In-situ stresses in soils

Topics
• Introduction
• Stresses in saturated soil without seepage
• Stresses in saturated soil with upward
seepage
• Stresses in saturated soil with downward
seepage
Introduction
Nature of stresses along a given cross
section of the soil profile is key to
analyzing the compressibility of soils,
bearing capacity of foundations, stability
of embankments and lateral earth
pressure on earth retaining structures.
 Introduction
• Soil is a multi phase system
• To perform any kind of analysis - we must
understand stress distribution
• The concept of effective stress:
• The soil is “loaded” (footing for example)
• The resulting stress is transmitted to the
soil mass
• The soil mass supports those stresses at
the point to point contacts of the
individual soil grains
4
Stresses at a point in a soil mass are divided into two
main types
I- Geostatic Stresses ------ Due to the self
weight of the soil mass.
II- Excess Stresses ------ From structures
Geostatic stresses
Vertical Stress
Vertical geostatic stresses increase with
depth, There are three 3 types of
geostatic stresses
a Total Stress,
b. Effective Stress,
c Pore Water Pressure, u

Total Stress = Effective stress + Pore

Water Pressure
 Total vs. effective stresses

When a load is applied to soil, it is carried by the water in the pores as well as the
solid grains. The increase in pressure within the pore water causes drainage (flow
out of the soil), and the load is transferred to the solid grains.

The rate of drainage depends on the permeability of the soil.

The strength and compressibility of the soil depend on the stresses within the
solid granular fabric. These are called effective stresses.
 Effective Stress
• σ is the stress applied to the soil by its own
weight
• As you go deeper in the soil mass, the stress
increases
• Like in a swimming pool, as you go deeper, the
stress of the weight of the water increases
• The soil carries the stress in 2 ways:
• A portion is carried by the water (acts
equally in all directions)
• A portion is carried by the soil solids at
their point of contact. 7
 Effective Stress
• The sum of the vert. components of the forces at their
points of contact per unit of X- sectional area is the
effective stress.

a1 a2 a3 a4

P1 P2 P P4
3

Cross Sectional Area = A

an = Area of points of contact
A = Cross Sectional area of soil mass
Pn = Forces acting at points of contact 8
In a dry soil mass having a unit weight of γ, the normal
vertical stress at a depth of h is simply γh. If there is a
uniform surcharge q placed at the ground level, this
stress becomes γh+q.
Vertical normal stresses due to overburden in
dry layered soil

In a soil mass with three different soil layers as shown

above, the vertical normal stress at X is γ1h1 + γ2h2 +
γ3h3.
Vertical stresses in saturated soil mass due to
overburden

The total vertical normal stress at X is given by:

σ = γsath
The pore water pressure at this point is simply,
u = γwh
Therefore, the effective vertical normal stress is,
σ’ = σ - u
 Estimation of effective vertical stress at depth

Method 1
Total Vertical Stress =
Ground Surface  (i . zi) = (1 .3 + 2 .2 + 3 .3 )
where zi is the depth of layer i

3
1 If 1 = 16 kN m-3 , 2 = 19 kN m-3 ,
and 3 = 17 kN m-3
1
2
Water
table Total stress = (16 x 3 + 19 x 2 + 17 x 3)
1
= 137 kPa (kN m-3)
Deduct the buoyant effect of water
= w x. 4 = 40 kPa (since w = 10 kN m-3)
3 3
effective stress = 137 - 40 = 97 kPa
A
 Estimation of effective vertical stress at depth

Method 2
stress at A =
Ground Surface
16 x 3 + 1 x 19 + 1 x (19 - 10) + 3 x (17 - 10)
| | |
3
1 layer 1 ---- layer 2 ----------- layer 3

1
2
Water [19-10 is submerged unit wt of layer 2 = 2']
1 table

= 97 kpa as before

3 3

A
 Effects of Seepage
The interaction between soils and percolating water has an
important influence on:
– The design of foundations and earth slopes,
– The quantity of water that will be lost by percolation through a
dam or its subsoil.
• As water flows through soil it exerts a frictional drag on the soil
particles resulting in head losses. The frictional drag is called
seepage force in soil mechanics.
• It is often convenient to define seepage as the seepage force per
unit volume (it has units similar to unit weight). which we will
denoted js. If the head loss over a flow distance, L. is the
seepage force is given as:

14
No Seepage Piezometer
In
Flow
3 ft

D
Out
Flow
2 ft
C

u = 6 x 62.4
4 ft

14 ft
B
Ws
u = 14 x 62.4

Ws
12 ft Ws

Ws Ws

Buoyancy
8 ft

3 ft 3 ft Datum
Upward Seepage In
Flow Piezometer

3 ft
Du
D
Out
Flow
2 ft

u = 6 x 62.4 + Du
C

4 ft

17 ft
B
u = 17 x 62.4
12 ft
Ws

Ws Ws

8 ft Ws Ws

Buoyancy + Seepage Force

A

3 ft 3 ft Datum
Downward Seepage Piezometer

3 ft
In
D Flow

2 ft
C

u = 6 x 62.4 - Du
Out
Flow 4 ft

B
u = 17 x 62.4

10 ft 12 ft

Seepage Force
8 ft
Ws

Ws Ws

Ws Ws

A Buoyancy - Seepage Force

3 ft 3 ft Datum
• If the seepage direction is downwards, then the resultant seepage
stresses are in the same direction as the gravitational effective
stresses.

• In case of upwards seepage, they are in opposite direction and

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 Effect of seepage on structures
Foundation failures due to 'piping'
are quite common.
Piping is a phenomenon by which
the soil on the downstream sides
of some hydraulic structures get
Effects of seepage on the
lifted up due to excess pressure of effective stresses near a
water. The pressure that is exerted retaining wall.
on the soil due to the seepage of
water is called the seepage force
or pressure.

19
 Effects of Seepage Cont’d
In the stability of slopes, the seepage force is a very
important factor. Shear strengths of soils are reduced
due to the development of neutral stress or pore
pressures.

A detailed understanding of the hydraulic conditions is

therefore essential for a satisfactory design of
structures. The computation of seepage loss under
or through a dam, the uplift pressures caused by the
water on the base of a concrete dam and the effect
of seepage on the stability of earth slopes can be
studied by constructing flow nets.
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 Effect of seepage on structures
• Water is seeping downward through a soil Iayer a in Fig.
Two piezometers (A and B) located 2 m apart showed a head loss of
0.2 m. Calculate the resultant vertical effective stress for a soil
element at a depth of 6 m as shown in Fig.

21
 Quicksand Conditions in soil

• The water surface in container B is kept above that of A by h units.

This arrangement permits water to flow upwards through the
sample in container A. The total piezometric or the pore water
head at the bottom of the sample is given by (z1+z2+h)
• Therefore, the pore water pressure uc at the bottom of the sample
is
• The total pressure head at the bottom of the sample is

22
• The effective pressure at the bottom of sample is, therefore

• The general equation for effective pressure at any depth Z is

given as: indicates that there is a decrease in the
effective pressure due to upward flow of water.
• At any depth z, is the pressure of the submerged soil acting
downward and is the seepage pressure acting upward. The
effective pressure becomes zero when
• It indicates that the effective pressure reduces to zero when
the hydraulic gradient attains a maximum value which is equal
to the ratio of the submerged unit weight of soil and the unit
weight of water.
• This gradient is known as the critical hydraulic gradient ic. In
such cases, cohesion less soils lose all of their shear strength
and bearing capacity and a visible agitation of soil grains is
observed. This phenomenon is known as boiling or a quick
sand condition

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• We know that
• Hence

• The critical gradient of natural granular soil deposits can be

calculated if the void ratios of the deposits are known. For all
practical purposes the specific gravity of granular materials can
be assumed as equal to 2.65.
• Critical hydraulic gradients of granular soils

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• Quick conditions are common in excavations below the ground
water table. This can be prevented by lowering the ground water
elevation by pumping before excavation.
• Quick conditions occur most often in fine sands or silts and
cannot occur in coarse soils.
• The larger the particle size, the greater is the porosity. To
maintain a critical gradient of unity, the velocity at which water
must be supplied at the point of inflow varies as the permeability.
• Therefore a quick condition cannot occur in a coarse soil unless a
large quantity of water can be supplied.

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Thank you!!!