell.
4. Connect a tube coming out of the reservoir on the board to the water faucet.
5. Place the other tube coming out of the reservoir over the sink so that water will be allowed to drain
out.
6. Connect tubes from points A and B on the permeameter cell to the two manometers. The distance
between these two points on our sample is 10 cm.
7. Connect a tube from the needle valve on the board to the lower ball valve on the cell.
8. Fill the reservoir with water. Adjust the water tap so that the level in the cup remains the same and
water is draining into the sink. This gives us constant head.
9. Let the water ow slowly from the reservoir, into the cell, through the bottom porous stone, soil
sample, top stone, out of the top of the cell. The water will replace the voids within our sample.
10. Get all of the bubbles out of the tubes by tapping them. De-air the lines going to the manometer tubes.
Close the top ball valve and open the lower ball valve. Crack the petcock valve to purge out any air
bubbles and then close it off.
11. Open the top ball valve on the cell and watch water come out of the top of the cell. The needle valve
on the board controls the ow out of the top of the cell.
12. Record the differential reading between the two manometers.
13. Using a beaker, collect 100 mL of water from the water coming out of the top of the cell. Time how
long it takes to get 100 mL using the stopwatch.
14. Repeat this process collecting 200 and then 300 mL of water.
15. Take the temperature of the water in the constant head cup. Our data will only be good for water at
this specic temperature.
9.4.3 Calculations
Determine the average time it took to collect 100 mL of water.
Calculate the cross-sectional area of our soil sample. The diameter of the sample is 2.5 in or 6.35 cm.
Calculate the coefcient of permeability, k.
k =
QL
Aht
(9.1)
Where
Q=volume of water collected
L=sample height
A=cross-sectional area of soil specimen
h=differential reading between h
0
and h
1
t=duration of water collection
Calculate the corrected k value for the temperature you recorded.
k
corrected
= k

TC
20C
(9.2)
9.5 Falling head test
Permeameter
Sample - use the same sample prepared for the constant head test
Calibrated stand pipe
Plastic tubing
Calipers
Stopwatch
9.5.2 Procedure
1. Connect a tube between points A and B on the permeameter cell. We bypass the manometers this time.
2. We have a new sample height for this test. Measure the height using the calipers from the top of the
bottom porous stone to the bottom of the top stone.
3. Attach a tube from the top ball valve on the cell to the calibrated stand pipe valve.
4. Open both of these valves.
5. Attach a tube from the water faucet to the lower ball valve on the cell.
6. Let the water ow through the cell, out of the top, and into the stand pipe.
7. Purge any bubbles from the tubes by opening the petcock valve on the permeameter cell.
8. Allow water to ow slowly through the stand pipe and out of the funnel at the top.
9. When there are no more bubbles, disconnect the hose from the faucet and close the ball valve at the
same time.
10. Time how long it takes the water to drop a known distance in the stand pipe.
Figure 9.2: Schematic of falling head test set-up.
9.5.3 Calculations
Calculate the cross-sectional area of the tube. The inner diameter of the tube is 3/16 in.
Calculate the coefcient of permeability, k.
k =
aL
At
ln
h
0
h
1
(9.3)
Where
a=cross-sectional area of tube
L=sample height
A=cross-sectional area of soil specimen
t=elapsed time
h
0
=initial head
h
1
=nal head
Calculate the corrected k value for the temperature you recorded using 9.2.
Constant Head Data
H =
L =
Temp =
mL Collected Time
(s)
Falling Head Data
L =
h
0
=
h
1
=
Temp =
Trial Number Time
(s)
Chapter 10
Flow Nets
10.1 Denitions
Flow net a graphical representation of the 2 D ow of water through soils
Flow line the ow path of a particle of water
Equipotential line a line representing constant head
10.2 Flow Net Facts
The area between two ow lines is called a ow channel.
The rate of ow in a ow channel is constant.
The velocity of ow is normal to equipotential lines.
The difference in head between two equipotential lines is called the potential drop or head loss.
10.3 Drawing Flow Nets
Identify prexed conditions, noting starting directions of lines.
Draw trial family of ow lines (or equipotentials) consistent with prexed conditions.
Keeping the lines you just drew, sketch rst trial ow net. Make all lines intersect other set of lines at
90 degrees.
Erase and redraw lines until all gures are square. Subdivide as desired for detail and accuracy.
10.4 Rules for Sketching Flow Nets
Flow lines must intersect equipotential lines at right angles.
The area between ow lines and equipotential lines must be curvilinear squares. An inscribed circle
should be able to be drawn that touches each side of the square.
Figure 10.1: Budhu, 2000.
Figure 10.2: Cedergren, 1989.
10. Flow Nets 59
Flow lines cannot intersect other ow lines.
Equipotential lines cannot intersect other equipotential lines.
The more ow lines and equipotential lines drawn, the more accurate your results. However, the more
lines, the more difcult it will be to draw the ow net. Drawing a few will allow you to obtain a
suitable solution.
10.5 Common Mistakes
10.6 Example
10.7 Example Problem
Figure 10.5: Budhu, 2000.
Chapter 11
Plaxis exercise 1: Groundwater calculation
The second phase of the project requires you to evaluate the design of embankment in terms of seepage. You
will use nite elements to solve Laplace equation for complex boundary conditions and non-homogeneous
cross sections.
11.1 Groundwater calculations for an embankment
Start Plaxis 7.2 Professional, Plaxis Input and select New Project.
11.1.1 Case 1: uniform embankment
General settings
In the Project tab sheet, enter 365 Project in the Title box.
In the General box select the Plane strain model and 15-node elements.
In the Dimensions tab sheet, leave the default units (note: everything is in m, kN, etc..). For Geometry
dimensions, enter: left:0.00, Right=65.00, bottom=0.00, top=16.00. In the Grid section, leave spacing
at 1m, but increase the number of intervals to 2. This allows you to snap-to-grid. defaults.
Click OK to conrm.
Input of geometry
Select the Geometry line tool. Use gure 11.1 in the next page to construct the geometry of the problem.
Note: right click to end a geometry line. Use the selection tool (red arrow) to click and drag on points
you want to move or delete. To input coordinates with the keyboard you can click in the Point number and
coordinates bar below the drawing area and use the syntax: (x coord. y coord). The geometry line tool
must be selected and you must have a space between the two numbers). You need point 8 because that is the
highest water level impounded.
Input of boundary conditions
Click on the standard xities button. The bottom will be prevented from moving both in the vertical and
horizontal directions, the sides can slide in the vertical direction, but not in the horizontal. The xities
appear as green marks at the bottom and sides (see gure 11.1).
Point X Y
(m) (m)
0 0.0 0.0
1 61.0 0.0
2 61.0 8.5
3 0.0 8.5
4 10.0 8.5
5 28.0 14.5
6 34.0 14.5
7 52.0 8.5
8 26.5 14
Table 11.1: Coordinates of the embankment.
Figure 11.1: Geometry input of the embankment.
11. Plaxis exercise 1: Groundwater calculation 63
Input of material properties
In this part you assign the material parameters that describe the response of the soil. You should assign
appropriate values for
dry
and
wet
for both soils. You were supposed to measure the hydraulic conductivity
of the sand in last weeks laboratory. Since that did not happen because of technical problems results from
previous tests have been used to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of the clayey sand listed in table 11.1.
Check that the suggested values for k are indeed appropriate for the materials used in your project. Input all
the remaining parameters according to the table. Notice that you are not going to perform any calculation of
stresses or strains at this time, therefore the stiffness and Poissons ratio inputs are inconsequential, as well
as the material model selected.
Follow these steps to create a new data set:
Click on the Material sets button.
Select new. A new window appears.
General tab: write clay in the Identication box. Select the linear elastic Material model and the
drained conditions.
Parameters tab: follow the information on the table. Notice that you only need to input E
ref
and .
Click OK.
Repeat the same process for the clayey sand.
Click on the data set clay and drag to the soil cluster (area) in the drawing area and drop it. The
cluster should become of the same color as the data set. Repeat for the sand embankment.
Parameter Clay Sand
dry
wet
k
x
8 10
5
m/day 8 10
3
m/day
k
y
8 10
5
m/day 8 10
3
m/day
E
ref
30,000kN/m
3
40,000kN/m
3
0.33 0.33
Mesh generation
In the mesh menu select grid coarseness: very ne. Generate the mesh. Remember the mesh must be
generated any time changes are made to the geometry. When the mesh appears in a new window you need
to click on update to save the new mesh. You may also want to select the embankment cluster (click on it
and it should become cross-hatched in red) and select Rene cluster in the Mesh menu. The mesh will be
re-generated with additional elements added to the embankment. See gure 11.2 for an example. Note that
your mesh may be diffrent.
11.1.2 Initial conditions
Once the geometry is dened, the materials selected and the discretization completed, you need to input the
initial conditions. In this case you will only go so far as setting up the pore pressures due to steady-state
seepage through the embankment. Click on the green arrow pointing to Initial conditions on the top right.
You will be asked about the unit weight of water, you can OK the default.
Figure 11.2: Mesh of the embankment generated by Plaxis.
11. Plaxis exercise 1: Groundwater calculation 65
Figure 11.3: Values of total head for the embankment.
Generation of pore pressures
The geometry should look all gray. If not you need to make sure the green light on the left is selected.
Select the Closed ow boundary tool (vertical black line) and make the bottom of the geometry imper-
meable. Click on point 0 and then point 1. Right click to end. Also make the top of the embankment
a closed ow boundary.
Click on the selection tool (the red arrow) and assign boundary conditions: double click on the different
geometry lines and assign the head to the end points of the geometry line based on gure 11.3.
Click on Generate water pressures, the button with blue crosses.
Select: Groundwater calculation (steady state)
Does the calculation converge? If not, the problem is in the large difference in hydraulic conductivity
between the two materials, which causes very high exit velocities at the toe of the embankment. This may
eventually erode the embankment and result into serious problems for the stability. In most cases, the prob-
lem is solved by adding a drain at the toe of the embankment. A drain is usually designed to attract the ow
and it is constructed with less erodible materials. Go back to the geometry input and add a drain at the toe
of the embankment. Make the drain 0.5m thick and extend it a small length on either side of the toe (see
gure 11.4, but dont add the core boundaries yet). You need to assign another material set to the drain, use
a high hydraulic conductivity, two orders of magnitude larger than the sands. The other material parameters
are not important for this exercise, so you can use the same as the sands. Re-mesh the problem, rening the
Figure 11.4: Geometry of the zoned embankment with the drain.
drain cluster. You want to make sure that the groundwater surface is all inside the embankment and does not
cross the slope. This avoids seepage on the side of the embankment and prevents erosion. The calculations
should converge now.
11.1.3 Case 2: Zoned embankment
In the original design the embankment was to be constructed with a central low hydraulic conductivity core
to minimize the ow. The geometry needs to me modied to include the core. Go back to the geometry
input (red arrow at the top left). You may want to save this new geometry under a different name, in case
you need to go back to your original problem for more considerations. Repeat all the steps from the previous
part. Remember that the core is supposed to be constructed by compacting the in-situ clay when you assign
the material properties for the new cluster. You will also need to re-mesh the geometry.
11.1.4 Case 3: anisotropic conditions
What happens if the hydraulic conductivity is larger (3 to 10 times) in the horizontal direction than it is in
the vertical direction? This is typically the case in clays.
Chapter 12
State of Stress: Mohrs Circle
12.1 Purpose
In order to describe the state of stress at a point, it is necessary to characterize both normal and shear stresses
acting on any arbitrary plane passing through that point. A three-dimensional state of stress is fully charac-
terized by six components (3 normal stresses and 3 shear stresses). In the case of geotechnical engineering,
we often limit the analysis to two-dimensional states of stress and strain. Mohrs circle construction is one
of the simplest methods to examine the state of stress and strain in the soil.
12.2 Two-Dimensional States of Stress
The 2-D state of stress at a point can be represented by the normal and shear stresses acting on the faces of
an innitesimal plane element, such as that in gure 12.1a. The normal stress
xx
acts on the plane normal
to the x-axis in the direction parallel to the x-axis. The shear stress
xz
act on the same plane, but in the
direction parallel to the z-axis. The directions of
zz
and
zx
are dened similarly. By equilibrium it follows
that
xz
=
zx
.
In soils, normal stresses are usually compressive and, by convention, compression is taken as positive
(notice that the opposite convention is used in continuum mechanics). Then, stresses
xx
and
zz
in gure
12.1a are positive quantities and the shear stresses are also positive as marked.
If the stresses
xx
,
zz
,
xz
are known, it is possible to calculate the magnitudes of the stresses (
)
on some arbitrary plane at an angle with the x-axis 12.1b.
12.3 Mohrs Circle of Stress
For the purpose of plotting Mohrs circles, and for this purpose alone, we adopt the convention that counter-
clockwise shear stresses are taken as positive quantities. Thus, the counter-clockwise shear stress
zx
in
gure 12.1a is positive and the clockwise shear stress
xz
is negative when constructing the Mohrs circle in
gure 12.1c.
12.3.1 The Pole Method
The pole of a Mohrs circle is a unique point on the Mohrs circle characterized by an important property:
if a line is drawn through the pole with the direction of any plane in the physical space, it
intersects the Mohrs circle at a point that denes the state of stress on that plane.
Figure 12.1: State of stress in a two-dimensional element and the corresponding Mohrs circle.
12. State of Stress: Mohrs Circle 69
Figure 12.2: Principal planes and principal stresses
By reversing the denition we can locate the pole as the intersection of the line representing the physical
plane on which the stresses are acting (line QP or RP) and the Mohrs circle. Line QP is parallel to the plane
on which
zz
and
zx
act and is parallel to the x-axis. The point P where the line intersects the Mohrs circle
is the pole, P. Similarly, RP is parallel to the z-axis and it also identies the pole.
We may now use the pole of the circle to calculate the state of stress on any plane through the material.
For example, the normal and shear stresses (
) on the plane inclined at an angle to the x-axis. We

