HYDRAULICS

Hydraulic engineering
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hydraulic Flood Retention Basin (HFRB)

View from Church Span Bridge, Bern,Switzerland

Riprap lining a lake shore

Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and
conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive
use of gravity as the motive force to cause the movement of the fluids. This area of civil engineering
is intimately related to the design of bridges, dams, channels, canals, and levees, and to both
sanitary and environmental engineering.
Hydraulic engineering is the application of fluid mechanics principles to problems dealing with the
collection, storage, control, transport, regulation, measurement, and use of water.[1] Before beginning
a hydraulic engineering project, one must figure out how much water is involved. The hydraulic
engineeris concerned with the transport of sediment by the river, the interaction of the water with its
alluvial boundary, and the occurrence of scour and deposition. [1]"The hydraulic engineer actually
develops conceptual designs for the various features which interact with water such as spillways and
outlet works for dams, culverts for highways, canals and related structures for irrigation projects, and
cooling-water facilities for thermal power plants." [2]
Contents
[hide]

1 Fundamental principles
o

1.1 Fluid mechanics

1.2 Behavior of real fluids

1.2.1 Real and ideal fluids

1.2.2 Viscous flow

1.2.3 Laminar flow and turbulence

1.2.4 Bernoulli's equation

1.2.5 Boundary layer

2 Applications

3 History

4 Modern times

5 See also

6 References

7 Further reading

8 External links

Fundamental principles[edit]

A few examples of the fundamental principles of hydraulic engineering includefluid

mechanics, fluid flow, behavior of real fluids, hydrology, pipelines, open channel hydraulics,
mechanics of sedimenttransport, physical modeling, hydraulic machines, and drainage hydraulics.

Fluid mechanics[edit]
Fundamentals of Hydraulic Engineering defines hydrostatics as the study of fluids at rest.[1] In a fluid
at rest, there exists a force, known as pressure, that acts upon the fluid's surroundings. This
pressure, measured in N/m2, is not constant throughout the body of fluid. Pressure, p, in a given
body of fluid, increases with an increase in depth. Where the upward force on a body acts on the
base and can be found by equation:
where,
= density of water
g = specific gravity
y = depth of the body of liquid
Rearranging this equation gives you the pressure head p/g = y. Four basic devices
for pressure measurement are apiezometer, manometer, differential
manometer, Bourdon gauge, as well as an inclined manometer.[1]
As Prasuhn states:
On undisturbed submerged bodies, pressure acts along all surfaces of a body in a liquid,
causing equal perpendicular forces in the body to act against the pressure of the liquid. This
reaction is known as equilibrium. More advanced applications of pressure are that on plane
surfaces, curved surfaces, dams, and quadrant gates, just to name a few.[1]

Behavior of real fluids[edit]

Real and ideal fluids[edit]
The main difference between an ideal fluid and a real fluid is that for ideal
flow p1 = p2 and for real flow p1 > p2. Ideal fluid is incompressible and has no
viscosity. Real fluid has viscosity.Ideal fluid is only an imaginary fluid as all fluids
that exist have some viscosity.
Viscous flow[edit]
A viscous fluid will deform continuously under a shear force, whereas an ideal
fluid doesn't deform.
Laminar flow and turbulence[edit]
The various effects of disturbance on a viscous flow are stable, transition and
unstable.
Bernoulli's equation[edit]
For an ideal fluid, Bernoulli's equation holds along streamlines.
p/g + u/2g = p1/g + u1/2g = p2/g + u2/2g
Boundary layer[edit]
Assuming a flow is bounded on one side only, and that a rectilinear flow passing
over a stationary flat plate which lies parallel to the flow, the flow just upstream
of the plate has a uniform velocity. As the flow comes into contact with the plate,
the layer of fluid actually 'adheres' to a solid surface. There is then a

considerable shearing action between the layer of fluid on the plate surface and
the second layer of fluid. The second layer is therefore forced to decelerate
(though it is not quite brought to rest), creating a shearing action with the third
layer of fluid, and so on. As the fluid passes further along the plate, the zone in
which shearing action occurs tends to spread further outwards. This zone is
known as the 'boundary layer'. The flow outside the boundary layer is free of
shear and viscous-related forces so it is assumed to act like an ideal fluid. "The
intermolecular cohesive forces in a fluid are not great enough to hold fluid
together. Hence a fluid will flow under the action of the slightest stress and flow
will continue as long as the stress is present.[3] The flow inside the layer can be
either viscous or turbulent, depending on Reynolds number.[1]

Applications[edit]
Common topics of design for hydraulic engineers include hydraulic structures
such as dams, levees, water distribution networks, water collection networks,
sewage collection networks, storm water management, sediment transport, and
various other topics related to transportation engineering and geotechnical
engineering. Equations developed from the principles offluid dynamics and fluid
mechanics are widely utilized by other engineering disciplines such as
mechanical, aeronautical and even traffic engineers.
Related branches include hydrology and rheology while related applications
include hydraulic modeling, flood mapping, catchment flood management plans,
shoreline management plans, estuarine strategies, coastal protection, and flood
alleviation.

History[edit]
See also: Sanitation of the Indus Valley Civilization
Earliest uses of hydraulic engineering were to irrigate crops and dates back
to the Middle East and Africa. Controlling the movement and supply of water for
growing food has been used for many thousands of years. One of the earliest
hydraulic machines, the water clock was used in the early 2nd millennium BC.
[4]
Other early examples of using gravity to move water include
the Qanat system in ancient Persia and the very similar Turpan water system in
ancient China as well as irrigation canals in Peru. [5]
In ancient China, hydraulic engineering was highly developed, and engineers
constructed massive canals with levees and dams to channel the flow of water
for irrigation, as well as locks to allow ships to pass through. Sunshu Ao is
considered the first Chinese hydraulic engineer. Another important Hydraulic
Engineer in China, Ximen Bao was credited of starting the practice of large
scale canal irrigation during the Warring States period (481 BC-221 BC), even
today hydraulic engineers remain a respectable position in China. Before
becoming President, Hu Jintao was a hydraulic engineer and holds an
engineering degree from Tsinghua University
Eupalinos of Megara, was an ancient Greek engineer who built the Tunnel of
Eupalinos on Samos in the 6th century BC, an important feat of both civil and
hydraulic engineering. The civil engineering aspect of this tunnel was the fact
that it was dug from both ends which required the diggers to maintain an
accurate path so that the two tunnels met and that the entire effort maintained a
sufficient slope to allow the water to flow.

Hydraulic engineering was highly developed in Europe under the aegis of

the Roman Empire where it was especially applied to the construction and
maintenance of aqueducts to supply water to and remove sewage from their
cities.[3] In addition to supplying the needs of their citizens they used hydraulic
mining methods to prospect and extract alluvial gold deposits in a technique
known as hushing, and applied the methods to other ores such as those
of tin and lead.
In the 15th century, the Somali Ajuran Empire was the only hydraulic empire in
Africa. As a hydraulic empire, the Ajuran State monopolized the water
resources of the Jubba and Shebelle Rivers. Through hydraulic engineering, it
also constructed many of the limestone wells and cisterns of the state that are
still operative and in use today. The rulers developed new systems
for agriculture and taxation, which continued to be used in parts of the Horn of
Africa as late as the 19th century.[6]
Further advances in hydraulic engineering occurred in the Muslim
world between the 8th to 16th centuries, during what is known as the Islamic
Golden Age. Of particular importance was the 'water management technological
complex' which was central to the Islamic Green Revolution and,[7] by extension,
a precondition for the emergence of modern technology.[8] The various
components of this 'toolkit' were developed in different parts of the AfroEurasian landmass, both within and beyond the Islamic world. However, it was
in the medieval Islamic lands where the technological complex was assembled
and standardized, and subsequently diffused to the rest of the Old World.
[9]
Under the rule of a single Islamic Caliphate, different regional hydraulic
technologies were assembled into "an identifiable water
management technological complex that was to have a global impact." The
various components of this complex included canals, dams, the qanat system
from Persia, regional water-lifting devices such as
the noria, shaduf and screwpump from Egypt, and the windmill from
IslamicAfghanistan.[9] Other original Islamic developments included
the saqiya with a flywheel effect from Islamic Spain,
[10]
thereciprocating suction pump[11][12][13] and crankshaft-connecting
rod mechanism from Iraq,[14][15] the geared andhydropowered water supply
system from Syria,[16] and the water purification methods of Islamic chemists.[17]

Modern times[edit]
In many respects the fundamentals of hydraulic engineering haven't changed
since ancient times. Liquids are still moved for the most part by gravity through
systems of canals and aqueducts, though the supply reservoirs may now be
filled using pumps. The need for water has steadily increased from ancient
times and the role of the hydraulic engineer is a critical one in supplying it. For
example, without the efforts of people like William Mulholland the Los Angeles
area would not have been able to grow as it has because it simply doesn't have
enough local water to support its population. The same is true for many of our
world's largest cities. In much the same way, the central valley of California
could not have become such an important agricultural region without effective
water management and distribution for irrigation. In a somewhat parallel way to
what happened in California the creation of the Tennessee Valley
Authority(TVA) brought work and prosperity to the South by building dams to
generate cheap electricity and control flooding in the region, making rivers
navigable and generally modernizing life the region.

Leonardo da Vinci (14521519) performed experiments, investigated and

speculated on waves and jets, eddies and streamlining. Isaac Newton (1642
1727) by formulating the laws of motion and his law of viscosity, in addition to
developing the calculus, paved the way for many great developments in fluid
mechanics. Using Newton's laws of motion, numerous 18th-century
mathematicians solved many frictionless (zero-viscosity) flow problems.
However, most flows are dominated by viscous effects, so engineers of the 17th
and 18th centuries found the inviscid flow solutions unsuitable, and by
experimentation they developed empirical equations, thus establishing the
science of hydraulics.[3]
Late in the 19th century, the importance of dimensionless numbers and their
relationship to turbulence was recognized, and dimensional analysis was born.
In 1904 Ludwig Prandtl published a key paper, proposing that the flow fields of
low-viscosity fluids be divided into two zones, namely a thin, viscositydominated boundary layer near solid surfaces, and an effectively inviscid outer
zone away from the boundaries. This concept explained many former
paradoxes, and enabled subsequent engineers to analyze far more complex
flows. However, we still have no complete theory for the nature of turbulence,
and so modern fluid mechanics continues to be combination of experimental
results and theory.[18]
The modern hydraulic engineer uses the same kinds of computer-aided
design (CAD) tools as many of the other engineering disciplines while also
making use of technologies like computational fluid dynamics to perform the
calculations to accurately predict flow characteristics, GPS mapping to assist in
locating the best paths for installing a system and laser-based surveying tools to
aid in the actual construction of a system.

Properties of Fluids
The properties outlines below are general properties of fluids which are of interest in
engineering. The symbol usually used to represent the property is specified together
with some typical values in SI units for common fluids. Values under specific
conditions (temperature, pressure etc.) can be readily found in many reference books.
The dimensions of each unit is also give in the MLT system (see later in the section on
dimensional analysis for more details about dimensions.)
1. Density
The density of a substance is the quantity of matter contained in a unit volume
of the substance. It can be expressed in three different ways.
1. Mass Density
Mass Density,

, is defined as the mass of substance per unit volume.

Units: Kilograms per cubic metre,

(or

Dimensions:
Typical values:
Water = 1000
Oil = 800

, Mercury = 13546

Air = 1.23

, Paraffin

(at pressure =1.013

and Temperature = 288.15 K.)

2. Specific Weight
Specific Weight , (sometimes , and sometimes known as specific
gravity) is defined as the weight per unit volume.
or
The force exerted by gravity, g, upon a unit volume of the substance.
The Relationship between g and
2nd Law, since

can be determined by Newton's

weight per unit volume = mass per unit volume g

Units: Newton's per cubic metre,

Dimensions:

(or

Typical values:
Water =9814

, Mercury = 132943

, Air =12.07

Paraffin Oil =7851

3. Relative Density
Relative Density, , is defined as the ratio of mass density of a
substance to some standard mass density.

For solids and liquids this standard mass density is the maximum mass
density for water (which occurs at c) at atmospheric pressure.

Units: None, since a ratio is a pure number.

Dimensions: 1.
Typical values: Water = 1, Mercury = 13.5, Paraffin Oil =0.8.
2. Viscosity
Viscosity, , is the property of a fluid, due to cohesion and interaction between
molecules, which offers resistance to sheer deformation. Different fluids
deform at different rates under the same shear stress. Fluid with a high viscosity
such as syrup, deforms more slowly than fluid with a low viscosity such as
water.
All fluids are viscous, "Newtonian Fluids" obey the linear relationship

given by Newton's law of viscosity.

where

, which we saw earlier.

is the shear stress,

Units

Dimensions

is the velocity gradient or rate of shear strain, and has

Units:

Dimensions
is the "coefficient of dynamic viscosity" - see below.

