SOIL MECHANICS 1

Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Müge BALKAYA

Week 1
 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering

All structures have to

be built on soils!

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 2 MB

 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering

• Geotechnical Engineering consists of two distinct segments: Soil

Mechanics and Foundation Engineering.
• Soil Mechanics deals with the study of physical properties and
behavior of soil as a construction material, and the relevance of
these properties as they affect soil strength, stability, and
drainage.
• Foundation Engineering deals with:
o selection of foundation type based on the building site
conditions and site constraints,
o determining size and reinforcement of the foundation
o construction of the foundation.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 3 MB

 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering

• Geotechnical Engineering uses the principles of soil mechanics

and rock mechanics to:
o investigate the subsurface conditions and materials;
o determine the relevant physical/mechanical and chemical
properties of these materials;
o evaluate the stability of natural slopes and man-made soil
deposits;
o assess the risks posed by site conditions;
o design the earthworks and foundations;
o monitor the site conditions, earthwork and foundation
construction.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 4 MB

 What is Geotechnical Engineering?

• Geotechnical Engineering includes the analysis, design and

construction of:
– foundations
– slopes
– retaining structures
– embankments
– roadways
– tunnels
– levees
– wharves
– landfills
– other systems that are made of or supported by the soil or
rock.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 5 MB
 What is Geotechnical Engineering?
• Use of natural soil and rock makes geotechnical
engineering different from many other branches of
engineering and more interesting.

• Most engineers can select and specify the materials they

use, but geotechnical engineers must use the materials that
exist in the ground.

• This means that an essential part of geotechnical

engineering is a ground investigation to determine what
materials are present at the site of construction, and what
their properties are.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 6 MB

 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are responsible to ensure that roads,

highways and railroads are properly designed and maintained to
ensure their longevity.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 7 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• All buildings, high-rise structures, bridges, towers,

antennas has a foundation that is designed by a
Geotechnical Engineer to transfer the loads to the ground.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 8 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are responsible to design excavations so

that they remain stable, as well as stabilize natural slopes that
may threaten public safety.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 9 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are responsible to protect public safety by

designing civil infrastructure during earthquakes.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 10 MB

 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are responsible for the design and

construction of tunnels, subways, and underground facilities that
are used in subways, underground highways, railroads,
waterways and waste storage.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are responsible for the design,

construction, maintenance and monitoring of dams that are
providing water storage and leisure areas to millions.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 12 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are responsible for the design,

construction and maintenance of dykes and levees that protect
people from floods and hurricanes.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are involved in the design of landfills to

ensure that solid waste is isolated from the environment and that
public health is protected.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 14 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers perform a variety of tests on site or the

laboratory to characterize the subsurface conditions so that the
properties of the soils and rocks are characterized, softer soils,
fractured rocks, faults, caverns and sinkholes can be identified before
constructing a building at the surface.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 15 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are responsible for the stability of the

foundations of offshore platforms and energy facilities that are
used for oil and gas extraction as well as wind power.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 16 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers use principles of physics and chemistry to

modify the characteristics and properties of the subsurface so
that it can support civil infrastructure that it would not be able to
otherwise.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 17 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are responsible to ensure the stability of deep

excavations by shoring.
• Such shoring systems allow the execution of deep excavations in urban
areas adjacent to existing subways, structures, or infrastructures.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 18 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Soils tend to erode when subjected to natural processes such as rainfall,

snowfall, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods.
• Geotechnical Engineers devise strategies to mitigate against scour and
erosion.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 19 MB
 What Do Geotechnical Engineers Do?

• Geotechnical Engineers are engaged in the cleanup or

remediation of sites that have been contaminated.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 20 MB

 What is Soil in an Engineering Sense?

• Civil Engineers call the natural materials found at or near the

surface of the earth soil and rock.
• Soil is a relatively loose agglomerate of mineral and organic
materials and sediments found above the bedrock.
• Soils can be relatively easily broken down into their
constituent mineral or organic particles.
• Rocks, on the other hand, have very strong internal cohesive
and molecular forces which hold the constituent mineral
grains together.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 21 MB

 Types of Rocks

• Geologists classify rocks into three major groups:

o igneous rock,
o sedimentary rock,
o metamorphic rock.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 22 MB

 Types of Rocks: Igneous Rocks

• Igneous rocks are associated with volcanoes and form at

plate boundaries, either as magma under the ground
hardens or as lava flows over the surface and cools.
• Magma cools to form intrusive igneous while lava cools to
form extrusive igneous rocks.
• Many igneous rocks
are basalt or
granite, two of the
most abundant rock
types on the planet.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 23 MB

 Types of Rocks: Sedimentary Rocks
• Sedimentary rocks take thousands of years to form.
• They form quietly, as sand, mud and sometimes the remains
of living things collected on the sea floor or on land.
• As more and more sediment deposits, the weight of the
sediments causes them to compress, forming solid rock.
• Sedimentary rocks are distinguished by their layered
appearance, as different types of sediments collect over time,
and by the presence of fossils.
• Examples of sedimentary rocks
include conglomerate,
sandstone, mudstone and
limestone.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 24 MB

 Types of Rocks: Metamorphic Rocks
• Metamorphic rocks are the result of pressure and heat
applied to igneous or sedimentary rocks.
• The appearance of these rocks is transformed along with the
structure; for example, metamorphic sedimentary rocks
retain the layers, but the layers are bent and compressed.
• Some examples of metamorphic rock include marble, slate
and gneiss.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 25 MB

 Formation of Soils: Physical Weathering
• Soils are formed from the physical and chemical weathering of
rocks.
• Physical weathering involves reduction of size without any change
in the original composition of the parent rock.
• The main agents responsible for this process are exfoliation,
unloading, erosion, freezing, and thawing.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 26 MB

