30/1/2013

CE2112 – Module
Structure

Geotechnical Core Modules

 CE2112 – Soil Mechanics – soil
properties
ti and d measurementt
 CE3115 – Geotechnical engineering –
earth pressure, retaining structures,
slopes and excavations
 CE3116 – Foundation engineering –
bearing capacity, shallow
foundations, deep foundations.

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Module Code and Title CE 2112 SOIL MECHANICS

Module Classification
Modular Credits
Brief Module Description:
Technical essential
4 MC
The course teaches students the fundamental
engineering geological knowledge and basic soil
mechanics, and their impact on geotechnical and
foundation engineering design and construction.
construction
Students will learn to understand the basic
characteristics of soils, fundamental effective stress
principle, and mechanical behaviour of soil including
the strength, and compressibility & consolidation
properties of soil. Through lectures, tutorial
discussions, case studies, and case studies, the course
covers the basic soil properties, soil testing, shear
strength parameters in drained and undrained
conditions, compressibility of granular soil, and the
consolidation characteristic of cohesive soils. Sampling
and common in-situ tests as well as the evaluation of
design soil properties will also be covered.
The course also enables students to acquire the
knowledge and practical skills of functioning as an
engineer and consultants through the laboratory soil
tests and submission of a consultant report arising
form the analysis of a given mini-project, conducting
appropriate soil tests and the engineering evaluation.

Brief Description This is an introductory module in soil mechanics. The

(Handbook’s version) topics covered include basic geology, effective stress
principle, shear strength, compressibility, and seepage
and consolidation. Students will learn to be conversant
with basic terminology in soil mechanics and to
understand effective stress as an important unifying
principle underlying all soil behaviour. This module
provides an understanding of Mohr Mohr-Coulomb
Coulomb failure
criterion (drained and undrained interpretations), perform
settlement calculations using e-log p', and estimating rate
of consolidation using classical Terzaghi theory.

Pre-requisites/Co- Nil
requisites:

Preclusions Nil

Workload hours per week 3-0.5-0.5-0-6

Offered with effect from: 2002:Semester 2

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Aims and objectives To develop an understanding on the fundamental

geological knowledge, and the basic soil mechanics.
Students are expected to appreciate that the mechanical
behaviour of soils is governed by the effectives stress
principle. Students are able to analysis foundation and
geotechnical problems from the point of view of shear
strength characteristic and the volume change
characteristic
h t i ti off the
th engineering
i i soils.
il

Intended Outcome Students will have the ability to understand the basic
geological knowledge and their relation to design and
construction in soils and rocks.
Students will have an ability to relate the basic soil
properties to their mechanical behaviour.
Stude ts will u
Students understand
de sta d tthee fundamental
u da e ta mechanical
ec a ca
behaviour of soil related to the behaviour of geotechnical
and foundation structures.

Maximum Class Size 200 students

Syllabus: Singapore Geology (5 hours) [FH Lee]

Rock & soil formation of Singapore; impact on design &
construction.

Basic characteristics of soils (5 hours) [FH Lee]

Phase relations; particle size analysis; index properties;
soil classification; and their role in soil mechanics.

Effective stress principle (4 hours) [FH Lee]

Stresses and pore water pressure changes in the soil;
drained & undrained conditions.

Shear strength (10 hours) [SH Goh]

Shear failure of soil medium; Mohr-Coulomb
Mohr Coulomb failure
criterion; triaxial tests; drained and undrained behaviour;
total and effective strength parameters; Skempton’s pore
pressure parameter; stress path effects; field
measurements.

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Syllabus: Compressibility (6 hours) [FH Lee]

(con’t) Compressibility & volume changes of granular & fine grained
soils; compaction; elastic settlement; elastic modulus &
Poisson's ratio; compression indices; laboratory & field
measurements.

Seepage & consolidation (6 hours) [SH Goh]

Darcy's law; permeability measurements; steady state
seepage; flow nets; seepage forces; 1D consolidation;
coefficient of consolidation & its measurement; preloading.

Project work (3 hours) [FH Lee]

Example: Feasibility study on land reclamation (laboratory
soil
il ttesting,
ti iinterpretation
t t ti off soil
il data,
d t consolidation
lid ti analysis,
l i
other geotechnical considerations, recommendations)
Professional consultancy report to be submitted.

Assessment (%): Nature of CA and final assessment

CA consists of quizzes, laboratory work, essay writing,
presentation, project report.

Quizzes and examinations

~2 - 3 quizzes, 1 mini project with professional report, and
one open-book
open book final examination
e amination

Break up of CA and final assessment

CA 50% and final assessment 50%

Schedule assignments/quizzes/projects/papers
One quiz will be conducted after every ~3 - 4 weeks. One
essay writing will be required toward to mid-semester. The
laboratory sessions are configured into the form of a mini-
project, which consists of 2 supervised laboratory sessions
of 3 hours each, and the preparation of a Geotechnical
Interpretation Report (GIR), in which students will be
required to perform the required experiments (and repeat
their tests at their own time, if they deem the results
unsatisfactory), interpret the results and make
recommendations for design parameters and guidelines.

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Module Dr Goh Siang Huat and Prof. Lee Fook Hou

Lecturer/s:
Modes of Lectures: Key information inclusive of theories, derivation
Teaching and development, methods and practical consideration are made
Learning available
Tutorial Discussion : Both large group and small group
tutorial will be conducted.
conducted Large group will be use to
illustrate to the students the solving of numerical based type
of problems, while small group tutorial will be conducted to
simulate students for more open ended type of discussion on
some fundamental aspects of soil behaviour.
Mini-Project & Laboratory sessions: Hand-on laboratory
session on soil testing will be conducted, with students in a
group. Group mini-project will be given incorporating all the
laboratory sessions as well as some self study. Professional
p
level submissions expected.