draw a line, PN, trough P inclined at with line QP (and the x-axis). The stresses at point N are the stresses
acting on that plane.
12.4 Principal Stresses and Principal Planes
The points at which the Mohrs circle crosses the -axis represent planes on which the shear stress is zero and
the normal stress is either a minimum or a maximum. These planes are known as principal planes ande the
corresponding stresses as principal stresses. From the geometry of the Mohrs circle the principal stresses
occur on two orthogonal planes, therefore the stresses must also be orthogonal (see gure 12.2.
In three-dimensional stress analysis there are three principal stresses and three principal planes. These
will be denoted by
1
,
2
and
3
, and it is usual practice to dene
1

2

3
;
1
is the major principal
stress,
2
is the intermediate and
3
is the minor.
When the layering of soils is horizontal, the vertical and horizontal stresses (
v
,
v
,
h
and
h
) are
principal stresses and the vertical and horizontal planes are principal planes. Since it is an axi-symmetric
state of stress (the horizontal stress is the same independent of the direction in the horizontal plane)
v
=
1
and
h
=
2
=
3
.
12.5 Mohrs Circles of Total and Effective Stress
So far we havent differentiated between total and effective stresses. If the stresses acting on the element in
gure 12.1 are total stresses, the effective stresses can be calculated using the principle of effective stress:
= u
The effective stress circle has the same diameter of the total stress circle, but it is translated to the left by
the amount of the pore pressure (see gure 12.3). By examining the circles, we note that:
Thus, for a given state of total stress, changes in pore pressure have no effect on the shear stresses.
Figure 12.3: Mohrs circles of total and effective stress.
Figure 12.4: Example 1.
Figure 12.5: Example 2.
A loading due to a proposed embankment is estimated to be equivalent to a uniform load of 100kPa as shown in gure
12.6. The unit weight of the foundation material is 16kN/m
3
, and K
o
is 0.5. The water table is at 5m depth.
Draw the Mohrs circle for the initial stresses in the soil, before the construction of the embankment.
Two exiting pipelines run parallel to the embankment at a depth of 3m, as shown in gure 12.6. We want to
make sure that the stress increase in the soil due to the construction of the embankment is not going to damage
the pipelines. What is the increase in stresses at A and B? Draw the new Mohrs circles for both points.
What is the magnitude and the direction of the principal stresses at point A and B after construction?
Figure 12.6: Schematic of the embankment and location of the pipelines.
Chapter 13
Instrumentation and Calibration
13.1 Purpose
The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to familiarize students with some of the basic instrumentation
commonly used in geotechnical engineering laboratories to measure the mechanical properties of soils. For
the purposes of this class we will assume that electronic instrumentation is the preferred method for all
measurements in our experiments and we will familiarize ourselves with how they operate and calibrate
them for future usage in our later laboratories.
Typically, the physical quantities that we need to measure when conducting experiments on soils are
temperature, force, displacement, and pressure. The choice of which sensor to use for a particular task, in a
particular situation depends on two main considerations: a) technical characteristics of the sensor; b) a cost-
benet analysis, which includes considerations on ease of use as well. Temperature is the easiest to accurately
measure and for all experiments in this lab will be measured with a simple mercury thermometer or a hand
held digital thermometer. In many research laboratories the instrumentation is kept at a carefully controlled,
constant temperature, because many sensors are sensitive to temperature, even if they are not meant to
measure it. Commercial geotechnical laboratories are not usually equipped with constant temperature rooms,
and the expense would not be justied in normal circumstances.
The experimenter must consider cost, simplicity, technical characteristics and time to decide whether
to use relatively inexpensive instrumentation such as mechanical dial indicator based instruments (for dis-
placement and force measurements) and simple pressure gages or the more expensive, more accurate and
automated electronic instrumentation. These days, the cost of electronics is usually not an impediment to the
use of electronic instrumentation for all the measuring needs in a soil mechanics laboratory.
13.2 Transducers
A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. An electronic transducer has either
an input or an output that is electrical in nature, such as a voltage or a current. In our case, we are interested
in a transducer that senses a physical change (force, displacement, pressure) and converts it to an electrical
signal, directly related to that physical change. We call this type of transducer a sensor. The principle of
electronic instrumentation is to use an electrical sensor to detect change in a physical quantity and output an
electrical signal to a measuring device. This electrical signal becomes convenient to use as the input signal
to a measurement system, such as an elaborate voltmeter, a chart recorder, an oscilloscope, or even better, a
computer that will accumulate all the information over time in memory, so it can be used at a later date. The
relationship between measured output voltage and physical quantity being sensed is the response function,
usually expressed in terms of a formula and obtained through a calibration process.
A good example: you are driving a car at the speed indicated on your speedometer. The rotation rate of
the cars wheel is detected by a sensor, which outputs a voltage that increases with increasing speed. You
could then use a digital voltmeter to read the output of the sensor. Obviously, you would get a speeding ticket,
because the voltage alone does not tell you the speed. You also need a relationship between measured voltage
and speed and, youd rather see your speed directly in miles/hr. In order to make this conversion to MPH
one has to determine the correlation between the sensors output voltage and the known speed. Usually
the voltage is measured at several different speeds in order to maximize the accuracy of the conversion
relationship. Lastly, thanks to the relationship between voltage and speed, the voltmeter can be re-scaled in
MPH rather than volts.
In conclusion, we used a sensor to detect a certain physical quantity and then converted the electrical
current output from the sensor (through calibration against a known standard) to engineering units that are
more meaningful and useful to us.
In general, when examining the technical characteristics of a sensor we consider:
Precision, or the ability to detect small changes in the measured quantity reliably, and the ability to
measure the same value under repeated identical conditions. Example: a typical measuring tape has a
precision of 1/4in., because that is the closest distance between two marks.
Accuracy, the difference between the measured quantity and the true value, as dened by accepted
standards. Example: when you weigh yourself with a cheap scale the precision may be 1lb, but the
needle indicates a weight that may not be accurate. In fact if you step down and back up the needle
will usually indicate a different weight: the scale is not accurate.
Range
Stability
Noise
Temperature coefcient
Linearity error
Physical ruggedness, and size.
13.3 Calibration
You will calibrate two instruments this week. Both will be used in future laboratories during the rest of the
semester. These instruments are a force transducer and a displacement transducer. Output accuracy of these
transducers is only as good as the quality of the transducer, accuracy of the standard used in comparison, and
the care taken in calibrating the transducer to the known standard. In this weeks lab we will calibrate both
the force (in N) and displacement transducer (in mm), each to a known physical standard. We will vary the
physical parameters over a known range of the instrument and record the voltage output at each point over
that range. We can then generate a best-t line through those points by plotting the physical input parameter
(mm or N) against the resulting voltage output reading from the transducer. Plot the input parameter in
physical units on the Y axis and the resultant output reading on the X axis. Using any appropriate software
package, determine the best t to your data. Usually, a linear t is the most appropriate and will have the
form:
Physical Quantity = CF * Output Voltage + ZERO
Where: CF is the calibration factor ZERO, this constant ensures that when the physical quantity is zero
(for example: no force applied) or in the initial position (example: we need to measure the differential
13. Instrumentation and Calibration 77
displacement, not the absolute position) the formula will give a zero reading. Notice that in the case of the
force transducer the ZERO is very important because any error in estimating the ZERO during calibration
results in an error in our estimate of the applied load. When measuring differential displacement we set the
initial measurement as ZERO, without calibrating the sensor again.
This formula is the response function for the transducer and will be used in the future. Given this formula,
we can use the transducer in different experiments, read the output, and know from our calibration constants
what the resulting measurement is in physical units.
13.3.1 Calibration Procedure
Calibration of LSCT (Linear Strain Conversion Transducer)
The LSCT is calibrated using a known standard, the 0-1 micrometer head on a xture that holds the LSCT
face to face with the micrometer anvil. The micrometer can be moved by any desired increment (down
to .001 inches if necessary) and the resulting output voltage is recorded at each point along the range over
which calibration is desired. The range we will calibrate our instrument over is 0-1 and we will take a series
of readings in .1 increments over the entire range. Additionally, we will take a smaller increment series of
readings about the middle of our range, say, from .5 to .6 and take these readings at the .025 increments.
Our complete set of input points will start at 0 and go: .1, .2, .3, .4, .5, .525, .550, .575, .6, .7, .8, .9, and
1.000, for a total of 14 readings. For each physical input change we will read and record the corresponding
output voltage. When completed, a calibration plot and corresponding transducer formula can be generated
in MS Excel, or any similar software package. Using statistical analysis we will also analyze our transducer
for linearity.
1. Obtain LSCT transducer and record: Serial number, range, date of todays calibration, and your group
color.
2. Obtain calibration xture with the micrometer head. Take the time to examine the xture such that
you are familiar with its proper usage. If you are uncertain, ask your TA for assistance.
3. Insert the LSCT in the xture and lock it down using the allen key. Make certain that the micrometer
head reads exactly 1.000 inches. When mounting the LSCT in the xture, slide the plunger up to the
face of the micrometer rod and ensure that it just barely physical touches. IT MUST TOUCH.
4. Plug the transducer into the 10 volt excitation receptacle as explained in classroom discussion.
5. Insert the voltmeter probes into the excitation jacks on the lab island panel. Record the excitation
voltage with the transducer plugged it. Then move the voltmeter probes to the transducer output jacks
on the panel.
6. Start your calibration and record each input parameter, its incremental change, the resulting output
voltage reading (in millivolts, 1/1000 of a volt), and the incremental voltage change from the previous
reading.
7. Record all 14 data points in the data sheet and use MS Excel to reduce your data as described in class.
Remember to convert the units from inches to millimeters.
Calibration of Force transducer
The calibration of the force transducer is similar to the procedure outlined above for the LSCT. However,
the physical quantity will be in kilogram force (kgf) and the calibration range of the force transducer will be
from 0 to 200 kgf, in 10 kgf increments. This makes a total of 21 points of input and 21 corresponding output
voltage readings. The process is the same but dealing with the load frames used in this procedure (and safe
usage) will explained in detail during class. Remember to transform the units from kgf to Newton (N).
13.4 Report
For the report, be sure to include:
Memo to Mike Linger
Plot with data on same page. Display equation of best t line and R
2
value taken to 5 decimal places.
Include raw data
13. Instrumentation and Calibration 79
Calibration Data Sheet (LSCT)
Date Tested by
Transducer type Serial number
Excitation
Voltage
Micrometer
Reading
Incremental
displacement
Transducer
output
Change in
transducer
output
(V) (in) (in) (mV) (mV)
Calibration Data Sheet (Force)
Date Tested by
Transducer type Serial number
Excitation
Voltage
Mass Added Incremental
Applied Force
Transducer
output
Change in
Transducer
Output
(V) (kg) (N) (mV) (mV)
Chapter 14
Shrink/Swell Properties of Expansive Soils
14.1 Purpose
This test method outlines procedures for demonstrating the shrink/swell potential of a given soil sample.
Typically, the shrink/swell test is performed on soils with a high shrink/swell potential. These soils are
generally clays that undergo large volume changes from cycles of wetting and drying. In this test, water will
be introduced to a sample that is laterally restrained with a constant load applied, and the one-dimensional
volume change will be measured with respect to time. This test method is most commonly performed on
undisturbed samples of ne grained soils naturally sedimented in water, although the same procedures can
be applied to compacted soils.
14.2 Apparatus
Consolidometer - A device to hold the specimen in a ring that is either xed to the base or oating
(supported by friction on periphery of specimen) with porous disks on each face of the specimen.
The inside diameter of the ring shall be determined to a tolerance of 0.075mm (0.003in). The Con-
solidometer shall also provide a means of submerging the specimen, for transmitting the concentric
vertical load to the porous disks, and for measuring the change in height of the specimen.
- Minimum Specimen Diameter - The minimum specimen diameter shall be 50mm (2.00in).
- Minimum Specimen Height-The minimum initial specimen height shall be 12mm (0.5in), but
shall be not less than ten times the particle diameter.
- Minimum Specimen Diameter-to-Height Ratio-The minimum specimen Diameter-to-Height Ra-
tio shall be 2.5
- Specimen Ring Rigidity-The rigidity of the ring shall be such that, under hydrostatic stress con-
ditions in the specimen, the change in diameter of the ring will not exceed 0.03% of the diameter
under the greatest load applied.
- Specimen Ring Material-The ring shall be made of a material that is non-corrosive in relation to
the soil tested. The inner surface shall be highly polished or shall be coated with a low friction
material. Silicone grease of molybdenum disulde is recommended; polytetrauoroethylene is
recommended for non-sandy soils.
Porous Disks-The porous disks shall be of silicone carbide, aluminum oxide, or similar non-corrosive
material. The grade of the disks shall be ne enough to prevent intrusion of soil into the pores. If nec-
essary, a lter paper may be used to prevent infusion of soil into the disks; however, the permeability
of the disks, and lter paper, if used, must be at least one order of magnitude higher than that of the
specimen.
Specimen Trimming Device-A trimming turntable or a cylindrical cutting ring may be used for trim-
ming the sample down to the inside diameter of the consolidometer ring with a minimum of distur-
bance. A cutter having the same inside diameter as the specimen ring shall attach to or be integral with
the specimen ring. The cutter shall have a sharp edge, a highly polished surface and be coated with a
low-friction material. Alternatively, a turntable or trimming lathe may be used. The cutting tool must
be properly aligned to form a specimen of the same diameter as that of the ring.
Deformation Indicator-To measure change in specimen height, with a readability of 0.0025mm(0.0001in.).
(Deformation transducer).
Miscellaneous Equipment-Including timing device with a 1s readability, distilled or de-mineralized
water, spatulas, knives, wire saws, used in preparing the specimen.
Environment-Tests shall be performed in an environment where temperature uctuations are less than
4
o
C(7
o
F) and there is no direct exposure to sunlight.
14.3 Specimen Preparation
All possible precautions should be taken to minimize disturbance of the soil or changes in moisture and
density during specimen preparation. Avoid vibration, distortion, and compression.
1. Prepare test specimens in an environment where soil moisture change during preparation is minimized.
A high humidity environment is usually used for this purpose.
2. Trim the specimen and insert it into the consolidation ring. When specimens come from undisturbed
soil collected using sample tubes, the inside diameter of the shall be at least 5mm (0.25in) greater
than the inside diameter of the consolidation ring. It is recommended that either a trimming turntable
or cylindrical cutting ring be used to cut the soil to the proper diameter. When using a trimming
turntable, make a complete perimeter cut, reducing the specimen diameter to the inside diameter of
the consolidation ring. Carefully insert the specimen into the consolidation ring, by the width of the
cut, with a minimum of force. Repeat until the specimen protrudes from the bottom the ring. When
using a cylindrical cutting, trim the soil to a gentle taper in front of the cutting edge. After the taper
is formed, advance the cutter a small distance to form the nal diameter. Repeat the process until the
specimen protrudes from the ring.
3. Trim the specimen ush with the plane ends of the ring. The specimen may be recessed slightly below
the top of the ring, to facilitate centering of the top of the stone, by partial extrusion and trimming
of the bottom surface. For soft to medium soils, a wire saw should be used for trimming the top and
the bottom of the specimen to minimize smearing. A straightedge with a sharp cutting edge may be
used for the nal trim after the excess soil has rst been removed with a wire saw. For stiff soils,
a sharpened straightedge alone may be used for trimming the top and bottom. If a small particle is
encountered in any surface being trimmed, it should be removed and the resulting void lled with soil
from the trimmings.
4. Determine the initial wet mass of the specimen, M
To
, in the consolidation ring by measuring the mass
of the ring with the specimen and subtracting the mass of the ring.
14. Shrink/Swell Test 83
5. Determine the initial height, H
o
, of the specimen to the nearest 0.025mm (0.001in.) by taking the
average of at least 4 evenly spaced measurements over the top and bottom surfaces of the specimen
using a dial comparator or other suitable measuring device.
6. Compute the initial volume, V
o
, of the specimen to the nearest 0.25 cm
3
(0.015 in
3
) from the diameter
of the ring and the initial specimen height.
7. Obtain two or three natural water content determinations of the soil in accordance with Method D2216
from material trimmed adjacent to the test specimen if sufcient material is available.
14.4 Procedures
1. Preparation of the porous disks and other apparatus will depend on the specimen being tested. The
consolidometer must be assembled in such a manner as to prevent a change in water content of the
specimen. Dry porous disks and lters must be used with dry, highly expansive soils and may be used
for all other soils. Damp disks may be used for partially saturated soils. Saturated disks may be used
when the specimen is saturated and known to have a low afnity for water. Assemble the ring with
the specimen, porous disks, lter disks (when needed) and consolidometer. If the specimen will not
be inundated shortly after application of the seating load, enclose the consolidometer in a lose tting
plastic or rubber membrane to prevent change in specimen volume due to evaporation.
2. After assembly of the consolidometer, secure a displacement transducer and/or dial gauge to the con-
solidometer in a manner to prevent disturbance during the experiment. At time zero, add distilled
water to the consolidometer. Take readings at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 960,
1440, 2880, 5760 minutes, etc. Be sure to keep the sample submerged in water, and add distilled water
if necessary.
3. Once the test has been completed, obtain a nal water content of the sample by weighing the ring with
sample to determine the nal weight, and oven dry the entire sample for a period of at least 12 hours.
14.5 Calculations
The goal of this test is to determine the shrink/swell potential of a soil sample. To do this, the following
parameters need to be determined.
14.5.1 Shrinkage Limit
To determine the shrinkage limit, rst determine the mass of soil solids in the soil sample:
M
s
=
M
t
1 +w
initial
(14.1)
Where M
s
is the mass of the soil solids in the sample; M
t
is the initial total mass of the sample before
swelling; and w
initial
is the initial water content of the sample before swelling.
Then determine the dry density of the sample using:
dry
=
M
s
V
t
(14.2)
Where
dry
is the dry density of the sample before swelling; and V
t
is the total volume of the sample
before swelling.
The shrinkage limit of the soil is then calculated using:
SL =

