SEMINAR

ON
INTRODUCTION
TO
SOIL MECHANICS
 CONTENT
 INTRODUCTION
 SOIL FORMATION
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL
 WATER CONTENT DETERMINATION
 GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION
 CONSISTENCY OF CLAYS
INTRODUCTION
To
SOIL
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL

 BASIC DEFINITION AND PHASE RELATIONS

Mass

Air

Water

Soil
• VOID RATIO ;(e) : The ratio of void volume (Vv) to soil volume (Vs)

0<e<
Vv
e
Vs
• POROSITY (Porositas) ; n : The ratio of void volume (Vv) to total
volume (V)

V
0  n v 1
n
V
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VOID RATIO AND POROSITY

n e
e n
1 n
or 1 e
• WATER CONTENT ;  : The ratio of the amount of water (Ww) in
the soil (Ws) and expressed as a percentage

Ww 0% <  < 
 x100%
Ws

• DEGREE OF SATURATION; S : The ratio of water volume air (Vw)

to void volume (Vv) and expressed as a percentage

Vw 0%  S  100%
S x100%
Vv
• UNIT WEIGHT : The ratio of weight to volume

W
 w  w
V w

• SPECIFIC GRAVITY ; GS : The ratio of unit weight of soil to

unit weight of water

s
GS 
w
 WATER CONTENT DETERMINATION

 OVEN DRYING METHOD

 PYCNOMETER METHOD
 SAND BATH METHOD
 RAPID MOISTURE METER METHOD
 TORSION BALANCE MOISTURE METER
METHOD
 OVEN DRYING METHOD-
 This is the commonly adopted and the simplest method
for the determination of water content of a soil sample in
the laboratory. The method basically consists of drying a
weighed moist sample of a soil in an oven at a controlled
temperature(105-110°c) for a period of 24 hrs after which
the dry weight of the sample is taken. The drying of soil
is recommended at a tempt. of 105-110°c as tempts.
Higher than 110°c may break the crystalline structure of
clay particles and result in the loss of chemically-bound
water of crystallisation.
 PYCNOMETER METHOD
The oven-drying method in the laboratory takes
along time to determine the water content. A quick
laboratory method is the Pycnometer method.
Pycnometer is an approximately about 900ml capacity
glass bottle provided wid a brass conical top. A conical
cap provided with a 6mm diameter hole at the top van
be screwed on to the glass bottle.TO avoid leakage of
water,a rubber washer is provided between the conical
cap and the rim of the bottle.
 GRAIN-SIZE DISTRIBUTION

Grain-size distribution or the % of various sizes of soil

grains present in a given dry soil sample, is an important soil
grain property. Grain size analysis of coarse grained soilsis
carried out by SIEVE ANALYSIS. where as fine grained soils are
analysed by the HYDROMETER.
 Sieve analysis-
* A gradation test is performed on a sample of aggregate in a
laboratory. A typical sieve analysis involves a nested column of 
sieves with wire mesh cloth (screen). See the separate Mesh (scale)
 page for details of sieve sizing.
* A representative weighed sample is poured into the top sieve which
has the largest screen openings. Each lower sieve in the column has
smaller openings than the one above. At the base is a round pan,
called the receiver.
* The column is typically placed in a mechanical shaker. The shaker
shakes the column, usually for some fixed amount of time. After the
shaking is complete the material on each sieve is weighed. The
weight of the sample of each sieve is then divided by the total weight
to give a percentage retained on each sieve.
* The size of the average particle on each sieve is then analysed to get
a cut-off point or specific size range, which is then captured on a
screen.
CONSISTENCY OF CLAY-
Consistency is the term which is used to
describe the degree of firmness of a soil in a
qualitative manner by using description such as:
soft medium,firm,stiff or hard.It indicates the relative
ease with which a soil can be deformed.
 
Atterberg limits- Are a basic measure of the
critical water contents of a fine-grained soil, such as
its shrinkage limit, plastic limit, and liquid limit. As
a dry, clayey soil takes on increasing amounts of
water, it undergoes dramatic and distinct changes in
behavior and consistency.
 DETERMINATION OF LIQUID LIMIT
BY CASAGRANDE METHOD

LIQUID LIMIT- It is arbitrarily defined as the water

content, in percent, at which a pat of soil in a standard
cup and cut by a groove of standard dimensions will flow
together at the base of the groove for a distance of 13
mm (1/2 in.) when subjected to 25 shocks in the device.
OR
It is the minimum water content at which the soil is still
in the liquid state, but has a small shearing strength
against flow.
 PLASTIC LIMIT DETERMINATION

This test is done to determine the plastic limit of soil .The

plastic limit of fine-grained soil is the water content of the
soil below which it ceases to be plastic. It begins to
crumble when rolled into threads of 3mm dia.
OR
The plastic limit is defined as the moisture content at
which soil begins to behave as aplastic material. 
 THANK YOU

PRESENTED BY-
SHAILENDRA SINGH