1. Coefficient of Dynamic Viscosity

The Coefficient of Dynamic Viscosity, , is defined as the shear force,
per unit area, (or shear stress ), required to drag one layer of fluid with
unit velocity past another layer a unit distance away.

Units: Newton seconds per square metre,

per second,

(Although note that

1

or Kilograms per meter

is often expressed in Poise, P, where 10 P =

.)

Typical values:
Water =1.14
=1.552

, Air =1.78

, Mercury

Paraffin Oil =1.9

2. Kinematic Viscosity
Kinematic Viscosity,
mass density.

, is defined as the ratio of dynamic viscosity to

Units: square metres per second,

(Although note that is often expressed in Stokes, St, where
1
.)
Dimensions:
Typical values:

St =

Water =1.14
=1.145
,
Paraffin Oil =2.375

, Air =1.46

, Mercury

Pressure measurement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The construction of a bourdon tube gauge. Construction elements are made of brass

Many techniques have been developed for the measurement of pressure and vacuum. Instruments
used to measure pressure are called pressure gauges or vacuum gauges.
A manometer is an instrument that uses a column of liquid to measure pressure, although the term
is often used nowadays to mean any pressure measuring instrument.
A vacuum gauge is used to measure the pressure in a vacuumwhich is further divided into two
subcategories, high and low vacuum (and sometimes ultra-high vacuum). The applicable pressure
range of many of the techniques used to measure vacuums have an overlap. Hence, by combining
several different types of gauge, it is possible to measure system pressure continuously from
10 mbar down to 1011 mbar.
Contents
[hide]

1 Absolute, gauge and differential pressures - zero reference

2 Units

3 Static and dynamic pressure

o

3.1 Applications
4 Instruments

4.1 Hydrostatic

4.1.1 Piston

4.1.2 Liquid column

4.1.3 McLeod gauge

4.2 Aneroid

4.2.1 Bourdon

4.2.1.1 Mechanical details

4.2.2 Diaphragm

4.2.3 Bellows

5 Electronic pressure sensors

5.1 Thermal conductivity

5.1.1 Pirani (one wire)

5.1.2 Two-wire
5.2 Ionization gauge

5.2.1 Hot cathode

5.2.2 Cold cathode

6 Calibration

7 Dynamic transients

8 Standards

9 History

10 European (CEN) Standard

11 US ASME Standards

12 See also

13 References

14 External links

Absolute, gauge and differential pressures - zero reference[edit]

Everyday pressure measurements, such as for tire pressure, are usually made relative to ambient air
pressure. In other cases measurements are made relative to a vacuum or to some other specific
reference. When distinguishing between these zero references, the following terms are used:

Absolute pressure is zero-referenced against a perfect vacuum, so it is equal to gauge

pressure plus atmospheric pressure.

Gauge pressure is zero-referenced against ambient air pressure, so it is equal to absolute

pressure minus atmospheric pressure. Negative signs are usually omitted. To distinguish a
negative pressure, the value may be appended with the word "vacuum" or the gauge may be
labeled a "vacuum gauge."

Differential pressure is the difference in pressure between two points.

The zero reference in use is usually implied by context, and these words are added only when
clarification is needed. Tire pressure and blood pressure are gauge pressures by convention,
while atmospheric pressures, deep vacuum pressures, and altimeter pressures must be absolute.
For most working fluids where a fluid exists in a closed system, gauge pressure measurement
prevails. Pressure instruments connected to the system will indicate pressures relative to the current
atmospheric pressure. The situation changes when extreme vacuum pressures are measured;
absolute pressures are typically used instead.
Differential pressures are commonly used in industrial process systems. Differential pressure gauges
have two inlet ports, each connected to one of the volumes whose pressure is to be monitored. In
effect, such a gauge performs the mathematical operation of subtraction through mechanical means,
obviating the need for an operator or control system to watch two separate gauges and determine
the difference in readings.
Moderate vacuum pressure readings can be ambiguous without the proper context, as they may
represent absolute pressure or gauge pressure without a negative sign. Thus a vacuum of 26 inHg
gauge is equivalent to an absolute pressure of 30 inHg (typical atmospheric pressure) 26 inHg = 4
inHg.
Atmospheric pressure is typically about 100 kPa at sea level, but is variable with altitude and
weather. If the absolute pressure of a fluid stays constant, the gauge pressure of the same fluid will
vary as atmospheric pressure changes. For example, when a car drives up a mountain, the (gauge)
tire pressure goes up because atmospheric pressure goes down. The absolute pressure in the tire is
essentially unchanged.
Using atmospheric pressure as reference is usually signified by a g for gauge after the pressure unit,
e.g. 70 psig, which means that the pressure measured is the total pressure minus atmospheric
pressure. There are two types of gauge reference pressure: vented gauge (vg) and sealed gauge
(sg).
A vented gauge pressure transmitter for example allows the outside air pressure to be exposed to
the negative side of the pressure sensing diaphragm, via a vented cable or a hole on the side of the
device, so that it always measures the pressure referred to ambient barometric pressure. Thus a
vented gauge reference pressure sensor should always read zero pressure when the process
pressure connection is held open to the air.

A sealed gauge reference is very similar except that atmospheric pressure is sealed on the negative
side of the diaphragm. This is usually adopted on high pressure ranges such as hydraulics where
atmospheric pressure changes will have a negligible effect on the accuracy of the reading, so
venting is not necessary. This also allows some manufacturers to provide secondary pressure
containment as an extra precaution for pressure equipment safety if the burst pressure of the
primary pressure sensing diaphragm is exceeded.
There is another way of creating a sealed gauge reference and this is to seal a high vacuum on the
reverse side of the sensing diaphragm. Then the output signal is offset so the pressure sensor reads
close to zero when measuring atmospheric pressure.
A sealed gauge reference pressure transducer will never read exactly zero because atmospheric
pressure is always changing and the reference in this case is fixed at 1 bar.
An absolute pressure measurement is one that is referred to absolute vacuum. The best example of
an absolute referencedpressure is atmospheric or barometric pressure.
To produce an absolute pressure sensor the manufacturer will seal a high vacuum behind the
sensing diaphragm. If the process pressure connection of an absolute pressure transmitter is open
to the air, it will read the actual barometric pressure.

Units[edit]
Pressure units
Pascal

Bar

Technical
atmosphere

Standard
atmosphere

Torr

Pounds per
square inch

(Pa)

(bar)

(at)

(atm)

(Torr)

(psi)

1 Pa

1 N/m2

105

1.0197105

9.8692106

7.5006103

1.450377104

1
bar

105

106 dyn/cm2

1.0197

0.98692

750.06

14.50377

1 at

0.980665 105

0.980665

1 kp/cm2

0.9678411

735.5592

14.22334

1
atm

1.01325 105

1.01325

1.0332

p0

760

14.69595

1
Torr

133.3224

1.333224103

1.359551103

1.315789103

1 mmHg

1.933678102

1 psi

6.8948103

6.8948102

7.03069102

6.8046102

51.71493

1 lbF/in2

V
T
E

The SI unit for pressure is the pascal (Pa), equal to one newton per square metre (Nm2 or
kgm1s2). This special name for the unit was added in 1971; before that, pressure in SI was
expressed in units such as Nm2. When indicated, the zero reference is stated in parenthesis
following the unit, for example 101 kPa (abs). The pound per square inch (psi) is still in widespread
use in the US and Canada, for measuring, for instance, tire pressure. A letter is often appended to
the psi unit to indicate the measurement's zero reference; psia for absolute, psig for gauge, psid for
differential, although this practice is discouraged by the NIST.[1]
Because pressure was once commonly measured by its ability to displace a column of liquid in a
manometer, pressures are often expressed as a depth of a particular fluid (e.g., inches of water).

Manometric measurement is the subject of pressure head calculations. The most common choices
for a manometer's fluid are mercury (Hg) and water; water is nontoxic and readily available, while
mercury's density allows for a shorter column (and so a smaller manometer) to measure a given
pressure. The abbreviation "W.C." or the words "water column" are often printed on gauges and
measurements that use water for the manometer.
Fluid density and local gravity can vary from one reading to another depending on local factors, so
the height of a fluid column does not define pressure precisely. So measurements in "millimetres of
mercury" or "inches of mercury" can be converted to SI units as long as attention is paid to the local
factors of fluid density and gravity. Temperature fluctuations change the value of fluid density, while
location can affect gravity.
Although no longer preferred, these manometric units are still encountered in many fields. Blood
pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury (see torr) in most of the world, and lung pressures
in centimeters of water are still common, as in settings for CPAP machines. Natural gas pipeline
pressures are measured in inches of water, expressed as "inches W.C."Scuba divers often use a
manometric rule of thumb: the pressure exerted by ten meters depth of water is approximately equal
to one atmosphere. In vacuum systems, the units torr, micrometre of mercury (micron),[citation needed] and
inch of mercury (inHg) are most commonly used. Torr and micron usually indicates an absolute
pressure, while inHg usually indicates a gauge pressure.
Atmospheric pressures are usually stated using kilopascal (kPa), or atmospheres (atm), except in
American meteorologywhere the hectopascal (hPa) and millibar (mbar) are preferred. In American
and Canadian engineering, stress is often measured in kip. Note that stress is not a true pressure
since it is not scalar. In the cgs system the unit of pressure was thebarye (ba), equal to 1 dyncm2.
In the mts system, the unit of pressure was the pieze, equal to 1 sthene per square metre.
Many other hybrid units are used such as mmHg/cm2 or grams-force/cm2 (sometimes as [[kg/cm2]]
without properly identifying the force units). Using the names kilogram, gram, kilogram-force, or
gram-force (or their symbols) as a unit of force is prohibited in SI; the unit of force in SI is the newton
(N).

Static and dynamic pressure[edit]

Static pressure is uniform in all directions, so pressure measurements are independent of direction
in an immovable (static) fluid. Flow, however, applies additional pressure on surfaces perpendicular
to the flow direction, while having little impact on surfaces parallel to the flow direction. This
directional component of pressure in a moving (dynamic) fluid is called dynamic pressure. An
instrument facing the flow direction measures the sum of the static and dynamic pressures; this
measurement is called the total pressure or stagnation pressure. Since dynamic pressure is
referenced to static pressure, it is neither gauge nor absolute; it is a differential pressure.
While static gauge pressure is of primary importance to determining net loads on pipe walls,
dynamic pressure is used to measure flow rates and airspeed. Dynamic pressure can be measured
by taking the differential pressure between instruments parallel and perpendicular to the flow. Pitotstatic tubes, for example perform this measurement on airplanes to determine airspeed. The
presence of the measuring instrument inevitably acts to divert flow and create turbulence, so its
shape is critical to accuracy and the calibration curves are often non-linear.

Applications[edit]

Altimeter

Barometer

MAP sensor

Pitot tube

Sphygmomanometer

Instruments[edit]
Many instruments have been invented to measure pressure, with different advantages and
disadvantages. Pressure range, sensitivity, dynamic response and cost all vary by several orders of
magnitude from one instrument design to the next. The oldest type is the liquid column (a vertical
tube filled with mercury) manometer invented by Evangelista Torricelli in 1643. The U-Tube was
invented by Christiaan Huygens in 1661.

Hydrostatic[edit]
Hydrostatic gauges (such as the mercury column manometer) compare pressure to the hydrostatic
force per unit area at the base of a column of fluid. Hydrostatic gauge measurements are
independent of the type of gas being measured, and can be designed to have a very linear
calibration. They have poor dynamic response.
Piston[edit]
Piston-type gauges counterbalance the pressure of a fluid with a spring (for example tire-pressure
gauges of comparatively low accuracy) or a solid weight, in which case it is known as a deadweight
tester and may be used for calibration of other gauges.
Liquid column[edit]
Main article: Pressure head

The difference in fluid height in a liquid column manometer is proportional to the pressure

difference.