w
dry
1
G
s
(14.3)
Where SL is the shrinkage limit of the sample in decimal form;
w
is the density of water; G
s
is the
specic gravity of the soil solid particles (assume 2.7 unless otherwise specied)
Using time-deformation data, you can plot the percentage of swell of the sample as a function of time.
The percentage swell is given by:
S =
L
L
0
100% (14.4)
Where S is swell in percent (%); DL is the change in height of the sample; L
0
is the initial sample
height.
Lastly, you can compare the experimentally measured and the theoretically calculated volume change.
The theoretical volume change can be calculated as:
L
L
0
= w

dry
w
100% (14.5)
Where D
w
is the increase in water content from the shrinkage limit in decimal form given by:
w = w
final
SL (14.6)
Where w
final
is the nal water content of the sample.
14.6 Report
Final displacement reading
Shrinkage Limit
Percentage swell versus time(min) plot
Theoretical volume change
Actual volume change
Initial and nal degrees of saturation
Initial and nal water contents
14. Shrink/Swell Test 85
Swell Test Data Sheet
Date Tested by
Section No. Group No.
Mass of sample ring Mass of sample ring + 1
Diameter of sample ring Height of sample ring
Laterally Constrained Test
Initial sample height Initial sample mass
Initial sample volume Final sample height
Test Before After
Container No.
Mass of container (g)
Mass of wet soil + container (g)
Mass of dry soil + container (g)
Mass of water (g)
Water content, (%)
Time Deformation Data Sheet
Elapsed time Displacement reading Net displacement
(mm) (in)
Chapter 15
One-Dimensional Consolidation
15.1 Purpose
A surface load, for example due to the construction of a building, results in increased stresses in the under-
lying soils. The increase in stress also causes settlements. When the soils are ne grained and saturated the
increase in total stress is carried by the water, as excess pore pressure. Since these soils have low hydraulic
conductivity the excess pore pressure will dissipate slowly and the settlement will be delayed in time.
The consolidation test, or oedometer test, is used to determine the parameters that can be used to estimate
both the magnitude and the time rate of the settlements. The test is performed on a cylindrical specimen,
constrained laterally by a ring and allowed to compress under a constant load. The load is held on the
sample for 24 hours or until all excess pore pressure is dissipated. During this time the change in height is
measured. The load is usually doubled at the end of the 24 hour period and the process repeated. Usually 5
or 6 load increments are applied and then data are taken during one unloading step. The measurements are
used to determine the relationship between the effective stress and void ratio or strain, and the rate at which
consolidation can occur.
This test method uses conventional consolidation theory based on Terzaghis consolidation equation to
compute the coefcient of consolidation, c
v
. The analysis is based on the following assumptions:
The soil is saturated and has homogeneous properties.
The ow of pore water is in the vertical direction.
The compressibility of soil particles and pore water is negligible compared to the compressibility of
the soil skeleton.
The stress-strain relationship is linear over the load increment.
The ratio of soil permeability to soil compressibility is constant over the load increment.
Darcys law for ow through porous media applies.
ASTM D 2435 - Standard test method for one-dimensional consolidation properties of soils.
Load Device - A suitable device for applying vertical loads or total stresses) to the specimen. The
device should be capable of maintaining specied loads for long periods of time with an accuracy of
0.5% of the applied load and should permit quick application of a given load increment without
signicant impact.
Consolidometer - A device to hold the specimen in a ring that is either xed to the base or oating
(supported by friction on periphery of specimen) with porous disks on each face of the specimen. The
inside diameter of the ring shall be determined to a tolerance of 0.075mm (0.003in). The consolidome-
ter shall also provide a means of submerging the specimen, for transmitting the concentric vertical load
to the porous disks, and for measuring the change in height of specimen.
- The minimum specimen diameter is 50 mm (2.00 in).
- The minimum specimen height is 12 mm (0.5 in), but not less than ten times the maximum
particle diameter.
- The minimum specimen diameter-to-height ratio is 2.5.
- The ring must be made of a material that is noncorrosive in relation to the soil tested. The inner
surface needs to be highly polished or coated with a low-friction material.
Porous disks - The porous disks are made of noncorrosive material. The grade of the disks shall be
ne enough to prevent intrusion of soil into the pores. If necessary, lter paper may be used to prevent
intrusion of the soil into the disks; however, the permeability of the disks, and lter paper, if used,
must be at least one order of magnitude higher than that of the specimen.
Specimen trimming device - A trimming turntable or a cylindrical cutting ring may be used for trim-
ming the sample down to the inside diameter of the consolidometer ring with a minimum of distur-
bance. The specimen ring has a sharp edge that can be used as a cutter. Alternatively, a turntable or
trimming lathe may be used. The cutting tool must be properly aligned to form a specimen of the same
diameter as that of the ring.
Deformation indicator - To measure change in specimen height, with a readability of 0.0025 mm
(0.0001 in.).
Miscellaneous equipment - A timing device with 1 s readability, distilled or demineralized water,
spatulas, knives, and wire saws, used in preparing the specimen.
Tests shall be performed in an environment where temperature uctuations are less than 4
o
C(7
o
F)
and there is no direct exposure to sunlight.
15.3 Specimen Preparation
All possible precautions should be taken to minimize disturbance of the soil or changes in moisture and
density during specimen preparation. Avoid vibration, distortion, and compression.
1. Prepare test specimens in an environment where soil moisture change during preparation is minimized.
A high humidity environment is usually used for this purpose.
15. One-Dimensional Consolidation 89
2. Trim the specimen and insert it into the consolidation ring. When using a cylindrical cutting ring, trim
the soil to a gentle taper in front of the cutting edge. After the taper is formed, advance the cutter a
small distance to form the nal diameter. Repeat the process until the specimen protrudes from the
ring.
3. Trim the specimen ush with the plane ends of the ring. For soft to medium soils, a wire saw should
be used for trimming the top and bottom of the specimen to minimize smearing. A straightedge with
a sharp cutting edge may be used for the nal trim after the excess soil has rst been removed with a
wire saw. For stiff soils, a sharpened straightedge alone may be used for trimming the top and bottom.
If a small particle is encountered in any surface being trimmed, it should be removed and the resulting
void lled with soil from the trimmings.
4. Determine the initial wet mass of the specimen, M
To
, in the consolidation ring by measuring the mass
of the ring with specimen and subtracting the tare mass of the ring.
5. Determine the initial height, H
o
, of the specimen to the nearest 0.025 mm (0.001 in.) by taking the
average of at least four evenly spaced measurements over the top and bottom surfaces of the specimen
using a dial comparator or other suitable measuring device.
6. Compute the initial volume,V
O
, of the specimen to the nearest 0.25cm
3
(0.015in
3
) from the diameter
of the ring and the initial specimen height.
7. Obtain two or three natural water content determinations of the soil from material trimmed adjacent to
the test specimen if sufcient material is available.
15.4 Procedure
1. Preparation of the porous disks and other apparatus will depend on the specimen being tested. The
consolidometer must be assembled in such a manner as to prevent a change in water content of the
specimen. Dry porous disks and lters must be used with dry, highly expansive soils and may be used
for all other soils. Damp disks may be used for partially saturated soils. Saturated disks may be used
when the specimen is saturated and known to have a low afnity for water. Assemble the ring with
specimen, porous disks, lter disks (when needed) and consolidometer. If the specimen will not be
inundated shortly after application of the seating load, enclose the consolidometer in a loose tting
plastic or rubber membrane to prevent change in specimen volume due to evaporation.
2. Place the consolidometer in the loading device and apply a seating pressure of 5 kPa (100lbf/ft
2
).
Immediately after application of the seating load, adjust the deformation indicator and record the initial
zero reading, d
o
. If necessary, add additional load to keep the specimen from swelling. Conversely, if
it is anticipated that a load of 5kPa(100lbf/ft
2
) will cause signicant consolidation of the specimen,
reduce the seating pressure to 2 or 3 kPa (about 50 lbf/ft
2
) or less.
3. If the test is performed on an intact specimen that was either saturated under eld conditions or ob-
tained below the water table, inundate shortly after application of the seating load. As inundation and
specimen wetting occur, increase the load as required to prevent swelling. Record the load required to
prevent swelling and the resulting deformation reading.
4. The specimen is to be subjected to increments of constant total stress.
5. The standard loading schedule shall consist of a load increment ratio (LIR) of one which is obtained
by doubling the pressure on the soil to obtain values of approximately 12, 25, 50, 100, 200, etc. kPa
(250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, etc. lbf/ft
2
).
6. The standard rebound or unloading schedule should be selected by halving the pressure on the soil
(that is, use the same increments as before, but in reverse order). However, if desired, each successive
load can be only one-fourth as large as the preceding load, that is, skip a decrement. An alternative
loading, unloading, or reloading schedule may be employed that reproduces the construction stress
changes or obtains better denition of some part of the stress deformation (compression) curve, or
aids in interpreting the eld behavior of the soil.
7. Before each pressure increment is applied, record the height or change in height, d
f
, of the specimen.
8. The standard load increment duration is 24 h. Record the height or change in height, d, at time
intervals of approximately 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 and 30 min, and 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 h. Take
sufcient readings near the end of the pressure increment period to verify that primary consolidation
is completed. For some soils, a period of more than 24 h may be required to reach the end-of-primary
consolidation.
9. To minimize swell during disassembly, rebound the specimen back to the seating load (5 kPa). Once
height changes have ceased (usually overnight), dismantle quickly after releasing the nal small load
on the specimen. Remove the specimen and the ring from the consolidometer and wipe any free water
from the ring and specimen. Determine the mass of the specimen in the ring and subtract the tare
mass of the ring to obtain the nal wet specimen mass, M
Tf
. The most accurate determination of the
specimen dry mass and water content is found by drying the entire specimen at the end of the test. If
the soil sample is homogeneous and sufcient trimmings are available for the specied index testing,
then determine the nal water content, w
f
, and dry mass of solids, M
d
, using the entire specimen.
15.5 Calculation
The goal of this test is to determine the magnitude of settlement and the rate of settlement. For this purpose,
the compression index, C
c
, the re-compression index or swelling index, C
r
, the coefcient of secondary
compression, C
, the coefcient of consolidation, c

v
, and the pre-consolidation pressure
zc
must be ob-
tained from the data. Consult your textbook for the appropriate methods to use for interpretation of the
data.
15.6 Report
c
v
, C
, and void ratio for each day

