Phase Relations:

(aka Weight-Volume Relationships)

GLE/CEE 330 Lecture Notes
Soil Mechanics

William J. Likos, Ph.D.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Soil is a three-phase system
S = Solids
W = Water
A = Air

Relative amount of each phase will affect behavior

block diagram
(portions courtesy of HKUST)
 0
Gs Mt = Ma + Mw + Ms
Vt = Va + Vw + Vs

Vv= Va + Vw (void volume)

We will use specific gravity (Gs)
To go from mass to volume or
from volume to mass
 Unit Weight, g
W lb kN
Units: g 3 3
V ft m

1) Total Unit Weight, gt or g

W ~80 pcf to 130 pcf

gt g t ~12.5 to 20.5 kN/m3
Vt

2) Dry Unit Weight, gd 4) Unit Weight of Water, gw

Ws ~40 pcf to 120 pcf g w 62.4 pcf 9.81kN / m3

gd ~6.3 to 18.8 kN/m3
Vt

3) Unit Weight of Solids, gs 5) Buoyant Unit Weight, gb

W gb g g w
gs s
Vs
 Volumetric Ratios

1) Void Ratio, 0 < e <

Volume of voids (Vv )

e
Volume of solids (Vs )

2) Porosity, n (often expressed as %)

Volume of voids (Vv ) Vse e

n n
Total volume (Vt ) Vs (1 e) 1 e

3) Degree of Saturation, S or Sr
If S < 100%, then unsaturated
Volume of water (Vw ) If S = 100%, then saturated
S 100%
Volume of voids (Vv )
Some Typical Values

(Coduto, 1999)
 Compaction to Reduce e and n
Loose

High n Vv
High e Vt
Vs

Compact

Low n Vv
Vt
Low e Vs (Lambe and Whitman, 1979)

Dense
 Engineering Implications

Simple cubic (SC), e = 0.91

contraction
Loose soils (high e) will contract when
sheared and are relatively weak

Cubic-tetrahedral (CT), e = 0.65

dilation
Dense soils (low e) will expand (dilate)
when sheared and are relatively strong
 Water Content

1) Gravimetric Water Content, w

Weight of water (Ww ) 1) Mass of Moist Soil, Mm

w
Weight of solids (Ws )
Oven @ 105 C

2) Volumetric Water Content, q

2) Mass of Dry Soil, Md
Volume of water (Vw )
q 3) Mw = Mm - Md
Total Volume (Vt )
4) w = (Mm Md)/Md
 Specific Gravity, Gs
Property of soil solids
Measure of unit weight relative to unit weight of water
gx If Gx 1, material floats on water
Gx
gw If Gx 1, material sin ks on water
Wx VxGxg w So we can go from weight to volume if Gx is known
Ws
Gwater = 1 Ws Vs Gsg w Vs
Giron = 7.5 g w Gs
Gs = specific gravity of soil solids
gs
Gs for most soil minerals is between 2.6 and 2.8 Gs
Gs 2.65 for quartz sand (often assumed) gw
Some Useful Relationships
Wt Ws Ww
Ww
w Ww wWs
Ws
Wt Ws wWs Ws (1 w)
Wt
Ws Useful b/c Wt and w are easy to measure
1 w

Divide by Vt

Wt
Ws Vt

Vt 1 w
g
gd Useful to construct compaction curve (Chap 6)
1 w
Some Useful Relationships
Vt Vs Vv
Vv
e Vv eVs
Vs
Vt Vs eVs Vs (1 e)
Vt
Vs
1 e
Some Useful Relationships
Vv Vv
n
Vt Vs Vv
n(Vs Vv ) Vv
nVs Vv nVv
Vv (1 n)
n e(1 n)
Vs
n
e Void ratio and porosity are directly related
1 n
 Saturated Unit Weight
(when all voids filled with water, S = 100%)

gs
g w (Vw Vs )
Ww Ws Vwg w Vsg s gw g w (Vw GsVs )
g sat
Vt Vt Vt Vt

g w (Vv GsVs ) g w (Vv V GsVs V ) g w ( e Gs ) g w ( e Gs )

s s

Vt Vt Vv Vs 1 e
Vs Vs
g w ( e Gs )
g sat
1 e
 Dry Unit Weight

Gs g w
gd
1 e

Sewing Equation (very useful)

May be used to plot void ratio (or porosity) profile

Se wGs In homogeneous saturated deposits (assume Gs, S)
w e or n
Proof: Vw Vv Ww g s

Vv Vs Ws g w
Ws
Vw Ww Vs

Vs Ws W w
Vw
Vw Vw
z z
Vs Vs
 Relative Density, Dr
How dense is a soil relative to its maximum and
minimum possible density?

emax e
Dr X 100%
emax emin
 Solving W-V Problems

Usually given w, Gs, g (these are easy to measure!)

Might need to assume Gs (2.65 for sand, 2.70 for clay)
If saturated (below GWT), typically assume S = 100%
USE PHASE DIAGRAMS
Might need to assume ONE of the following (but only one):
Vt = 1.0 ft3 (or 1.0 m3)
Wt = 100 lb (or 100 kN)
Ws = 100 lb (or 100 kN)