Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Chapter 9
In Situ Stresses

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Learning Objectives

• Concept of effective stress

• Stresses in saturated soil without seepage, upward
seepage, and downward seepage
• Seepage force per unit volume of soil
• Conditions for heaving or boiling for seepage under a
hydraulic structure
• Use of filter to increase the stability against heaving or
boiling
• Effective stress in partially saturated soil

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Stresses in Saturated Soil without

Seepage
• The total stress at the
elevation of A is:
𝜎 𝐻𝛾 𝐻 𝐻 𝛾
1. H is the height water table
from the top of the soil
column
2. 𝐻 is the distance between
point A and the water table
3. 𝛾 is the unit weight of water
4. 𝛾 is the saturated unit
weight of the soil

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Stresses in Saturated Soil without

Seepage
• The total stress can be divided
into two parts:
1. The stress carried by water
through the void spaces
2. The stress carried by the soil
solids at their points of
contact
• The sum of the vertical force
components at the soil solids
points of contact per unit area
is the effective stress
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Stresses in Saturated Soil without

Seepage
• The total stress can be approximated by:
𝜎 𝜎 𝑢 or ’= - u
1. 𝜎′ is the effective stress
2. 𝑢 𝐻 𝛾 and is referred to as neutral stress or the pore
water pressure
• Effective stress is approximately the stress carried by the soil
skeleton
• The principle of effective stress is one of the most important
concepts in geotechnical engineering
• The compressibility and shearing resistance of a soil largely
depend on the effective stress

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Stresses in Saturated Soil without

Seepage

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward

Seepage
• The total stress at any point in
the soil is a function of the
weight of soil and the water
weight above it

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Stresses in Saturated Soil with Upward

Seepage
• As the seepage increases, 𝑖 (the hydraulic gradient)
increases until a limiting condition is reached
𝜎 z𝛾 𝑖 𝑧𝛾 0
• Soil stability is then lost. This situation generally is
referred to as boiling, or a quick condition
• For most soils, the value of 𝑖 varies from 0.9 to 1.1,
and is given by:
𝛾
𝑖
𝛾

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Capillary Rise in Soils

• Void spaces in soil

behave as capillary
tubes
• The fundamental
concept of the height
of rise in a capillary
tube is shown in
Figure 9.21

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Capillary Rise in Soils

• Typical ranges for the

capillary rise are given in
Table 9.2
• Capillary rise is important to
the formation of caliche, a
soil found in the desert of
the Southwestern United
States
• Caliche is a mixture of sand,
silt, and gravel bonded by
calcareous deposits
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Effective Stress in the Zone of Capillary

Rise
• The pore water pressure at a point in a layer of soil fully
saturated by capillary rise is:
𝑢 𝛾 ℎ
1. where h is the height of the point under consideration
measure from the groundwater table
• If partial saturation is caused by capillary action, it can be
approximated as:
𝑆
𝑢 𝛾 ℎ
100
1. where S is the degree of saturation
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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Plot the Variation of , , and ’ for the

Given Soil Profile
H1 = 6 ft (1.83 m)
H2 = 3 ft (0.91 m)
H3 = 6 ft (1.83 m)

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Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Summary

• The total stress at a point in the soil mass is the sum of the
effective stress and the pore water pressure:
𝜎 𝜎 𝑢
• There is a critical hydraulic gradient that causes boiling or
a quick condition in soil:
𝛾 effective unit weight of soil
𝑖
𝛾 unit weight of water

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