By using Bernoulli's principle and the derived pressure head equation, liquids can be used
forinstrumentation where gravity is present. Liquid column gauges consist of a vertical column of
liquid in a tube that has ends which are exposed to different pressures. The column will rise or fall
until its weight (a force applied due to gravity) is in equilibrium with the pressure differential between
the two ends of the tube (a force applied due to fluid pressure). A very simple version is a U-shaped
tube half-full of liquid, one side of which is connected to the region of interest while
the reference pressure (which might be the atmospheric pressure or a vacuum) is applied to the
other. The difference in liquid level represents the applied pressure. The pressure exerted by a
column of fluid of height h and density is given by the hydrostatic pressure equation, P = hg.
Therefore the pressure difference between the applied pressure Pa and the reference pressure P0 in
a U-tube manometer can be found by solving Pa P0 = hg. In other words, the pressure on either
end of the liquid (shown in blue in the figure to the right) must be balanced (since the liquid is static)
and so Pa = P0 + hg.
In most liquid column measurements, the result of the measurement is the height, h, expressed
typically in mm, cm, or inches. The h is also known as the pressure head. When expressed as a
pressure head, pressure is specified in units of length and the measurement fluid must be specified.
When accuracy is critical, the temperature of the measurement fluid must likewise be specified,
because liquid density is a function of temperature. So, for example, pressure head might be written
"742.2 mmHg" or "4.2 inH2O at 59 F" for measurements taken with mercury or water as the
manometric fluid, respectively. The word "gauge" or "vacuum" may be added to such a
measurement to distinguish between a pressure above or below the atmospheric pressure. Both mm
of mercury and inches of water are common pressure heads which can be converted to S.I. units of
pressure using unit conversion and the above formulas.
If the fluid being measured is significantly dense, hydrostatic corrections may have to be made for
the height between the moving surface of the manometer working fluid and the location where the
pressure measurement is desired except when measuring differential pressure of a fluid (for
example across an orifice plate or venturi), in which case the density should be corrected by
subtracting the density of the fluid being measured. [2]
To measure the pressure of a fluid accurately using a liquid column, the fluid being measured should
not be flowing for a static pressure measurement. A column connected to a flowing fluid will measure
static plus dynamic pressure. So if a fluid is flowing, the liquid column will change due to dynamic
pressure, proportional to the square of the fluid's velocity. This of course is precisely the desired
measurement when a differential pressure measurement is needed for a venturi or an orifice plate.
Measuring dynamic pressures is commonly used as an intermediary in determining a fluid's velocity
or flow rate. Seeflow measurement.
As an example, an airplane flying through the air at sea level would experience the atmospheric
pressure as a static pressure exerted on the skin of the aircraft. However, the forward surfaces of an
aircraft in flight experience dynamic pressure in addition to the static pressure. To measure the static
air pressure, we use a barometer in still air. To measure the dynamic pressure, imagine a mercury
manometer like the U-tube above with an open end pointing in the direction of the airplane's travel
and a closed end kept at the static air pressure. Mercury is pushed down the tube farther than it
would if only measuring still air. For a plane traveling around 129 m/s, the dynamic pressure adds
about 10% to the atmospheric pressure at sea level. A U-tube for measuring dynamic pressure on an
airplane would be impractical, so a pitot tube is used instead that relies on a diaphragm rather than
columns of fluid. Although dynamic pressure can be measured directly, fluid speed and air

speed can be measured indirectly using the Bernoulli principle if both dynamic and static pressures
are known.
Although any fluid can be used, mercury is preferred for its high density (13.534 g/cm3) and
low vapour pressure. For low pressure differences well above the vapour pressure of water, water is
commonly used (and "inches of water" or "Water Column" is a common pressure unit). Liquidcolumn pressure gauges are independent of the type of fluid being measured and have a highly
linear calibration. They have poor dynamic response because the fluid in the column may react
slowly to a pressure change.
When measuring vacuum, the working liquid may evaporate and contaminate the vacuum if its vapor
pressure is too high. When measuring liquid pressure, a loop filled with gas or a light fluid can isolate
the liquids to prevent them from mixing but this can be unnecessary, for example when mercury is
used as the manometer fluid to measure differential pressure of a fluid such as water. Simple
hydrostatic gauges can measure pressures ranging from a few Torr (a few 100 Pa) to a few
atmospheres. (Approximately 1,000,000 Pa)
A single-limb liquid-column manometer has a larger reservoir instead of one side of the U-tube and
has a scale beside the narrower column. The column may be inclined to further amplify the liquid
movement. Based on the use and structure following type of manometers are used [3]
1. Simple Manometer
2. Micromanometer
3. Differential manometer
4. Inverted differential manometer

A McLeod gauge, drained of mercury

McLeod gauge[edit]
A McLeod gauge isolates a sample of gas and compresses it in a modified mercury manometer until
the pressure is a few mmHg. The gas must be well-behaved during its compression (it must not
condense, for example). The technique is slow and unsuited to continual monitoring, but is capable
of good accuracy.

Useful range: above 10-4 torr [4] (roughly 10-2 Pa) as high as 106 Torr (0.1 mPa),
0.1 mPa is the lowest direct measurement of pressure that is possible with current technology.
Other vacuum gauges can measure lower pressures, but only indirectly by measurement of
other pressure-controlled properties. These indirect measurements must be calibrated to SI units
via a direct measurement, most commonly a McLeod gauge.[5]

Aneroid[edit]
Aneroid gauges are based on a metallic pressure sensing element that flexes elastically under
the effect of a pressure difference across the element. "Aneroid" means "without fluid," and the
term originally distinguished these gauges from the hydrostatic gauges described above.
However, aneroid gauges can be used to measure the pressure of a liquid as well as a gas, and
they are not the only type of gauge that can operate without fluid. For this reason, they are often
called mechanical gauges in modern language. Aneroid gauges are not dependent on the type
of gas being measured, unlike thermal and ionization gauges, and are less likely to contaminate
the system than hydrostatic gauges. The pressure sensing element may be a Bourdon tube, a
diaphragm, a capsule, or a set of bellows, which will change shape in response to the pressure
of the region in question. The deflection of the pressure sensing element may be read by a
linkage connected to a needle, or it may be read by a secondary transducer. The most common
secondary transducers in modern vacuum gauges measure a change in capacitance due to the
mechanical deflection. Gauges that rely on a change in capacitance are often referred to as
capacitance manometers.
Bourdon[edit]

Membrane-type manometer

The Bourdon pressure gauge uses the principle that a flattened tube tends to straighten or
regain its circular form in cross-section when pressurized. Although this change in cross-section
may be hardly noticeable, and thus involving moderate stresses within the elastic range of easily
workable materials, the strain of the material of the tube is magnified by forming the tube into a
C shape or even a helix, such that the entire tube tends to straighten out or uncoil, elastically, as
it is pressurized. Eugene Bourdon patented his gauge in France in 1849, and it was widely
adopted because of its superior sensitivity, linearity, and accuracy; Edward Ashcroft purchased
Bourdon's American patent rights in 1852 and became a major manufacturer of gauges. Also in
1849, Bernard Schaeffer in Magdeburg, Germany patented a successful diaphragm (see below)
pressure gauge, which, together with the Bourdon gauge, revolutionized pressure measurement
in industry.[6]But in 1875 after Bourdon's patents expired, his company Schaeffer and
Budenberg also manufactured Bourdon tube gauges.
In practice, a flattened thin-wall, closed-end tube is connected at the hollow end to a fixed pipe
containing the fluid pressure to be measured. As the pressure increases, the closed end moves

in an arc, and this motion is converted into the rotation of a (segment of a) gear by a connecting
link that is usually adjustable. A small-diameter pinion gear is on the pointer shaft, so the motion
is magnified further by the gear ratio. The positioning of the indicator card behind the pointer, the
initial pointer shaft position, the linkage length and initial position, all provide means to calibrate
the pointer to indicate the desired range of pressure for variations in the behavior of the Bourdon
tube itself. Differential pressure can be measured by gauges containing two different Bourdon
tubes, with connecting linkages.
Bourdon tubes measure gauge pressure, relative to ambient atmospheric pressure, as opposed
to absolute pressure; vacuum is sensed as a reverse motion. Some aneroid barometers use
Bourdon tubes closed at both ends (but most use diaphragms or capsules, see below). When
the measured pressure is rapidly pulsing, such as when the gauge is near a reciprocating pump,
an orifice restriction in the connecting pipe is frequently used to avoid unnecessary wear on the
gears and provide an average reading; when the whole gauge is subject to mechanical vibration,
the entire case including the pointer and indicator card can be filled with an oil or glycerin.
Tapping on the face of the gauge is not recommended as it will tend to falsify actual readings
initially presented by the gauge. The Bourdon tube is separate from the face of the gauge and
thus has no effect on the actual reading of pressure. Typical high-quality modern gauges provide
an accuracy of 2% of span, and a special high-precision gauge can be as accurate as 0.1% of
full scale.[7]
In the following illustrations the transparent cover face of the pictured combination pressure and
vacuum gauge has been removed and the mechanism removed from the case. This particular
gauge is a combination vacuum and pressure gauge used for automotive diagnosis:

Indicator side with card and dial

Mechanical side with Bourdon tube

the left side of the face, used for measuringmanifold vacuum, is calibrated in centimetres of
mercury on its inner scale and inches of mercuryon its outer scale.

the right portion of the face is used to measure fuel pump pressure or turbo boost and is
calibrated infractions of 1 kgf/cm2 on its inner scale andpounds per square inch on its outer
scale.

Mechanical details[edit]

Mechanical details

Stationary parts:

A: Receiver block. This joins the inlet pipe to the fixed end of the Bourdon tube (1) and
secures the chassis plate (B). The two holes receive screws that secure the case.

B: Chassis plate. The face card is attached to this. It contains bearing holes for the axles.

C: Secondary chassis plate. It supports the outer ends of the axles.

D: Posts to join and space the two chassis plates.

Moving Parts:
1. Stationary end of Bourdon tube. This communicates with the inlet pipe through the
receiver block.
2. Moving end of Bourdon tube. This end is sealed.
3. Pivot and pivot pin.
4. Link joining pivot pin to lever (5) with pins to allow joint rotation.
5. Lever. This is an extension of the sector gear (7).
6. Sector gear axle pin.
7. Sector gear.
8. Indicator needle axle. This has a spur gear that engages the sector gear (7) and
extends through the face to drive the indicator needle. Due to the short distance
between the lever arm link boss and the pivot pin and the difference between the
effective radius of the sector gear and that of the spur gear, any motion of the Bourdon
tube is greatly amplified. A small motion of the tube results in a large motion of the
indicator needle.
9. Hair spring to preload the gear train to eliminate gear lash and hysteresis.
Diaphragm[edit]

A pile of pressure capsules with corrugated diaphragms in an aneroidbarograph.

A second type of aneroid gauge uses deflection of a flexible membrane that separates regions of
different pressure. The amount of deflection is repeatable for known pressures so the pressure
can be determined by using calibration. The deformation of a thin diaphragm is dependent on
the difference in pressure between its two faces. The reference face can be open to atmosphere
to measure gauge pressure, open to a second port to measure differential pressure, or can be
sealed against a vacuum or other fixed reference pressure to measure absolute pressure. The

deformation can be measured using mechanical, optical or capacitive techniques. Ceramic and
metallic diaphragms are used.
Useful range: above 10-2 Torr [8] (roughly 1 Pa)
For absolute measurements, welded pressure capsules with diaphragms on either side are
often used.
shape:

Flat

corrugated

flattened tube

capsule

Bellows[edit]
In gauges intended to sense small pressures or pressure differences, or require that an
absolute pressure be measured, the gear train and needle may be driven by an enclosed
and sealed bellows chamber, called an aneroid, which means "without liquid".
(Early barometers used a column of liquid such as water or the liquid
metal mercury suspended by avacuum.) This bellows configuration is used in aneroid
barometers (barometers with an indicating needle and dial card),altimeters, altitude
recording barographs, and the altitude telemetry instruments used in weather
balloon radiosondes. These devices use the sealed chamber as a reference pressure and
are driven by the external pressure. Other sensitive aircraft instruments such as air speed
indicators and rate of climb indicators (variometers) have connections both to the internal
part of the aneroid chamber and to an external enclosing chamber.

Electronic pressure sensors[edit]

Main article: Pressure sensor
Piezoresistive Strain Gage
Uses the piezoresistive effect of bonded or formed strain gauges to detect strain due to
applied pressure.
Capacitive
Uses a diaphragm and pressure cavity to create a variable capacitor to detect strain due to
applied pressure.
Magnetic
Measures the displacement of a diaphragm by means of changes
in inductance (reluctance), LVDT, Hall Effect, or byeddy current principal.
Piezoelectric
Uses the piezoelectric effect in certain materials such as quartz to measure the strain upon
the sensing mechanism due to pressure.
Optical
Uses the physical change of an optical fiber to detect strain due applied pressure.
Potentiometric
Uses the motion of a wiper along a resistive mechanism to detect the strain caused by
applied pressure.
Resonant

Uses the changes in resonant frequency in a sensing mechanism to measure stress, or

changes in gas density, caused by applied pressure.

