SOIL MECHANICS

O ENGR. RICHARD T. BARNACHEA

O CE Instructor
REFERENCES:
O Soil Mechanics Fundamentals by:
Isao Ishibashi
Hemanta Hazarika
O Soil Mechanics and Foundation
by: Muni Budhu
O Geotechnical Engineering 2nd Edition by:
Renato Lancellota
Soil Mechanics

O Soil mechanics is the branch of science

that deals with the study of physical
properties of soil and the behavior of
soil masses subjected to various types
of forces.
Soil Mechanics
O Soil mechanics is one of the
engineering disciplines that deals with
soils as an engineering material.
O Since ancient ages, engineers have been
handling soils as an engineering
material for various construction
projects.
DEFINITION OF SOIL
The term Soil has various meanings, depending upon
the general field in which it is being considered.
O To a Pedologist ... Soil is the substance existing on
the earth's surface, which grows and develops plant
life.
OTo a Geologist ..... Soil is the material in the relative
thin surface zone within which roots occur, and all the
rest of the crust is grouped under the term ROCK
irrespective of its hardness.
 DEFINITION OF SOIL

O To an Engineer .... Soil is the un-aggregated

or un-cemented deposits of mineral and/or
organic particles or fragments covering large
portion of the earth's crust.
Soil is the relatively loose mass of
mineral and organic materials and
sediments found above the bedrock,
which can be relatively easily broken
down into its constituent mineral or
organic particles.
Assignment

Enumerate and
define the 12
types of soil.
 Types of Soil
There are many different types of soils,
and each one has unique characteristics,
like color, texture, structure, and mineral
content.
The depth of the soil also varies.
The kind of soil in an area helps
determines what type of plants can grow.
 Soil Formation
Parent Rock

Residual Soil
Transported Soil
(remain at the
(moved and deposited
original place)
to other places)
- weathering (by - weathered and
physical & chemical transported far away
agents) of parent
rock by wind, water and
ice
 SOIL FORMATION
Weathering is the process of the breaking down rocks.
There are two different types of weathering.
Physical weathering
Chemical weathering
In physical weathering it breaks down the rocks, but
what it's made of stays the same.
Physical weathering involves reduction of size without
any change in the original composition of the parent
rock.
The main agents responsible for this process are
exfoliation, unloading, erosion, freezing, and thawing.
O In chemical weathering it still breaks down the
rocks, but it may change what it's made of.
O Chemical weathering causes both reductions
in size and chemical alteration of the original
parent rock.
For instance, a hard material may change
to a soft material after chemical
weathering.
 Transported Soils
Glacial soils: formed by transportation and
deposition of glaciers.
Alluvial soils: transported by running water and
deposited along streams.
Lacustrine soils: formed by deposition in quiet lakes
(e.g. soils in Taipei basin).
Marine soils: formed by deposition in the seas
Aeolian soils: transported and deposited by the wind
(e.g. soils in the loess plateau, China).
Colluvial soils: formed by movement of soil from its
original place by gravity, such as during landslide
 Soil Horizons (layers)
Soil is made up of distinct horizontal
layers; these layers are called horizons.
They range from rich, organic upper
layers (humus and topsoil) to underlying
rocky layers ( subsoil, regolith and
bedrock).
O Horizon - The top, organic layer of
soil, made up mostly of humus
(decomposed organic matter).
A Horizon - The layer called topsoil; it
is found below the O horizon and above
the E horizon.
Seeds germinate and plant roots grow
in this dark-colored layer. It is made up
of humus mixed with mineral particles.
E Horizon - This eluviation (leaching)
layer is light in color; this layer is
beneath the A Horizon and above the B
Horizon.
It is made up mostly of sand and silt,
having lost most of its minerals and
clay as water drips through the soil (in
the process of eluviation).
B Horizon - Also called the subsoil -
this layer is beneath the E Horizon and
above the C Horizon.
It contains clay and mineral deposits
(like iron, aluminum oxides, and
calcium carbonate) that it receives from
layers above it when mineralized water
drips from the soil above.
C Horizon - Also called regolith: the
layer beneath the B Horizon and above
the R Horizon.
It consists of slightly broken-up
bedrock. Plant roots do not penetrate
into this layer; very little organic
material is found in this layer.
R Horizon - The unweathered rock
(bedrock) layer that is beneath all the
other layers.