Illustrative Basic Text Book:

Reading List: •J. A. Knappett & Craig, R F. Craig’s Soil Mechanics. 8th Edition,
Spon Press, U.K., 2012. (Highly recommended to get a copy for
yourself).
•Whitlow, R. Basic Soil Mechanics, Prentice –Hall , UK, 2004. or

Compulsory reading
Liu C and Evett J B, Soils and Foundations, Pearson International
Editi
Edition, P
Pearson Ed
Education
ti IInc, New
N Jersey,
J USA,
USA 7th Edition,
Editi
2008.
Atkinson, J H and P L Brnasby. The Mechanics of Soils. McGraw-
Hill/ELBS, U.K., 1982.
Blyth, F G H and M H de Freites. A Geology for Engineers. 7th
Edition, Edward Arnold/ELBS, London, U.K., 1984.
BS1377:1990. Methods of Tests for Soils for Civil Engineering
Purposes. British Standards Institution, U.K., 1990.
Dunn, I S, L R Anderson and F W Kieter. Fundamentals of
Geotechnical Analysis.
Analysis John Wiley,
Wiley N.Y.,
N Y USA,
USA 1980.
1980
Goodman, R E. Engineering Geology – Rock in Engineering
Construction. John Wiley & Sons, N.Y., USA, 1993.
Lambe, T W and R V Whitman. Soil Mechanics. SI version, John
Wiley, N.Y., USA, 1979.
Scott, C R. An Introduction to Soil Mechanics and Foundations.
3rd Edition. Applied Science, London, U.K., 1979.

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GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
- AN OVERVIEW
1. Role and Function of Geotechnical Engineers

• Geotechnical engineers: civil engineers responsible for the

design, construction and safety of parts or whole of an
infrastructure which are embedded within or on the ground
as well as the ground itself.
• Integral part of most construction works, but degree varies.
• E.g. low-rise residential building, load imposed onto the
ground often quite small, so that the involvement of
geotechnical engineer may be rather minimal.
minimal
• E.g. the Northeast and Circle MRT lines iare completely
underground, involves a tremendous amount of
underground work => the geotechnical engineer’s
involvement is much more significant than that of the
structural engineer or architect.

a. Design - foundations, excavations, earth dams,

embankments, earth retaining structures, slopes,
reclamation works, soil improvement works etc..
b. Construction supervision and monitoring. Objective
is to ensure that geotechnical structure behaves in
a safe manner.
c. Geotechnical investigation and troubleshooting.
Normally required when a collapse or failure
occurs e.g. Nicoll Highway Collapse.
d Soil testing and site investigation.
d. investigation To obtain
parameters for design, monitoring and
investigations => Geotechnical Interpretative
Reports (GIRs).

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Local construction works in which geotechnical engineers

have played significant roles:

 Building foundations
 MRT lines especially the underground
stretches.
 Land reclamation works.

 Deep tunnel sewerage systems.

 Basement
B t and
d foundation
f d ti construction
t ti f
for
buildings.
 Airports and runways.

 River widening and deepening

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Diaphragm wall panels at Nicholl Highway collapse site. Note the

clean breaks along inter-panel joints.

Tunnelling with Earth Pressure Balance

(EPB) Machine.

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Removing muck from tunnel

Control equipment in EPB

machine

Segmental linings

Effects of ground
movements.

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Complex equipment
needed
d d to determine
d i soil
il
properties because soil is
not a man-made
material.

What happens when things go wrong in

geotechnical engineering…

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What happens when things go wrong in

geotechnical engineering…

Before After

What happens when things go wrong in

geotechnical engineering…

Before After

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Building facing
the wrong way:
8th wonder of
the modern
world!

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New Regulation
on Temporary
Earth Retaining
Structures

New Regulation on Temporary Earth

Retaining Structures
 (a) Excavation not deeper than 6m or one-level basement.
 TERS design and supervision shall be carried out by the PE, and checked
by an AC.

 (b) Excavation deeper than 6m or one basement level.

 TERS design and supervision shall be carried out by a PE (civil), and a PE
with expertise in geotechnical engineering [known as the PE (geotec)]. The
PE (civil) will focus on the structural aspects, while the PE (geotec) will focus
on the geotechnical component of the design. Both PEs will be jointly
responsible for the TERS design and supervision, which includes
instrumentation and monitoring. The PE (civil) and PE (geotech) can be the
same pperson if he/she has the relevant expertise.
p Where theyy are separate
p
persons, one of them will be responsible for overall co-ordination.

 Similar to the current requirement for the design of permanent works to be

checked by an AC, the TERS design shall also be checked by an AC
specialized in geotechnical engineering [known as the AC (geotec)]. The
checks shall cover field reviews and inspections on TERS at critical stages.