Thermal conductivity[edit]
Generally, as a real gas increases in density -which may
indicate an increase in pressure- its ability to conduct heat
increases. In this type of gauge, a wire filament is heated by
running current through it. A thermocouple or resistance
thermometer (RTD) can then be used to measure the
temperature of the filament. This temperature is dependent on
the rate at which the filament loses heat to the surrounding
gas, and therefore on the thermal conductivity. A common
variant is the Pirani gauge, which uses a single platinum
filament as both the heated element and RTD. These gauges
are accurate from 103 Torr to 10 Torr, but their calibration is
sensitive to the chemical composition of the gases being
measured.
Pirani (one wire)[edit]
Main article: Pirani gauge
A Pirani gauge consist of a metal wire open to the pressure
being measured. The wire is heated by a current flowing
through it and cooled by the gas surrounding it. If the gas
pressure is reduced, the cooling effect will decrease, hence the
equilibrium temperature of the wire will increase.
The resistance of the wire is a function of its temperature: by
measuring the voltageacross the wire and the current flowing
through it, the resistance (and so the gas pressure) can be
determined. This type of gauge was invented by Marcello
Pirani.
Two-wire[edit]
In two-wire gauges, one wire coil is used as a heater, and the
other is used to measure temperature due
to convection.Thermocouple gauges and thermistor
gauges work in this manner using thermocouple or thermistor,
respectively, to measure the temperature of the heated wire.

Ionization gauge[edit]
Ionization gauges are the most sensitive gauges for very low
pressures (also referred to as hard or high vacuum). They
sense pressure indirectly by measuring the electrical ions
produced when the gas is bombarded with electrons. Fewer
ions will be produced by lower density gases. The calibration of
an ion gauge is unstable and dependent on the nature of the
gases being measured, which is not always known. They can
be calibrated against a McLeod gauge which is much more
stable and independent of gas chemistry.
Thermionic emission generate electrons, which collide with gas
atoms and generate positive ions. The ions are attracted to a
suitably biased electrode known as the collector. The current in
the collector is proportional to the rate of ionization, which is a

function of the pressure in the system. Hence, measuring the

collector current gives the gas pressure. There are several subtypes of ionization gauge.
Useful range: 10-10 - 10-3 torr (roughly 10-8 - 10-1 Pa)
Most ion gauges come in two types: hot cathode and cold
cathode. A third type that is more sensitive and expensive
known as a spinning rotor gauge exists, but is not
discussed here. In the hot cathode version, an electrically
heated filament produces an electron beam. The electrons
travel through the gauge and ionize gas molecules around
them. The resulting ions are collected at a negative
electrode. The current depends on the number of ions,
which depends on the pressure in the gauge. Hot cathode
gauges are accurate from 103 Torr to 1010 Torr. The
principle behind cold cathode version is the same, except
that electrons are produced in the discharge of a high
voltage. Cold Cathode gauges are accurate from
102 Torr to 109 Torr. Ionization gauge calibration is very
sensitive to construction geometry, chemical composition of
gases being measured, corrosion and surface deposits.
Their calibration can be invalidated by activation at
atmospheric pressure or low vacuum. The composition of
gases at high vacuums will usually be unpredictable, so
a mass spectrometermust be used in conjunction with the
ionization gauge for accurate measurement.[9]
Hot cathode[edit]

Bayard-Alpert hot-cathode ionization gauge

A hot-cathode ionization gauge is composed mainly of

three electrodes acting together as a triode, wherein
the cathode is the filament. The three electrodes are a
collector or plate, a filament, and a grid. The collector
current is measured in picoamps by anelectrometer. The

filament voltage to ground is usually at a potential of 30

volts, while the grid voltage at 180210 volts DC, unless
there is an optional electron bombardmentfeature, by
heating the grid, which may have a high potential of
approximately 565 volts. The most common ion gauge is
the hot-cathode Bayard-Alpert gauge, with a small ion
collector inside the grid. A glass envelope with an opening
to the vacuum can surround the electrodes, but usually
the Nude Gauge is inserted in the vacuum chamber
directly, the pins being fed through a ceramic plate in the
wall of the chamber. Hot-cathode gauges can be damaged
or lose their calibration if they are exposed to atmospheric
pressure or even low vacuum while hot. The
measurements of a hot-cathode ionization gauge are
always logarithmic.
Electrons emitted from the filament move several times in
back and forth movements around the grid before finally
entering the grid. During these movements, some electrons
collide with a gaseous molecule to form a pair of an ion
and an electron (Electron ionization). The number of
theseions is proportional to the gaseous molecule density
multiplied by the electron current emitted from the filament,
and these ions pour into the collector to form an ion
current. Since the gaseous molecule density is proportional
to the pressure, the pressure is estimated by measuring
the ion current.
The low-pressure sensitivity of hot-cathode gauges is
limited by the photoelectric effect. Electrons hitting the grid
produce x-rays that produce photoelectric noise in the ion
collector. This limits the range of older hot-cathode gauges
to 108 Torr and the Bayard-Alpert to about 1010 Torr.
Additional wires at cathode potential in the line of sight
between the ion collector and the grid prevent this effect. In
the extraction type the ions are not attracted by a wire, but
by an open cone. As the ions cannot decide which part of
the cone to hit, they pass through the hole and form an ion
beam. This ion beam can be passed on to a:

Faraday cup

Microchannel plate detector with Faraday cup

Quadrupole mass analyzer with Faraday cup

Quadrupole mass analyzer with Microchannel plate

detector Faraday cup

ion lens and acceleration voltage and directed at a

target to form a sputter gun. In this case a valve lets
gas into the grid-cage.
See also: Electron ionization

Cold cathode[edit]
There are two subtypes of cold-cathode ionization gauges:
the Penning gauge (invented by Frans Michel Penning),
and the Inverted magnetron, also called a Redhead
gauge. The major difference between the two is the
position of theanode with respect to the cathode. Neither
has a filament, and each may require a DC potential of
about 4 kV for operation. Inverted magnetrons can
measure down to 1x1012 Torr.
Likewise, cold-cathode gauges may be reluctant to start at
very low pressures, in that the near-absence of a gas
makes it difficult to establish an electrode current - in
particular in Penning gauges, which use an axially
symmetric magnetic field to create path lengths for
electrons that are of the order of metres. In ambient air,
suitable ion-pairs are ubiquitously formed by cosmic
radiation; in a Penning gauge, design features are used to
ease the set-up of a discharge path. For example, the
electrode of a Penning gauge is usually finely tapered to
facilitate the field emission of electrons.
Maintenance cycles of cold cathode gauges are, in
general, measured in years, depending on the gas type
and pressure that they are operated in. Using a cold
cathode gauge in gases with substantial organic
components, such as pump oil fractions, can result in the
growth of delicate carbon films and shards within the
gauge that eventually either short-circuit the electrodes of
the gauge or impede the generation of a discharge path.

Calibration[edit]
Pressure gauges are either direct- or indirect-reading.
Hydrostatic and elastic gauges measure pressure are
directly influenced by force exerted on the surface by
incident particle flux, and are called direct reading gauges.
Thermal and ionization gauges read pressure indirectly by
measuring a gas property that changes in a predictable
manner with gas density. Indirect measurements are
susceptible to more errors than direct measurements.

Dead-weight tester

McLeod

mass spec + ionization

Dynamic transients[edit]
When fluid flows are not in equilibrium, local pressures
may be higher or lower than the average pressure in a

medium. These disturbances propagate from their source

as longitudinal pressure variations along the path of
propagation. This is also called sound. Sound pressure is
the instantaneous local pressure deviation from the
average pressure caused by a sound wave. Sound
pressure can be measured using a microphone in air and
a hydrophone in water. The effective sound pressure is
the root mean square of the instantaneous sound pressure
over a given interval of time. Sound pressures are normally
small and are often expressed in units of microbar.

frequency response of pressure sensors

resonance

Standards[edit]
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
has developed two separate and distinct standards on
pressure Measurement, B40.100 and PTC 19.2. B40.100
provides guidelines on Pressure Indicated Dial Type and
Pressure Digital Indicating Gauges, Diaphragm Seals,
Snubbers, and Pressure Limiter Valves. PTC 19.2 provides
instructions and guidance for the accurate determination of
pressure values in support of the ASME Performance Test
Codes. The choice of method, instruments, required
calculations, and corrections to be applied depends on the
purpose of the measurement, the allowable uncertainty,
and the characteristics of the equipment being tested. The
methods for pressure measurement and the protocols used
for data transmission are also provides. Guidance is given
for setting up the instrumentation and determining the
uncertainty of the measurement. Information regarding the
instrument type, design, applicable pressure range,
accuracy, output, and relative cost is provided. Information
is also provided on pressure-measuring devices that are
used in field environments i.e., Piston Gauges,
Manometers, and Low-Absolute-Pressure (Vacuum)
Instruments. These methods are designed to assist in the
evaluation of measurement uncertainty based on current
technology and engineering knowledge, taking into account
published instrumentation specifications and measurement
and application techniques. This Supplement provides
guidance in the use of methods to establish the pressuremeasurement uncertainty.

History[edit]
Further information: Timeline of temperature and pressure
measurement technology

European (CEN) Standard[edit]

EN 472 : Pressure gauge - Vocabulary.

EN 837-1 : Pressure gauges. Bourdon tube pressure

gauges. Dimensions, metrology, requirements and
testing.

EN 837-2 : Pressure gauges. Selection and installation

recommendations for pressure gauges.

EN 837-3 : Pressure gauges. Diaphragm and capsule

pressure gauges. Dimensions, metrology,
requirements, and testing.

US ASME Standards[edit]

B40.100-2013: Pressure gauges and Gauge

attachments.

PTC 19.2-2010 : Performance test code for pressure

measurement.

See also

Soil mechanics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Soil mechanics is a branch of engineering mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs
from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture
of fluids (usually air and water) and particles (usually clay, silt, sand, and gravel) but soil may also
contain organic solids, liquids, and gasses and other matter.[1][2][3][4]Along with rock mechanics, soil
mechanics provides the theoretical basis for analysis in geotechnical engineering,[5] a subdiscipline
of civil engineering, and engineering geology, a subdiscipline of geology. Soil mechanics is used to
analyze the deformations of and flow of fluids within natural and man-made structures that are
supported on or made of soil, or structures that are buried in soils.[6] Example applications are
building and bridge foundations, retaining walls, dams, and buried pipeline systems. Principles of soil
mechanics are also used in related disciplines such as engineering geology,geophysical
engineering, coastal engineering, agricultural engineering, hydrology and soil physics.

The Tower of Pisa an example of a problem due to deformation of soil.

This article describes the genesis and composition of soil, the distinction between pore water
pressure and inter-granular effective stress, capillary action of fluids in the pore spaces, soil
classification, seepage andpermeability, time dependent change of volume due to squeezing water
out of tiny pore spaces, also known as consolidation, shear strength and stiffness of soils. The shear
strength of soils is primarily derived from friction between the particles and interlocking, which are
very sensitive to the effective stress.[6] The article concludes with some examples of applications of
the principles of soil mechanics such as slope stability, lateral earth pressure on retaining walls, and
bearing capacity of foundations.

Slope instability issues for a temporary flood control levee in North Dakota, 2009

Earthwork in Germany

Fox Glacier, New Zealand: Soil produced and transported by intense weathering and erosion.

