QUAID–E-AWAM UNIVERSITY

OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY LARKANO

PRESENTATION TOPIC : SILT

PRESENTATORS : L-19CE 02,03,29,42,45
SUBJECT TEACHER : SIR AHMED FARAZ ABRO
SILT

• SILT IS MADE UP OF ROCK AND OTHER MINERAL

PARTICLES, WHICH ARE SMALLER THAN SAND AND
LARGER THAN CLAY. IT IS THE SMOOTH AND FINE
QUALITY OF THE SOIL THAT HOLDS WATER BETTER
THAN SAND. SILT IS EASILY TRANSPORTED BY
MOVING CURRENTS AND IT IS MAINLY FOUND NEAR
THE RIVER, LAKES AND OTHER WATER BODIES.
• THE SILT SOIL IS MORE FERTILE COMPARED
TO THE OTHER THREE TYPES OF SOIL.
THEREFORE, IT IS ALSO USED IN
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES TO IMPROVE
SOIL FERTILITY.
• SILT PARTICLES RANGE IN SIZE FROM 0.002
TO 0.05 MM.
 USES OF SILT SOIL
• SILT SOIL IS USUALLY MORE FERTILE THAN
OTHER TYPES OF SOIL, MEANING IT IS GOOD
FOR GROWING CROPS.
• SILT PROMOTES WATER RETENTION
• THEY ARE GENERALLY EASY TO TILL AND
CAN STORE CONSIDERABLE AMOUNTS OF
WATER
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF
SILT SOIL IN AGRICULTURE
ADVANTAGES
• FERTILE SOILS THAT HOLD DISADVANTAGES
ONTO NUTRIENTS
• WATER FILTRATION CAN BE
• BETTER THAN SANDY SOILS
BETTER WATER HOLDING POOR
CAPACITY THAN SANDY SOILS • HAS A GREATER TENDENCY
• EASIER TO WORK WITH SILT TO FORM A CRUST
THAN CLAY SOILS
• CAN BECOME COMPACT AND
• RICH IN NUTRIENTS AND LIGHT HARD
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SILT
SOIL IN ENGINEERING

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
• WEAKENS THE FOUNDATION
• WELL STRUCTURED AND DUE TO EXPANSION
UNIFORM IN EVERY WAY • UNSUITABLE FOR MOST
CONSTRUCTIONS
• HIGH TENDENCY OF FORMING
A CRUST
• SLOW RATE OF AIR
PERMEABILITY
 PROPERTIES OF SILT

TEXTURE OF SILT :-
SILT, BEING MODERATE IN SIZE, HAS A SMOOTH OR FLOURY
TEXTURE.
POROSITY:-
SILT PARTICLES ARE SMALLER THAN SAND, BUT LARGER
THAN CLAY PARTICLES. LIKEWISE, THERE IS LESS PORE SPACE
BETWEEN SILT PARTICLES THAN BETWEEN SAND PARTICLES,
BUT MORE THAN BETWEEN CLAY PARTICLES. OR
SILT PARTICLES ARE TOO SMALL FOR US TO SEE WITH OUR
EYES. SILT SOILS HAVE MUCH SMALLER PORE SPACES BUT A
• PLASTICITY:-
IT IS DIFFICULT TO MOULD SILTY SOIL INTO A
PARTICULAR SHAPE BECAUSE IT HAS LESS
PLASTICITYSILT HAS MORE PERMEABILITY
BECAUSE OF THE LESS DENSITY OF THE
PARTICLES. SILT HAS LESS DRY STRENGTH.
• SPECIFIC GRAVITY
SPECIFIC GRAVITY RANGE IS 2.6 TO 2.9.
• COLOUR
IT IS GRAY IN COLOUR
HOW TO IDENTIFY SILT

• SILT SOIL IS FINE AND FEELS ALMOST FLORY TO

THE TOUCH WHEN DRY.WHEN IN WET,IT
BECOMES SMOOTH MUD THAT YOU CAN FORM
EASILY BALLS
• SAND CAN ALWAYS BE FELT AS INDIVIDUAL
GRAINS, BUT SILT AND CLAY GENERALLY
CANNOT. DRY SILT FEELS FLOURY, AND WET
SILT IS SLIPPERY OR SOAPY BUT NOT STICKY
IDENTIFICATION OF SILT
IN GENERAL, COARSE-GRAINED AND FINE-
GRAINED SOILS ARE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE SIZE OF THEIR PARTI
CLE CONSTITUENTS.