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 Applies to other major permanent geotechnical engineering works

e.g. protection of slope with vertical height of more than 6m, or
more than 10m if the slope is less than 45 degrees;
independent retaining walls of more than 6m high; tunnelling
works of more than 2m in diameter; and foundation of buildings
of 30 storey or more using caissons, bored piles or raft. These
works are currently required to be designed by a PE and checked by
an AC under the BC Act,Act but there are no requirements for the PE
and AC to be geotechnical specialists.
 23 To facilitate the requirements for PE (geotec) and AC (geotec),
PEB and BCA will create new professional engineer registration
categories. The considerations for registration are:-
 (a) Pre-requisite professional registration. The PE (geotec) shall first
be a registered PE (civil), while the AC (geotec) shall need to
already be a registered PE (geotec).
 (b) Qualifications and experience. The PE (geotec) and AC
(geotech) shall have a postgraduate degree in geotechnical
engineering and the stipulated number of years of practical
experience.

http://www.mom.gov.sg/skills-training-and-
development/skills-in-demand/Pages/skills-in-demand.aspx

Design Engineer
Petroleum Engineer Degree/Masters in Aerospace
Project Engineer Engineering, Aerospace
Reservoir Engineer Maintenance, Avionics;
Degree/Masters/PhD in Marine
Manufacturing Well Engineer
Engineering, Offshore Engineering,
- Aerospace
Naval Architecture,
Architecture Petroleum
and Marine &
Engineering, Civil Engineering,
Offshore
Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum
Nano Engineer
Engineering, Process Engineering,
Structural Engineering, Electrical
Engineering, Subsea Engineering

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http://www.mom.gov.sg/skills-training-and-
development/skills-in-demand/Pages/skills-in-demand.aspx

Ministry of Manpower Strategic Skills in Demand for

Construction

Occupation Recommended Requisites

Masters/Degree/Diploma
Civil/ Structural/ Bridge Engineer
(Construction-related)

Degree/Diploma (Construction-
Design Engineer
related)

PhD/Masters/Degree
C
Construction
t ti Geotechnical Engineer
(Construction-related)

Degree/Diploma (Mechanical &

Mechanical & Electrical-related)
Electrical/Aircon/Fire/Instrumentat
ion Engineer With at least 2 years of relevant
experience

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GEOTECHNICAL AND

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
•Differences between geotechnical and structural engineering:
•Structural engineer works with man-made materials which are
qquality-controlled
y . Structural testingg are q quality
y control
testing
•Geotechnical engineer works with natural material which has
NO quality control. Geotechnical tests are usually property
evaluation tests, the results of these tests will actually affect
the design and construction of the project. Thus, accuracy
and reliability are important requirements of geotechnical
testing.
•Site investigation and testing are an integral part of a
geotechnical engineer’s work, whereas testing in structural
engineering is largely used only for quality control during
construction. ***

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Man-made structural materials e.g. concrete and steel,

are fairly similar throughout the world => design
procedures often work equally well for other countries
such as Singapore.
As many geotechnical materials in the world as there
are soil types => understanding and experience with
local soils often play an important role. Because of
the large natural variation in material behaviour, a
geotechnical engineer is often much more concerned
about the behaviour of his materials (i.e. soils) than a
structural engineer.
Even within a site, significant variations in soil
profiles and properties can exist; especially in
Singapore.
Geotechnical engineering has much higher degree
of uncertainty than do structural engineers e.g.
“unforeseen ground conditions”.

 Soilbehaviour highly complex and

cannot be fully described or
quantified. Most quantifications are
approximate Thus soil mechanics is
approximate.
an “inexact science”. ***
 Process of sampling soil from the site
and testing also disturbs the soil, so
the parameters will not exactly
represent those in the field.
field ***

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•Building structural systems are often frame and

grid structures => deformation and deflection
can be evaluated quite easily.
•Ground is a continuous medium (also known as
a “continuum”),
“ ti ”) which
hi h cannott be
b analyzed
l d so
easily.
•Most structural systems designed to behave
elastically when used.
•Many soils are non-linear or even plastic
under working load => much more difficult to
conduct a precise analysis on a geotechnical
system. Philosophy of geotechnical design often
different from that of structural design.

SOIL CONSTITUENTS

Dry soil: solid phase i.e. soil skeleton

air & water vapour
Saturated soil: soil skeleton
pore water
Unsaturated moist/wet soil: soil skeleton
pore water
air & water vapou
S il pores are continuous,
Soil i i water can flow
i.e. fl through
h h or seep, into
i
and out of soils. Water flow through soil complicates soil
behaviour.

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Components of soil skeleton

a. Granular material i.e. sand, gravel, silt.
Primary rock minerals. Grain diameter > 2 µm.
b.Clay. Product of chemical weathering, quite
different chemically from parent rock material.
Diameter < 2 µm.
c. Inter-granular cement e.g. calcite, iron oxide &
silica.
d.Organic
g matter. Except
p for ppeat,, organic
g matter
is usually not present in large enough
quantities to affect mechanical soil behaviour
significantly.

 Soil: derived from physical and chemical weathering of rock.

 Fill: man-made ground comprising highly variable excavated soil from
other sites, bricks, mortar, kitchen sink and even garbage. Depth of fill
does not extend beyond a few metres below the ground surface. Because of
this and its variability, most engineering works do not deal with fill
material. Typical profile

Fill
gwt.

Soil

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In Singapore, two types of soil profiles commonly encountered.

a. Marine clay. Soil profile also commonly known as the Kallang formation.
Marine clay is a soft clay with low shear strength

Fill
gwt

Upper Marine Clay

Stiff Sandy clay

Lower Marine Clay

y

Stiff soil

b. Residual soil. Stiff soil

In both cases, bedrock is normally found at ~ 25 - 30 m below ground surface.

Groundwater Table
 also known as the phreatic surface
 an important consideration in geotechnical engineering.
 defined as the (imaginary) surface joining all the points
in the ground where the pore water pressure is zero.
 not the boundary separating saturated from unsaturated
soil.
 Soil below the groundwater table for a long time
generally saturated since air would have dissolved.
 Soil above the groundwater table not necessarily
unsaturated.
 In general, coarse-grained soil e.g. sand and gravel, will
not be saturated above groundwater table, but fine-
grained soils e.g. silt and clay can be saturated above the
groundwater table because of capillary rise.