Void ratio versus effective stress plot

z
c, C
c
, C
r
Displacement versus time for each day included in appendix
15. One-Dimensional Consolidation 91
Consolidation Data
Sample No. Project
Boring No. Location
Depth
Date Tested by
Load
(kPa)
12 25 50 100 200 25 Seat
Time Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7
Chapter 16
Plaxis exercise 2: consolidation settlements
calculation
The third phase of the project requires you to evaluate the settlements of the embankment due to consolida-
tion of the soft marine clay. During this exercise we are going to simulate the construction of the embankment
in three steps. After each step we will let the soil consolidate for a time before applying a new load incre-
ment. The delay is required to allow the soil to gain strength. If the embankment were built in one step the
soil wouls fail.
16.1 Consolidation settlements of an embankment during construction and
after completion
16.1.1 Input of geometry
Start Plaxis 7.2 Professional, Plaxis Input and select your old project, developed in the rst Plaxis exercise.
If the title of the project does not appear on the list, select More les and navigate to the folder where the
project is located.
The geometry input needs to be changed because we are going to simulate the construction of the em-
bankment in three steps. We need to draw the geometry lines that dene the three layers that will be placed.
The boundaries of the foundation soil (the marine clay) will also need to be extended.
- Select the Geometry line tool on the top left of the toolbar.
- Draw a line from point (16.0, 10.5) to point (46.0, 10.5) dening the rst layer. Notice that points are
created at the intersection between the new line and the lines delimiting the core. Right click to exit
the drawing tool.
- Draw the line between the second and the third layer between point (22.0, 12.5) and point (40.0, 12.5).
- Click on and drag point 0 to the left as much as possible. Hold the shift key to ensure the bottom
line remains horizontal.
- Repeat with point 3, so that point 0 and 3 are aligned.
- Repeat on the right boundary.
Figure 16.1: Geometry input of the embankment.
Plaxis parameter= Description Value
=
0.434Cc
1+eo
Virgin compression
=
0.434Cr
1+eo
Unload-reload
k =C
v
m
v
w
Hydraulic conductivity and time rate
c = c Cohesion 5kPa
Friction angle 30 degrees

= Dilatancy 0
Table 16.1: Relationships between clay properties and Plaxis parameters.
16.1.2 Input of material parameters
In this part you assign the new material parameters that describe the response of the soil. We have two soils
in this problem: a soft marine clay as a foundation, and a clayey sand for the compacted soil embankment.
At this point we will disregard the drain material. In the rst Plaxis exercise the only important material
parameter was the hydraulic conductivity. In this exercise selecting the correct mechanical properties of the
materials involved is essential for predicting the settlements. Plaxis offers ve possible material models to
represent the response of soils. The linear elastic material model is not effective when trying to represent
consolidation problems, therefore a different model must be selected. In our experience, the soft soil model
gives quite realistic predictions of the actual response of soft clays, such as the one at our site. This model
is quite complicated mathematically and requires a total of seven parameters to describe the stress-strain
response and the failure conditions.
The data from a consolidation test on a sample of the soft marine clay, such as those you have been test-
ing, are given in gures 16.2. You can determine C
c
and C
r
from this gure. The coefcient of consolidation
C
v
was determined to be 6.37 10
2
m
2
/day. The value of the modulus od volumetric compressibility (m
v
)
is calculated from the consolidation curve plotted in the strain vs. vertical effective stress space. You can
nd the curve and a plot of the variation of m
v
in gure 16.3.
Complete table 16.1 with the Plaxis parameters you derive from the results of the consolidation test.
The embankment material will be modeled as a linear elastic-perfectly plastic material with parameters
in table 16.2.
Follow these steps to change the material data sets:
- Click on the Material sets button on the toolbar.
- Double click on the clay to edit the soft marine clay material data set.
16. Plaxis exercise 2: consolidation settlements calculation 95
Figure 16.2: Consolidation curve for the marine clay.
Plaxis parameter= Value Description
E =2.0 10
4
kPa Young modulus
= 0.20 Poisson ratio
c = 1 kPa Cohesion
= 35 degrees Friction angle

