Engineering Properties of Peat

& Organic Soils

1. Fiber Content, Fabric or
Microstructure & Index
Properties
 Botanical Origin and Fiber Content
Botanical terms are used in describing peat especially for
horticultural purposes but such terms also have relevance
to engineering because of the texture they imply.

Sphagnum peat for e.g. designates a material with

predominantly sphagnum moss.

Woody peat is another term that designates dominance of

woody pieces.

3
Of course, for highly decomposed peat with low fiber
content (<33%), it would be difficult to identify the
botanical origin.

4
Fiber content is determined typically from dry weight of
fibers retained on #100 sieve (> 0.15 mm opening size) as
percentage of oven-dried mass (ASTM Standard D 1997).

Fibers may be fine (woody or non-woody) or coarse

(woody).

Organic matter that does not have an identifiable fiber

shape is finer in size than 0.15 mm and designated as
amorphous-granular matter. Also referred as peat
humus.

5
 Fabric or MIcrostructure
Fabric or microstructure refers to the morphology and
spatial arrangement of the constituent soil elements.

Muskeg Engineering Handbook (1969) provides a

classification of peat structure based on two structural
elements: fibers and granules.

Peat structure is classified into 3 predominant

characteristics:
1. Amorphous granular (dominated by highly disintegrated
formless botanical tissues),
2. Fine fibrous (dominated by an open framework of highly
preserved fossilized plant remnants), and

6
3. Coarse fibrous with 17 categories further subdividing
these characteristics.

7
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images can be used
for a visual appreciation of peat microstructure.

SEM images of Co. Offaly (Clara)

fibrous peat (H2-H3)
200 µm

SEM image of Co. Offaly

(Ballydermot) hemic peat (H6-H9)
50 µm

8
 SEM image of an Cork amorphous
(sapric) peat (H10)
500 µm

9
 Humification of Peat

Decomposition or humification involves the loss of

organic matter either as gas or in solution, the
disappearance of physical structure and change in
chemical state.

Breakdown of plant remains is brought about by soil

micro flora, bacteria, fungi which are responsible for
aerobic decay.

Therefore the end products of humification are carbon

dioxide and water, the process being essentially
biochemical oxidation.

10
Metabolic activity, apart from the supply of oxygen, is
very much influenced by temperature, acidity and
availability of nitrogen.

Decomposition tends to be most active in neutral to

slightly alkaline conditions.

The more the acid the peat, the better the plant remains
are preserved.

11
The acidity of the peat depends on:

1. Rock types in the area draining into the peat land,

2. Types of plant growing there,

3. Supply of oxygen, and

4. Concentration of humic acid.

12
In the temperate region, bog peat (blanket and raised
bogs) is generally acidic with pH values in the range of 3
– 4.

Fen peat on the other hand is generally neutral or slightly

alkaline.

Bog peat is generally more fibrous compared with the fen

peat.

In the tropics, the peat is generally acidic with pH values

in the range of 3 – 4.5.

13
Generally, the fresher the peat, the more
fibrous material it contain.

For engineering, the more fibrous the

peat, the higher is the shear strength,
void ratio and water content.

14
Peat degree of decomposition or
humification is usually assessed by
means of Von Post 10 points scale.
Von Post Degree of humidification

16
17
For geotechnical purposes, these 10 deg. of humification
is often reduced to 3 classes:

- fibric or fibrous (least decomposed),

- hemic or semi-fibrous (intermediate), and
- sapric or amorphous (most decomposed)

(Magnan, 1980; ASTM Standard D 5715).

 Degree of humidification in a
vertical profile of a tropical peat
dome (Ong & Yogeswaran, 1991)
Oxidation
Lowering of groundwater table for sustained periods of
time allows organic fraction come in contact with air,
which leads to shrinkage and oxidation.

Consequently, the fiber structure is destroyed due to

accelerated decomposition and becomes more
amorphous-granular (Vonk, 1994).

This activity may result in significant changes in

engineering properties.
Pore Gas
The submerged organic component of peat is not entirely
inert but undergoes a very slow decomposition,
accompanied by the production of marsh gas (methane)
with lesser amounts of nitrogen and carbon dioxide
(Muskeg Engineering Handbook, 1969).
Hydrogen sulfide is another gas encountered in deposits
containing sulfur.
Gas content is of considerable practical importance
since it affects all physical properties measured and field
performance that relates to compression and water flow.
Consolidation test results are particularly impacted by
gas.
Organic Content
Organic content is an important parameter for peat and
organic soils, which set them apart from the mineral
soils (silts and clay).
The organic content is usually determined from the loss
of ignition test as percentage of oven dried mass (ASTM
D 2974).
The moist sample is first dried in the oven at a
temperature of 105 deg C for 24 hours.
A crucible is then places in the muffle furnace at
temperature of 450 deg C for 1 hour, and weighs to
obtain its mass, M1.