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Capillary Effect – A Quick Re-visit

Water level in the thin tubes lies above the hydrostatic level in
the reservoir. The thinner the tube, the higher the rise - capillary
rise.
An important effect in flow through small cavities and channels
e.g. water flow up the stems of plants. Also candles and oil lamps.

Caused by two effects:

At the free surface of the water (i.e. surface between the water and
the air), water molecules are attracted to each other => free surface
behaves like a weak membrane - surface tension.
At the water and many materials e.g. glass and soil, there is also
an attractive force known as adhesion.
Combined effect: raise the level of free
surface. Just below the free surface, the water
pressure is negative since it is above the
phreatic surface.
Soil pores behave as capillaries. Finer soil
grain => smaller capillary section => larger
capillary effect.
Veryy fine grained
g soil e.g.
g clays,
y , the capillary
p y
rise, i.e. the zone of saturation above the
groundwater table, can be several metres.
In Singapore, the groundwater table (gwt)
comes close to the ground surface (~ 4m or
less) except for hilly areas. Near coastlines,
soil is usually saturated.

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BASIC CONCEPTS IN STRESSES AND STRAINS

Fy

Fx
A

Need way of quantifying the “loading effect” of the

forces on each point within the body and the changes
in shape at each point that results => stresses and
strains.
Stresses: loading intensity at a point.
Strains: “normalized” deformation at a point.

Stress
Stress quantifies the intensity of loading by
dividing the loading by the area, e.g.
 = F/A
Oblique forces: The force F can be
resolved into a component N acting F
N
normally to the surface at end of the A
rod and another S acting parallel to F

the surface S

The first is a normal stress 

defined as
 = N/A
and the second is a shear stress
defined as  = S/A

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STRAIN
• Strains: response to a material to stresses.
• In the case of the cylindrical body:
F = k L
where k = stiffness.

•For a cylinder of length 2L: can be considered as two cylinders F

each of length L joined end to end. Each cylinder is subjected to A
same force F and therefore compressed by the same amount L.
•Thus, the total compression of the long cylinder (length 2L) is
2L. L
•Stiffness k is not constant for a given material, it depends also on
geometry, in this case, the length of the cylinder.
•Loading effect or stress is the same.
•Material
Material is the same,
same the response of the material to this same
loading effect must be the same.
•Hence, compression L does not specifically describe the
response of the material to the stress.
•Divide compression by the length of the body, i.e. L/L
normalizes out the effect of the length on the compression. Strain
 given by
•  = L/L

Modulus
o Hooke’s Law F = k L
o Since k is inversely proportional to L,
o k = k’/L where k’ is another constant.
o Also, the bigger the cross-sectional area A of the specimen, the stiffer the rod
and the smaller is the compression L, therefore k (and thus k’) proportional to A.
o i.e. k = AE/L
o where E is another constant,
constant the modulus.
modulus Thus
o F = AEL/L
o F/A = E L/L
o =E
o E relates stress to strain.
o By normalizing the geometry of the specimen out from the loads and
deformations, we arrive at the modulus E for quantifying the material response
that is independent of the geometry of the specimen.
o Classical approach to stress analysis:
 given
i a sett off loads
l d
 localise the loading effect through analysis into stresses, thereby
eliminating the effect of geometry,
 by testing or other means, determine the response of the material to
the stresses, in the forms of strains,
 by re-introducing the geometry of the body via analysis, globalize the
strains into deformations of the body.

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BASIC MECHANISMS OF SOIL

STRENGTH
 Soil: a complicated material; many factors affect its mechanical behaviour.
Some simplification to allow us to study the problem in some depth.

Dry Soil
 An assemblage of particles in contact. Has strength, as demonstrated by angle of
repose of a pile of sand. Much of observed soil behaviour can be explained in
terms of particles in contact.
 Strength - defined as the stress level at which material fails (i.e. breaks up or
suffers excessive deformation).
 Soil normally fails by sliding and rolling of soil grains past one another, not by
crushing or fracturing of particle (except at very high stress levels).
 Crushing strength of silicaceous particles much higher than stresses normally
encountered.
d Soils
S il generally
ll fail
f il by
b shearing
h i not by b crushing.
hi This
hi is
i the
h basic
b i
philosophy underlying most geotechnical stability analyses. Relevant factor is
not the crushing strength of individual particles but the slipping resistance of
particles past one another ***.
 Some exceptions in which the soil grains crush under working pressures e.g.
calcareous soils, but these are usually encountered only in certain offshore
environments.

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Slipping resistance derived mainly from two sources:

a. limiting inter-particle friction. Depends on the
normal force across the contact and coefficient of
friction, say .
b. interlocking. Particles has to get out of each
other's way in order to slip. Energy is needed to lift
particles out of the "voids" against the normal force.
A densely packed array of particle will try to dilate
when shear - stress dilatancy.
y A loosely yppacked array
y
of particle will try to settle more into the voids -
densification. **

 For most soils, friction and interlocking contribute to much of

its shear strength.
 Some soils have other mechanisms e.g. such as cementation
(sandstones, sensitive soils), thixotropy and chemical effects
(clays), fabric and particle alignment (clays). But basic trends
can be explained in terms of friction and interlocking.
I
Important! ! In
I spite
i off the
h large
l variety
i off soils,
il they
h can beb
characterized by a few design parameters which allow design
to proceed.
 Simplify problem further by treating soil as a continuous
medium (or continuum) not as an assemblage of particles.
Contact forces considered as normal and shear stresses.
Approximation is generally good if elemental contact area is >
3000 grains. All right for full scale soil structures in clay and
sand.
 Stiffness or stress-strain behaviour - arises from slight
readjustment of soil skeleton due to particle deformation
especially at the contact points. Problem is approximated by
Hertzian contact (Elastic contact over small contact area).