= 0 Dilatancy
Table 16.2: Material parameters for the embankment material.
Figure 16.3: Consolidation curve in strain vs. vertical effective stress and modulus of volume compressibility
for the marine clay.
- Select Soft soil model for Material model.
- Select Undrained for Material type.
- Enter the parameters from table 16.1, including those you calculated.
- Click OK and Apply.
- Double click on the clayey sand to edit the embankment material data set.
- Select Mohr Coulomb for Material model.
- Select Drained for Material type.
- Enter the parameters from table 16.2.
- Click OK and Apply.
16.1.3 Generation of new mesh
Since new geometry lines were added, a new mesh must be generated.
- In the mesh menu select Global coarseness and then Medium.
- Click on Generate mesh on the right of the toolbar
- Click on update when the new window appears.
16.1.4 Initial conditions
Once the geometry is dened, the materials selected and the discretization completed, you need to input the
initial conditions. In this case you will need to dene both the initial pore pressures and the initial stresses.
Click on the green arrow on the top right of the toolbar to go to the Initial conditions section.
Generation of pore pressures
The geometry should look all gray. If not, you need to make sure the green light on the left is selected.
- Select the Phreatic line tool on the top left of the toolbar.
- Draw the groundwater level at the ground surface, or 8.5 m. Click on the left boundary at height 8.5
m and then click on the right boundary at 8.5 m. Right click to end the line.
- Click on Generate water pressures, the button with blue crosses.
- Select: Phreatic line and OK.
- A new window appears with the calculated initial pore pressures. It is easier to interpret the results by
selecting shadings from the drop down menu. Do the results agree with what you expected?
- Click on Update.
Generation of initial stresses
Select the other green light button in the middle of the toolbar. The geometry should now appear in color.
The initial stresses are calculated before construction begins, therefore we need to de-select the embankment.
As you click on the clusters (areas) forming the embankment they should become white like the background.
This tells the program to ignore the weight of those areas in the calculations. Click on Generate initial
stresses, the button with the red crosses, to calculate. The pop up window shows the values of K
o
that will
be used in the calculations and OCR (or POP=pre-consolidation pressure). Click OK to accept the proposed
values. Check that the calculated stresses are what you would expect them to be, and update.
Figure 16.4: Mesh of the embankment.
16.2 Calculations
Click on the green arrow Calculate to go to the calculations section of Plaxis. In this part we will dene all
the phases of construction and the periods of consolidation. First, dene all phases of the problem.
- Click next to create a new phase. We need to build the rst layer of the embankment.
- On Calculation type select Plastic and Load adv. ultimate level.
- On the Parameters tab select Staged construction (on the bottom right section) and click on Dene.
- The geometry appears, click on the areas forming the rst layer of the embankment. They should
become colored as you click on them. Now the program is going to add the weight of the rst layer.
- Click next to create a new phase. We need to allow consolidation to occur.
- On Calculation type select Consolidation and Automatic time stepping.
- On the Parameters tab select Ultimate time interval and input the length of time before the next layer
of the embankment is placed. For example 120 days.
- Repeat the same procedure for the next two layers. For the second consolidation phase use 180 days.
If you forget and use 120 days the embankment will fail when the third layer of soil is added.
- On the last consolidation phase, select Minimum pore pressure to allow consolidation to continue until
the excess pore pressures are dissipated.
Once all the calculation phases are dened, you need to select some special points for which you would
like to plot stress-strain curves, settlement vs. time curves, etc... Click on the Select points for curves button,
the one with red and white crosses in the toolbar. A new window appears with all the points tacked by the
nite element calculations. Enlarge the central portion of the embankment and select a point on the original
ground surface in the center of the embankment. Other points of interest are at the center of the clay layer
and at the toe of the embankment. The displacements are calculated at these points. To get the stress points,
click on the button Select stress points for stress/strain curves, the red triangle with crosses inside. Then
select points in the mesh that are close to the points you selected earlier. notice that the point are not the
same, but possible you can get close. If you make a mistake you cannot undo, but its not a problem: youll
have more info than you need.
Now you are ready to calculate the problem. Check that each phase is preceded by a blue arrow. A
blue arrow means that the program will actually perform the calculations related to this phase. Click on the
green arrow Calculate on the toolbar. The calculation starts. This may take a while. In the window that
pops up you want to look at the value of Mstage for the plastic phases, as well as the Global error.
Mstage increasing shows the percentage of weight being applied, from 0 to 1. During the consolidation
phases, look at the Time increase and Pmax, the maximum pore pressure, decrease. Once the calculation is
completed the blue arrow will become a green cross.
Select the phase you want to see and click on the green arrow Output. Do not double click, you will
deselect the phase. The usual output window will appear. Explore the results for each phase. Look at total
displacements (since the beginning) or total increments (during this phase only). Use the different views:
arrows, shadings, or contours. Also look at the excess pore pressures in the different views. You can draw
cross sections with the cross section (A-A) button. Clicking on the Table button will give you the actual
values for each point in the gure you are seeing.
Chapter 17
Direct Shear Test of Soils Under
Consolidated Drained Conditions
The following method departs from the ASTM Standard D3080, copyright c American Society for Testing
and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959
17.1 Purpose
This test method covers the determination of the consolidated drained shear strength of a soil material in
direct shear. The test is performed by deforming a specimen at a controlled strain rate on or near a single
shear plane determined by the conguration of the apparatus. Generally, three or more specimens are tested,
each under a different normal load, to determine the effects upon shear resistance and displacement, and
strength properties such as Mohr strength envelopes. Shear stresses and displacements are nonuniformly
distributed within the specimen. An appropriate height cannot be dened for calculation of shear strains.
Therefore, stress-strain relationships or any associated quantity such as modulus, cannot be determined from
this test.
17.2 Terminology
Relative Lateral Displacement-The horizontal displacement of the top and bottom shear box halves.
Failure-The stress condition at failure for a test specimen. Failure is often taken to correspond to the
maximum shear stress attained, or the shear stress at 15 to 20 percent relative lateral displacement.
Depending on soil behavior and eld application, other suitable criteria may be dened.
17.3 Apparatus
Shear Device-A device to hold the specimen securely between two porous inserts in such a way that
torque is not applied to the specimen. The shear device shall provide a means of applying a normal
stress to the faces of the specimen, for measuring change in thickness of the specimen, for permitting
drainage of water through the porous inserts at the top and bottom boundaries of the specimen, and
for submerging the specimen in water. The device shall be capable of applying a shear force to the
specimen in water. The device shall be capable of applying a shear force to the specimen along a
predetermined shear plane (single shear) parallel to the faces of the specimen. The frames that hold
the specimen shall be sufciently rigid to prevent their distortion during shearing. The various parts
of the shear device shall be made of material not subject to corrosion by moisture or substances within
the soil, for example, stainless steel, bronze, or aluminum, etc. Dissimilar metals, which may cause
galvanic action, are not permitted.
Shear Box, a shear box, either circular or square, made of stainless steel, bronze, or aluminum, with
provisions for drainage through the top and bottom. The box is divided vertically by a horizontal plane
into two halves of equal thickness which are tted together with alignment screws. The shear box is
also tted with gap screws, which control the space (gap) between the top and bottom halves of the
shear box.
Porous Inserts, Porous inserts function to allow drainage from the soil specimen along the top and
bottom boundaries. They also function to transfer horizontal shear stress from the insert to the top and
bottom boundaries of the specimen. Porous inserts shall consist of silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, or
metal which is not subject to corrosion by soil substances or soil moisture. The proper grade of insert
depends on the soil being tested. The permeability of the insert should be substantially greater than
that of the soil, but should be textured ne enough to prevent excessive intrusion of the soil into the
pores of the insert. The diameter or width of the top porous insert or plate shall be 0.01 to 0.02 in. (0.2
to 0.5 mm) less than that of the inside of the ring. If the insert functions to transfer the horizontal stress
to the soil, it must be sufciently coarse to develop interlock. Sandblasting or tooling the insert may
help, but the surface of the insert should not be so irregular as to cause substantial stress concentrations
in the soil.
Device for Applying and Measuring the Normal Force-The normal force is applied by a lever loading
yoke which is activated by dead weights (masses) or by a pneumatic loading device. The device shall
be capable of maintaining the normal force to within 61 percent of the specied force quickly without
exceeding it.
Device for Shearing the Specimen-The device shall be capable of shearing the specimen at a uniform
rate of displacement, with less than 65 percent deviation, and should permit adjustment of the rate
of displacement from 0.0001 to 0.04 in./min (.0025 to 1.0 mm/min). The rate to be applied depends
upon the consolidation characteristics of the soils (see 9.12.1). The rate is usually maintained with an
electric motor and gear box arrangement and the shear force is determined by a load indicating device
such as a proving ring or load cell. 6.4.3 The weight of the top shear box should be less than 1 percent
of the applied normal force: this may require that the top shear box be modied and supported by
counter force.
Shear Force Measurement Device-A proving ring or load cell accurate to 0.5 lbf (2.5 N), or 1 percent
of the shear force at failure, whichever is greater.
Shear Box Bowl-A metallic box which supports the shear box and provides either a reaction against
which one half of the shear box is restrained, or a solid base with provisions for aligning one half of
the shear box, which is free to move coincident with applied shear force in a horizontal plane.
Miscellaneous Equipment, including timing device with a second hand, distilled or demineralized
water, spatulas, knives, straightedge, wire saws, etc., used in preparing the specimen.
17.4 Procedure
1. Assemble the shear box.
17. Direct Shear Test of Soils Under Consolidated Drained Conditions 103
2. Place moist porous inserts over the exposed ends of the specimen in the shear box; place the shear box
containing the undisturbed specimen and porous inserts into the shear box bowl and attach the shear
box.
3. Connect and adjust the shear force loading system so that no force is imposed on the load measuring
device.
4. Properly position and adjust the horizontal displacement measurement device used to measure shear
displacement. Obtain an initial reading or set the measurement device to indicate zero displacement.
5. Place a moist porous insert and load transfer plate on the top of the specimen in the shear box.
6. Place the normal force loading yoke into position and adjust it so the loading bar is horizontal.
7. Apply a small normal load to the specimen. Verify that all components of the loading system are seated
and aligned. The top porous insert and load transfer plate must be aligned so that the movement of the
load transfer plate into the shear box is not inhibited. Record the applied vertical load and horizontal
load on the system.
8. Attach and adjust the vertical displacement measurement device. Obtain initial reading for the vertical
measurement device and a reading for the horizontal displacement measurement device.
9. Select the appropriate displacement rate.
10. Shear the specimen, until the shear resistance measured by the load transducer levels off indicating
that the specimen has failed.
17.5 Calculation
Calculate the nominal shear stress:
=
F
A
where:
= nominal shear stress (lbf/in
2
,kPa),
F = shear force (lbf, N),
A = initial area of specimen (in
2
, mm
2
).
Calculate the normal stress acting on the specimen:
n =
N
A
where:
n = normal stress (lbf/in
2
, kPa),
N = normal vertical force acting on the specimen (lbf, N),
A = initial area of specimen (in
2
, mm
2
).
17.6 Report
Shear stress versus time for each normal stress
Mohr Circle plot with , versus n
17. Direct Shear Test of Soils Under Consolidated Drained Conditions 105
Shear Test Data
Initial Reading Initial Reading Initial Reading
Load Applied Load Applied Load Applied