 Formation of Soils: Chemical Weathering
• Chemical weathering causes both reductions in size and chemical
alteration of the original parent rock.
• The main agents responsible for chemical weathering are
hydration, carbonation, and oxidation.
• Often, chemical and physical weathering take place together.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 27 MB

 Formation of Soils: Residual Soils

• Soils that remain at the site of weathering are called residual

soils.
• Weathering process may be attributed to mechanical,
chemical and biological weathering.
• These soils retain many of the elements that comprise the
parent rock.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 28 MB

 Formation of Soils: Transported Soils
• After the weathering process is complete, the soil is left at
the same place or may be transported to the other places
through the use of agents like ice, water, wind and gravity.
• The transported soil is classified into many types based on
the mode of transportation.
• They are alluvial soils, colluvial soils, glacial soils, lacustrine
soils, marine soils and aeolian soils.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 29 MB

 Formation of Soils: Alluvial Soils
• Alluvial soils, also called fluvial soils, are soils that were
transported by rivers and streams.
• When the carrying capacity of water decreases, the soil will be
gradually deposited.
• The composition of these soils depends on the environment
under which they were transported and is often different from
the parent rock.
• The profile of alluvial soils
usually consists of layers of
different soils.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 30 MB

 Formation of Soils: Colluvial Soils
• Formed by movement of soil from its original place by gravity
(e.g. landslides).
• Fallen rocks and soil along cliffs and slopes are called colluvial
soils.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 31 MB

 Formation of Soils: Glacial Soils
• This soil is transported based on the mode of moving ice.
• The sand, silt and gravel particles taken by the melting water
from the front of huge ice mass are said to be outwash.
• Unstratified deposit rests down through melting of ice and is
called as till.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 32 MB

 Formation of Soils: Lacustrine Soils

• This deposit of soil is made by the quiet lakes.

• In the dry region, the running water carry large lot of
suspended solids.
• Where the stream water enters the lake, coarse particles will
be deposited.
• Some of the coarser and finer
particles are further carried into
the lake.
• They get settled on the lake bed
in alternate layers of
arrangement of coarse grains.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 33 MB

 Formation of Soils: Marine Soils
• Marine soils are soils deposited in a marine environment.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 34 MB

 Formation of Soils: Aeolian Soils

• This soil type is transported based on the mode of wind.

• The deposits are made by wind-blown sand and generally
take the dunes shape.
• The grain size of sand at any specific location is even in
distribution.
• The wind carries smaller
particles farther than
the larger one.
• Due to this reason, the
grain size decreases
with distance from the
source.
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 35 MB
 Physical Properties of Soils

• Soil is made up of solid particles, with spaces or voids in

between.
• The assemblage of particles in contact is referred to as the
soil matrix or the soil skeleton.
• The soil solids are small grains of different minerals.
• The voids can be filled either with water, air, or filled
partially with both water and air.
• This means that an element of soil may be a three-phase
material, comprising some solid (the soil grains), some
liquid (the pore water) and some gas (the pore air).

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 36 MB

 Physical Properties of Soils

• Soil skeleton containing

solid particles (S), and
voids with air (A) and
water (W)

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 37 MB

 Phase Relationships
• The phase relationships tell us about the relative volumes of
solid, liquid and gas.

Real Case Schematic Model

Representation
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 38 MB
 Phase Relationships

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 39 MB

 Phase Relationships - Porosity
• The porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the total
volume of the soil aggregate.
• The term volume of voids refers to that portion of the volume of
the soil not occupied by mineral grains.
• n is traditionally expressed as a percentage.
• The maximum range of n is between 0 and 100%.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 40 MB

 Phase Relationships - Void Ratio
• The void ratio (e) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the
volume of the solid substance.
• e is normally expressed as a decimal.
• The maximum possible range of e is between 0 and .

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 41 MB

Phase Relationships – Degree of Saturation
• Degree of Saturation tells us what percentage of the total
volume of voids contains water.
• If the soil is completely dry, then S=0%.
• If the pores are completely full of water, then the soil is fully
saturated and S=100%.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 42 MB

 Phase Relationships – Water Content

• Water content (w) defines how much water is present in the voids
relative to the amount of solids in the soil.
• The ratio of the amount of water present in a soil volume to the
amount of soil grains is based on the dry mass of the soil, and not on
the total mass.
• w is usually expressed as a percentage.

• w can range from zero (dry soil) to several

hundred percentage.
• The natural water content for most soils is
well under 100%, although it can range up
to 500% or higher in some marine and
organic soils.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 43 MB

 Phase Relationships – Unit Weight
• Unit weight: 𝛾 = 𝑊
V
Ws
• Unit weight of solids: γs =
Vs
Ws
• Dry unit weight: γd =
V

• Saturated unit weight: γsat = W = Ws + Ww

V V

• Submerged unit weight: γ′ = γsat − γw M = Ws + Ww

γs
• Specific gravity: Gs = γw
Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 44 MB
 Weight–Volume Relationship for Vs = 1

For saturated soils, S=1

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 45 MB
Weight–Volume Relation for Saturated Soil with Vs = 1

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 46 MB

 Weight–Volume Relationship for V = 1
For V=1:

The weight of soil solids is equal to:

The weight of water:

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 47 MB

Weight–Volume Relationship for Saturated Soil with V = 1

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 48 MB

 Relative Density
• Relative density (Dr) is a term generally used to describe the
degree of compaction of coarse-grained soils.
• Dr is an index that quantifies the degree of packing between
the loosest and the densest state of coarse-grained soils.

Week 1 Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 49 MB