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Saturated Soil
 Interaction between pore water and soil skeleton =>
interesting behaviour.
 Soil skeleton can take both normal and shear stresses.
Pore water can carry normal but not shear stresses.
Shear behaviour of soils depends
p on the inter-particle
p
friction and interlocking (see above). Both are related
to the macroscopic normal stress on the soil skeleton.
 To determine the macroscopic normal stress on
the soil skeleton - discount the pore pressure
contribution from the external normal stress.
 Vertical equilibrium ->
 F1 + u(A-Ac ) = P
F1 = vertical components of interparticle contact
forces,
u = pore water pressure,
Ac = total interparticle contact area.

Basis of Effective Stress Principle

•The Principle of Effective Stress is one
Let  F1 = " Ac
of the fundamental equations in soil
" = average stress acting across mechanics.
the interparticle contacts. •The effective stress ’ is much better for
" Ac + u(A-Ac ) = P =  A quantifying soil behaviour because it
 = average externall stress acting
i directly quantifies the inter-particle
inter particle
across area A. contact forces and discounts the pore
Generally Ac << A, so water pressure.
" Ac + u A =  A
" Ac /A + u = 
Let ' = " Ac /A, then
' + u = 
'' = effective
ff ti stress.
t

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Examples of Effective Stress

Calculations
GWT at ground surface:
Area A
A = gAd = Ad
u = wgd = wd
 = unit
it weight
i ht off soil
il
 = d
d =0
 ‘ =  - u = ( - w)d
A = ‘d
where ‘ = buoyant unit weight.
Submarine condition:
A = Ad + wAdw
 = d + wdw
dW u = w (d + dw)
= wd + wdw
seabed ‘ =  - u = ( - w)d
d = ‘ d

A

Influence of effective stress:

Higher effective stress => higher
i t
intergranular
l friction
f i ti andd interlocking
i t l ki
=> higher strength and stiffness =>
more stable. Lower effective stress =>
the reverse. In the limiting case of
zero effective stress => liquefaction
e.g. Niigata earthquake

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Phase Relationships

PHASE RELATIONS
In our working model for soil behaviour above, two factors are
a. friction - depends upon inter-granular contact surfaces, and therefore
mineralogy. For quartz and felspathic sands, '  30. For clays, '  20 - 28.
b. interlocking - depends upon the tendency to dilate or contract, which
depends on the density of packing of the soil.
soil Need simple ways of quantifying
the density of packing of a soil. By volume:

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 30/1/2013

Voids ratio e. Volume of voids Vv occupied by a unit volume of solids Vs. Vs is used as a
reference.
e = Vv / Vs
Densest packing corresponds to minimum e (emin), which is obtained by vibrating
saturated sand. Loosest packing corresponds to maximum e (emax), which is obtained by
allowing dry sand to fall through a small height.
Sand behaviour depends heavily on its relative closeness to emax vs emin. Quantified by
relative density RD

emax emin
uniform sand 1.1 0.7
well-graded sand 1.0 0.5
e m ax  e
RD   100%
e m ax  e m in

For densest packing e = emin, RD = 100%. Loosest packing e = emax, RD = 0%.

Dense packing RD  70%. Medium dense packing RD = 50% - 70%. Medium loose
packing RD = 35% - 50%. Loose packing RD  35%. Loose sand may be unstable on
shearing or vibrating  liquefaction (more details later). Dense sand dilate very strongly
on shearing.
2. Specific volume v. Volume of soil V occupied by a unit volume of solids.
V = Vs + Vv
v = V/Vs = 1 + e

3. Porosity n. Volume of voids present in a unit volume of soil.

n = Vv /V
= e/(1+e)
Voids ratio: most commonly used in geotechnical engineering practice.
Volume
o u e measurements:
easu e e ts d difficult
cu t to obta
obtain accu
accurately.
ate y Much
uc eas
easier
e to measure
easu e
weights or unit weights and then convert to e, v or n.

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 30/1/2013

By Weight:
Water or moisture content w. Ratio of weight of water Ww to weight of
solids Ws .
w =Ww/Ws

For fully saturated soils, e = w Gs where Gs is the specific gravity of the soil
grains and is dependent mainly on the mineralogy of the soil. For sands, Gs =
2.60. For clays, Gs = 2.65 - 2.85. Note that range of variation of Gs is
relatively small.
Unit weight of solid particles
Gs = = Ws/Vsw = s/w
Unit weight of water

A n SG bottle of known volume is filled with water and weighed (W1 ). Dry soil sample of known
mass (Ws ) is placed in container, which is weighed again (W2 ). Mass of water displaced by soil =
W1 + Ws - W2
Gs = Ws/(W1 + Ws - W2)
Density of packing is also reflected in the unit weight of the soil. Several measures exists.

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5. Dry unit weight d .

d = Weight of solid phase Gs  w

=
Volume of soil 1 + e
Note that
Gs  w
= d
1+e
e = Gs  w -1
d d can also be defined for any soil, dry, saturated
or unsaturated.

Not applicable
Voids

6. Bulk unit weight .

Total weight of soil

 = = (1 + w)  d
Total volume of soil

For saturated soils  ( G s + e)

 = w

1 + e
from which e can be found. Besides being useful for determining e, the density measures are also
used for evaluating the self-weight loading imposed by the soil. Self-weight constitutes an
important load item on geotechnical structures.

