Lecture 3: Soil

Lecturer: Bach Bui

What are soils
• Particulate material that is made up of different particles such as clay,
rock or other organic matters

• Wide range of particles sizes

• Voids between particles

Classification of soil
Sieve analysis: The size
distribution of gravel and
sand particles are typically
measured using sieve
analysis
Examples of geotechnical engineering construction
Examples of geotechnical engineering construction

Basement
construction
Examples of geotechnical engineering construction

Underground
tunnel (metro)
construction
Soil structure
• The basic composition of soil are individual solid particles, water and
air

Size: the solid particles

range from less than a micron
(μm) to usually millimeters (mm)
Soil structure
Stresses in soil Total stress: When a load is
applied to soil, it is carried by the
solid grains and the water in the
pores. The total vertical stress
acting at a point below the
ground surface is due to the
weight of everything that lies
above, including soil, water, and
surface loading. Total stress thus
increases with depth and with
unit weight.

Total stress = unit weight x Z

Stresses in soil Total stress: Below a water body,
the total stress is the sum of the
weight of the soil up to the
surface and the weight of water
above this

Total stress = unit weight of soil x

Z + unit weight of water x Zw
Stresses in soil Pore water pressure: The
pressure of water in the pores of
the soil

PWP = unit weight of water x h

where h = depth of water below

water table
Stresses in soil

Effective stress:
the force that
keeps soil particles
together

Extra reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Effective_stress
Vocabulary recap
• Soil
• Boulder
• Cobble
• Gravel
• Sand
• Silt
• Clay
• Void
• Saturation/saturated
• Total stress/ Effective stress
• Pore water pressure
• Water table