Seconds Reading Seconds Reading Seconds Reading
(mV) (mV) (mV)
Chapter 18
Triaxial Unconned Compression Test
18.1 Purpose
This test will be used to quickly determine the undrained shear strength of saturated clays. In this test, no
radial stress will be applied to the sample (
3
=0), but the axial stress, (
1
) will be increased until the sample
fails (can no longer support load). The load is applied quickly so that the pore water cannot drain, meaning
that the sample is sheared at a constant volume. Since we are not applying a radial stress, the principle of
effective stresses gives:
3
=
3
u = 0 u = u (18.1)
Because soils cannot sustain tension,
3
must be positive, and therefore, the excess water stresses, u,
must be negative. The results from the UC test are used to:
Estimate the short-term bearing capacity of ne-grained soils for foundations
Estimate the short-term stability of slopes
Compare the shear strengths of soils from a site to establish soil strength variability quickly and cost-
effectively (the UC test is cheaper than others)
Determine the stress-strain characteristics under fast (undrained) loading conditions
18.2 Procedure
18.2.1 Materials
Soil sample
Sample form and sample manual rammer for compaction
Sample extruder
Knife
Sample holder
Calipers
Pressure chamber
Porous stones
Transducers - force and displacement
Shearing apparatus
Computer - Geotech Data Logger Program
Digital Voltmeter
18.2.2 Procedure
1. Refer to Chapter 3, Compaction Using Standard Effort, for sample preparation.
2. The sample extruded may now be cut in two, lengthwise. Each group should take half of the original
sample.
3. Place the sample in the sample holder.
4. Each side of the sample holder cuts the sample to different diameters; one for a coarse preparation,
and one for a nal sample preparation
5. Carefully, (very carefully), shave the sample with the knife so that the nal product is a cylindrical
sample with a diameter equal to that of the sample holder.
6. Take the sample and lay it horizontally on the sample holder. Using the edge of the holder, cut the ends
off of the sample so that they are square. You want a sample with a height-to-diameter ratio between
2 and 2.5
7. Record the dimensions of the sample in several places and record the average height and diameter.
8. Disassemble the compression chamber
9. Place a porous stone on the bottom platen of the compression chamber. Then place the sample with a
porous stone on top of it. Re-assemble the compression chamber, taking care to prevent the plunger
from interfering with the sample.
10. Place the compression chamber with the sample inside it onto the loading frame.
11. Prepare the computer data acquisition system as directed.
12. Record the serial numbers of the force and displacement transducers
13. Begin data acquisition and then start applying a load to produce an axial strain at a rate of 1/2 to
2%/min. Allow the computer to take the readings, and stop the data acquisition when the failure plane
in the sample is visible.
14. Save the computer data, and make a sketch of the failed sample, noting the angles of the failure planes.
15. Record a water content of the sample after completion of the test.
18. Triaxial Unconned Compression Test 109
18.3 Calculations
The undrained shear strength is given as:
S
u
=
P
z
2A
=
1
2
1
(18.2)
where P
z
is the axial load applied to the sample and
A =
A
o
(1 e
1
)
(18.3)
Note that because we are assuming no volume change, and we are axially deforming our sample, the
cross sectional area of the sample changes as the strain increases.
18.4 Report
Force vs. time plot
Displacement vs. time plot
Stress versus strain plot
versus plot, (including the Mohrs circle)
Values for s
u
and q
u
(ultimate stress, or s
1
at failure)
Unconned Compression Test Data
Sample No. Project
Boring No. Location
Depth
Date Tested by
Time Force Displacement
(s) (mV) (mV)
Chapter 19
Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Test
19.1 Specimen preparation
The test will be carried out on a compacted specimen of clayey sand. Prepare the compacted specimen
following the directions on chapter 7 and as directed by your teaching assistant. The procedure is similar to
that used for the preparation of the unconned compression specimen. Once the soil is extruded, carefully
divide the sample into two parts and obtain one specimen from each part.
19.1.1 Preparation of the specimen
1. Trim the specimen to the desired dimensions: diameter 38mm (1.5in) and height 76mm (3in), using
a trimming device. The trimming apparatus should allow for convenient trimming of a cylindrical
specimen of constant cross section, using either a wire saw or a steel blade. Be careful during the
trimming and while handling the specimen because the material is prone to cracking and crumbling.
The specimen should be slightly taller than the nal desired height to allow the removal of top and
bottom slices prior to nal measurement and testing. Be particularly careful in trimming the specimen
ends to ensure they are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the specimen (otherwise alignment
becomes a real problem).
2. Place the specimen on a small piece of saran wrap while you are handling it to avoid loss of moisture.
3. Obtain the moist weight of the specimen.
4. Measure height to 0.1mm (0.01in) with a caliper. Care should be taken that the measuring does not
penetrate soft specimens. The average of 3 readings should be used.
5. Measure the specimen diameter to 0.01mm (0.001in) in two perpendicular directions and three eleva-
tions (center, near top and near bottom) to obtain an average.
6. Measure the thickness of the membrane. Usually this is done by folding the membrane and measuring
the thickness of several layers at a time and then dividing by the number of layers.
19.1.2 Fitting end caps and membrane
1. Carefully place the specimen on the bottom cap and then the top cap on the specimen. If needed,
also place porous stones. Make sure the specimen is centered and the assembly is aligned (VERY
IMPORTANT!!).
Figure 19.1: Stages of membrane tting (from Head, 1992)
2. Fit two o-rings over the membrane stretcher and roll themnear the middle of its length. Fit a membrane
inside the stretcher and fold back the ends, over and outside. Apply vacuum to the membrane stretcher.
Make sure the membrane is actually being pulled out and adheres to the stretcher. It may take a little
tugging, but be careful not to twist the membrane at this point.
3. Carefully lower the membrane stretcher over the specimen until it is nicely centered. Then release
vacuum and allow the membrane to adhere to the specimen.
4. Carefully release the membrane ends covering the caps and trying to minimize the amount of air
entrapped in contact with the sample.
5. Lower the stretcher so that the bottom is located at about mid-height of the lower cap. Roll down and
off one o-ring to seal the membrane.
6. Raise the membrane stretcher all the way up so that the bottom is located at about mid-height of the
top cap. Roll down and off the o-ring.
7. Carefully fold the membrane over the o-rings.
19.2 Procedure
1. Assemble the triaxial cell.
2. Carefully check that the piston is aligned with the top cap.
3. If not, undo the cell set up and try to gently adjust the alignment until it works. It is important that you
do so very gently as to minimize the disturbance to the sample.
4. Place the cell in the loading frame.
19. Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Test 113
5. Prepare the computer data acquisition system as directed.
6. Record the serial numbers of the transducers.
7. Slowly increase pressure in the cell to the desired conning pressure. Be careful, the loading rod may
be lifted by the pressure if it is not locked. Allow 10 minutes under conning pressure for the sample
to equilibrate.
8. Begin data acquisition and note the reading for the load transducer (this should be the zero reading,
or no load is applied). Then start loading at a strain rate of approximately 1%/min. Before the loading
rod comes into contact with the top cap the load transducer is reading the upward force due to the
chamber pressure and the friction between the rod and the seal.
9. Allow the computer to take the readings, and stop the data acquisition when the axial strains reach
15%.
10. Save the computer data, and make a sketch of the failed sample, noting the angles of the failure planes.
11. Record a water content of the sample after completion of the test.
19.3 Calculations
The deviator stress is given as:
3
=
P
z
A
(19.1)
where P
z
is the axial load applied to the sample (corrected for uplift and friction and:
A =
A
o
(1 e
1
)
(19.2)
Note that because we are assuming no volume change, and we are axially deforming our sample, the
cross sectional area of the sample changes as the strain increases.
You also need to correct the deviator stress
1
3
for the effect of the membrane:
(
1
3
) =
4E
m
t
m
1
D
(19.3)
where: E
m
is Youngs modulus of the membrane, use 1400 kPa; t
m
is the thickness of the membrane
and
1
= H/H is the vertical strain.
19.4 Report
Include the following information in the report:
Rate of strain, in percent per minute.
The stress-strain curve, (
1
3
) vs.
1
.
Axial strain at failure, in percent.
The value of compressive strength and the major and minor principal stresses at failure.
The sample water content
A failure sketch of the specimen.
Appendix A
CVEN 365 Laboratory Design Project
A.1 Introduction
The CVEN 365 laboratory assignments are sequenced as a series of steps in the design of a retention pond
for storing treated efuent from a wastewater treatment plant. The tentative laboratory schedule is given in
the course syllabus and it is also reported in table A.1.
The overall project is subdivided into four design tasks associated with individual laboratory sessions as
indicated in table A.2.
A.2 Report Submissions
Reporting is required at two levels: (1) data laboratory reports documenting the laboratory sessions, and
(2) design reports in which soil parameters derived from laboratory measurements are applied to the design
of the retention pond. All reports are individual and must be submitted at the beginning of the laboratory
session. Collaboration is encouraged during the collection and reduction of the data. However, each student
shall work on the evaluation of the results on her/his own and submit an original report.
A.2.1 Data laboratory reports
One week after each laboratory session a laboratory report shall be submitted containing the following in-
formation:
Name, date, laboratory section, laboratory test(s) performed. Descriptions of test procedures are not
required. The report should simply make a concise statement as to the test performed with appropriate
reference to the test procedure.
Data measurements. Copies of handwritten records of measurements are required in the submission. In
some laboratory exercises, it may be convenient to tabulate and reduce data in a computer spreadsheet
format. Computer spreadsheets are acceptable, but are not a substitute for original records of data
measurements. All data sheets shall be initialed and dated by the person taking the measurement.
Data reduction. Data measurements must generally be reduced to compute specic soil material pa-
rameters. Data reduction in a computer spreadsheet format is acceptable. However, example hand-
written calculations should be included in sufcient detail to allow a reviewer to track through all steps
of the data reduction.
Date Laboratory Subject Assignment
Jan. 15-19 1 No laboratory
Jan. 22-26 2 Particle size determination
Water content
Jan. 29- Feb. 2 3 Determination of Atterberg limits Data report 1
Visual classication
Feb. 5-9 4 Proctor compaction test Data report 2
Total suction by lter paper method
Feb. 12-16 5 Determination of hydraulic conductivity Design Report 1
Flow nets drawing
Feb. 19-23 6 Computer exercise 1: 2-D seepage Data report 3
Feb. 26-Mar. 2 7 Mohr circles Design Report 2
Instrumentation
Mar. 5-9 8 Shrink test Data report 4
Mar. 19-23 9 Consolidation Data report 5
Mar. 26-30 10 Computer exercise 2: consolidation Data report 6 (draft)
Apr. 2-6 11 Direct shear test Data report 6
Apr. 9-13 12 Triaxial test: unconned Design Report 3
Apr. 16-20, 2005 13 Triaxial test: unconsolidated undrained Data report 7
Apr. 23-27, 2005 14 Computer exercise 3: strength Data report 8
Table A.1: Assignment schedule
Design Task Laboratory Sessions Topic
I 2, 3, 4 Preliminary evaluation of soils
II 5, 6 Permeability and seepage
III 9, 10 Consolidation and settlement
IV 11, 12, 13, (14) Strength and slope stability
Table A.2: Design tasks
A. CVEN 365 Laboratory Design Project 117
Test evaluation. The report should conclude with (1) recommended soil material parameters (i.e.,
liquid limit, unit weight, etc.) to be used in the project design, and (2) an assessment of the overall
level of reliability of the reported material parameters and the reasons for such assessment.
Specic information to be included in the weekly reports will vary according to the specic tasks per-
formed. Students should clarify any uncertainties in reporting requirements with the teaching assistant prior
to leaving the laboratory session.
A.2.2 Design reports
Material parameters obtained from the laboratory sessions will be utilized in the design tasks listed in A.2.
Design reports will be due according to the schedule in table A.1. The design reports shall follow this format:
Introduction. An introductory section shall outline the basic issues being addressed in the report. For
example, Design Report II will address seepage through the retaining levee.
Analytical model. This section shall present the geometry and material properties for the section
that is to be analyzed. For example, a presentation of the seepage model in Design Task II should
include a description (including a sketch) of the levee embankment and the underlying foundation, the
boundaries of the various soil types within the levee and foundation, and the permeability of each soil
type.