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7. Degree of saturation Sr
V o lu m e o f w a te r
sr =
V o lu m e o f v o id s

Note that Sr e  w
w =  Sr e = w Gs
Gs  w

 Important points about water and

soil:
 Water interacts with the soil
skeleton.
k l t M
More water
t  lower
l soil
il
strength. ***
 High pore water pressure  lower
contact stresses between soil grains
 lower friction  lower strength.
***

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SAND VS CLAY
•Sand: result of physical weathering processes; rock mineralogy
not chemically altered. Sand grains are made up largely of the
same material as parent rock e.g. quartz, felspar.
•Contacts generally by friction with interlocking.
•Amount of frictional contacts and interlocking depends on
several important factors such as denseness of packing, particle
size distribution (fines can fill up voids in between coarser
particles  very dense pack configuration). In general, well-
graded sand have a much lower emin than uniform sand.
•Sand: quite incompressible so that a large increase in pressure is
needed to reduce the void ratio. Usually densifies better with
vibration.

+ + + +
+ +

+ + + + + + +

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
+
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

+ +
+ + +
+ +
+ +
+ + + + + +

Clay particle and its diffuse double layer.

•Clay: result of chemical weathering processes; mineralogy has been chemically
altered in a drastic manner.
Clay particles: plate
•Clay plate-like
like with large surface area
area-volume
volume ratios.
ratios C
•Clay particles: surface active owing to imbalance in charge distribution in the
particles. Different clay minerals have different amounts of charge imbalance and
attract different amounts of water molecules (interstitial water) to their surfaces.
•Larger charge imbalance  larger capacity to attract more interstitial water 
larger compress upon loading and larger swelling on unloading i.e. more active.
•Clay particles are much softer than sand particles.
•Much more compressible than sand. **

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Most inert Kaolinite, dickite, nacrite

biotite, muscovite
illite
Most active montmorillonite
A single soil e.g. marine clay may contain several
clay minerals. Thus, soils which contain a large
proportion of montmorillonite have large capacity for
large volume changes  bad news!

Basic Soil Classification

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Soil behaviour is heavily dependent upon

particle size distribution, and
activity of the clay fraction, if > 25%.
Need simple tests to give some qualitative as well as
quantitative information on soil behaviour.
For engineering purposes, interested properties are
a. compressibility
b. shear strength or shear resistance
c. permeability. Defines the ease with which
water flows through soil. Low permeability  water
will flow through very slowly e.g. clay. High
permeability  water will flow through quickly e.g.
sand. Normally dictated by the size of the pores which
depends on the finest 10% of the particles.

For soils containing

both sand and clay
size particles, first
perform a particle
size analysis.
Particle
l SSize
Analysis. Two
methods:
(a) Coarse particles
– sieve soil over a
series of sieves of
d
decreasing
i grid
id
sizes (from top to
bottom). Weight of
soil retained on
each sieve recorded.

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 30/1/2013

Extract from ISO/TS 178902-

178902-4:2004
“the aperture of the test sieves should
adequately cover the range for the
particular
ti l soilil tested,
t t d b butt it iis
recommended that within the full range of
125mm to 0.063mm, not less than 12
sieves are used. The smallest test sieve
should have an aperture
p of 0.063mm. The
number of sieves used shall be sufficient to
ensure that any discontinuities in the
grading curve are detected”

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Material passing the 63µm (0.063mm) sieve cannot

separated further by mechanical sieving.
Particle size determined by sedimentation analysis.

Principle: based on Stoke’s Law (Stokes (1851)) for

drag force Fd on very small spherical objects of diameter
D at very low Reynolds number:
Fd = 3πμDvs where μ = dynamic viscosity and
vs is the relative velocity between fluid and particle.
For a particle free-falling under its own weight,
terminal velocity reached when
Fd = particle weight = πD3(γs – γw)/6
Where γs and γw are the unit weights of the solid particle and
water, respectively. Stokesian flow around a
Equating the above equations and solving for D leads sphere (after Wikipedia)
to 18 v s 
D=
( s -  w ) D = particle diameter,
If h is the height fallen through by the particle after h = distance fallen in time t
time t, then s = unit weight of soil
18 h particles
D= w= unit weight of fluid
( s -  w ) t
 = viscosity of fluid.

Steps:
a. Known weight of fine soil treated with deflocculating
agent to disperse particles so that they settle individually.
b. Soil is mixed with known volume of water, dilute
suspension is shaken up and then allowed to stand in a
tall container. Initial concentration c0 gm/cc represents
weight of all particles < 0.063m.
c If a uniformly distributed suspension is prepared,
c. prepared
containing particles of various sizes, and if a sample is
taken at depth h below the surface after settling for time
t, sample will contain no particles larger than D.
d. All particles smaller than D present in the same
proportions as at the beginning of the test.
Concentration of particles in suspension determined by
(i) drawing off samples at a specified depth e.g. 20mm
at specified times using a pipettes and then weighing From Eq. 1, a particle with diameter
the residue,
residue or D starting from the water surface
(ii) measuring specific gravity of suspension at specified would have settled to depth h after
times using a hygrometer. time t. All other particle with the
This concentration c1 represents the weight of all same diameter starting from depth z
particles < D [D < 0.063]. would have fallen to (z+h) after time
e. t. A particle with diameter <D
weight of particles < D c
 1 starting from the water surface would
weight of all fines < 0.063m c0 have settled to depth <h after time t.