Contents
[hide]

1 Genesis and composition of soils

1.1 Genesis

1.2 Transport

1.3 Soil composition

1.3.1 Soil mineralogy

1.3.2 Grain size distribution

1.3.2.1 Sieve analysis

1.3.2.2 Hydrometer analysis

1.3.3 Mass-volume relations

2 Effective stress and capillarity: hydrostatic conditions

o

2.1 Total stress

2.2 Pore water pressure

2.2.1 Hydrostatic conditions

2.2.2 Capillary action

3 Soil classification
3.1 Classification of soil grains

3.1.1 Classification of sands and gravels

3.1.2 Atterberg limits

3.1.3 Classification of silts and clays

3.2 Indices related to soil strength

3.2.1 Liquidity index

3.2.2 Relative density

4 Seepage: steady state flow of water

4.1 Darcy's law

4.2 Typical values of permeability

4.3 Flownets

4.4 Seepage forces and erosion

4.5 Seepage pressures

5 Consolidation: transient flow of water

6 Shear behavior: stiffness and strength

o

6.1 Friction, interlocking and dilation

6.2 Failure criteria

6.3 Structure, fabric, and chemistry

6.4 Drained and undrained shear

6.5 Shear tests

6.6 Other factors

7 Applications
o

7.1 Lateral earth pressure

7.2 Bearing capacity

7.3 Slope stability

8 See also

9 References

Genesis and composition of soils[edit]

Genesis[edit]
The primary mechanism of soil creation is the weathering of rock. All rock types (igneous
rock, metamorphic rock and sedimentary rock) may be broken down into small particles to create
soil. Weathering mechanisms are physical weathering, chemical weathering, and biological
weathering[1][2][3] Human activities such as excavation, blasting, and waste disposal, may also create
soil. Over geologic time, deeply buried soils may be altered by pressure and temperature to become
metamorphic or sedimentary rock, and if melted and solidified again, they would complete the
geologic cycle by becoming igneous rock.[3]

Physical weathering includes temperature effects, freeze and thaw of water in cracks, rain, wind,
impact and other mechanisms. Chemical weathering includes dissolution of matter composing a rock
and precipitation in the form of another mineral. Clay minerals, for example can be formed by
weathering of feldspar, which is the most common mineral present in igneous rock.
The most common mineral constituent of silt and sand is quartz, also called silica, which has the
chemical name silicon dioxide. The reason that feldspar is most common in rocks but silicon is more
prevalent in soils is that feldspar is much more soluble than silica.
Silt, Sand, and Gravel are basically little pieces of broken rocks.
According to the Unified Soil Classification System, silt particle sizes are in the range of 0.002 mm to
0.075 mm and sand particles have sizes in the range of 0.075 mm to 4.75 mm.
Gravel particles are broken pieces of rock in the size range 4.75 mm to 100 mm.
Particles larger than gravel are called cobbles and boulders.[1][2]

Transport[edit]

Example soil horizons. a) top soil and colluvium b) mature residual soil c) young residual soil d) weathered rock.

Soil deposits are affected by the mechanism of transport and deposition to their location. Soils that
are not transported are called residual soilsthey exist at the same location as the rock from which
they were generated. Decomposed granite is a common example of a residual soil. The common
mechanisms of transport are the actions of gravity, ice, water, and wind. Wind blown soils include
dune sands and loess. Water carries particles of different size depending on the speed of the water,
thus soils transported by water are graded according to their size. Silt and clay may settle out in a
lake, and gravel and sand collect at the bottom of a river bed. Wind blown soil deposits
(aeolian soils) also tend to be sorted according to their grain size. Erosion at the base of glaciers is
powerful enough to pick up large rocks and boulders as well as soil; soils dropped by melting ice can
be a well graded mixture of widely varying particle sizes. Gravity on its own may also carry particles
down from the top of a mountain to make a pile of soil and boulders at the base; soil deposits
transported by gravity are calledcolluvium.[1][2]
The mechanism of transport also has a major effect on the particle shape. For example, low velocity
grinding in a river bed will produce rounded particles. Freshly fractured colluvium particles often
have a very angular shape.

Soil composition[edit]
Soil mineralogy[edit]
Silts, sands and gravels are classified by their size, and hence they may consist of a variety of
minerals. Owing to the stability of quartz compared to other rock minerals, quartz is the most
common constituent of sand and silt . Mica, and feldspar are other common minerals present in
sands and silts.[1] The mineral constituents of gravel may be more similar to that of the parent rock.

The common clay minerals are montmorillonite or smectite, illite, and kaolinite or kaolin. These
minerals tend to form in sheet or plate like structures, with length typically ranging between 10 7 m
and 4x106 m and thickness typically ranging between 109 m and 2x106 m, and they have a
relatively large specific surface area. The specific surface area (SSA) is defined as the ratio of the
surface area of particles to the mass of the particles. Clay minerals typically have specific surface
areas in the range of 10 to 1,000 square meters per gram of solid. [3] Due to the large surface area
available for chemical, electrostatic, and van der Waals interaction, the mechanical behavior of clay
minerals is very sensitive to the amount of pore fluid available and the type and amount of dissolved
ions in the pore fluid.[1] To anticipate the effect of clay on the way a soil will behave, it is necessary to
know the kinds of clays as well as the amount present. As home builders and highway engineers
know all too well, soils containing certain high-activity clays make very unstable material on which to
build because they swell when wet and shrink when dry. This shrink-and-swell action can easily
crack foundations and cause retaining walls to collapse. These clays also become extremely sticky
and difficult to work with when they are wet. In contrast, low-activity clays, formed under different
conditions, can be very stable and easy to work with.
The minerals of soils are predominantly formed by atoms of oxygen, silicon, hydrogen, and
aluminum, organized in various crystalline forms. These elements along with calcium, sodium,
potassium, magnesium, and carbon constitute over 99 per cent of the solid mass of soils. [1]
Grain size distribution[edit]
Main article: Soil gradation
Soils consist of a mixture of particles of different size, shape and mineralogy. Because the size of the
particles obviously has a significant effect on the soil behavior, the grain size and grain size
distribution are used to classify soils. The grain size distribution describes the relative proportions of
particles of various sizes. The grain size is often visualized in a cumulative distribution graph which,
for example, plots the percentage of particles finer than a given size as a function of size. The
median grain size,
, is the size for which 50% of the particle mass consists of finer particles. Soil
behavior, especially thehydraulic conductivity, tends to be dominated by the smaller particles, hence,
the term "effective size", denoted by
, is defined as the size for which 10% of the particle mass
consists of finer particles.
Sands and gravels that possess a wide range of particle sizes with a smooth distribution of particle
sizes are called well graded soils. If the soil particles in a sample are predominantly in a relatively
narrow range of sizes, the sample is uniformly graded. If a soil sample has distinct gaps in the
gradation curve, e.g., a mixture of gravel and fine sand, with no coarse sand, the sample may
be gap graded. Uniformly graded and gap graded soils are both considered to be poorly graded.
There are many methods for measuring particle size distribution. The two traditional methods are
sieve analysis and hydrometer analysis.
Sieve analysis[edit]

Sieve

The size distribution of gravel and sand particles are typically measured using sieve analysis. The
formal procedure is described in ASTM D6913-04(2009).[7] A stack of sieves with accurately
dimensioned holes between a mesh of wires is used to separate the particles into size bins. A known
volume of dried soil, with clods broken down to individual particles, is put into the top of a stack of
sieves arranged from coarse to fine. The stack of sieves is shaken for a standard period of time so
that the particles are sorted into size bins. This method works reasonably well for particles in the
sand and gravel size range. Fine particles tend to stick to each other, and hence the sieving process
is not an effective method. If there are a lot of fines (silt and clay) present in the soil it may be
necessary to run water through the sieves to wash the coarse particles and clods through.
A variety of sieve sizes are available. The boundary between sand and silt is arbitrary. According to
the Unified Soil Classification System, a #4 sieve (4 openings per inch) having 4.75mm opening size
separates sand from gravel and a #200 sieve with an 0.075 mm opening separates sand from silt
and clay. According to the British standard, 0.063 mm is the boundary between sand and silt, and
2 mm is the boundary between sand and gravel.[3]
Hydrometer analysis[edit]
The classification of fine-grained soils, i.e., soils that are finer than sand, is determined primarily by
their Atterberg limits, not by their grain size. If it is important to determine the grain size distribution
of fine-grained soils, the hydrometer test may be performed. In the hydrometer tests, the soil
particles are mixed with water and shaken to produce a dilute suspension in a glass cylinder, and
then the cylinder is left to sit. A hydrometer is used to measure the density of the suspension as a
function of time. Clay particles may take several hours to settle past the depth of measurement of
the hydrometer. Sand particles may take less than a second. Stoke's law provides the theoretical
basis to calculate the relationship between sedimentation velocity and particle size. ASTM provides
the detailed procedures for performing the Hydrometer test.
Clay particles can be sufficiently small that they never settle because they are kept in suspension
by Brownian motion, in which case they may be classified as colloids.
Mass-volume relations[edit]

A phase diagram of soil indicating the masses and volumes of air, solid, water, and voids.

There are a variety of parameters used to describe the relative proportions of air, water and solid in a
soil. This section defines these parameters and some of their interrelationships. [2][6] The basic
notation is as follows:
,

, and
,

, and

, and
, and

represent the volumes of air, water and solids in a soil mixture;

represent the weights of air, water and solids in a soil mixture;
represent the masses of air, water and solids in a soil mixture;
represent the densities of the constituents (air, water and solids) in a soil mixture;

Note that the weights, W, can be obtained by multiplying the mass, M, by the acceleration due to
gravity, g; e.g.,
Specific Gravity is the ratio of the density of one material compared to the density of pure water (
).

Specific gravity of solids,

Note that unit weights, conventionally denoted by the symbol may be obtained by multiplying
the density ( ) of a material by the acceleration due to gravity, .
Density, Bulk Density, or Wet Density, , are different names for the density of the mixture, i.e.,
the total mass of air, water, solids divided by the total volume of air water and solids (the mass of air
is assumed to be zero for practical purposes):

Dry Density,

, is the mass of solids divided by the total volume of air water and solids:

Buoyant Density, , defined as the density of the mixture minus the density of water is
useful if the soil is submerged under water:

where

is the density of water

Water Content,
is the ratio of mass of water to mass of solid. It is easily measured
by weighing a sample of the soil, drying it out in an oven and re-weighing. Standard
procedures are described by ASTM.

Void ratio, , is the ratio of the volume of voids to the volume of solids:

Porosity, , is the ratio of volume of voids to the total volume, and is related to
the void ratio:

Degree of saturation,
of voids:

, is the ratio of the volume of water to the volume

From the above definitions, some useful relationships can be derived

by use of basic algebra.

Effective stress and capillarity:

hydrostatic conditions[edit]

Spheres immersed in water, reducing effective stress.

Main article: Effective stress

To understand the mechanics of soils it is necessary to
understand how normal stresses and shear stresses are
shared by the different phases. Neither gas nor liquid
provide significant resistance to shear stress. The shear
resistance of soil is provided by friction and interlocking of
the particles. The friction depends on the intergranular
contact stresses between solid particles. The normal
stresses, on the other hand, are shared by the fluid and the
particles. Although the pore air is relatively compressible,
and hence takes little normal stress in most geotechnical
problems, liquid water is relatively incompressible and if
the voids are saturated with water, the pore water must be
squeezed out in order to pack the particles closer together.
The principle of effective stress, introduced by Karl
Terzaghi, states that the effective stress ' (i.e., the
average intergranular stress between solid particles) may
be calculated by a simple subtraction of the pore pressure
from the total stress:
where is the total stress and u is the pore pressure. It
is not practical to measure ' directly, so in practice the

vertical effective stress is calculated from the pore

pressure and vertical total stress. The distinction
between the terms pressure and stress is also
important. By definition, pressure at a point is equal in
all directions but stresses at a point can be different in
different directions. In soil mechanics, compressive
stresses and pressures are considered to be positive
and tensile stresses are considered to be negative,
which is different from the solid mechanics sign
convention for stress.

Total stress[edit]
For level ground conditions, the total vertical stress at
a point,
, on average, is the weight of everything
above that point per unit area. The vertical stress
beneath a uniform surface layer with density , and
thickness
is for example:
where is the acceleration due to gravity, and is
the unit weight of the overlying layer. If there are
multiple layers of soil or water above the point of
interest, the vertical stress may be calculated by
summing the product of the unit weight and
thickness of all of the overlying layers. Total stress
increases with increasing depth in proportion to the
density of the overlying soil.
It is not possible to calculate the horizontal total
stress in this way. Lateral earth pressures are
addressed elsewhere.

Pore water pressure[edit]

Main article: Pore water pressure
Hydrostatic conditions[edit]

Water is drawn into a small tube by surface tension.

Water pressure, u, is negative above and positive
below the free water surface

If there is no pore water flow occurring in the soil,

the pore water pressures will behydrostatic.
The water table is located at the depth where the
water pressure is equal to the atmospheric
pressure. For hydrostatic conditions, the water
pressure increases linearly with depth below the
water table:
where
is the density of water, and
the depth below the water table.

is

Capillary action[edit]

Water at particle contacts

Due to surface tension water will rise up in a

small capillary tube above a free surface of
water. Likewise, water will rise up above the
water table into the small pore spaces around
the soil particles. In fact the soil may be
completely saturated for some distance above
the water table. Above the height of capillary
saturation, the soil may be wet but the water
content will decrease with elevation. If the
water in the capillary zone is not moving, the
water pressure obeys the equation of
hydrostatic equilibrium,
, but
note that
, is negative above the water
table. Hence, hydrostatic water pressures are
negative above the water table. The thickness
of the zone of capillary saturation depends on
the pore size, but typically, the heights vary
between a centimeter or so for coarse sand to
tens of meters for a silt or clay.[3] In fact the
pore space of soil is a uniform fractal e.g. a set
of uniformly distributed D-dimensional fractals
of average linear size L. For the clay soil it has
been found that L=0.15 mm and D=2.7.[8]

intergranular contact force due to surface tension.

