EnE 260 Lecture 1

Augustus “Augie” Resurreccion, Ph.D.

Professor
Institute of Civil Engineering
University of the Philippines
Outline of Lectures
 Lecture 1 Abiotic Properties of Soil
 Lecture 2 Soil-Water Energy and Hydraulic Properties
 Lecture 3 Water Flow in Soils
 Lecture 4 Contaminant Transport
 Lecture 5 Modeling
 •The Panel had quickly
identified piping as the most
probable cause of the failure,
then focused its efforts on
determining how the piping
started.
• Two mechanisms were
possible. The first was the
flow of water under highly
erodible and unprotected fill,
through joints in unsealed
rock beneath the grout cap,
and development of an
erosion tunnel. The fill
soils used, “ wind-
deposited nonplastic to
slightly plastic clayey
silts, ” are highly
This dam was newly constructed at that time!!! erodible.
Landslide due to heavy rains
Entry of pollutants in soil and into groundwater
Rain

Industry Volatilization

Dioxin, PAHs,
Filling station Fertilizer,
etc.
Pesticide application
Surface
flow

Sewer pipe Agricultural

Landfill
VOCs, land
site
Heavy
metals, Gasoline,
etc. Oil, etc.

Groundwater
 Increase in polluted soil sites
700
635
600
number of surveyed soil sites
500 number of polluted soil site exceeding the standard
frequency

400

300 288
Environmental Soil Quality Standard, 1991
209 212 206
200

260
100 222
63
38 34 44 44 45 58 126 132 148
7 6 10 5 3 10 18 10 18 12 14 27 22 26 8 12 13
2 2 2 25 37 50 49
0
before '77 '80 '83 '86 '89 '92 '95 '98 '01
'74
（fiscal year : April ～ March）
Extensive soil clean-up
The Soil

 The human environment is located at the earth’s

surface and is heavily dependent on the
soil/water/atmosphere continuum. The physical,
chemical and biological properties of each phase are
interactive.
 Soil is an intricate, yet durable entity that directly or
indirectly influences our quality of life.
Function of soils in our ecosystem
The functions of soils in our
ecosystem include…
1. Medium for plant growth -
it is responsible for plant
growth and supplying
nutrient elements that are
essential to the plants.
Properties of the soil often determine the nature if
vegetation present and, indirectly, the number and
types of animals (including people) that the vegetation
can support.
Function of soils in our ecosystem
2. Soil properties are the principal factor controlling
the fate of water in the hydrologic system.
Function of soils in our ecosystem
3. The soil functions as nature’s recycling systems.
Within the soil, waste products and dead bodies of
plants and animals are assimilated, and their basic
elements are made available for reuse (as humus)
by the next generation of life.

Because many different types of pollutants are

added to the soil, and soil is in direct contact with
water and the atmosphere, the ultimate fate of the
pollutant and its impact to the environment is
dependent on particular soil type.
 Function of soils in our ecosystem
4. Soils provide a myriad
of living organisms,
from small mammals
and reptiles to tiny
insects to microscopic
cells on unimaginable
numbers and diversity.
Habitat for organisms.
Function of soils in our ecosystem

5. In human-built ecosystems,
soil plays an important role
as an engineering
medium. Soil is not only an
important building material
in the form of earth fill and
bricks, but provides the
foundation for virtually
every road, airport and
house we build.
Solid Phase
Soil is the weathered end product
of the action of climate and
living organisms on soil
parent material with a
particular topography, over
time.
- Five soil-forming factors.
Vadose zone – is the water
unsaturated and generally
unweathered material between
the groundwater table and the
land surface.
- There are several parameters of
soil that vitally affects the FATE
and TRANSPORT of
environmental pollutants.
 Soil Forming Factors

 Parent Material
 Climate
 Vegetation and
living organisms
 Topography
 Time
 Soils vary from place to place because the
intensity of the factors is different at
different locations.
Transported Parent Materials
 Water - Rivers = Alluvium
 Wind - eolian = sand or silt (loess)
 Gravity = colluvium
 Ice = Glacial Drift - all materials transported by
ice or as a result of glacial activity

alluvium
Soil Horizons
The Gas Phase
 in the pore space, the space between the mineral
grains, which results from the fact that the contact of
irregular-geometry grains leaves empty spaces to be
occupied by gases (usually air) and liquids (usually
water).

