90 Chapter 3: Weight–Volume Relationships

3.9 Summary
In this chapter, we discussed weight–volume relationships of soils. Following is a sum-
mary of the subjects covered:
• Volume relationships consist of void ratio (e), porosity (n), and degree of saturation (S),
or
Volume of void
Void ratio, e 
Volume of solid
Volume of void
Porosity, n 
Total volume
Volume of water in void
Degree of saturation, S 
Total volume of void
• Weight relationships consist of moisture content (w) and unit weight (gd, g, gsat), or
Weight of water in void
Moisture content, w 
Weight of solid
The relationships of dry, moist, and saturated unit weights are given, respectively,
by Eqs. (3.17), (3.16), and (3.20).
• Relative density (Dr) is a measure of denseness of granular soil in the field and is
defined by Eqs. (3.31) and (3.36).
• Approximate empirical relationships between maximum void ratio (emax) and
minimum void ratio (emin) for granular soils with varying fine contents and clay-size
fraction are given in Eqs. (3.39)–(3.43).
• The magnitude of emax  emin for sandy and gravelly soils can be correlated to the
median grain size (D50) via Eq. (3.44).

Problems
3.1 For a given soil, show that
1  wsat
gsat  n a b gw
wsat
3.2 For a given soil, show that
gsat  gd
e
gd  gsat  gw
3.3 For a given soil, show that
ngw
wsat 
gsat  ngw
3.4 The moist weight of 2.83  103 m3 of soil is 55.5  103 kN/m3. If the moisture
content is 14% and the specific gravity of soil solids is 2.71, determine the following:
a. Moist unit weight
b. Dry unit weight
c. Void ratio
 Problems 91

d. Porosity
e. Degree of saturation
f. Volume occupied by water
3.5 The moist unit weight of a soil is 19.2 kN/m3. Given that Gs  2.69 and w  9.8%,
determine:
a. Void ratio
b. Dry unit weight
c. Degree of saturation
3.6 Refer to Problem 3.5. Determine the weight of water, in kN, to be added per cubic
meter (m3) of soil for
a. 90% degree of saturation
b. 100% degree of saturation
3.7 Undisturbed soil sample was collected from the field in steel Shelby tubes for
laboratory evaluation. The tube sample has a diameter of 71 mm, length of
558 mm, and a moist weight of 42.5  103 kN. If the oven-dried weight was
37.85  103 kN, and Gs  2.69, calculate the following:
a. Moist unit weight
b. Field moisture content
c. Dry unit weight
d. Void ratio
e. Degree of saturation
3.8 When the moisture content of a soil is 26%, the degree of saturation is 72%, and
the moist unit weight is 16.98 kN/m3. Determine:
a. Specific gravity of soil solids
b. Void ratio
c. Saturated unit weight
3.9 For a given soil, the following are known: Gs  2.74, moist unit weight,
 20.6 kN/m3, and moisture content, w  16.6%. Determine:
a. Dry unit weight
b. Void ratio
c. Porosity
d. Degree of saturation
3.10 Refer to Problem 3.9. Determine the weight of water, in kN, to be added per cubic
meter (m3) of soil for
a. 90% degree of saturation
b. 100% degree of saturation
3.11 The moist density of a soil is 1750 kg/m3. Given w  23% and Gs  2.73,
determine:
a. Dry density
b. Porosity
c. Degree of saturation
d. Mass of water, in kg/m3, to be added to reach full saturation.
3.12 For a moist soil, given the following: V  7.08  103 m3; W  136.8  103 kN;
w  9.8%; Gs  2.66. Determine:
a. Dry unit weight
b. Void ratio
c. Volume occupied by water
92 Chapter 3: Weight–Volume Relationships

3.13 For a given soil, rd  2180 kg/m3 and n  0.3. Determine:

a. Void ratio
b. Specific gravity of soil solids
3.14 The moisture content of a soil sample is 17% and the dry unit weight is 16.51 kN/m3.
If Gs  2.69, what is the degree of saturation?
3.15 For a given soil, w  18.2%, Gs  2.67, and S  80%. Determine:
a. Moist unit weight in kN/m3
b. Volume occupied by water
3.16 The degree of saturation of a soil is 55% and the moist unit weight is 16.66 kN/m3.
When the moist unit weight increased to 17.92 kN/m3, the degree of saturation
increased to 82.2%. Determine:
a. Gs
b. Void ratio
3.17 For a given sandy soil, emax  0.75 and emin  0.52. If Gs  2.67 and Dr  65%,
determine:
a. Void ratio
b. Dry unit weight
3.18 For a given sandy soil the maximum and minimum void ratios are 0.72 and 0.46,
respectively. If Gs  2.68 and w  11%, what is the moist unit weight of
compaction (kN/m3) in the field if Dr  82%?
3.19 In a construction project, the field moist unit weight was 18.08 kN/m3 at a moisture
content of 8%. If maximum and minimum dry unit weight determined in the
laboratory were 16.93 kN/m3 and 14.46 kN/m3, respectively, what was the field rel-
ative density?

Critical Thinking Problems

3.C.1 It is known that the natural soil at a construction site has a void ratio of 0.92.
At the end of compaction, the in-place void ratio was found to be 0.65. If the
moisture content remains unchanged, then determine:
a. Percent decrease in the total volume of the soil due to compaction
b. Percent increase in the field unit weight
c. Percent change in the degree of saturation
3.C.2 A 2-m-high sandy fill material was placed loosely at a relative density of 47%.
Laboratory studies indicated that the maximum and minimum void ratios of the
fill material are 0.92 and 0.53, respectively. Construction specifications required
that the fill be compacted to a relative density of 80%. If Gs  2.65, determine:
a. Dry unit weight of the fill before and after compaction
b. Final height of the fill after compaction

References
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS (2010). Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Sec. 4,
Vol. 04.08. West Conshohocken, Pa.
CUBRINOVSKI, M., and ISHIHARA, K. (1999). “Empirical Correlation Between SPT N-Value and
Relative Density for Sandy Soils,” Soils and Foundations. Vol. 39, No. 5, 61–71.