The surface tension of water explains why the

water does not drain out of a wet sand castle
or a moist ball of clay. Negative water
pressures make the water stick to the particles
and pull the particles to each other, friction at
the particle contacts make a sand castle
stable. But as soon as a wet sand castle is
submerged below a free water surface, the
negative pressures are lost and the castle
collapses. Considering the effective stress
equation,
, if the water pressure
is negative, the effective stress may be
positive, even on a free surface (a surface
where the total normal stress is zero). The
negative pore pressure pulls the particles
together and causes compressive particle to
particle contact forces.
Negative pore pressures in clayey soil can be
much more powerful than those in sand.
Negative pore pressures explain why clay soils
shrink when they dry and swell as they are
wetted. The swelling and shrinkage can cause
major distress, especially to light structures
and roads.[9]

Shrinkage caused by drying

Later sections of this article address the pore

water pressures
for seepage and consolidationproblems.

Soil classification[edit]
Geotechnical engineers classify the soil
particle types by performing tests on disturbed

(dried, passed through sieves, and remolded)

samples of the soil. This provides information
about the characteristics of the soil grains
themselves. It should be noted that
classification of the types of grains present in a
soil does not account for important effects of
the structure or fabric of the soil, terms that
describe compactness of the particles and
patterns in the arrangement of particles in a
load carrying framework as well as the pore
size and pore fluid distributions. Engineering
geologists also classify soils based on their
genesis and depositional history.

Classification of soil grains[edit]

In the US and other countries, the Unified Soil
Classification System (USCS) is often used for
soil classification. Other classification systems
include the British Standard BS5390 and
the AASHTO soil classification system.[3]
Classification of sands and gravels[edit]
In the USCS, gravels (given the symbol G) and
sands (given the symbol S) are classified
according to their grain size distribution. For
the USCS, gravels may be given the
classification symbol GW (well-graded
gravel), GP (poorly graded gravel), GM (gravel
with a large amount of silt), or GC (gravel with
a large amount of clay). Likewise sands may
be classified as being SW, SP, SM or SC.
Sands and gravels with a small but nonnegligible amount of fines (512%) may be
given a dual classification such as SW-SC.
Atterberg limits[edit]
Clays and Silts, often called 'fine-grained soils',
are classified according to their Atterberg
limits; the most commonly used Atterberg
limits are the Liquid limit (denoted by LL or
), Plastic Limit (denoted by PL or
),
and Shrinkage limit (denoted by SL). The
shrinkage limit corresponds to a water content
below which the soil will not shrink as it dries.
The liquid limit and plastic limit are arbitrary
limits determined by tradition and convention.
The liquid limit is determined by measuring the
water content for which a groove closes after
25 blows in a standard test.[10] Alternatively,
a fall cone testapparatus may be use to
measure the liquid limit. The undrained shear
strength of remolded soil at the liquid limit is

approximately 2 kPa.[4][11] The plastic limit is the

water content below which it is not possible to
roll by hand the soil into 3 mm diameter
cylinders. The soil cracks or breaks up as it is
rolled down to this diameter. Remolded soil at
the plastic limit is quite stiff, having an
undrained shear strength of the order of about
200 kPa.[4][11]
The Plasticity index of a particular soil
specimen is defined as the difference between
the Liquid limit and the Plastic limit of the
specimen; it is an indicator of how much water
the soil particles in the specimen can absorb.
The plasticity index is the difference in water
contents between states when the soil is
relatively soft and the soil is relatively brittle
when molded by hand.
Classification of silts and clays[edit]
According to the Unified Soil Classification
System (USCS), silts and clays are classified
by plotting the values of theirplasticity
index and liquid limit on a plasticity chart. The
A-Line on the chart separates clays (given the
USCS symbol C) from silts (given the
symbol M). LL=50% separates high plasticity
soils (given the modifier symbol H) from low
plasticity soils (given the modifier symbol L). A
soil that plots above the A-line and has
LL>50% would, for example, be classified
as CH. Other possible classifications of silts
and clays are ML, CL and MH. If the Atterberg
limits plot in the"hatched" region on the graph
near the origin, the soils are given the dual
classification 'CL-ML'.

Indices related to soil strength[edit]

Liquidity index[edit]
The effects of the water content on the
strength of saturated remolded soils can be
quantified by the use of the liquidity index, LI:

When the LI is 1, remolded soil is at

the liquid limit and it has an undrained
shear strength of about 2 kPa. When the
soil is at the plastic limit, the LI is 0 and the
undrained shear strength is about 200
kPa.[4][12]
Relative density[edit]

The density of sands (cohesionless soils)

is often characterized by the relative
density,

where:
is the "maximum void
ratio" corresponding to a very loose
state,
is the "minimum void
ratio" corresponding to a very dense
state and is the in situ void ratio.
Methods used to calculate relative
density are defined in ASTM D425400(2006).[13]
Thus if
the sand or
gravel is very dense, and
if
the soil is extremely
loose and unstable.

Seepage: steady state

flow of water[edit]
"Seepage" redirects here. For the
Tech N9ne EP, see Seepage (EP).
For other uses, see Seep
(disambiguation).

A cross section showing the water table

varying with surface topography as well
as a perched water table.

If fluid pressures in a soil deposit are

uniformly increasing with depth
according to
then
hydrostatic conditions will prevail and
the fluids will not be flowing through
the soil.
is the depth below the
water table. However, if the water
table is sloping or there is a perched
water table as indicated in the

accompanying sketch,
then seepage will occur. For steady
state seepage, the seepage velocities
are not varying with time. If the water
tables are changing levels with time,
or if the soil is in the process of
consolidation, then steady state
conditions do not apply.

Darcy's law[edit]
Darcy's law states that the volume of
flow of the pore fluid through a porous
medium per unit time is proportional to
the rate of change of excess fluid
pressure with distance. The constant
of proportionality includes the viscosity
of the fluid and the intrinsic
permeability of the soil. For the simple
case of a horizontal tube filled with soil

Diagram showing definitions and

directions for Darcy's law.

The total discharge,

(having
units of volume per time, e.g., ft/s
or m/s), is proportional to
the intrinsic permeability,
, the
cross sectional area, , and rate
of pore pressure change with
distance,
, and inversely
proportional to the dynamic
viscosity of the fluid, . The
negative sign is needed because
fluids flow from high pressure to
low pressure. So if the change in
pressure is negative (in the direction) then the flow will be

positive (in the -direction). The

above equation works well for a
horizontal tube, but if the tube was
inclined so that point b was a
different elevation than point a,
the equation would not work. The
effect of elevation is accounted for
by replacing the pore pressure
by excess pore pressure,
defined as:
where is the depth measured
from an arbitrary elevation
reference (datum). Replacing
by
we obtain a more general
equation for flow:

Dividing both sides of the

equation by , and
expressing the rate of change
of excess pore pressure as
a derivative, we obtain a more
general equation for the
apparent velocity in the xdirection:

where
has
units of velocity and is
called the Darcy
velocity (or the specific
discharge, filtration
velocity, orsuperficial
velocity).
The pore or interstitial
velocity
is the
average velocity of fluid
molecules in the pores; it
is related to the Darcy
velocity and the
porosity through
the Dupuit-Forchheimer
relationship

(Some authors use

the term seepage
velocity to mean the
Darcy velocity,
[14]
while others use it
to mean the pore
velocity.[15])
Civil
engineers predomina
ntly work on problems
that involve water and
predominantly work
on problems on earth
(in earth's gravity).
For this class of
problems, civil
engineers will often
write Darcy's law in a
much simpler form:[4][6]
[9]

where is
the hydraulic
conductivity,
defined
as
,
and is
the hydraulic
gradient. The
hydraulic gradient
is the rate of
change of total
head with
distance. The
total head, at a
point is defined
as the height
(measured
relative to the
datum) to which
water would rise
in a piezometer at
that point. The
total head is
related to the
excess water
pressure by:

and
the
is zero if the
datum for
head
measurement
is chosen at
the same
elevation as
the origin for
the depth, z
used to
calculate
.

Typical
values of
permeabili
ty[edit]
Values of the
permeability,
, can vary
by many
orders of
magnitude
depending on
the soil type.
Clays may
have
permeability
as small as
about
,
gravels may
have
permeability
up to
about
.
Layering and
heterogeneity
and
disturbance
during the
sampling and
testing
process
make the
accurate

measurement
of soil
permeability
a very difficult
problem.[4]

Flownets[e
dit]
Main
article: Flown
et
Darcy's Law
applies in
one, two or
three
dimensions.[3]
In two or
three
dimensions,
steady state
seepage is
described
byLaplace's
equation.
Computer
programs are
available to
solve this
equation. But
traditionally
twodimensional
seepage
problems
were solved
using and a
graphical
procedure
known
called flownet
.[3][9][16] One
set of lines in
the flownet
are in the
direction of
the water flow
(flow lines),
and the other
set of lines
are in the
direction of
constant total
head

(equipotential
lines).
Flownets may
be used to
estimate the
quantity of
seepage
under dams a
nd sheet
piling.

A plan flow
net to
estimate
flow of
water from
a stream to
a
discharging
well

Seepage
forces and
erosion[edi
t]
When the
seepage
velocity is
great
enough, erosi
on can occur
because of
the frictional
drag exerted
on the soil
particles.
Vertically
upwards
seepage is a

source of
danger on
the
downstream
side of sheet
piling and
beneath the
toe of a dam
or levee.
Erosion of the
soil, known
as "soil
piping", can
lead to failure
of the
structure and
to sinkholefor
mation.
Seeping
water
removes soil,
starting from
the exit point
of the
seepage, and
erosion
advances
upgradient.[17]
The term
"sand boil" is
used to
describe the
appearance
of the
discharging
end of an
active soil
pipe.[18]

Seepage
pressures[
edit]
Seepage in
an upward
direction
reduces the
effective
stress within
the soil.
When the
water
pressure at a
point in the

soil is equal
to the total
vertical stress
at that point,
the effective
stress is zero
and the soil
has no
frictional
resistance to
deformation.
For a surface
layer, the
vertical
effective
stress
becomes
zero within
the layer
when the
upward
hydraulic
gradient is
equal to the
critical
gradient.[9] At
zero effective
stress soil
has very little
strength and
layers of
relatively
impermeable
soil may
heave up due
to the
underlying
water
pressures.
The loss in
strength due
to upward
seepage is a
common
contributor to
levee
failures. The
condition of
zero effective
stress
associated
with upward
seepage is

also
calledliquefac
tion, quicksan
d, or a boiling
condition.
Quicksand
was so
named
because the
soil particles
move around
and appear
to be 'alive'
(the biblical
meaning of
'quick' as
opposed to
'dead'). (Note
that it is not
possible to
be 'sucked
down' into
quicksand.
On the
contrary, you
would float
with about
half your
body out of
the water.)[19]

Consolid
ation:
transient
flow of
water[edit
]
Main
article: Cons
olidation
(soil)

Consolidation
analogy. The
piston is
supported by
water
underneath and
a spring. When
a load is
applied to the
piston, water
pressure
increases to
support the
load. As the
water slowly
leaks through
the small hole,
the load is
transferred from
the water
pressure to the
spring force.

