CVG2107 Winter 2015

GEOTECHNICAL MATERIALS AND

PROCESSES

Course Instructor
Rozalina Dimitrova

A333A(CBY)
rdimitro@uottawa.ca
(613) 562-5800 Ext. 6133

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 CVG2107 Winter 2015
GEOTECHNICAL MATERIALS AND
PROCESSES

CHAPTER 3 (1): FUNDAMENTAL

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS

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Chapter 3 (1) Outline
1. Introduction
2. Description and Identification of soil
3. Moisture Content
4. Soil Classification
5. Particle Size Analysis

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Introduction
Determining the engineering properties of soils is an
extremely important step in an overall construction design
project.
Soil conditions vary from one location to another; hence,
virtually no construction site presents soil conditions
exactly like any other.
As a result, soil conditions at every site must be thoroughly
investigated prior to preparing detailed designs.
As the engineering properties and behavior of soils are
governed by their physical properties, it is important to
describe and identify soils in terms that will convey their
characteristics clearly and accurately to soils engineers.

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Description and Identification of soil
The sample shall be considered to be representative of the
stratum from which it was obtained.
The sample shall be carefully identified as to origin.
Include boring number, sample number, job number, a
geologic stratum, sampling depth, type of sampling, etc.
The minimum amount of the specimen to be examined
shall be in accordance with the following schedule:

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Description and Identification of soil
Preliminary Identification:
A sample composed primarily of plant tissue in various
stages of decomposition that has a fibrous to
amorphous texture, usually a dark brown to black
color, and an organic odor shall be identified as peat.
The soil is fine grained if it contains 50% or more fines.
The soil is coarse grained if it contains less than 50%
fines.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of fine-grained soils
Dry strength
From the specimen, select enough material to mold
into a ball about 1 in. (25 mm) in diameter. Mold
the material until it has the consistency of putty,
adding water if necessary.
From the molded material, make at least three test
specimens, each one shall be a ball of material
about 12 in. (12 mm) in diameter.
Allow the test specimens to dry in air or sun or in
the oven at a temperature not exceeding 60C.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of fine-grained soils
Dry strength:
Test the strength of the dry balls or lumps by
crushing between the fingers.
Note the strength as none, low, medium, high, or
very high in accordance with the criteria in the
table.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of fine-grained soils
Dilatancy:
From the specimen, select enough material to mold
into a ball about 12 in. (12 mm) in diameter. Mold
the material, adding water if necessary, until it has
a soft, but not sticky, consistency.
Smooth the soil ball in the palm of one hand with
the blade of a knife or small spatula. Shake
horizontally, striking the side of the hand vigorously
against the other hand several times.
Note the reaction of water appearing on the
surface of the soil.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of fine-grained soils
Dilatancy:
The reaction is the speed with which water appears
while shaking. Note the reaction as none, slow, or
rapid, in accordance with the criteria in the table.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of fine-grained soils
Toughness
Following the completion of the dilatancy test, the
test specimen is shaped into an elongated pat and
rolled by hand on a smooth surface or between the
palms into a thread about 3 mm in diameter.
Fold the sample threads and reroll repeatedly until
the thread crumbles at a diameter of about 3 mm.
After the thread crumbles, the pieces should be
lumped together and kneaded until the lump
crumbles.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of fine-grained soils
Toughness
Note the toughness of the material during
kneading.
Describe the toughness of the thread and lump as
low, medium, or high, in accordance with the
criteria in the table.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of fine-grained soils
Plasticity
On the basis of observations made during the
toughness test, describe the plasticity of the
material in accordance with the criteria given in the
table.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of fine-grained soils
Identify the fine-grained soil using its dry strength,
dilatancy, toughness and plasticity in accordance to the
table.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of coarse-grained soils
These soils consist of individual particles that are large
enough to be visible to the naked eye (> 0.075 mm).
They include gravel and sand and are classified
primarily based on particle size and distribution.
The soil is a gravel if the percentage of gravel is
estimated to be more than the percentage of sand.
The soil is a sand if the percentage of gravel is
estimated to be equal to or less than the percentage of
sand.
The soil is a clean gravel or clean sand if the percentage
of fines is estimated to be 5% or less.

