Origin of Soil and Grain Size,

Phase relationship

Dr. Rithy Ouch

Date: February 27 2018
 Contents
• Introduction
• Rock type
• Rock cycle
• Grain size
• Phase relationship
Introduction

• To better understand these

factors, one must be
familiar with the basic
types of rock that form
the earth’s crust, the rock-
forming minerals, and the
weathering process.
 Rock Type
Rocks can be divided into three basic types:
1) Igneous
2) Sedimentary
3) Metamorphic.
Igneous Rock

Intrusive igneous rocks

that are called plutons
Discontinuous ferromagnesian :
minerals formed are different in
their chemical composition and
crystalline structure

Continuous plagioclase feldspar :

minerals formed have different
chemical compositions with
similar crystalline structures
Sedimentary Rock

• Cemented by agents: iron

oxide, calcite, dolomite, and
quartz.
• Cementing agents are generally
carried in solution by
groundwater.
Metamorphic Rock
Rock cycle
 Soil-Particle Size
• Soils generally are called gravel, sand, silt, or clay, depending on the
predominant size of particles within the soil.

• Granular soil: classification based on grain size: MIT, AASHTO, the U.S
Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation.

• Clay: classification based on clay mineral

 Soil Structure
Soil structure: geometric arrangement of soil particles. Factors affected to soil structure: shape,
size, and mineralogical composition of soil particles, and the nature and composition of soil
water.

1) Structures in cohesionless soil: single grained and honeycombed

(Das et al, 2014)

Coarse Grain soil
Mechanical Analysis of Soil

(Das et al, 2014)

(Das et al, 2014)
Particle size characteristics
AASHTO Classification System

(Das et al, 2014)

 (Das et al, 2014)

AASHTO, soil is classified into seven major groups: A-1 through A-7.
Soils classified under groups A-1, A-2, and A-3 are granular materials of which 35% or less of the particles pass
through the No. 200 sieve.
Soils of which more than 35% pass through the No. 200 sieve are classified under groups A-4, A-5, A-6, and A-7.
This classification system is based on the following criteria:

• If cobbles and boulders (size larger than 75 mm) are encountered

• Gravel: fraction passing the 75-mm sieve and retained on the No. 10 (2-mm) U.S. sieve
• Sand: fraction passing the No. 10 (2-mm) U.S. sieve and retained on the No. 200 (0.075-
mm) U.S. sieve
• Silt and clay: fraction passing the No. 200 U.S. sieve
• The term clayey is applied when the fine fractions have a plasticity index of 11 or more.
• The term clayey is applied when the fine fractions have a plasticity index of 11 or more.
Relative density of coarse-grained soil
Fine Grain soil
 Clay Mineral
• Clay minerals have two basic units: 1) silica tetrahedron and 2) alumina
octahedron.

(Das et al, 2014)

Diagram of the structures for clay mineral

(Das et al, 2014)

• Sometimes magnesium replaces the aluminum atoms in the octahedral
units; in this case, the octahedral sheet is called a brucite sheet.
• When the silica sheet is stacked over the octahedral sheet, these
oxygen atoms replace the hydroxyls to balance their charges.
 Diffuse double layer
In dry clay, the negative charge is balanced by exchangeable cations like Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+
surrounding the particles being held by electrostatic attraction. When water is added to clay, these
cations and a few anions float around the clay particles. This configuration is referred to as a diffuse
double layer.

(Das et al, 2014)

Attraction of dipolar molecules in diffuse double layer

(Das et al, 2014)

 Absorbed and double-layer water

(Das et al, 2014)

• All the water held to clay particles by force of attraction is known as double-layer water. The innermost layer
of double-layer water, which is held very strongly by clay, is known as adsorbed water (Das et al, 2014).
• The double-layer thickness is the distance from the surface required to neutralize the net charge on the
particle (Lambe et la, 1969).
(Lambe et la, 1969).
Structures in Cohesive Soils
If the net effect of the attractive and repulsive
forces between the two clay particles is attracted,
two clay particles will tend to toward each other
and become attached: flocculate. If they is
repulsive and tend to move away: disperse.

(Das et al, 2014)

Atterberg Limits
Liquid limit test device
and grooving tools
Shrinkage Limit (SL)

(Das et al, 2014)

 Relationship of Atterberg Limits to Composition of Soil
Activity is used as an index for identifying the swelling potential of clay soils.

Activity (Based on Skempton, 1953)

 Plasticity Chart
• Casagrande (1932) studied the relationship of the plasticity index to
the liquid limit of a wide variety of natural soils as show:

(Das et al, 2014)

 Phase Relationships
• The phase relationship are used considerably in soil mechanics to compute stresses and etc ..
• There are important relationships of volume: porosity (n), void ratio (e), and degree (S).
• Porosity is the ratio of void volume to total volume and void ratio is the ratio of void volume to
solid volume.
• The degree of saturation indicates the percentage of the void volume which is filled with water.
V  Vs  Vg  Vw ;W  Ws  Ww

n  100%; e  ; Vv  Vw  Vg 
Vv Vv
V Vs
Assume, Vs  1
e n
n ;e 
1 e 1 n
Vw Vw
S   Vw  eVs S
Va  Vw eVs
 Phase Relationships
Densityof Material  UnitWeightof Material 
• Specific Gravity (G), G  ; G 
Densityof Water  w UnitWeightof Water  w

• Water content (w) is the weight of water (Ww) divided by the weight of solid in a soil element
(Ws).
Ww
w 100%
Ws
• The total unit weight (γt) is the weight of the entire soil element divided by the volume of the
entire soil element.
W G  Se 1 w
t   w  G w
V 1 e 1 e
• The dry unit weight or dry density (γd) is the weight of mineral matter divided by the volume
of the entire element.
Ws G G w t Ww Ws
d   w   Water:  w  Solids:  s 
V 1 e 1  wG / S 1  w Vw Vs
(Das et al, 2014)
 W Ww  Ws wsatWs  Ws W W
 Sat     (1  wsat ) s ; ( wsat  w );
V V V V Ws

s
Ws   sVs  Vs Gs w  Gs w ; (Gs  ;Vs  1)
w

Gs  w (1  wsat )
  sat  (1  wsat ) ; V  1 e   t  Gs w ; (e  wsat Gs )
V (1  wsat GS )
 Demonstrated equation
Vw Vw V
S  ; (e  v )
Vv eVs Vs Vw Vw Vv Vw Vv
→ Vw = e S Vs
1)    Se (*)
Vs Vs Vv Vv Vs
→Va = Vv - Vw = e Vs(1 - S)
Ww

W
; (W  Ws  Ww , V  Vs  Vv ) Vw w Ww  W Gs
V 2)    Gs w(**)
Ws Ww W
Vs Ws  w Ws
 Gs  w  w  W Gs
W  Ww Vs Vs Vs 
 s   ; (Gs  s )
Vs  Vv 1 e 1 e w (*)  (**)  Gs w  Se
Ww Ww Vw V V V V W
Note :    w w v   w w v   w Se; ( w  w )
Vs Vs Vw Vs Vv Vv Vs Vw
Gs w   w Se
 
1 e
Normal Stress between particle

• The magnitude of the surface area per mass: specific

surface is a good indication of the relative influence of
electrical forces on the behavior of particle. Dparticles >
1μ, force of mas is dominant and vice versa.

• The term colloid is used to describe a particle whose

behavior is controlled by the surface-derived force
rather mass-derived forces.
 Unit
•
o
• 1m=106μm, 1m=109 nm, 1m  10 A
10