22
The dry soil from the oven is then weigh with the crucible
giving M2.

The soil sample together with the crucible is finally

heated in the furnace at 450 deg C for 5 hours, the mass
of which is then recorded as M3 after it has cooled at
room temperature.

Loss of ignition, N, is calculated as.

N = (M2 – M3)/(M2 – M1)

23
Organic content (H) is calculated according to equation
proposed by Skempton & Petley (1970) as follow,

H %= 100 – C (100 – N)

Where C is the correction factor.

For temperature of 450 deg C, C = 1.0 (Arman, 1971).
In Europe, higher temperature of 550 degC is used for
combustion of peat. C = 1.04 is then applied as correction.
However, the different is usually small, hence not
significant for practical considerations (Edil, 2003).

24
Organic content of various peat deposits

25
 Water Content
Water content (also commonly referred to natural
moisture content) is one of the most common soil
parameters, which is expressed in term of mass or
weight.

w = ww/ws x 100%

Where w = water content

ww = weight of water
ws = weight of dry soil

26
The water content can easily measured in the laboratory
by conduction a moisture content test (ASTM D2216 or
BS 1377: 1990), which involves drying a soil sample in an
oven with 105oC for 24 hours.

For peat, there is a general fear that standard drying of

the soil at 105 oC during 24 hours will lead to charring of
the organic component in peat, thus producing too large
figure for water content.

Some advocates lower temperature, between 50oC to

95oC.

27
Skempton and Petley (1970) and Kabai and
Farkas (1988) investigate the effect, and
concluded that the loss of organic matter at
105oC is insignificant, while drying at lower
temperatures retains a small amount of free
water.

28
The standard practice is to dry at temperature at 105
deg C. After 24 hours drying period, the water content is
then calculated using formula.

w2 – w3
w= x 100%
w3 – w1

Where w1 = weight (or mass) of container + lid

w2 = weight (or mass) of container + lid + wet soil
w3 = weight (or mass) of container + lid + dry soil

29
For peat or peaty soil, the water is held in the
organic matters and cells of the plant remain.

Generally the water content will decline with

increase in mineral content.

On the other hand, fibrous peat also tends to have

higher water content than humified peat.

30
Peat generally have very high natural water
content, which can be in excess of 1500%,
compared with mineral soils (sand, silt and
clay), whose values in the field may range
between 3 to 70%, but with values of
greater than 100% are sometimes found in
soft soils below ground water table.

31
 Natural water content of various soil deposits

Soil deposits Natural water content (%)

Malaysia west coast clay 70 - 140
Malaysia east coast clay 36 - 73
Quebec fibrous peat 370-450
Antoniny fibrous peat, Poland 310-450
Co. Offaly fibrous peat, Ireland 865 - 1400
Cork amorphous peat, Ireland 450
Cranberry bog peat, Massachusetts 759-946
Austria peat 200-800
Japan peat 334-1320
Italy peat 200-300
America peat 178-600
Canada peat 223-1040
Hokkaido peat 115 - 1150
West Malaysia peat 200 - 700
East Malaysia peat 200 - 2207
Central Kalimantan peat 467 - 1224

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 Atterberg Limits
In 1911, Albert Atterberg developed a series of tests
to evaluate the relationship between water content
and soil consistency.

These tests include three separate tests: the liquid

limit (LL), the plastic limit test (PL), and the
shrinkage limit test (SL).

Together they are known as Atterberg limit tests

(ASTM D 427, D 4318, BS1377: 1990).

33
The liquid limit and plastic limit tests are performed in
many soil mechanic laboratories, especially for cohesive
mineral soils (silts and clays).

However, the shrinkage limit test is less useful, and is

rarely performed by civil engineers.

Atterberg’s limit

34
Two methods normally used to determine the liquid limits
of soils are the Casagrande method, and the cone
penetrometer method.

Cone Penetrometer
The plastic limit test procedures involve carefully rolling
the soil samples into threads.

By definition the soil is at plastic limit when it breaks at a

diameter of 1/8 of an inch (3 mm).
For peat, the liquid limit depends on type of plant detritus
contained, degree of humification and on proportion of
clay soil present.

For case of temperate peat, the liquid limit of fen peat

range from 200 – 600%, and bog peat from 800 – 1500%
(Hobbs, 1986).