Consolidation
is a process
by
which soils d
ecrease in
volume. It
occurs
when stress i
s applied to a

soil that
causes the
soil particles
to pack
together
more tightly,
therefore
reducing
volume.
When this
occurs in a
soil that is
saturated
with water,
water will be
squeezed out
of the soil.
The time
required to
squeeze the
water out of a
thick deposit
of clayey soil
layer might
be years. For
a layer of
sand, the
water may be
squeezed out
in a matter of
seconds. A
building
foundation or
construction
of a new
embankment
will cause the
soil below to
consolidate
and this will
cause
settlement
which in turn
may cause
distress to
the building
or
embankment.
Karl
Terzaghi dev
eloped the
theory of
consolidation

which
enables
prediction of
the amount of
settlement
and the time
required for
the
settlement to
occur.[20] Soils
are tested
with
an oedomete
r test to
determine
their
compression
index and
coefficient of
consolidation.
When stress
is removed
from a
consolidated
soil, the soil
will rebound,
drawing
water back
into the pores
and regaining
some of the
volume it had
lost in the
consolidation
process. If
the stress is
reapplied, the
soil will reconsolidate
again along a
recompressio
n curve,
defined by
the
recompressio
n index. Soil
that has been
consolidated
to a large
pressure and
has been
subsequently
unloaded is

considered to
be overconso
lidated. The
maximum
past vertical
effective
stress is
termed
thepreconsoli
dation stress.
A soil which
is currently
experiencing
the maximum
past vertical
effective
stress is said
to benormally
consolidated.
The overcons
olidation
ratio, (OCR)
is the ratio of
the maximum
past vertical
effective
stress to the
current
vertical
effective
stress. The
OCR is
significant for
two reasons:
firstly,
because the
compressibilit
y of normally
consolidated
soil is
significantly
larger than
that for
overconsolid
ated soil, and
secondly, the
shear
behavior and
dilatancy of
clayey soil
are related to
the OCR
through critic

al state soil
mechanics;
highly
overconsolid
ated clayey
soils are
dilatant, while
normally
consolidated
soils tend to
be
contractive.[2]
[3][4]

Shear
behavior
:
stiffness
and
strength[
edit]
Main
article: shear
strength (soil)

Typical
stress
strain curve
for a
drained
dilatant soil

The shear
strength and
stiffness of
soil
determines

whether or
not soil will
be stable or
how much it
will deform.
Knowledge of
the strength
is necessary
to determine
if a slope will
be stable, if a
building or
bridge might
settle too far
into the
ground, and
the limiting
pressures on
a retaining
wall. It is
important to
distinguish
between
failure of a
soil element
and the
failure of a
geotechnical
structure
(e.g., a
building
foundation,
slope or
retaining
wall); some
soil elements
may reach
their peak
strength prior
to failure of
the structure.
Different
criteria can
be used to
define the
"shear
strength" and
the
"yieldpoint"
for a soil
element from
a stressstrain curve.

One may
define the
peak shear
strength as
the peak of a
stress strain
curve, or the
shear
strength at
critical state
as the value
after large
strains when
the shear
resistance
levels off. If
the stressstrain curve
does not
stabilize
before the
end of shear
strength test,
the "strength"
is sometimes
considered to
be the shear
resistance at
15% to 20%
strain.[9] The
shear
strength of
soil depends
on many
factors
including
the effective
stress and
the void ratio.
The shear
stiffness is
important, for
example, for
evaluation of
the
magnitude of
deformations
of
foundations
and slopes
prior to failure
and because
it is related to

the shear
wave velocity.
The slope of
the initial,
nearly linear,
portion of a
plot of shear
stress as a
function of
shear strain
is called
the shear
modulus

Friction,
interlockin
g and
dilation[edi
t]

Angle of
repose

Soil is an
assemblage
of particles
that have
little to no
cementation
while rock
(such as
sandstone)
may consist
of an
assembly of
particles that
are strongly
cemented
together by
chemical
bonds. The
shear
strength of
soil is

primarily due
to
interparticle
friction and
therefore, the
shear
resistance on
a plane is
approximatel
y proportional
to the
effective
normal stress
on that plane.
[3]
The angle
of internal
friction is thus
closely
related to the
maximum
stable slope
angle, often
called the
angle of
repose.
But in
addition to
friction, soil
derives
significant
shear
resistance
from
interlocking of
grains. If the
grains are
densely
packed, the
grains tend to
spread apart
from each
other as they
are subject to
shear strain.
The
expansion of
the particle
matrix due to
shearing was
called
dilatancy
by Osborne
Reynolds.[12] I

f one
considers the
energy
required to
shear an
assembly of
particles
there is
energy input
by the shear
force, T,
moving a
distance, x
and there is
also energy
input by the
normal force,
N, as the
sample
expands a
distance, y.
[12]
Due to the
extra energy
required for
the particles
to dilate
against the
confining
pressures,
dilatant soils
have a
greater peak
strength than
contractive
soils.
Furthermore,
as dilative
soil grains
dilate, they
become
looser (their
void ratio
increases),
and their rate
of dilation
decreases
until they
reach a
critical void
ratio.
Contractive
soils become
denser as

they shear,
and their rate
of contraction
decreases
until they
reach a
critical void
ratio.

A critical
state line
separates
the dilatant
and
contractive
states for
soil

The tendency
for a soil to
dilate or
contract
depends
primarily on
the confining
pressure and
the void ratio
of the soil.
The rate of
dilation is
high if the
confining
pressure is
small and the
void ratio is
small. The

rate of
contraction is
high if the
confining
pressure is
large and the
void ratio is
large. As a
first
approximatio
n, the regions
of contraction
and dilation
are
separated by
the critical
state line.

Failure
criteria[edit
]
After a soil
reaches the
critical state,
it is no longer
contracting or
dilating and
the shear
stress on the
failure
plane
is
determined
by the
effective
normal stress
on the failure
plane
and
critical state
friction
angle

The peak
strength
of the soil
may be
greater,
however,
due to
the
interlocki

ng
(dilatancy
)
contributi
on. This
may be
stated:

Wher
e
.
How
ever,
use
of a
frictio
n
angle
great
er
than
the
critic
al
state
value
for
desig
n
requi
res
care.
The
peak
stren
gth
will
not
be
mobil
ized
every
wher
e at
the
same
time
in a
practi
cal

probl
em
such
as a
found
ation,
slope
or
retain
ing
wall.
The
critic
al
state
frictio
n
angle
is not
nearl
y as
varia
ble
as
the
peak
frictio
n
angle
and
henc
e it
can
be
relied
upon
with
confi
denc
e.[3][4]
[12]

Not
recog
nizin
g the
signif
icanc
e of
dilata
ncy,
Coul
omb
prop

osed
that
the
shear
stren
gth of
soil
may
be
expre
ssed
as a
comb
inatio
n of
adhe
sion
and
frictio
n
comp
onent
s:[12]

It
i
s
n
o
w
k
n
o
w
n
t
h
a
t
t
h
e
a
n
d
p
a
r

a
m
e
t
e
r
s
i
n
t
h
e
l
a
s
t
e
q
u
a
ti
o
n
a
r
e
n
o
t
f
u
n
d
a
m
e
n
t
a
l
s
o
il
p
r
o
p
e
rt
i
e
s
.

[3]
[6]
[1
2]
[2
1]

I
n
p
a
rt
i
c
u
l
a
r,
a
n
d
a
r
e
d
if
f
e
r
e
n
t
d
e
p
e
n
d
i
n
g
o
n
t
h
e
m
a
g
n
it

u
d
e
o
f
e
ff
e
c
ti
v
e
s
tr
e
s
s
.
[6]
[2
1]

A
c
c
o
r
d
i
n
g
t
o
S
c
h
o
fi
e
l
d
(
2
0
0
6
),
[1
2]

t
h
e
l
o

n
g
s
t
a
n
d
i
n
g
u
s
e
o
f
i
n
p
r
a
c
ti
c
e
h
a
s
l
e
d
m
a
n
y
e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
s
t
o
w
r
o
n
g
l
y

b
e
li
e
v
e
t
h
a
t
i
s
a
f
u
n
d
a
m
e
n
t
a
l
p
a
r
a
m
e
t
e
r.
T
h
i
s
a
s
s
u
m
p
ti
o
n
t
h
a
t
a

n
d
a
r
e
c
o
n
s
t
a
n
t
c
a
n
l
e
a
d
t
o
o
v
e
r
e
s
ti
m
a
ti
o
n
o
f
p
e
a
k
s
tr
e
n
g
t
h
s
.
[3]
[2
1]

S
t
r
u
c
t
u
r
e
,
f
a
b
r
i
c
,
a
n
d
c
h
e
m
i
s
t
r
y
[
e
d
it
]
I
n
a
d
d
it
i
o
n
t
o

t
h
e
fr
i
c
ti
o
n
a
n
d
i
n
t
e
rl
o
c
k
i
n
g
(
d
il
a
t
a
n
c
y
)
c
o
m
p
o
n
e
n
t
s
o
f
s
tr
e
n
g
t
h
,

t
h
e
s
tr
u
c
t
u
r
e
a
n
d
f
a
b
ri
c
a
l
s
o
p
l
a
y
a
s
i
g
n
if
i
c
a
n
t
r
o
l
e
i
n
t
h
e
s
o
il
b
e
h

a
v
i
o
r.
T
h
e
s
tr
u
c
t
u
r
e
a
n
d
f
a
b
ri
c
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
f
a
c
t
o
r
s
s
u
c
h
a
s
t
h
e
s
p
a
c
i
n

g
a
n
d
a
rr
a
n
g
e
m
e
n
t
o
f
t
h
e
s
o
li
d
p
a
rt
i
c
l
e
s
o
r
t
h
e
a
m
o
u
n
t
a
n
d
s
p
a
ti
a
l
d
i

s
tr
i
b
u
ti
o
n
o
f
p
o
r
e
w
a
t
e
r;
i
n
s
o
m
e
c
a
s
e
s
c
e
m
e
n
ti
ti
o
u
s
m
a
t
e
ri
a
l
a
c
c
u
m
u

l
a
t
e
s
a
t
p
a
rt
i
c
l
e
p
a
rt
i
c
l
e
c
o
n
t
a
c
t
s
.
M
e
c
h
a
n
i
c
a
l
b
e
h
a
v
i
o
r
o
f
s
o

il
i
s
a
ff
e
c
t
e
d
b
y
t
h
e
d
e
n
s
it
y
o
f
t
h
e
p
a
rt
i
c
l
e
s
a
n
d
t
h
e
ir
s
tr
u
c
t
u
r
e
o
r
a
rr

a
n
g
e
m
e
n
t
o
f
t
h
e
p
a
rt
i
c
l
e
s
a
s
w
e
ll
a
s
t
h
e
a
m
o
u
n
t
a
n
d
s
p
a
ti
a
l
d
i
s
tr
i
b
u

ti
o
n
o
f
fl
u
i
d
s
p
r
e
s
e
n
t
(
e
.
g
.,
w
a
t
e
r
a
n
d
a
ir
v
o
i
d
s
).
O
t
h
e
r
f
a
c
t
o
r
s
i
n
c

l
u
d
e
t
h
e
e
l
e
c
tr
i
c
a
l
c
h
a
r
g
e
o
f
t
h
e
p
a
rt
i
c
l
e
s
,
c
h
e
m
i
s
tr
y
o
f
p
o
r
e
w
a
t

e
r,
c
h
e
m
i
c
a
l
b
o
n
d
s
(i
.
e
.
c
e
m
e
n
t
a
ti
o
n
p
a
rt
i
c
l
e
s
c
o
n
n
e
c
t
e
d
t
h
r
o
u
g

h
a
s
o
li
d
s
u
b
s
t
a
n
c
e
s
u
c
h
a
s
r
e
c
r
y
s
t
a
lli
z
e
d
c
a
l
c
i
u
m
c
a
r
b
o
n
a
t
e
)
[1]

[2
1]

D
r
a
i
n
e
d
a
n
d
u
n
d
r
a
i
n
e
d
s
h
e
a
r
[
e
d
it
]
T
h
e
p
r
e
s
e
n
c
e
o
f

n
e
a
rl
y
i
n
c
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
b
l
e
fl
u
i
d
s
s
u
c
h
a
s
w
a
t
e
r
i
n
t
h
e
p
o
r
e
s
p
a
c
e
s
a
ff
e

c
t
s
t
h
e
a
b
ili
t
y
f
o
r
t
h
e
p
o
r
e
s
t
o
d
il
a
t
e
o
r
c
o
n
tr
a
c
t.
If
t
h
e
p
o
r
e
s
a
r
e
s
a
t

u
r
a
t
e
d
w
it
h
w
a
t
e
r,
w
a
t
e
r
m
u
s
t
b
e
s
u
c
k
e
d
i
n
t
o
t
h
e
d
il
a
ti
n
g
p
o
r
e
s
p
a
c
e

s
t
o
fi
ll
t
h
e
e
x
p
a
n
d
i
n
g
p
o
r
e
s
(t
h
i
s
p
h
e
n
o
m
e
n
o
n
i
s
v
i
s
i
b
l
e
a
t
t
h
e
b
e
a

c
h
w
h
e
n
a
p
p
a
r
e
n
tl
y
d
r
y
s
p
o
t
s
f
o
r
m
a
r
o
u
n
d
f
e
e
t
t
h
a
t
p
r
e
s
s
i
n
t
o
t
h

e
w
e
t
s
a
n
d
).