Consumed (depleted) oxygen is

replenished by diffusion of oxygen from the
atmosphere. In a well aerated soil, the soil
air is similar to the composition to the
atmosphere above the soil. Poorly aerated
soils usually contain more carbon dioxide
and corresponding less oxygen than the
atmosphere above the soil.
30 cm
The Gas Phase
 Dissolution of soil air gases into the soil solution is an
important factor in the cycling of chemical elements in
the soil environment and in the remediation of
polluted soils by vapor extraction.
 Gaseous species are partitioned between the soil air
and soil water.
 At equilibrium, the relation between the concentration
of gas in soil solution and the partial vapor pressure in
soil air is given by Henry’s law:
 The Gas Phase
 Henry’s law*:

Partial gas pressure is the pressure that a gas component, X, in a mixture of gases
contributes to the total pressure.

𝐶𝑤
𝐾𝐻 =
𝐶𝑎
*only valid when the gas concentration in the soil solution is low
 The Gas Phase
 Henry’s law*:

𝐶𝑤
𝐾𝐻 =
𝐶𝑎
 Importance:
(a) Classifying the potential volatilization of organic chemicals,
(b) Modeling the partitioning of organic chemicals in
unsaturated soils, and for
(c) Defining the limits for using the soil vapor extraction process
to decontaminate soils polluted with organic chemicals.

*only valid when the gas concentration in the soil solution is low
Soil: The interface of air, minerals, water
and life
 The fluid phase is dynamic rather
than stable because its volume in
soil usually varies between 0 and
approximately 50%
Water
 Volume composition of a loam
30% Mineral
Pore surface soil when conditions are
Space 45%
good for plant growth.
Air Soil
 The broken line between water
Solids
20% and air indicates that the
Organics
5% proportions of these components
fluctuate as the soil becomes
wetter or drier.
 Nonetheless, a nearly equal
proportion of air and water in pore
space is generally ideal for plant
growth.
Soil Water (Soil Solution)
 Water from the atmosphere enters the top soil pores
by infiltration and moves downward through the soil
layers by gravity and capillary forces through
percolation. Through its movement soil water
becomes a repository for dissolved solids and gases
and, for this reason, it is commonly referred to as soil
solution.
 Soil moisture is also frequently used to refer to soil
water or soil solution.
 Soil water is in the pores (void or interstitial spaces)
Soil Water (Soil Solution)
 At low moisture content, water exists as thin films and
as wedges at the contact points of soil particles.
Soil Water (Soil Solution)
 The forces acting on soil water are: capillary forces;
adsorptive forces tying water onto solid surfaces;
gravitational forces; and drag or shear forces at the
interface of water-solid surfaces.

Energy State of Water

Water
 Many of the chemical properties of water are attributed to
its dipolar molecular structure. Water exhibits a high
dielectric constant, which promotes the dissociation of
many compounds in water. Thus, water is an excellent
solvent for a number of chemical compounds.
 More about this in the next lesson
 More about this in the next lesson
Solid Phase
 Under field conditions, the solid phase occupies from
30% to 60% of the total soil volume. Ideally, the solid
phase should occupy approximately 50% of the soil by
volume.
 The solid phase in soils consists of both inorganic and
organic fractions.
next
Inorganic fractions
 The inorganic fractions, derived from the weathering
products of rocks, range in size from tiny colloids (<2
mm) to large gravel and rocks (>2 mm), and include
many soil minerals, both primary and secondary.
 Inorganic soil fraction can be divided into three major
primary particles based on size: (a) sand, (b) silt, and
(c) clay.
Primary Particles and Soil Texture
 Soil normally composed of about 95% inorganic
and 1-5% organic material by weight.
 Primary inorganic particles (sand, silt and clay;
based on size basis)
 Soil texture: proportion or percentage of sand, silt
and clay in soil.
 Various mixtures result in different textural classes
(see USDA textural triangle).

 Clay particles is a dominant factor in soil

properties.
 Clay has very high specific surface area.
 Also clay has an associated electric charge.
Size classifications of the
three primary soil particles (USDA)
Primary Particle Size range (diameter)
Sand 2 mm – 0.05 mm
Silt 0.05 mm – 0.002 mm
Clay <0.002 mm (2mm)

