CE5617- Advanced Lecture 2

Geotechnical Engineering Water in soil and

Ground
Dr Tao Zhao improvement
Senior Lecturer, Chartered Engineer
Dept. of Civil & Environ. Engineering
Brunel University London
2022-2023
 Lecture outline

➢ 2.1 Water in soil

➢ 2.2 Soil improvement

2.2.1 Grouting
2.2.2 Soil compaction
2.2.3 Field compaction procedures

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 Lecture outline

➢ 2.1 Water in soil

➢ 2.2 Soil improvement

2.2.1 Grouting
2.2.2 Soil compaction
2.2.3 Field compaction procedures

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2.1 Water in soil

➢ Soil is defined as the uncemented or weakly cemented aggregate of

mineral grains and decayed organic matter (solid particles) with liquid
and gas in the empty spaces between the solid particles.

Volume
Water

Air
Water
Soil element Air
Solid grains

Solid Va = 0 fully saturated soil

Vw = 0 fully dry soil
Soil = soil solids + water + air
Va > 0, Vw > 0 most soil in the field
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Water in soil

➢ Water table is a surface in an unconfined aquifer at which the pore

water pressure is zero or atmospheric (phreatic surface).
➢ Below the water table, the saturation is 100% and the water pressure
increases with the increasing of depth.
➢ Above the water table, the saturation can still be 100% if the water is
held by capillarity or surface tension, where water pressure is
negative. The tension saturation zone above the water table is called
the capillary fringe.

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Capillarity

➢ As a result of capillarity, the soil grains are held together by the surface
tension forces within the water, and the soil will have apparent cohesion.
➢ The reason why shallow trenches and excavations do not collapse is due to
the presence of the water and the capillary fringe.
uw = uc + ua
T T T T

ua
T T
T T

Soil suction!

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Shrinkage and Swelling

➢ If a saturated clay is exposed to the atmosphere, water within the

clay will evaporate. Due to surface tension forces (negative pore
water pressure), air will not penetrate the clay therefore the volume
of the clay will reduce or shrink. Eventually, cracks can start to form.
➢ Swelling of soils occur as a result of the increase in water pressure
which reduces the interparticle forces and allows the soil to swell.
➢ Jones and Holtz (1973) estimated that US spends 2.3 billion dollars
annually in repairing damage caused by shrinkage and swelling.

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Frost and Thaw

➢ Frost is a result of the pore water freezing over the winter months. When
water freezes, the volume increases by about 10%.
➢ The freezing temperature increases with pore size. Suction induced ice lens.
➢ During the spring thaw, the pore water near the surface and the snow above
the surface melt and infiltrate downward. The pore water lower in the ground
is still frozen and as the infiltrating water reaches the frozen water an ice lens
forms and pushes the soil above causing it to lift. Thawing of frozen ground
leads to loss of strength and settlement.
➢ The limit of frost penetration in the UK is normally assumed to be 0.5 m,
although under exceptional conditions this depth may approach 1.0 m.

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 Lecture outline

➢ 2.1 Water in soil

➢ 2.2 Soil improvement

2.2.1 Grouting
2.2.2 Soil compaction
2.2.3 Field compaction procedures

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2.2 Soil improvement

➢ A 5 storeys building will be constructed on a soft soil deposit

layer. What kind of geotechnical techniques can you use to
improve the ground bearing capacity?

Possible techniques:
➢ Grouting
➢ Compaction
➢ Excavation, replacement (complete removal or replace of soft
soil layer (thin))
➢ Geotextile reinforcement
➢ Deep foundations (e.g. pile)

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2.2.1 Grouting - General principles

➢ Grouting in civil engineering refers to the injection of pumpable

materials into a soil or rock formation to change its physical
characteristics. The permeability of coarse-grained soils can be
considerably reduced by means of grouting;

➢ Material: a mixture of cement and water, clay suspensions, chemical

solutions;

➢ Process: grouts injection; grouts solidification; soil seepage reduction

and strength increase;

➢ Type of grout is influenced by the particle size distribution;

➢ Grouting penetration depends on: grout viscosity, pressure

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Grouting

➢ Common uses:
✓ Create barriers to groundwater flow
✓ Underpin foundations
✓ Provide excavation support
✓ Stabilize soils for tunnelling
➢ Types:
✓ Jet grouting
✓ Permeation grouting
✓ Compaction grouting
✓ Hydro fracture grouting
✓ Deep mixing method
✓ …

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Jet grouting

➢ Jet grouting uses high velocity fluid jets to construct cemented soil of varying
geometries in the ground.
➢ Construction process
✓ The jet grout advances to the maximum treatment depth
✓ The jets erode and mix the in situ soil
✓ The strength, stiffness increase, and permeability reduces

➢ Common uses
✓ Often the preferred solution in any situation requiring control of groundwater or
excavation of unstable soil (water-bearing or otherwise)
✓ Underpin foundations such as quay walls and heavy structures
✓ Provide excavation support
✓ Seal the bottom of planned excavations

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Jet grouting

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Permeation grouting

➢ Permeation grouting, also known as cement grouting or pressure

grouting, fills cracks or voids in soil and rock with flowable particulate
grouts to create a cemented mass.