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Stokes' Law assumes

(1) spherical particles
(2) laminar flow around particles
(3) particle are much larger than molecular size i.e.
they do not suffer from Brownian motion.
Assumptions (1) and (3) not really valid for clay particles
(usually  2 µm in diameter). Results represent an
"equivalent spherical diameter”; plotted on particle size
distribution curve.
Lower limit of diameter for sedimentation analysis ~2μm

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 30/1/2013

Range of sizes are

cobbles 60 mm
gravel 2 mm to 60 mm
sand 0.06 mm to 2 mm
silt 0.002 mm to 0.06 mm
clay  0.002 mm
Of these,
th only
l clays
l are chemically
h i ll surface
f active.
ti
Well-graded sand  good shear strength, low
compressibility, good workability, pervious. Ideal at
backfill for bridge abutments and retaining walls.
Poorly-graded sand  shear strength and
compressibility not as desirable at well-graded sand.
Clayey sand => fair shear strength, low compressibility,
good workability.
workability Good as a compaction material.
material Also
impermeable. Good for construction of clay cores of earth
dams.

Index tests. For silts and clays, more

informative to perform index tests to evaluate Atterberg
Limits. These are water contents at which certain changes
in physical behaviour can be observed.
Two important Atterberg Limits: plastic limit and liquid
limit. In spite
p of the large
g variety
y of clay
y minerals and
their different activites, the engineering properties of
clays and silts are related quite well to their Atterberg
Limits.

Plastic limit (PL). Minimum water content at which soil

can be deformed plastically. Defined as the water content
at which the soil can be rolled into a thread 3 mm thick.
At water
t content
t t < PL,
PL remoulding
ldi off specimen
i will
ill cause
soil to crack and crumble. Shear strength of soil at PL 
200 kPa.

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 30/1/2013

Liquid limit (LL). Minimum

water content at which the soil
will flow plastically under a
specified small load. Two
methods. Methods:
(1) Casagrande apparatus.
Not
ot recommended.
eco e ded
(2) BS1377 (or ISO 17892)
preferred method. Uses a
miniature cone penetrometer.
LL defined as water content for
which a standard cone of apex
angle 30° and 80 gm weight
will penetrate 20 mm when
allowed to fall from a position
of point contact with the soil
surface. Results have less
scatter than Casagrande
apparatus. Shear strength of
soil at LL  2 kPa.

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Plasticity Index
Derived parameters.
Plasticity index PI = LL - PL.
PL Can be
considered to be increment of water
content required to reduce soil
strength roughly 100x. High PI 
large water content change
required to increase/decrease
shear strength  large
compression/swelling upon load
increase/decrease. Liquidity index
LI = (w - PL)/PI

Soil Classification Systems

Aim: To provide a set of common definitions which will
permit useful comparisons to be made between soils.
Many systems available.
Casagrande’s Extended Classification System. Two
letters: 1 p
prefix,, 1 suffix.
Prefix dependent on predominant size. Suffix relates to
engineering properties.
For granular materials:
> 2 mm  gravel. Prefix G.
 2 mm  sand. Prefix S.
Define
D10 = size such that 10% (by wt.) of the sample
consists of particles with a smaller nominal diameter.
D60 = size such that 60% (by wt.) of the sample
consists of particles with a smaller nominal diameter.
coefficient of uniformity Cu = D60/D10

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 30/1/2013

Suffixes:
W = well-graded material, Cu > 5. Smaller particles
will pack space between larger particles. Highly
interlocked  high shear strength, low compressibility.
U = uniform material, 1 < Cu < 5. Cannot be
tightly compacted. Shear strength generally low.
P=p poorly
yggraded. Gap
p in the g
grading.
g
C = well-graded material with some clay. Ideal fill
material especially for earth dams.
Can be closely compacted. Small proportion of clay
 15% - 30% acts as a binder and
filler. Tough dense material with high shear
strength and low compressibility. Low
permeability as clay fraction blocks pores.
F = well-graded material with excess of fines (>
30%). Fines more than sufficient to fill spaces between
the larger particles. Larger particles no longer in contact
but embedded in a matrix of fines which control soil
properties.

For fine grained soils. Use PL and LL. Based on

Casagrande's plasticity chart.
PI > 'A' line  inorganic clays (Prefix C).
PI < 'A' line  silts (Prefix M) or organic clays
(Prefix O).

Suffix based on LL:

H = high plasticity (LL > 50%)
I = intermediate plasticity (35% < LL < 50%)
L = low plasticity (LL < 35%)

For equal LL, high PI  toughness and dry strength,

but high compressibility and low permeability  large
volume change & low rate of volume change under
load. Shear strength and compressibility directly
related to PI.

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***

 Singapore Soil Formations

Singapore island: 4 major soil formations, Kallang Formation, Jurong
Formation, Bukit Timah Granite Formation and the Old Alluvium Formation.

 Kallang Formation
 Covers much of the coastal plain and immediate offshore zone ~25% of the
total land surface of Singapore Island.
 Recent Holocene depositp and consists of soil of marine, alluvial, littoral, and
estuarine origins.
 Marine clay is the main constituent, usually between 10m to 15m near estuaries,
but in some instances, it can be as thick as 40m. Also present in deeply incised
river valleys, far inland e.g. Toa Payoh.
 Where marine clay deposit is thick, may occur in two layers, viz. Upper and
Lower Marine Clay, separated by a stiffer intermediate layer (believed to be
desiccated crust of lower marine clay).
 Lower Marine Clay deposited between 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, at the end of
the Pleistocene period.
period Between 10,000
10 000 to 12,000
12 000 years ago,
ago the sea level
dropped as a result of the Little Ice Age and this is believed to have caused the
top part of the Lower marine clay to be exposed, desiccated and weathered.
 Upper Marine Clay a Holocene Deposit deposited after the last Ice Age.
Believed to be younger than 10,000 years.
 Upper marine clay often has higher liquid limit and plasticity index, often
classified as an inorganic clay of high plasticity; the percentage, by weight, of
organic matter in the marine clay usually ranges from 5% to 8%.

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 30/1/2013

 Light-grey to blue-grey clay with occasional shells and shell fragments.