Skempton and Petley (1970) put the boundary at

approximately H3 of the Van Post’s scale for the liquid
limit, and H5 for the plastic limit.
According to Hobbs (1986), there is little point
in performing plastic limit test on peat since the
plasticity gives little indication of their
character.
 Atterberg’s limit of various soil deposits

Soil deposits Liquid limit (%) Plastic limit (%)

Malaysia west coast clay 56-90 35-30
Fen peat 200 - 600 -
Bog peat 800 - 1500 -
Antoniny fibrous peat, 305-310 -
Poland
Cork amorphous peat, 690 561
Ireland
Cranberry bog peat, 580-600 375-400
Massachusetts
West Malaysia peat 190 - 360 100 - 200
Samarahan (hemic) peat 210 - 550 125 - 297

39
 Density and Specific Gravity

Density or unit weight is another useful soil parameters for

a geotechncial engineer.
Density () is simply defined as total mass (M) over total
volume (V),

 = M/V

Unit weight () is total weight (W) over total volume (V).
Weight (often expressed as kN) is equal to mass (kg) times
acceleration due to gravity, g (g = 9.81 m/s2).

40
For peat, its unit weight is both low and variable
compared with mineral soils, being related to the
organic content, mineral content, water content and
degree of saturation.

The average unit weight of peat is typically slightly

higher than water.

Amorphous peat has a higher bulk density than

fibrous peat. For instance, in the former it can range
up to 10 kN/m3, whist in woody peat it may be half this
figure.

41
 Typical unit weight of various soils

Soil Type  (kN/m3)  (KN/m3)

(above water table) (below water table)

Mineral soils
Gravel 17.5 - 20.5 19.5 – 22.0
Sand 15.0 – 21.0 19.0 – 23.0
Silty sand 12.5 – 21.0 17.5 – 22.0
Clayey sand 13.5 – 20.5 17.5 – 21.0
Silt 11.5 – 17.5 11.5 – 20.5
Clay 12.5 – 17.5 11.0 – 19.5
Organic soil
Bog peat 9.5 – 10.5
Fen peat 8.5 – 11.0
Peaty clay 10.0 – 13.0

42
 Quebec fibrous peat 8.7-10.4
Antoniny fibrous peat, Poland 10.5-11.1
Co. Offaly fibrous peat, Ireland 10.2-11.3
Cork amorphous peat, Ireland 10.2
Cranberry bog peat, Massachusetts 10.1-10.4
Austria peat 9.8-13.0
Italy peat 10.2-14.3
Hokkaido peat 9.5 – 11.2
West Malaysia peat 8.3 – 11.5
East Malaysia peat 8.0 – 12.0
Kalimantan peat 8.0 – 14.0
Sumatra peat 4.0 – 9.0

43
Dry density is a more important engineering property of
peat, influencing its behavior under load.
The dry density itself is influenced by the effective load,
which a deposit of peat has been subjected.
Recorded dry density of peat is about 1.3 kN/m3, and can
be as low as 0.7 kN/m3.
For West Malaysia hemic peat, it range from 1.2 – 1.5
kN/m3.

Dry density, d (dry unit weight, d) is mass, Ms (or weight

of solid particle) over total volume (V),

d = Ms/V

44
Specific gravity of any material is the ratio of its
density to that of water. For case of soil, it is computed
for the solid phase only,
Gs = Ms/Vs w

Where w = density of water

Specific gravity of soil solids can be tested in the

laboratory using the specific gravity bottle method or the
gas jar method (ASTM D854, BS1377: 1990).
For most mineral soils (sand, silt and clay), its specific
gravity ranges from 2.60 – 2.80.
Specific gravity for organic soils and peat however is
affected by the organic constituents, and cannot be simply
set to somewhere near the mineral soils.

45
Cellulose has a specific gravity of approximately 1.58,
while for lignin it is approximately 1.40. These low values
reduce the compounded specific gravity of organic soils
and peat.

46
Typical specific gravity of various soils and minerals

Soil type/mineral Specific gravity

Non-clay
Quartz 2.65
Mica 2.76 – 3.20
Gypsum 2.32
Clay minerals
Kaolinite 2.62 – 2.66
Montmorillonite 2.75 – 2.78
Illite 2.60 – 2.96
Peat
Bog peat 1.40 – 1.60
Fen peat 1.80
West Malaysia peat 1.38 – 1.70
Samarahan peat 1.07 – 1.63
Central Kalimantan peat 1.50 – 1.77

47
 Peat Index Parameters Correlation

100

80
Loss on Ignition (%)

MacFarlane & Rutka (1961)