Analytical methods. This section shall state and briey describe the methods used in the analysis. For
example, two analysis methods will be used for the seepage analyses in Design Task II: ow nets and
nite element analyses.
Discussion. This section shall report the outcome of the analyses (seepage quantities, foundation
settlements, etc.) In cases where more than one type of analysis is performed, the results should be
compared and discussed. Uncertainties in the analysis, and how such uncertainty may be reduced,
may also be discussed here.
Conclusion. The implications of the analyses should be discussed here. For example excessive settle-
ment could lead to overtopping and failure of the levee. If the analyses suggest inadequate performance
of the levee, suggested modications to the design should be presented.
Appendices. Supporting information for the design task should be appended to the design report. For
example, the weekly results for Laboratory Sessions 2, 3, and 4 should be appended to Design Report
I.
Specic topics to be included in the design reports may vary according to the topic under consideration.
Students should clarify any uncertainties in reporting requirements with the teaching assistant prior to report
preparation.
A.3 Project overview
Figure A.1 shows a plan view of the project. A 20-ft high ring levee will be constructed to provide contain-
ment for treated efuent from a wastewater treatment plant. To provide access for maintenance, the levee
crown must have a minimum width of 20 ft. The preliminary levee design (Figure 2) calls for landside and
waterside slopes of 3 horizontal to 1 vertical (3H:1V). The levee is to be a zoned embankment comprised of
a clay core buttressed by outer zones of sand. The purpose of the core is to provide a seepage barrier to
Figure A.1: Plan View of Water Retention Pond
retain the water in the pond. The purpose of the sand zones is to improve the stability of the embankment
against a sliding failure - sands typically have higher shearing resistance than clays. When suitable mate-
rials are locally available, zoned embankments are typically the design of choice, since they combine the
favorable water retention properties of clays with the favorable strength properties of sands.
The levee will be founded on a 28-ft deep stratum of what has been visually classied as soft clay.
Beneath the soft clay are Pleistocene age deposits comprised of stiff clays and dense to very dense sands.
Clay for the core will be obtained locally from the same clay stratum that comprises the levee foundation.
The native clay will be excavated, dried to a water content approximating the optimum water content, and
placed in the core zone. The sand will be obtained from a borrow source located in a stream channel deposit
approximately two miles from the site. In-place unit weight and moisture tests in the sand deposit indicate
a dry unit weight of 103 lb/ft
3
and a water content of 9.7%. The volume of available sand from this source
is uncertain, so the preliminary evaluations must provide reasonably accurate estimates of the sand volumes
that must be excavated from the borrow source.
The geotechnical studies for this project have been divided into four main tasks:
Preliminary evaluations will involve performing index and classication tests on the proposed clay and
sand levee embankment soils. Based on these tests, a qualitative assessment will be made regarding the
suitability of these soils for their proposed use in the levee embankment. The preliminary evaluations
will also include compaction tests on the sand. Data from these compaction tests will be needed
for estimating the required volume of sand that must be excavated from the borrow source. Unit
Figure A.2: Preliminary Design of Levee Section
weight measurements from the compaction tests will also be used in later settlement and slope stability
analyses.
Seepage studies. Estimates seepage ow rates are needed to verify that water loss from the pond will be
within acceptable levels. The rst stage of the seepage studies will entail permeability test measure-
ments supplemented by empirical estimates of permeability based on index properties. These perme-
ability values will be utilized in ow net and nite element studies to obtain estimates of water loss
due to seepage.
Settlement studies. Excessive settlement of the soft clay foundation soil can lead to loss of freeboard and
ultimately to overtopping of the levee. Consolidation tests on the foundation soils will be performed to
provide the necessary material parameters for settlement analyses. Using these parameters, estimates
of levee settlement will be performed using: (1) simplied one-dimensional consolidation settlement
analyses and (2) two-dimensional nite element consolidation analyses.
Slope stability. Stability analyses are required to verify that the shear strength of the levee embankment
and foundation soils are capable of resisting the gravitational loads caused by the weight of the added
embankment. The stability studies will entail: (1) laboratory measurements of the shear strength
properties of the levee embankment and foundation soils, and (2) slope stability analyses to evaluate
the factor of safety against a slope failure.
A.4 Part I
This part of the project involves preliminary evaluation of the soils proposed for levee embankment con-
struction. Laboratory Sessions 2 through 4 involve a series of index property and compaction tests on which
the preliminary evaluation will be based. Tests will be performed a sand proposed for the outer zones (shell)
of the levee. The tests series includes the following:
Laboratory Session 2: Sieve analysis of proposed levee shell material.
Laboratory Session 3: Liquid limit and plastic limit of proposed shell material. Visual classication of
proposed shell materials. Hydrometer analysis of proposed shell material.
Laboratory Session 4: Standard Proctor compaction test on proposed levee shell material. Filter paper
suction test on proposed levee shell material.
The gradation curve information for the existing soil, the soft marine clay, is included here in Table A.3.
This soil has a plastic limit of and a liquid limit of .
Reporting shall be in accordance with the requirements outlined in the project overview. Specic infor-
mation to be reported includes:
Classication of the proposed soils according to the Unied Soil Classication System.
An assessment of the suitability of the soils for levee construction.
An estimate of the volume of levee shell (sand) material that must be excavated from the borrow area.
This estimate should be based on (1) the computed volume of the levee shell, (2) the compacted unit
weight of the levee shell material, and (3) the measured unit weight of the sand in the borrow area.
Particle diameter Percent Finer
(mm) (%)
0.0782 90.06
0.0562 86.85
0.0402 83.63
0.0331 82.02
0.0291 78.80
0.0223 56.29
0.0174 25.73
0.0124 22.51
0.0091 19.30
0.0065 16.08
0.0031 9.65
0.0015 6.43
Table A.3: Gradation curve for the existing marine clay (from CVEN 649 class of 2004).
A.5 Part II
This part of the project involves seepage analysis of the levee embankment. The seepage analysis involves
measurement of hydraulic conductivity and prediction of the ow through the levee embankment.
Points to be covered in your design report include the following:
1. Your introductory section should discuss the purpose of the seepage evaluation. Since water loss from
a water-retaining structure must necessarily be limited to acceptable levels, a chief concern in this case
is the rate of seepage loss through the levee.
2. The clay in both the levee core and in the foundation is assumed to have a hydraulic conductivity
of 8 10
5
m/day. The sand in the levee shell is assumed to have a hydraulic conductivity of 8
10
3
m/day. Using the guidelines outlines in Table A.4, comment on whether you believe these values
are reasonable.
3. Your rst ow analysis will use a graphical ow net solution. In principle, ow nets can be constructed
for non-homogeneous soil conditions, but the process is quite tedious and time-consuming. Since
the sand hydraulic conductivity exceeds that of the clay by 2 orders of magnitude, a very good rst
approximation is to consider the sand as free-draining, i.e., to have innite hydraulic conductivity.
Your ow net should therefore be drawn for conditions similar that shown in Figure A.3. Constructing
a ow net through an embankment also requires some estimate of the water (phreatic) surface. An
estimated phreatic surface is given to you in Figure A.3.
4. Your second ow analysis will be a numerical analysis using the program Plaxis. Instructions for
Plaxis are given in Chapter 11 of the laboratory manual. Analysis of non-homogeneous soil conditions
is relatively straightforward using Plaxis. Therefore, your Plaxis analysis should input actual values
of hydraulic conductivity for the clay and sand, and need not make the simplifying assumptions that
were made for your ow net analysis.
5. Both ow net analyses and numerical solutions will provide seepage estimates in terms of ow rate per
unit length of levee (e.g., m
3
/day/m). While technically correct, seepage estimates presented in this
format will probably mean little to a project planner. Seepage rates should therefore be presented in a
Soil Coefcient of Permeability, k (m/sec) Relative Permeability
gravel > 10
3
High
sandy gravel, clean sand, ne sand 10
3
to 10
5
Medium
sand, dirty sand, silty sand 10
5
to 10
7
Low
silt, silty clay 10
7
to 10
9
Very Low
clay < 10
9
Practically Impermeable
Table A.4: Coefcient of permeability. From Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI EL-6800, 1990.
more useful format, such as the daily rate of water loss expressed as a percentage of the total volume
of water retained by the ring levee.
A.6 Part III
This part of the project involves prediction of consolidation settlement of the clay foundation due to the added
weight of the levee embankment. Settlement is critical to the performance of a water-retaining structure, as
excessive loss of freeboard can lead to overtopping and breaching of the structure. Differential settlement can
also lead to cracking of the embankment. In addition to concerns for settlement, the consolidation process
in soft clays is often closely monitored to ensure that the rate of embankment construction proceeds at a safe
pace.
A.6.1 Planned Construction Sequence
Abrupt application of a load to a soft clay stratum can lead to a bearing failure; i.e., the stresses due to the
applied load exceed the strength of the clay, resulting in a catastrophic failure. For this reason, construction
on soft clays is often performed in incremental stages. Application of the rst load increment induces
consolidation. As consolidation occurs, water is expelled from the pores thereby making the clay denser and
stronger over time. As the clay gains sufcient strength, it becomes safe to apply the next load increment,
and so on. The proposed construction plan for this project calls for the levee embankment to be constructed
in three 6.67-ft high stages as indicated in Table A.5.
A.6.2 Construction Monitoring
The progress of consolidation during embankment construction is monitored by two types of measurements:
(1) ground surface settlements versus time, and (2) pore water pressure measurements in the clay stratum.
In this project, the ground surface settlement will be measured using settlement plates embedded at the
centerline of the embankment, and the pore water pressure will be measured by piezometers installed at mid-
depth of the clay layer (gure A.4). Normally the geotechnical engineer will make predictions of settlements
and pore water pressures versus time that are likely to occur during construction. These predictions provide
Stage Time from Start of Construction (days)
1 0
2 120
3 300
Table A.5: Planned Construction Stages
Figure A.3: Model for Flow Net Construction.
Figure A.4: Construction Sequence and Geotechnical Monitoring
a basis for evaluating the measurements during construction. If the eld measurements signicantly deviate
from predictions, the rate of construction is slowed down or accelerated accordingly.
A.6.3 Analyses
As the geotechnical engineers on this project, your task is to provide predictions of (1) ground surface
settlements that will occur over time at the centerline of the embankment, and (2) pore water pressures that
will occur over time in the piezometer installed at mid-depth of the clay layer. Conceptual sketches of what
these predictions should look like are shown in Figures A.5 and A.6, respectively. Note that settlements
continue after excess pore pressures decline to zero due to secondary compression. Your predictions for both
settlements and pore pressures should be based on two analyses:
One-Dimensional Approximation Although the actual problem involves consolidation in two-dimensions,
the one-dimensional consolidation calculations discussed in the lectures and text can provide reason-
able rst order predictions of settlements and pore pressures. Specic calculations that you must make
include the following:
The magnitude of primary consolidation settlement is estimated using the one-dimensional ap-
proximation. Due to the non-linearity of these equations, the 28-foot clay layer should be sub-
divided into four 7-foot sub-layers for settlement calculation purposes. You may also assume
Figure A.5: Conceptual sketch of settlement predictions.
that the embankment load can be approximated as a uniform load of innite lateral extent; i.e.,
the change in vertical stress due to the embankment load is the same at all depths within the clay
layer (
z
=
fill
d
fill
). Finally, you may assume that the clay layer is normally consolidated
The time rate of primary consolidation settlement is estimated using the solution to the consoli-
dation equation (depicted graphically in Figure 7.18, curve 1 of Craig). You may assume double
drainage in the clay layer for these calculations.
The rate of secondary compression settlement is estimated using C
. You may assume that