Source: USDA website

 Particle Diameter Size
 Soil particle diameters range
over 6 orders of magnitude
 2 m boulders
 Coarse fragments > 2 mm
 Sand < 2 mm to 0.05 mm
 Silt < 0.05 mm to 0.002 mm
 Clay < 0.002 m
Solid phase: Particle size distribution
 Sieve analysis is used
to determine the
amount of coarser
particles
 while the amount of
finer particles (e.g.
silt and clay) are
determined by
“gravitational
sedimentation
Clay method” (pipette or
Silt
hydrometer) using
Sand Stoke’s law.
Soil Texture = %Sand, Silt & Clay in a soil.
 Soil texture is one of the most important
physical property of the soil. Knowing the soil
texture alone will provide information about:
 1) water flow potential,
 2) water holding capacity,
 3) fertility potential,
 4) suitability for many urban
uses like bearing capacity
 Coarse Fragment
 > 2 mm
 Gravels, cobbles,
boulders
 Not considered part
of fine earth
fraction (soil texture
refers only to the
fine earth fraction
or sand, silt & clay)
 Boulders left in
valley of Big Horn
Mts.(Wy) by a
glacier.
 Sand
 < 2 mm to > 0.05 mm
 Visible without
microscope
 Rounded or angular in
shape
 Sand grains usually
quartz if sand looks
white or many minerals if
sand looks brown,
 Some sands in soil will be
brown, yellow, or red
because of Fe and/or Al
oxide coatings.
Sand
 Feels gritty
 Considered non-
cohesive – does not
stick together in a
mass unless it is very
wet.
 Sand
 Low specific surface area
 Sand has less nutrients for
plants than smaller particles
 Voids between sand
particles promote free
drainage and entry of air
 Holds little water and prone
to drought
 Silt
 < 0.05 mm to > 0.002 mm
 Not visible without microscope
 Quartz often dominant mineral
in silt since other minerals
have weathered away.
 Silt
 Does not feel gritty
 Floury feel –smooth like silly
putty
 Wet silt does not exhibit
stickiness or plasticity or
malleability
 Silt
 Smaller size allows rapid
weathering of non quartz
minerals
 Smaller particles – retains
more water for plants and
have slower drainage than
sand.
 Easily washed away by
flowing water – highly
erosive.
 Holds more plant nutrients
than sand.
 Loess Cliff in China
 Silt if often left as a
vertical face since in
this condition the
landscape is less
prone to water
erosion than if the
area was graded to a
slope.
 Clay
 < 0.002 mm
 Flat plates or tiny flakes
 Small clay particles are
colloids
 If suspended in water will not
settle
 Large surface area
 spoonful = football field
 Clay
 Wet clay is very sticky and is
plastic or it can be molded
readily into a shape or rod.
 Easily formed into long ribbons
 Shrink swell – none to
considerable depending on the
kind of clay.
 Clay
 Pores spaces are very small
and convoluted
 Movement of water and air
very slow
 Water holding capacity
 Tremendous capacity to
adsorb water- not all available
for plants.
 Soil strength- shrink/swell
affects buildings, roads and
walls.
 Chemical adsorption is large
 USDA Textural Classes

 Sandy soils (coarse)

 Fine sand
 Very fine sand

 Loamy soils (medium)

 Clayey soils (fine)

Soil Textural Triangle
Example:

Clay = 15%
Silt = 45%
Sand = 40%
What is the soil textural class?
Example:
Clay = 15%
Silt = 45%
Sand = 40%

Soil is classified
as “loam”.
Practice Exercises:
 Use the following numbers to determine the soil
texture name using the textural triangle. When a
number is missing, fill in the blanks .
% SAND %SILT %CLAY TEXTURE NAME
 a) 75 10 15 sandy loam
 b) 10 83 7
 c) 42 ___ 37
 d) ___ 52 21
 e) ___ 35 50
 f) 30 55 ___
 g) 37 ___ 21
 h) 5 70 ___
 i) 55 ___ 40
 j) ___ 45 10
 secondary
aggregate

microorganisms

Primary
particle
Soil Structure
 Arrangement of soil particles into aggregates
formed by flocculation and granulation.
Macropores and Micropores

Schematic diagram showing fabric and pore classifications

End of Lecture for Today

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Seatwork
1. Derive a relationship between gravimetric water content (w, kg water
/kg soil) and volumetric water content (q, m3 water/ m3 soil). Make
sure you have consistent units.
2. The diameter of a cylindrical soil is 0.1 m and its height is 0.3 m.
What was the gravimetric water content if the wet weight was 4.12 kg
and the dry weight was 3.18 kg? What was the soil bulk density?
What was the volumetric water content? What was the porosity, void
ratio and degree of saturation S? Assume particle density to be 2650
kg/m3.
3. A soil is made up of identical spherical aggregates of bulk density b
= 1.3 g/cm3 whose solid phase has a particle density of m = 2.65
g/cm3. The aggregates are packed into an arrangement with an
interaggregate porosity of 0.4. Calculate the bulk density of the soil,
the aggregate porosity, and the total porosity of the soil. What is the
wet bulk density of the soil if the aggregates are water saturated and
the interaggregate space is filled with air?