 Upper Marine Clay: very soft to soft (similar to dough, and slightly
stiffer than toothpaste).
 Lower marine clay: soft to medium stiff (slightly softer than plasticine).
 Natural water content: 40% to 120%, plasticity index: 25% to 80%,
liquid limit 50% to 120%.
 Highly impermeable soil,soil which transmits water only VERY slowly.slowly
Takes a long time to settle under loading (bad news!).
 The main problems:
a. Low strength, with little or no load bearing capacity. Most piles and
footings do not rest on marine clay. Similarly, deep excavations in
marine clay often require very substantial support system because the
strength of the clay is far less than the load imposed by its own self-
weight.
b. Highly compressible => large settlement or deformation under loading.
c. Highly impermeable => settlement takes a long time (as long as 50 to
100years) to occur. If problem is not solved during construction,
settlement will continue during service life of the structure, causing
structural distress and damage, and possibly, even collapse e.g. negative
skin friction. ***

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 30/1/2013

***

 Jurong Formation
Weathered sedimentary deposits, underlying western portion of the Singapore island
(including NUS).
Highly varied, include sandstone, mudstone, siltstone and shale of various degrees of
weathering. In some areas e.g. Normanton, sedimentary rock has been weathered down
to a stiff soil, typically having shear strength of 100kPa - 200kPa.
Where weathering is less advanced (e.g. when Jurong Formation is overlain by
Kallang
ll Formation,
i e.g. People’s
l Parkk locality
l li in i Chinatown,
hi or areas where
h recent
cuttings have been made into the hill sides, e.g. NUS), rock structure may remain
largely intact.
In some places (e.g. City Hall, Raffles Place, Republic Plaza, China Square, Raffles
Hotel, Middle Road, Queen Street), historic slope collapses => mixture of
sandstone/siltstone boulders, cobbles and gravel in a variable but usually silty clay
matrix. Boulder size ~1m to >3m diameter. Transition to rock can be very rapid. The
main characteristic of the Jurong Formation is its extremely rapid variation with depth
and location. The main problems usually encountered in construction with Jurong
F
Formationi are
a. Rapid variation in the soil/rock profile causing difficulties (often unexpected) in
tunneling and foundation works.
b. Difficulty of piling through boulders in bouldery clay and the uncertainty of the
depth of rock formation. ***

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***

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Bukit Timah Granite (also Weathered Granite or

Granitic Residual soil)
 Encompasses a suite of igneous plutonic rocks,
principally granite, adamellite and granodiorite.
 Originate from an intruded granitic mass, which has
undergone varying degrees of weathering. Ranges
from fresh unweathered granitic rock at depth to
chemically leached residual soil near the ground
surface.
 Varies
V i f
from i
intact rock
k to completely
l l leached
l h d
residual soil (reddish orange soil) depending upon the
degree of weathering. A typical soil profile may
consists of the following strata:

Photos of BT Granite

49
 30/1/2013

BT Granite residual soil near

ground surface. Orange-red
lateritic-like silty material

BT Granite in Mandai quarry. Note the

numerous joints and seams.

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 30/1/2013

BT Granite deep in the ground.

Greyish sandy soil, highly
permeable.

 Stiff to hard clayey silt. Occurs near to the ground surface

and ranges from a few metres to ~20m thick. Derived from
the chemical weathering and leaching of the parent granitic
minerals. Mineralogical characteristics are very different
from parent rock.
 Dense ggrayish
y sandyy silt or siltyy sand. Often underlies the
stiff clayey silt. Thickness ~10m or less although, in some
locations, reach thicknesses of ~20m. Derived from physical
breakdown of the parent granitic rock but has not undergone
a high degree of chemical weathering. Mineralogical
characteristics are much more similar to parent rock than the
clayey silt.
 Highly
g y fractured and fissured ggranite rock. In some locations,,
a thin layer (a few metres thick) of highly fractured and
fissured granite rock may underlyg the sandy silt stratum.
 Intact granite rock mass. Below the sandy silt or the highly
fractured granite rock.

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 30/1/2013

 Main construction problems:

 Rapid variation in the depth of intact rock
especially for tunneling operations since the
t
tunnell boring
b i machine hi willill have
h t enter
to t andd
exit rock masses many times.
 Sandy silt/silty sand under high water pressure
(deep underground) can become unstable and
flow like a liquid when exposed during
construction
t ti works
k e.g. tunneling
t li andd bored
b d
piling. Can lead to very significant ground loss
and ground movements to nearby structures.
***

***

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 30/1/2013

Old Alluvium
 Highly heterogeneous soil formation underlying much of the
eastern part of Singapore island.
 Origin is uncertain. Is it a weathered rock or a heavily
consolidated (i.e. compressed) soil?
 Top parts of this Formation have attributes of soil but bottom parts
have weathered rock attributes e.g. cementation. In some locations,
sandstone is also present.
 Soil portion: mainly silty to clayey coarse angular sand, with
stringers of sub-rounded pebbles”. In some areas, fine-grained
soils (i.e. silt and clay) have also been reported. Lateral and
vertical variations are rapid and frequent.
 Poorly lithified (sedimentary rock formation process not
advanced), but has some evidence of weathering e.g. softening at
the top of the unit together with a distinct colour change from
bluish to greenish gray (fresh) to yellowish, reddish and grayish
brown (weathered).
 Lithification is the process in which sediments compact under
pressure, expel fluid, and become sedimentary rock

Main problem:
▲Sandy nature, tends to flow under water
p
pressure.
▲High permeability=> ingress of water during
underground construction works. Specific
occurrence depends heavily upon the proximity
of water sources. ***

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THANK YOU

54