Fo
ot
pr
es
sin
g
in
soi
l
ca
us
es
soi
l
to
dil
at
e,
dr
aw
in
g
wa
ter

fro
m
th
e
su
rfa
ce
int
o
th
e
po
re
s

S
i
m
il
a
rl
y
,
f
o
r
c
o
n
tr
a
c
ti
v
e
s
o
il
,
w
a
t
e
r
m
u
s
t

b
e
s
q
u
e
e
z
e
d
o
u
t
o
f
t
h
e
p
o
r
e
s
p
a
c
e
s
t
o
a
ll
o
w
c
o
n
tr
a
c
ti
o
n
t
o
t
a
k
e
p
l
a

c
e
.
D
il
a
ti
o
n
o
f
t
h
e
v
o
i
d
s
c
a
u
s
e
s
n
e
g
a
ti
v
e
w
a
t
e
r
p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
s
t
h
a
t
d
r
a

w
fl
u
i
d
i
n
t
o
t
h
e
p
o
r
e
s
,
a
n
d
c
o
n
tr
a
c
ti
o
n
o
f
t
h
e
v
o
i
d
s
c
a
u
s
e
s
p
o
s
it
i
v

e
p
o
r
e
p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
s
t
o
p
u
s
h
t
h
e
w
a
t
e
r
o
u
t
o
f
t
h
e
p
o
r
e
s
.
If
t
h
e
r
a
t
e
o
f
s

h
e
a
ri
n
g
i
s
v
e
r
y
l
a
r
g
e
c
o
m
p
a
r
e
d
t
o
t
h
e
r
a
t
e
t
h
a
t
w
a
t
e
r
c
a
n
b
e
s
u
c
k
e

d
i
n
t
o
o
r
s
q
u
e
e
z
e
d
o
u
t
o
f
t
h
e
d
il
a
ti
n
g
o
r
c
o
n
tr
a
c
ti
n
g
p
o
r
e
s
p
a
c
e
s
,
t
h

e
n
t
h
e
s
h
e
a
ri
n
g
i
s
c
a
ll
e
d
u
n
d
r
a
i
n
e
d
s
h
e
a
r,
if
t
h
e
s
h
e
a
ri
n
g
i
s
s
l
o
w
e
n

o
u
g
h
t
h
a
t
t
h
e
w
a
t
e
r
p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
s
a
r
e
n
e
g
li
g
i
b
l
e
,
t
h
e
s
h
e
a
ri
n
g
i
s
c
a
ll

e
d
d
r
a
i
n
e
d
s
h
e
a
r.
D
u
ri
n
g
u
n
d
r
a
i
n
e
d
s
h
e
a
r,
t
h
e
w
a
t
e
r
p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
u
c
h
a

n
g
e
s
d
e
p
e
n
d
i
n
g
o
n
v
o
l
u
m
e
c
h
a
n
g
e
t
e
n
d
e
n
c
i
e
s
.
F
r
o
m
t
h
e
e
ff
e
c
ti
v
e

s
tr
e
s
s
e
q
u
a
ti
o
n
,
t
h
e
c
h
a
n
g
e
i
n
u
d
ir
e
c
tl
y
e
ff
e
c
t
s
t
h
e
e
ff
e
c
ti
v
e
s
tr
e
s
s
b

y
t
h
e
e
q
u
a
ti
o
n
:
an
d
th
e
str
en
gt
h
is
ve
ry
se
nsi
tiv
e
to
th
e
eff
ect
ive
str
es
s.
It
foll
ow
s
th
en
th
at
th
e
un
dr
ain
ed
sh

ea
r
str
en
gt
h
of
a
soi
l
m
ay
be
sm
all
er
or
lar
ge
r
th
an
th
e
dr
ain
ed
sh
ea
r
str
en
gt
h
de
pe
ndi
ng
up
on
wh
et
he
r
th
e
soi
l is
co
ntr
act
ive
or

dil
ati
ve.

S
h
ea
r
te
st
s[
ed
it]
Str
en
gt
h
pa
ra
m
et
er
s
ca
n
be
m
ea
su
re
d
in
th
e
lab
or
at
or
y
usi
ng
dir
ect
sh
ea
r
tes
t, t
ria
xia
l

sh
ea
r
tes
t, s
im
ple
sh
ea
r
tes
t, f
all
co
ne
tes
ta
nd
(h
an
d)
sh
ea
r
va
ne
tes
t;
th
er
e
ar
e
nu
m
er
ou
s
ot
he
r
de
vic
es
an
d
va
ria
tio
ns
on
th
es

e
de
vic
es
us
ed
in
pr
act
ice
to
da
y.
Te
sts
co
nd
uct
ed
to
ch
ar
act
eri
ze
th
e
str
en
gt
h
an
d
stif
fn
es
s
of
th
e
soi
ls
in
th
e
gr
ou
nd
inc
lud
e
th
e

Co
ne
pe
ne
tra
tio
n
tes
ta
nd
th
e
St
an
da
rd
pe
ne
tra
tio
n
tes
t.

Ot
h
er
fa
ct
or
s[
ed
it]
Th
e
str
es
sstr
ain
rel
ati
on
shi
p
of
soi
ls,
an
d
th

er
ef
or
e
th
e
sh
ea
rin
g
str
en
gt
h,
is
aff
ect
ed
by:
[22]

1. soi
l
co
mp
osi
tio
n(
ba
sic
soil
ma
teri
al):
mi
ner
alo
gy,
gra
in
siz
e
an
d
gra
in
siz
e
dist
rib
uti
on,
sh

ap
e
of
par
ticl
es,
por
e
flui
d
typ
e
an
d
co
nte
nt,
ion
s
on
gra
in
an
d
in
por
e
flui
d.
2. sta
te (
initi
al):
Def
ine
by
the
initi
al v
oid
rati
o,
eff
ecti
ve
nor
ma
l
str
ess
an
d

sh
ear
str
ess
(str
ess
hist
ory
).
Sta
te
ca
n
be
de
scri
be
by
ter
ms
suc
h
as:
loo
se,
de
ns
e,
ov
erc
on
soli
dat
ed,
nor
ma
lly
co
ns
olid
ate
d,
stiff
,
sof
t,
co
ntr
acti
ve,
dila
tive
,

etc
.
3. str
uct
ure
:
Ref
ers
to
the
arr
an
ge
me
nt
of
par
ticl
es
wit
hin
the
soil
ma
ss;
the
ma
nn
er
in
whi
ch
the
par
ticl
es
are
pa
cke
d
or
dist
rib
ute
d.
Fe
atu
res
suc
h
as
lay

ers
,
join
ts,
fiss
ure
s,
slic
ke
nsi
de
s,
voi
ds,
po
cke
ts,
ce
me
nta
tio
n,
etc
.,
are
par
t of
the
str
uct
ure
.
Str
uct
ure
of
soil
s is
de
scri
be
d
by
ter
ms
suc
h
as:
un
dist
urb
ed,
dist

urb
ed,
re
mo
lde
d,
co
mp
act
ed,
ce
me
nte
d;
floc
cul
ent
,
ho
ne
yco
mb
ed,
sin
gle
gra
ine
d;
floc
cul
ate
d,
def
loc
cul
ate
d;
str
atifi
ed,
lay
ere
d,
la
mi
nat
ed;
isot
rop
ic
an

d
ani
sot
rop
ic.
4. Lo
adi
ng
co
ndi
tio
ns:
Eff
ecti
ve
str
ess
pat
hdra
ine
d,
un
dra
ine
d,
an
d
typ
e
of
loa
din
g
-m
ag
nit
ud
e,
rat
e
(st
atic
,
dy
na
mic
),
an
d
tim
e

hist
ory
(m
on
oto
nic,
cyc
lic).

A
p
pl
ic
at
io
n
s[
ed
it]

L
at
er
al
ea
rt
h
pr
es
s
ur
e[
ed
it]
M
ai
n
art
icl
e:
La
ter
al
ea
rth
pr
es

su
re
La
ter
al
ea
rth
str
es
s
th
eo
ry
is
us
ed
to
est
im
at
e
th
e
a
m
ou
nt
of
str
es
s
soi
l
ca
n
ex
ert
pe
rp
en
dic
ula
r
to
gr
avi
ty.
Th
is
is
th
e
str

es
s
ex
ert
ed
on
ret
ain
ing
wa
lls.
A
lat
er
al
ea
rth
str
es
s
co
effi
cie
nt,
K,
is
de
fin
ed
as
th
e
rat
io
of
lat
er
al
(h
ori
zo
nt
al)
eff
ect
ive
str
es
s
to
ve
rtic
al

eff
ect
ive
str
es
s
for
co
he
sio
nle
ss
soi
ls
(K
=
'h/
'v
).
Th
er
e
ar
e
thr
ee
co
effi
cie
nts
:
atre
st,
act
ive
,
an
d
pa
ssi
ve.
Atre
st
str
es
s
is
th
e
lat
er

al
str
es
s
in
th
e
gr
ou
nd
be
for
e
an
y
dis
tur
ba
nc
e
tak
es
pla
ce.
Th
e
act
ive
str
es
s
sta
te
is
re
ac
he
d
wh
en
a
wa
ll
m
ov
es
aw
ay
fro
m
th
e
soi

l
un
de
r
th
e
infl
ue
nc
e
of
lat
er
al
str
es
s,
an
d
re
sul
ts
fro
m
sh
ea
r
fail
ur
e
du
e
to
re
du
cti
on
of
lat
er
al
str
es
s.
Th
e
pa
ssi
ve
str
es
s
sta

te
is
re
ac
he
d
wh
en
a
wa
ll
is
pu
sh
ed
int
o
th
e
soi
l
far
en
ou
gh
to
ca
us
e
sh
ea
r
fail
ur
e
wit
hin
th
e
m
as
s
du
e
to
inc
re
as
e
of
lat
er
al

str
es
s.
Th
er
e
ar
e
m
an
y
th
eo
rie
s
for
est
im
ati
ng
lat
er
al
ea
rth
str
es
s;
so
m
e
ar
e
e
m
piri
cal
lyb
as
ed
,
an
d
so
m
e
ar
e
an
aly
tic
all
y

de
riv
ed
.

B
ea
ri
n
g
ca
p
ac
it
y[
ed
it]
M
ai
n
art
icl
e:
Be
ari
ng
ca
pa
cit
y
Th
e
be
ari
ng
ca
pa
cit
y
of
soi
l is
th
e
av
er
ag
e
co
nt
act

str
es
sb
et
we
en
af
ou
nd
ati
on
an
d
th
e
soi
l
wh
ich
wil
l
ca
us
e
sh
ea
r
fail
ur
e
in
th
e
soi
l.
All
ow
abl
e
be
ari
ng
str
es
s
is
th
e
be
ari
ng
ca
pa

cit
y
div
ide
d
by
a
fac
tor
of
saf
ety
.
So
m
eti
m
es,
on
sof
t
soi
l
sit
es,
lar
ge
set
tle
m
en
ts
m
ay
oc
cu
r
un
de
r
loa
de
d
fo
un
da
tio
ns
wit
ho
ut
act
ual

sh
ea
r
fail
ur
e
oc
cu
rri
ng
; in
su
ch
ca
se
s,
th
e
all
ow
abl
e
be
ari
ng
str
es
s
is
de
ter
mi
ne
d
wit
h
re
ga
rd
to
th
e
m
axi
m
u
m
all
ow
abl
e
set
tle

m
en
t.

Sl
o
p
e
st
a
bi
lit
y[
ed
it]

Simple
slope
slip
section

M
ai
n
art
icl
e:
Sl
op
e
st
ab
ilit
y
Th
e
fiel
d
of

slo
pe
sta
bili
ty
en
co
m
pa
ss
es
th
e
an
aly
sis
of
sta
tic
an
d
dy
na
mi
c
sta
bili
ty
of
slo
pe
s
of
ea
rth
an
d
ro
ckfill
da
ms
,
slo
pe
s
of
ot
he
r
typ
es
of

e
m
ba
nk
m
en
ts,
ex
ca
vat
ed
slo
pe
s,
an
d
na
tur
al
slo
pe
s
in
soi
l
an
d
sof
t
ro
ck.
[23]

As
se
en
to
th
e
rig
ht,
ea
rth
en
slo
pe
s
ca
n
de
vel
op
a
cut

sp
he
ric
al
we
ak
ne
ss
zo
ne
.
Th
e
pr
ob
abi
lity
of
thi
s
ha
pp
eni
ng
ca
n
be
cal
cul
at
ed
in
ad
va
nc
e
usi
ng
a
si
m
ple
2D
cir
cul
ar
an
aly
sis
pa
ck

ag
e..
.[24]
A
pri
m
ar
y
diff
icu
lty
wit
h
an
aly
sis
is
loc
ati
ng
th
e
m
ost
pr
ob
abl
e
sli
p
pla
ne
for
an
y
giv
en
sit
ua
tio
n.
[25]

M
an
y
lan
dsl
ide
s
ha
ve
be

en
an
aly
ze
d
onl
y
aft
er
th
e
fac
t.