Soil Mechanics

CE-222
Origin of Soil and Grain Size
Clay Soils

1
 Clay Soils 2

• Soils that consist of silt, sand, or gravel are primarily the result of
physical and mild chemical processes and retain much of the
chemical structure of their parent rocks.
• Clay soils experience extensive chemical weathering and are changed
into a new material quite different from the parent rocks.
• Chemical weathering (decomposition) can transform hard rock
minerals into soft, easily erodable matter. The principal types of
decomposition are hydration, oxidation, carbonation, desilication
and leaching. Oxygen and carbon dioxide which are always present in
the air readily combine with the elements of rock in the presence of
water.
• As a result, the engineering properties and behavior of clays quite
different from other soils.
 Chemistry Basics 3

• Ion: charged particle

• Cation: positively charged particle

• Anion: negatively charged particle

• Hydroxyl: OH

• Isomorphous Substitution: substituting an ion of

similar size and generally of lesser charge
 Clay – General Information 4

• Occur as tiny platy crystals

• Result is plate-like layers

• This explains why clay is so

slick/slippery

• Negatively charged

• Attract positively charged ions (cations)

• Absorb or lose water at the surface or into interlayer

spaces (shrink and swell)
 The Silica Tetrahedron Unit (SiO4) 5

Silica, Si4+
forms a tetrahedron
with four O2–
Has a net –ive charge of 4–
 Tetrahedral Sheets 6

• Formed by sharing
of O2- between
units
• Corner O2- shared,
creating the sheet
• Net –ive charge at
top of tetrahedral
sheets!

Sharing
 Aluminium Octahedral Unit (AlO6) 7

• Al3+ with six O2-

• Al3+ shares +0.5 of its
charge with each of the
surrounding oxygen
ions, leaving each
oxygen ion with a
negative 1.5 charge.
 Octahedral Sheets 8

• Octahedral sheets
formed by each
oxygen being
bonded to two Al
ions
• Each O ion left with
one –ive charge

Sharing
 Clay Mineral Structure 9

• Ions – molecules – sheets – layers – crystals

• Sheet upon sheet = layer
• Layer upon layer = crystal

• Layering silica and alumina sheets together results in

different clays

• Ratios are: 1 silica : 1 alumina

2 silica : 1 alumina
 1:1 Clay - Kaolinite 10

• 1 silica tetrahedron : 1
alumina octahedron

• Shared oxygen bind sheets

into layers

• Strong bonds make

kaolinite a very stable clay

• Kaolinite does not expand

appreciably when wetted.
Kaolinite 11
Kaolinite Sheets on Quartz Crystal 12
13
 2:1 Clays - Montmorillonite 14

• 2 silica sheets : 1 alumina sheet.

Water and/or ions between
layers
• The bonding between layers is
very weak, so large quantities of
water can easily enter and
separate them, thus causing
the clay to swell.

• Trouble: distortion in structure, highways etc. built on such

soils.
• Usefulness: expansive behavior and low permeability is useful
for sealing borings or providing groundwater barriers (e.g.
bentonite).
Montmorillonite 15
 2:1 Clays - Illite 16

• 2 silica sheets : 1 alumina

sheet.

• Contains potassium ions

between each layers.

• The chemical bond is

stronger than those in
montmorillonite but weaker
than kaolinite.

• Illite expands slightly when

wetted.
Illite 17
Properties of Clay Minerals 18

When mixed with a little

water, clays become
“plastic”
i.e., are able to be
moulded

SO, moisture affects clay

soil engineering
properties
 Properties of Clay Minerals 19

• Can absorb or lose water between the silicate sheets

– negative charge attracts H2O

• When water is absorbed, clays may EXPAND.

– Water in spaces between stacked layers
– Montmorillonite most expandable
– Kaolinite the least
 Clay Minerals – Capacity for Water 20

• Kaolinite (China Clay)

Water absorption, approximately 90%

• Montmorillonite (Bentonite, Smectite)

Water absorption, approximately 300 - 700%

• Illite
Intermediate water absorption
 Specific Surface 21

Type of Soil Specific Surface

(m2/g)

Kaolin 80

Glauconite 400

Black earth 440 – 990

Bentonite 1300 – 1390

 The Influence of Charges 22

• “The greater the surface area, the greater the

charge”
– the greater the affinity for water
– some water strongly adsorbed in a very thin layer
– other water “free” in the soil “pores”

• Electrostatic forces give rise to COHESION in

soils with clay minerals
 Particle Interactions 23

Coarse-Grained/ Fine-Grained/
Non-Cohesive Soils Cohesive Soils

Sands, Gravels Silts, Clays

Strength derived from Strength derived from

friction and interlocking physio-chemical interactions
 24

Book: An Introduction to Geotechnical Engg. (HOLTZ & KOVACS)

Page 26