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Description and Identification of soil
Identification of coarse-grained soils
The shape and angularity of coarse-grained
constituents is also assessed.

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Moisture Content
The moisture content of soil (also referred to as water
content) is an indicator of the amount of water present in
the soil.
Moisture content is the ratio of the mass of water in a
sample to the mass of solids, expressed as a percentage.

Mw
w 100
Ms

where w is the moisture content of soil (expressed as a

percentage), Mw is the mass of water in soil sample (i.e.,
initial mass of moist soil minus mass of oven-dried soil), Ms
is the mass of soil solids in sample (i.e., the soils oven-
dried mass).

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Moisture Content
Example 1
A laboratory test was conducted to determine the moisture
content of a soil sample. The following data were obtained:
Mass of container, Mc = 59.85 g
Mass of container and wet specimen, Mcws = 241.25 g
Mass of container and oven-dried soil, Mcs = 215.43 g

Determine the moisture content of the soil sample.

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Soil Classification
Both cohesionless and cohesive soils contain particles of
varying sizes.
Engineering properties of a soil are greatly influenced by
the sizes of its particles and distribution of grain sizes
throughout the soil mass.
Hence, in many engineering applications, it is not sufficient
to know only that a given soil is clay, sand, rock, gravel, or
silt.
It is also necessary to know something about the
distribution of grain sizes of the soil.

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Particle Size Analysis
Mechanical analysis is the determination of the size range
of particles present in a soil, expressed as a percentage of
the total dry weight.
Two methods generally are used to find the particle-size
distribution of soil:
Sieve analysis - for particle sizes larger than 0.075 mm
in diameter; and
Hydrometer analysis - for particle sizes smaller than
0.075 mm in diameter.

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Particle Size Analysis
In the case of cohesionless soils, the distribution of grain
sizes can be determined by sieve analysis.
A sieve contains a wire mesh with openings of the same
size and shape.
When soil is passed through a sieve, soil particles smaller
than the opening size of the sieve will pass through,
whereas those larger than the opening size will be
retained.

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Particle Size Analysis
Certain sieve size openings
between 4.75 and 0.075 mm
are designated by U.S.
Standard Sieve Numbers.
Thus, grain sizes within this
range can be classified
according to U.S. Standard
Sieve Numbers.

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Particle Size Analysis
In practice, sieves of different
opening sizes are stacked, with
the largest opening size at the
top and a pan at the bottom.
Soil is poured in at the top, and
soil particles pass downward
through the sieves until they are
retained on a particular sieve.

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Particle Size Analysis
The stack of sieves is
mechanically agitated
during this procedure in
a sieve shaker.
At the end of the
procedure, the soil
particles retained on
each sieve are weighed
and the percentage
passing each sieve is
computed.

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Particle Size Analysis
The grains are separated into multiple groups, each of
which contains grains in a particular size range.
The results can be summarized in a tabular form or
presented graphically in the form of a grain-size
distribution curve.

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Particle Size Analysis
Boulders are particles larger than 300 mm in size; cobbles
are particles between 75 and 300 mm.

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Particle Size Analysis
Gravel are particles between 4.75 and 75 mm in size; sand
are particles between 0.075 and 4.75 mm.

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Particle Size Analysis
The results of particle sieve analysis can be presented
graphically in the form of a grain-size distribution curve.

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Particle Size Analysis
If a soils has a good representation of particle sizes over a
wide range, and its gradation curve is smooth and generally
concave upward it is termed well-graded.
A poorly graded soil is one where there is either an excess
or deficiency of certain sizes or most of the particles are
about the same size (i.e., uniform gradation).
The gap-graded soil is also poorly graded; in this case,
there is a deficiency of certain sizes (e.g., between 0.1 and
1 mm).

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Particle Size Analysis
(a) A well-graded soil has a wide
range of particles sizes, in this case
ranging from fine sand to coarse
gravel.
(b) A poorly-graded soil has a
narrow range of particle sizes.