COARSE GRAINED SOIL

COARSE GRAINED SOILS ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO
GROUPS, SAND & GRAVEL. PARTICLES HAVING DIAMETER
LARGER THAN 4.75 MM IS CALLED GRAVEL AND PARTICLES
HAVING DIAMETER IN BETWEEN 4.75 MM TO 75 MICRON IS
CALLED SAND.
FINE GRAINED SOIL

• THE FINE-GRAINED SOIL IS BASICALLY DIVIDED

INTO TWO GROUPS WHICH ARE SILT AND CLAY.
THE PARTICLES WHOSE SIZE RANGES BETWEEN
75 MICRONS TO 2 MICRONS ARE KNOWN AS SILT
AND THE PARTICLES WHOSE SIZE SMALLER
THAN 2 MICRONS IS KNOWN AS CLAY.
FIELD IDENTIFICATION OF SOIL/VARIOUS ON-
FIELD TESTS ON SOIL

1. TOUGHNESS
2. DILATANCY
3. DRY STRENGTH
1. TOUGHNESS

TOUGHNESS THE SAME SAMPLE OF THE DILATANCY

TEST IS USED AND DRY FOR A WHILE. TRY TO ROLL IT
INTO A 3 MM THREAD THEN FIND THE PLASTIC LIMIT.
NOW AFTER REACHING THE PLASTIC LIMIT, TRY TO
ROLL IT BY USING SOME EXTRA PRESSURE.IF IT CAN
ROLL FURTHER, IT IMPLIES THE SOIL HAS MORE
TOUGHNESS.IF WE CANT ROLL IT OR IT CRUMBLES
THEN IT INDICATES LOW TOUGHNESS.IF THE THREAD
STARTS TO CRUMBLE BELOW THE PLASTIC LIMIT
ITSELF THEN IT INDICATES THE MEDIUM TOUGHNESS.
2. DILATANCY
IT IS BASED ON THE WATER MOVEMENT IN THE SOIL SAMPLE.
TAKE A SLIGHTLY WET SOIL, SQUEEZE IT IN THE HAND.IF THE
WATER DISAPPEARS IMMEDIATELY IT IS SILT
3. DRY STRENGTH TEST

THE SAME SAMPLE WOULD BE DRIED UNTIL IT

LOSES ITS WATER COMPLETELY AND THEN APPLY
PRESSURE BY FINGERS, THEN IF IT CONVERTS
INTO POWDER THEN IT IMPLIES IT HAS LOW DRY
STRENGTH.IF IT REQUIRES STRENGTH FROM
FINGERS IT IMPLIES IT HAS MEDIUM-DRY
STRENGTH.IF IT CAN’T BE POWDERED WITH THE
APPLICATION OF STRENGTH ALSO, IT IMPLIES IT
HAS HIGH DRY STRENGTH.
1. PERMIABILITY OF SOIL

• PERMEABILITY (K) OF SOIL DEPENDS ON THE AVERAGE SIZE OF

THE PORES AND IS RELATED TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF PARTICLE
SIZES, PARTICLE SHAPE, AND SOIL STRUCTURE.
• FOR DIFFERENT SOIL TYPES AS PER GRAIN SIZE, THE ORDERS OF
MAGNITUDE FOR PERMEABILITY OF DIFFERENT PARTICLES
• THE CO-EFFICIENT OF PERMIABILITY OF SILT IS 5 × 10-4 CM/S - 1 ×
10-5 CM/S.
• PERMEABILITY OF SILT IS SAMI-IMPERVIOUS TO IMPERVIOUS
WHEN COMPACTED.
• FALLING HEAD TEST OF FINE GRAINED SOIL
2. SHEAR STRENGTH OF SOIL

SHEAR STRENGTH PARAMETERS FOR SILTY SAND

SAMPLES. IT IS OBSERVED THAT THE SHEAR STRESS IS
HIGHER IN THE SAMPLE WITH 40% SILT CONTENT. AS
THE SILT CONTENT IN SAND INCREASES, THE
COHESION OF THE SOIL INCREASE, WHILE THE
FRICTION ANGLE DECREASES.
• SHEARING STRENGTH OF SILT IS FAIR.
3. CONSOLIDATION OF SOIL

IN FINE SOILS (SILTS AND CLAYS) WITH LOW

PERMEABILITY - THE SOIL IS UNDRAINED AS THE LOAD
IS APPLIED. SLOW SEEPAGE OCCURS AND THE EXCESS
PORE PRESSURES DISSIPATE SLOWLY, CONSOLIDATION
SETTLEMENT OCCURS.