CHAPTER TWO

BASIC DEFINITION AND PHASE

RELATIONS
SOIL is composed of solids, liquids, and gases.
The solid phase may be mineral, organic matter,
or both.
The spaces between the solids (soil particles) are
called voids.
voids
If all the voids are filled with water, the soil is
saturated.
saturated
 BASIC DEFINITION AND PHASE
RELATIONS
Otherwise, the soil is unsaturated.
If all the voids are filled with air, the soil
is said to be dry.
dry
Water is often the predominant liquid and
air is the predominant gas.
Three Phases in Soils
Three Phases in Soils
O VOID RATIO; e : The ratio of the volume of voids
(Vv) to soil volume (Vs).Vv
e
Vs
Void ratios of real coarse-grained soils vary between 1
and 0.3. Greater than 1 for clay soils.
O POROSITY; n : The ratio of the volume of voids
(Vv) to total volume (V).
Vv
n 0n1
V
O RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VOID RATIO AND
POROSITY n
e  or e
n
1 n 1 e
O WATER CONTENT; ω : The ratio of the amount of
water (Ww) in the soil (Ws) and expressed as a
percentage.
Ww
 x100%
Ws

O DEGREE OF SATURATION; S : The ratio of the

volume water (Vw) to volume of voids (Vv) and
expressed as a percentage.
Vw
S x100%
Vv 0%  S  100%
O Completely dry soil S = 0 %
Completely saturated soil S = 100% or 1
Unsaturated soil (partially saturated soil)

S = Vw/Vv = (ωGs)/e
or
Se = ωGs
O UNIT WEIGHT, Ɣ : The ratio of weight to volume

Ww Ws W
w  s  
Vw Vs V
O SPECIFIC GRAVITY; GS : The ratio of unit weight
of soil to unit weight of water
s Ws / Vs
Gs  Gs 
w or w
O RELATIVE DENSITY; Dr :
emax  eo
Dr  x100%
emax  emin
 Special Cases for Unit Weight
O Saturated unit weight (S=1):

γsat = [(Gs + e)/(1 + e)] γw

O Dry unit weight (S=0):

γd = Ws/V = [Gs /(1 + e)] γw

O Effective or Buoyant (submerged) unit weight
is the weight of a saturated soil, surrounded by
water per unit volume of soil.
γ’ = γsat – γw = [(Gs - 1)/(1 + e)] γw
Example #1:
O A soil sample has a void ratio of
0.8, degree of saturation of 0.9 and
Gs of 2.68. Using SI units compute,
total unit weight, dry unit weight,
water content, and saturated unit
weight.
Example #2:
O A saturated sample of soil in a water
content container weighed 60g. After
drying in air its weight was 50g. The
container weighed 10g. Specific gravity of
the soils was 2.7. Determine
O water content
O void ratio
O dry unit weight
 Determination of Particle Size
Distribution
O PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION is a
screening process in which coarse fractions of soil
are separated by means of series of sieves.
O Particle sizes larger than 0.074 mm (U.S. No. 200
sieve) are usually analyzed by means of sieving.
O Soil materials finer than 0.074 mm (#200
material) are analyzed by means of sedimentation
of soil particles by gravity (hydrometer analysis).
Mechanical analysis is used in the
determination of the size range of particles
present in a soil, expressed as a percentage of
the total dry weight.
There are two methods that generally utilized
to determine the particle size distribution of
soil:
1. Sieve Analysis (for particle sizes >
0.075mm in diameter)
2. Hydrometer Analysis ( for particle sizes <
0.075mm in diameter )
O Particle size distribution curve is a
representation in graphical or tabular form of
the various (diameter) grain sizes in a soil,
determined through sieving and
sedimentation.
O The particle diameters are plotted in log scale,
and the corresponding percent finer in
arithmetic scale.
Particle Size Distribution Curve
 Sieve Analysis
O It is performed
by shaking the
soil sample
through a set of
sieves having
progressively
smaller
openings.
Example:
 Hydrometer Analysis
O It is based on the
principle of
sedimentation of soil
grains in water.
O Used to extend the
distribution curve of
particle shape and to
predict the particle
size less than 200
sieve.
Some commonly used measures are:
O a) Effective size: (D10)
It is the diameter in the particle size distribution
curve corresponding to 10% finer. (maximum size of
the smallest 10% of the soil)
O b) Uniformity Coefficient : Cu =D60/D10
It is the ratio of the maximum diameter of the
smallest 60% to the effective size.
A well graded soil will have
Cu > 4 for gravel
Cu > 6 for sand
O c) Coefficient of Curvature:
Cc = (D30)²/(D60*D10)
D30 is the diameter corresponding the 30%
finer
O d) Clay Fraction: (CF)
It is the percentage by dry mass of particles
smaller than 0.002mm (2μm), and is an index
property frequently quoted relation to fine
grained soils (soils with 50% or more finer than
63μm). It has a strong influence on the
engineering properties of fine grained soils.
O e) Well-Graded Material – Contains particles
of a wide range of sizes. The smaller particles
fill the spaces left between the larger particles;
therefore the soil has greater strength than a
poorly graded soil, and lower permeability.
O f) Poorly – Graded Material – Contains a
large portion of uniformly sized particles. This
particular soil has larger voids in its structure
and poor strength along with high
permeability.
O Soil A: Well Graded
O Soil B: Poorly Graded
O Soil C: Uniform