This particular soil is a poorly-

graded gravel that is commercially
produced in rock crushing plants. It
is called pea gravel, even though
the particles are slightly larger
than most peas.

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Particle Size Analysis
Example 2
An air-dry soil sample weighing 2000 g is brought to the soils
laboratory for mechanical grain-size analysis. The laboratory
data obtained are as follows:

Plot the grain-size distribution curve for the soil sample.

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Particle Size Analysis
Example 2 Solution

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Particle Size Analysis
Example 2 Solution

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Particle Size Analysis
Several useful parameters can be determined from grain-
size distribution curves.
The diameter of soil particles at which 50% passes (i.e.,
50% of the soil by weight is finer than this size) is known as
the median size and is denoted by D50.
Median size gives an average particle size for a given soil
sample.
The diameter at which 10% passes is called the effective
size and is denoted by D10.
Effective size is the size to which permeability and
capillarity are related.

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Particle Size Analysis
Two coefficients, used in the Unified Soil Classification
System for classifying coarse grained soils, are the
coefficient of uniformity (Cu) and the coefficient of
curvature (Cc), which are defined as follows:

Cu
D60
Cc
D
30
2

D10 D60 D10

where D60 and D30 are the soil particle diameters
corresponding to 60 and 30%, respectively, passing on the
cumulative grain-size distribution curve.
A well-graded soil has a Cu greater than about 4 for gravels
and 6 for sands, and a Cc between 1 and 3 (for gravels and
sands).

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Particle Size Analysis
Example 3
For the three soil samples with grain-size distribution curves
shown below, determine D10, Cu and Cc.

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Particle Size Analysis
In the case of cohesive soils, distribution of grain size is not
determined by sieve analysis because the particles are too
small.
Particle sizes may be determined by hydrometer analysis,
which is based on the principle of sedimentation of soil
grains in water.
When a soil specimen is dispersed in water, the particles
settle at different velocities, depending on their shape,
size, weight, and the viscosity of the water.

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Particle Size Analysis
The soil sample to be used in the hydrometer test must
first be dispersed in order to eliminate particle coagulation.
This is accomplished by mixing the soil with a dispersing
agent (sodium hexametaphosphate solution) and stirring
the mixture thoroughly.

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Particle Size Analysis
After dispersion, the soil-
water slurry is transferred ASTM 152H
to a glass sedimentation hydrometer

cylinder and agitated

manually.
The cylinder is then placed
in a convenient location,
and hydrometer readings
are taken at specific time
intervals until 24 h have
elapsed.

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Particle Size Analysis
When a hydrometer is placed in the soil
suspension at a time t, measured from
the start of sedimentation it measures
the specific gravity in the vicinity of its
bulb at a depth L.
The specific gravity is a function of the
amount of soil particles present per
unit volume of suspension at that
depth.
By knowing the amount of soil in
suspension, L, and t, we can calculate
the percentage of soil by weight finer
than a given diameter, D.

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Particle Size Analysis
For simplicity, it is assumed that all the soil particles are
spheres and that the velocity of soil particles can be
expressed by Stokes law, according to which:

s w 2
v D
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where: is the settling velocity; s is the density of soil

particles; w is the density of water; is the viscosity of
water; and D is the diameter of soil particles.

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Particle Size Analysis
Taking:
L
v and s Gs w
t
for the diameter, D of soil particle we obtain:

30 L
D
Gs 1 w t

where: Gs is the specific gravity of soil solids; L is distance; t

is time.

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Particle Size Analysis
In many instances, the results of sieve analysis and
hydrometer analysis for finer fractions for a given soil are
combined on one graph.

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Particle Size Analysis
Example 4
Three groups of students from the Geotechnical Materials
class collected soil-aggregate samples for laboratory testing
from a recycled aggregate processing plant. Three samples,
denoted by Soil A, Soil B, and Soil C, were collected from
three locations of the aggregate stockpile, and sieve analyses
were conducted (see figure on the next page).

Which soil is coarser: Soil A or Soil C? Justify your answer.

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Particle Size Analysis
Example 4 (b) Grain-size distribution curves

(a) Soil-aggregate stockpile

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