King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM)

Civil & Environmental Engineering Department

CE 561 ADVANCED SOIL MECHANICS

Semester 191

Lecture 1

Dr. Habib-ur-Rehman Ahmed

 Soil ?
 Soil
 consists of grains (mineral grains, rock fragments, organic
matter etc.) with water and air in the voids between grains.
 The water and air contents are readily changed by changes in
conditions and location:
 soils can be perfectly dry (have no water content) or
 be fully saturated (have no air content) or
 be partly saturated (with both air and water present)
 Soil
 Soil is
 is not a coherent solid material like steel and concrete, but is a
particulate material. It is important to understand the
significance of particle size, shape and composition, and of a
soil's internal structure or fabric.

Coarse Grained Particles Fine Grained Particles

 Soil Fabric and Structure
 The arrangement and
organization of particles and
other features within a soil mass Fine-Grained
is termed its FABRIC. This
includes bedding orientation,
stratification, layer thickness, the
Coarse-Grained
occurrence of joints and
fissures, the occurrence of
voids, artifacts, tree roots and
nodules.
 Fabric when combined with the
knowledge of the interaction of
the particles is termed as
STRUCTURE. It includes
cohesion, adhesion, friction, and
the presence of cementing or
bonding agents between grains.
 Soil
 Soil is
 Continuous … with ill-defined boundaries
 Naturally Variable (heterogeneous)
 Anisotropic
 Stress-Dependent (properties vary with stress level and stress
history)
 Environmentally Dependent (behaviour changes with…...)
• Moisture
• Pore Fluid Chemistry
• Temperature
 Soil Mechanics
 Soil Mechanics ?
 Science that deals with the Mechanical Properties and Behavior
of Soils and the Relations between them, using the principles of
Mechanics and Hydraulics.

 Mechanical Properties & Behavior

 Phases and their Relations
 Permeability / Capillarity
 In-situ Stress State
 Volume Change (Compressibility / Expansion)
 Shear Strength
 Conventional Soil Mechanics
 Conventional Soil Mechanics
 Deals with Saturated or Dry Soils only

 Is this Right or Is it Enough?

 Then Why ?
 Empirical Approaches
 Safe/Conservative but Uneconomical Strategies ?
 Absence of Computer Facilities

 What is the Solution ?

Extent of Arid Zone Worldwide
Unsaturated (VADOSE) Zone
 Unsaturated (VADOSE) Zone

(Vadose Zone)
Unsaturated (VADOSE) Zone
Structures’ Foundations

• Strength
• Volume Change
 Structures’ Foundations
 Shallow Footings
 Shear Failure
 Volume Change

 Shear Failure
 What is the probability of raising of water table to base of the
foundations?
 How and when strength loss will occur upon saturation?
 Is shear failure possible in a soil initially Unsaturated ??

 Should we consider Saturated Strength or Unsaturated

Strength? (Economy Vs. Extra Safety)
 Structures’ Foundations
 Volume Change
 Expansive Soils
 Structures’ Foundations
 Volume Change
 Collapsible Soils
 SLOPES
 Changes ??
 SLOPES
 Stabilized ?
 Open Cuts and Excavations
 Short or Long Term Stability?
 Retaining Structures
 Surface Water??
 DAMS & Embankments
 During Construction
 Pore Pressures ?
 Fabric and Structure ?
 DAMS & Embankments
 Partial Construction
 Pore Water and Pore Air Pressures
 DAMS & Embankments
 Steady State Seepage
 Pore Water and Pore Air Pressures
 DAMS & Embankments
 Steady State Seepage and Excessive Rainfall
 DAMS & Embankments
 Seepage through
Unsaturated
Zone
 General Problems
 Ground Covered with Roads and Buildings

Percolation Stops?

Building

Pavement

Evapotranspiration Stops?
 Environmental Issues
 Contaminant Flow through Vadose Zone
 Advanced Soil Mechanics
 It deals with Theories and Formulations dealing with both types
of Soil Mechanics:

 Unsaturated and Saturated

 Saturated Soils become a special case to it

 Problems in
 Shear Strength
 Volume Change
 Seepage
 Definitions and Terminology
 Soil Suction

 State of Soil System

 State Variables
• Stress
• Deformation
• Geometry
• ……….

 Constitutive Relations and Models

 Soil Suction
 Soil Suction is the measure of the “Water Demand of Soil
System” at a given water content.
 It is also termed as “Water Retention Capacity”
 Soil Suction derives from two factors
 Free Surface Energy of the Soil Particles (Hydrophilic
Nature)
 Water Properties (Surface Tension, Wetting)

 Extensive Use

 Shear Strength
 Prediction of shrinkage and swelling
 Collapse Potential
 Ground Improvement Works etc. etc. are some examples
 State and State Variables
 STATE
 Information required for the complete characterization of the
system for the purpose at hand.
 State Variables
 Non-Material Variables required for the characterization of a
system. These must be independent of the physical properties
of the material.
 Stress State Variable
 The non-material variables required for the characterization of
the stress conditions
 Strain/Deformation State Variable
 Geometry Variable
 Constitutive Relations
 “Single Valued Equations/Expressions which relate one state
variable with one or more other state variables to define a
state.”
 Examples
 A Stress versus Strain Relationship is a constitutive relation
which describes the mechanical behavior of the material under
loading. (Material properties involved may be E and m.)
 Semester Projects/Papers
Development of CAM-CLAY Model

Application of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Foundation

Engineering

Measurement of Total Suction Using Filter Paper Technique

Finite Element Modeling of Unsaturated Soils using

SEEP/W and SIGMA/W

Application of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Earth and

Rock-fill Dams

Application of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Highway

Engineering
 Semester Projects/Papers

Landmarks Deadlines
Proposal 16 Sep 19

Progress Report # 1 16 Oct 19

Progress Report # 2 11 Nov 19

Draft Paper 11 Dec 19

Final Paper / Presentation 15 Dec 19

 Grading Plan
ITEM MARKS (%)

Quizzes/Class Tests 10

Term Paper 15

Assignments/Lab Reports 10

Class Participation 10

Mid-Semester Exam 20

End-Semester Exam 35