60
Lefebvre et al. (1984)
Maddison et al. (1996)
Adams (1965)
40 Wolski et al. (1985)
Termaat & Topolnicki (1994)
Ng & Eischens (1983)
Samson & La Rochelle (1972)
Rowe & Mylleville (1996)
20 Mochtar (1985)
Forrest & MacFarlane (1969)
Kamso et al. (1995)
McGeever (1987)
0
0 250 500 750 1000
Water Content (%)
Miyakawa (1960)
Dhowian & Edil (1980)
Bell (1978)
Fox & Edil (1996)
Krieg & Goldscheider (1994)
Yamaguchi (1994)
Al-Khafaji & Andersland (1981)
Rowe et al. (1984)
Lan (1972)
Skempton & Petley (1970)
Matsuo (1995)
Yu & Magnusson (1995)
Current Study
1250 1500 1750

Correlation of water content with loss-on-ignition

(O’Loughlin & Lehane, 2003)

48
1.80
Kg. kelembu

1.60 Bkt Changgang,

Selangor.

1.40 Betuwe railroad &

Polder Zegaveld,
Netherlands
1.20 Kuala Langat, Selangor.

1.00 Kota Samarahan Peat

0.80 Seri M edan Peat

Parit Sulong Peat

0.60

Kg. Jawa Kelang

0.40

Kg.Samak,Perak.
0.20
Kg. Kelembu, Selangor.
0.00
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Natural water co ntant m%

Natural water content - dry density (Al-Raziqi et al, 2003)

49
 3
B k t Changgang
peat s

K ual a Langat peat s

Dut c h s oi l s
2.5
T r opi c al s oi l s

P ar i t Sul ong

Ser i M edan
2
Specific gravity, Gs

K g. J awa K el ang

K g. Samak , P er ak .

1.5 K g. K el embu

B k t Changgang,
Sel angor .

K ot a Samar ahan,
Sar awak .

1 Dut c h s oi l s

K ual a Langat ,
Sel angor .

P ar i t Sul ong,
J ohor .

0.5 K g. J awa K el ang

K g. Samak , P er ak .

K g. K el embu,
Sel angor .
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Loss on Ignition , N

Specific gravity – loss on ignition (Al-Raziqi et al, 2003)

50
 3.5
Lefebvre et al. (1984) Dhowian & Edil (1980)
Maddison et al. (1996) Bell (1978)
Adams (1965) Forrest & MacFarlane (1969)
Wolski et al. (1985) Termaat & Topolnicki (1994)
3.0 Yamaguchi (1994) Ng & Eischens (1983)
Rowe et al. (1984) Samson & La Rochelle (1972)
Lan (1992) Mochtar (1985)
Skempton & Petley (1970) Al-Khafaji & Andersland (1981)
Specific Gravity

Farrell (1997) Matsuo (1995)

2.5 de Cae et al. (1995) Kamao et al. (1995)
Current Study - Clara data den Haan (1997)

2.0

1.5
C = 1.00, Eq. 1
C = 1.04, Eq. 1

1.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Loss on Ignition (%)

Correlation of specific gravity with loss on ignition for Irish

peat (O’Loughlin & Lehane, 2003)
In general, the high lignin contents of the tropical peat gives it a slightly lower
specific gravity compared with those of the temperate peat, with Gs in the range of
1.07 – 1.70, and average of about 1.40.
 100
Kuala Langat peat

Kot a Samarahan Peat

90
Parit Sulong

80 Kg. Samak, Perak

Kg. Kelembu

70
B kt Changgang, Selangor.

B et uwe railroad & Polder

60 Zegveld, Net herlands
Ignition loss, N

Kot a Samarahan, Sarawak.

50 Kuala Langat , Selangor.

Seri M edan, Johor.

40 Parit Sulong, Johor.

Kg. Jawa Kelang

30
Kg.Samak,Perak.

20

10

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Bulk w et density, Mg/m3

Bulk density – loss on ignition (Al-Raziqi et al, 2003)

52
Bulk density (Mg/m3) - water content
53
Summary of Engineering Properties of Peat:

Water Content:
Can range from 500%-2000%, even reaching 2500% for
fibrous peat.
WC <500% usually indocates high mineral fraction in peat
sample.

Ash Content:
Ash content (non organic content) of peat sample is % of
dry materials that remains as ash after controlled
combustion.
Usually between 2-20% by volume.

54
In situ Bulk Density:
Amorphous peat can have bulk density up to 1200 kg/m3.
While woody peat can be as low as 900 kg/m3 in saturated
condition.

Specific Gravity:
Usually in the range of 1.4 – 1.8.

55
Void ratio:
Depending on types of peat and moisture content. Usually
in range of 7-25.

Permeability:
Variable depending on morphology and reduce
dramatically when subjected to loading.
Fresh peat – 10-2, 10-5 cm/s.
Low embankment – 10-6 cm/s
High embankment – 10-8, 10-9 cm/s.
Any Questions?