As the basic structural foundation for almost all construction, soil materials play an important role in the ultimate success of a project. Whether you're working in clay, silt, sand, gravel, peat, or loam, understanding the soil properties of your site help you make good construction decisions. Types of Soil Types of Soil Test Piles Types of Piles Types of Soils Peat Clay Silt Sand/Gravel Loam Rock Peat Peaty soil is usually dark brown or black and is easily compressible because of how much water it can hold. However, during the summer it becomes extremely dry and can even be a fire hazard. It is very poor subsoil and not ideal for support, as foundations are most stable on soil that does not shift or change structure. Clay Clay is made up of tiny particles so it stores water well, but because of its tight grasp on water it expands greatly when moist and shrinks significantly when dry. When clay is moist, it is very pliable, and can easily be moved and manipulated. These extreme changes put a great deal of pressure on foundations, causing them to move up and down, and eventually crack, making clay a poor soil for support. Silt Silty soil can be smooth to the touch and retains water longer because of its smaller particles. However, because of its tendency to retain moisture it is cold and drains poorly. This causes the silty soil to expand, pushing against a foundation and weakening it, making it not ideal for support. Sand/Gravel Sand/gravel has the largest particles of the different soil types. It is dry and gritty to the touch and does not hold moisture because of the large openings, but drains easily. When compacted and moist it holds together fairly well, and if compacted these make for good soils to support a foundation because of their non-water-retaining properties. However, when moist, the particles will lose their friction and can be washed away, which can leave gaps beneath the foundation. Loam Loam is the ideal soil type: typically it’s a combination of sand, silt and clay. It is dark in color and soft, dry and crumbly to the touch. Loam is great for supporting foundations because of its evenly balanced properties, especially how it maintains water at a balanced rate. Loam is a good soil for supporting a foundation, as long as no miscellaneous soils find their way onto the surface. Rock Types such as bedrock, limestone, sandstone, shale and hard chalk have high bearing capacities. These are very strong and good for supporting foundations because of their stability and depth. As long as the rock is level the foundation will be well supported. Types of Soil Test Moisture content test Atterberg limits tests Specific gravity of soil Dry density of soil Compaction test (Proctor’s test) Moisture Content Test for Soil Moisture content or water content in soil is an important parameter for building construction. Oven drying method Calcium carbide method Torsion balance method Pycnometer method Sand bath method Radiation method Alcohol method Atterberg Limit for Soil To measure the critical water content of a fine grained soil, Atterberg provided 3 limits which exhibits the properties of fine grained soil at different conditions. The limits are liquid limit, plastic limit and shrinkage limit. Specific Gravity of Soil Specific gravity of soil is the ratio of the unit weight of soil solids to that of the water. It is determined by many methods and they are. Density bottle method Pycnometer method Gas jar method Shrinkage limit method Measuring flask method Dry Density of Soil The weight of soil particles in a given volume of sample is termed as dry density of soil. Dry density of soil depends upon void ratio and specific gravity of soil. Based on values of dry density soil is classified into dense, medium dense and loose categories. Compaction Test Proctor’s test is conducted to determine compaction characteristics of soil. Compaction of soil is nothing but reducing air voids in the soil by densification. The degree of Compaction is measured in terms of dry density of soil. Piling A pile is basically a long cylinder of a strong material such as concrete that is pushed into the ground to act as a steady support for structures built on top of it. Pile foundations are used in the following situations: When there is a layer of weak soil at the surface. This layer cannot support the weight of the building, so the loads of the building have to bypass this layer and be transferred to the layer of stronger soil or rock that is below the weak layer. When a building has very heavy, concentrated loads, such as in a high rise structure, bridge, or water tank Two fundamental types of pile foundations (based on structural behaviour): End Bearing Piles Friction Piles End Bearing Piles
In end bearing piles, the bottom end of
the pile rests on a layer of especially strong soil or rock. The load of the building is transferred through the pile onto the strong layer. In a sense, this pile acts like a column. The key principle is that the bottom end rests on the surface which is the intersection of a weak and strong layer. The load therefore bypasses the weak layer and is safely transferred to the strong layer. Friction Piles Friction piles work on a different principle. The pile transfers the load of the building to the soil across the full height of the pile, by friction. In other words, the entire surface of the pile, which is cylindrical in shape, works to transfer the forces to the soil. How Piles are constructed: Driven Piles: Cast-in-place piles are made in the following steps:hammer a thin-walled steel tube into the ground remove all earth left inside the tube lower a steel reinforcement cage into the tube cast the pile by pouring wet concrete into the tube The thin walled steel tube is called the casing, and only serves to form a secure mould for casting concrete that is free from earth and debris. It has no structural role to play after the casting is complete. Precast Driven Piles are first cast at ground level and then hammered or driven into the ground using a pile driver. This is a machine that holds the pile perfectly vertical, and then hammers it into the ground blow by blow. Each blow is is struck by lifting a heavy weight and dropping it on the top of the pile - the pile is temporarily covered with a steel cap to prevent it from disintegrating. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!