➢ Construction process
✓ Portland cement or microfine cement grout is injected under pressure at strategic
locations through single ‘port’ or multiple ‘port’ pipes.
✓ The grouted mass has an increased strength, stiffness, and reduced permeability

➢ Common uses
✓ Create barriers to groundwater flow
✓ Underpin foundations
✓ Provide excavation support
✓ Stabilise and strengthen granular soils

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Permeation Grouting

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2.2.2 Soil compaction

➢ Compaction is the densification of soil by packing the particles closer

together with a reduction in the volume of the voids (air).
• Generally, load carrying capacity of a soil increases with increasing density.
• Objectives: to increase shear strength, to decrease settlement and
permeability
• Compaction is a “soil improvement” technique.
➢ The degree of compaction is measured in terms of dry unit weight.
(Moist) unit weight

Water content

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If soil is not compacted, …

Figure courtesy of Soil Compaction: A Basic Handbook by MultiQuip.

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Why compact soils？

➢ Increases load-bearing capacity;

➢ Prevents soil settlement and frost damage;

➢ Provides stability;

➢ Reduces water seepage, swelling and contraction;

➢ Reduces settling of soil.

➢ …

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General Principles

➢ Advantages through compaction

– reduce or prevent detrimental settlements
– increase soil strength and stability
– reduce permeability

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General Principles
➢ The degree of compaction depends on compaction energy and
moisture content.

➢ The effect of moisture content is twofold:

• At low moisture content, the soil is sticky and not easily compacted. When
moisture content increases, the water acts as a lubricant allowing the grains
to move over each other. The volume of voids can be reduced.

• If the moisture content is too high, the water becomes trapped in the pore
space and since it is relatively incompressible, further compaction is
restricted unless water can flow out of the pore structure.

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General Principles

➢ The moisture content at which the maximum dry unit weight is

attained is generally referred to as the optimum moisture content.

(Moist) unit weight

Water content
Dry unit weight

Moisture content

Soil Water in soil and Ground improvement

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Standard Proctor Test

➢ Originally proposed by Proctor (1933)

➢ Devices and procedure (BS 1377 (part 4)):

– A mold with diameter of 105 mm, volume of 1000 cm3
– Standard hammer of 24.4 N (mass ≈ 2.5 kg),
dropped a height of 300 mm
– Soil compacted in 3 equal layers SOIL
– 27 blows to each layer

➢ Moist and dry unit weight

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2.2.3 Field compaction procedures

➢ In geotechnical design (e.g. earth dams, landfills,

roadways etc.), it is imperative that the design strength
of the soils used in the construction reflects the
conditions under which the soil is placed.
➢ Engineered fill.
➢ It is difficult to directly measure strength and permeability
in the field, but density can be easily measured!
✓ Often required density specified
✓ Control compaction (compacting effort and moisture content) to ensure
specifications are met

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Field Compaction

➢ Compaction is carried out in the field using different types of rollers.

➢ Selection criteria:
✓ Type of soil
✓ Thickness of soil
✓ Weight of equipment
✓ Number of pass: 3~12

➢ Two approaches to achieve the satisfactory standard of compaction:

✓ Method (Type and mass of equipment, the layer depth and number of passes.)
✓ End-product (dry density is specified (restricted use to pulverized fuel ash in
general fill))

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Field Compaction Equipment

➢ Smooth-wheeled roller
– large steel cylinders filled with water or sand ballast
– result in smooth surface, poor layer bonding

➢ Pneumatic-tyred roller
– series of closely spaced tires over which the load is distributed
– compaction through pressure and kneading action

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Field Compaction Equipment

➢ Sheepsfoot roller
– hollow steel drum with numerous tapered or club-shaped feet
– the feet mix the soil and break up any lumps of stiff soil to improve homogeneity
– compacts the lower portion of the soil more effectively

➢ Vibratory rollers
– smooth-wheeled rollers fitted with a power-driven vibration mechanism
– very efficient in compacting granular material (coarse)
– added force of vibration to other rollers

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Field Compaction Equipment

➢ Dynamic compaction
✓ a ground improvement technique that densifies granular soil deposits and fill
materials by using a drop weight;
✓ The drop weight, typically steel, is lifted by a crane and repeatedly dropped onto
the ground surface;
✓ Vibrations transmitted below the
surface improve soils at depth;

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Common uses of dynamic compaction

➢ Increase bearing capacity

➢ Decrease settlement

➢ Mitigate liquefaction

➢ Reduce sinkhole potential

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Vibro (aggregate) piers

➢ The construction of stiff aggregate piers to reinforce fine grained soils

➢ Construction process
✓ pre-drilling
✓ Lower vibrator and add aggregate
✓ The vibratory energy densifies the aggregate and any surrounding granular soil.
➢ Common uses
✓ Reduce foundation settlement
✓ Increase bearing capacity
✓ Increase stiffness
✓ Increase shear strength
✓ Reduce permeability
✓ Mitigate potential for liquefaction
✓ Provide slope stabilization

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Vibro (aggregate) Piers – Keller

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Summary

➢ Water in soil can influence the mechanical behaviour of soil

significantly, in particular the shrinkage, swelling, frost and thaw.

➢ Some soil improvement techniques: compaction, excavation,

replacement, grouting, geotextile reinforcement, piles, etc.

➢ The maximum dry unit weight of compaction is a function of the

compaction energy.
➢ The permeability of clay decreases with the increase in the molding
moisture content and reaches an approximately minimum value at
optimum moisture content.
➢ Smooth-wheel rollers, sheepsfoot rollers and rubber-tired rollers are
generally used for field compaction. Vibratory rollers are very
effective in compacting granular soils.

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 Thank you!

Dr Tao Zhao
Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Email: Tao.Zhao@brunel.ac.uk

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