primary consolidation is effectively ended when the dimensionless time factor T=1.0.
Pore water pressures versus time at mid-depth of the clay layer are estimated using the solution
to the consolidation equation (depicted graphically in the handout distributed in class).
Two-Dimensional Analysis As noted above, the actual problem is more realistically represented as a two-
dimensional problem. Two-dimensional analytical solutions for consolidation usually become in-
tractable for all but a few simple cases. However, numerical analyses can effectively model the
consolidation process. The computer program Plaxis performs such numerical analyses. A detailed
description of consolidation analyses using Plaxis is provided in Chapter 14 of the Laboratory Manual.
A.6.4 Laboratory Test Interpretation
Laboratory test procedures for determining the material parameters required for a consolidation analysis are
described in Chapter 13 of the Laboratory Manual. The consolidation test will provide a total of 5 param-
eters. Three parameters provide the data necessary for estimating the magnitude of primary consolidation
settlement: the recompression index C
r
(equal to the swell index C
s
), the compression index C
c
, and the pre-
consolidation stress
c
. The consolidation test also provides estimates of two parameters for characterizing
the time rate of settlement: the coefcient of consolidation c
v
and the coefcient of secondary compression
C
. The Plaxis program uses essentially the same ve material parameters as the one-dimensional calcula-
tions, although the Plaxis denes the parameters slightly differently. Conversion of the material parameters
to a form suitable for Plaxis is described in Chapter 14 of the Laboratory Manual.
Figure A.6: Conceptual sketch of pore water pressure predictions

Geotechnical Eng. Lab Manual

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geotechnical Eng. Lab Manual

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CVEN365 Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering

) on the plane inclined at an angle to the x-axis. We

, the coefcient of consolidation, c

, and void ratio for each day

Friction angle 30 degrees

= 35 degrees Friction angle

. You may assume that

You might also like