Geotechnics - C1-C12 PDF

1
Geotechnics
- class notes 2019-2020
Assoc. prof. phd. eng. Nicoleta Ilieș

Email: nicoleta.ilies@dst.utcluj.ro
Office: Room 136B/ Baritiu 25
References 2
1. Class notes
2. Serbulea M, Priceputu A. etc – Geotechnical
engineering, Printech, 2019
3. A. Verruijt – Soil mechanics, Delft University of
Technology, 2010
4. C. Venkantramaiah – Geotechnical
Engineering, 2006
5. F. M. THOMLINSON - Foundations
6. T. SILION – Geotechnics, Iasi, 1995
7. FĂRCAS V., POPA A. - Geotehnică, U.T.Press,
2014
8. A. STANCIU, I. LUNGU – Fundatii – Fizica si
mecanica pământurilor, Ed. Tehnică, 2006
9. SR EN 1997-1+2/2006. Geotechnical design.
General rules + Geotechnical investigation.
10. * * * Standards and romanian norms
11. https://www.issmge.org/publications
Geotechnics – exam – 4ECTS 3
► Final mark
https://constructii.utcluj.ro/fisele-disciplinelor-structuri-2019-2020.html
► 30% Laboratory tests (L≥5)

obtaining a mark L ≥5 is a
precondition to attend the exam
► 20% Numerical application(NA ≥5)
written test before theory,
precondition to attend the theory
exam (45min)
► 50% Theory (T ≥5)
written test (3-4 subjects - 1,5hours)
1 A. Introduction 8 E. Stresses in the soil massif.
Geotechnics – semester plan

1. Introduction in geotechnics.
2. Short history
B. Soil composition and classification
1. General information
2. Vertical stress generated by soil self-weight.
4
3. Stresses due to a vertical point load on the surface of elastic semi space.
4. Stresses due to a linear load on the surface of semi space.
1. Soil as three phase system. 5. Distributed pressures on a continuous strip having B width.
2. Solid phase. 6. Distributed pressures on a closed surface.
3. Soil structure and texture. 7. Vertical stresses distribution in layered soils.
4. Soil grading curve.
9 8. The anisotropy influence.
2 5. Physical and mechanical soil properties. 9. The influence of the limited thickness of the deformable soil layer.
6. Liquid phase (water in soil). 10. Contact pressures distribution on the foundation bottom.
7. The effect of surface phenomenon’s on the behaviour of 10 F. Foundation soil settlement.
clayey soils. 1. Deformations nature.
8. Capillary water. 2. Methods to calculate settlements.
9. Free water. 3. Semi theoretic computation methods.
4. Consolidation settlement computation.
3 10. Water mechanical action on soils. 5. Constructions deformations types.
11. The prevention of hydrodynamic water effect. 6. The effect of foundation displacements and deformations (settlements)
12. Iced water. on the construction.
4 C. Soil compressibility 11 G. Soil lateral pressure.

1. General information 1. General information
2. Elastic compressibility. 2. Lateral pressure at rest lateral pressure.
3. Lateral soil pressure calculation.
3. The principle of effective pressures and compaction
1. Definition of limit equilibrium state.
law. 2. Active lateral pressure.
4. One dimension compression. 3. Passive lateral pressure.
5. Unconfined compression. 12 4. Methods based on wedge theory.
5 6. The influence of stress history 1. Active lateral pressure –Coulomb’s theory.
2. Active pressures distribution on retaining structures.
7. The influence of cycling loading 3. Active pressure calculation for layered soils.
8. The anisotropy influence. 4. External loads influence
9. The linear deformation modulus determination by on 5. Passive lateral pressure –Coulomb’s theory.
site tests. 13 4. Considerations on computation methods for soil lateral pressure.
6 D. Soil shearing resistance 5. The effect of retaining structure displacement on soil lateral pressure.
1. Soil shearing resistance. 14 6. Soil lateral pressure on retaining structures.
1. Retaining walls.
2. Soil shearing resistance determination. 2. Soil lateral pressure on simple timbered retaining structures.
7 3. Soil shearing resistance tests. 3. Soil lateral pressure on diaphragm walls.
4. Factors influencing soil shearing resistance 4. Soil lateral pressure on anchored diaphragm walls
5. Soil shearing resistance determination by on site tests. H. Summary
5
Questions, discussions:
Every Tuesday, from 11-12 o’clock
Email to nicoleta.ilies@dst.utcluj.ro
Room 136B/Barițiu 25
C1 – Geotechnics - summary 6
1. Geotechnics – soil mechanics.

Introduction. Short history.
2. Soil composition
1. Structure of soils
2. Soil profile / soil horizon
3. Texture of soils
1. Geotechnics – soil mechanics. 7
► The term ‘Soil’ has different meanings in different
scientific fields.
► It has originated from the Latin word Solum.
► To an agricultural scientist, it means ‘‘the loose material on
the earth’s crust consisting of disintegrated rock with an
admixture of organic matter, which supports plant life’’.
► To a geologist, it means “the disintegrated rock material
which has not been transported from the place of origin”.
► To a civil engineer, the term ‘soil’ means, the loose
unconsolidated inorganic material on the earth’s crust
produced by the disintegration of rocks, overlying hard rock,
with or without organic matter.
► Foundations of all structures have to be placed on or in

such soil
► the primary interest as Civil Engineers is in its engineering
behaviour.
8
► ‘‘Soil mechanics’’ is the study of the engineering behaviour of
soil when it is used either as a construction material or as a
foundation material.
► This is a relatively young discipline of civil engineering, systematised in its
modern form by Karl Von Terzaghi (1925), who is regarded as the ‘‘Father of
Modern Soil Mechanics’’.
► An understanding of the principles of mechanics is essential to the study of soil
mechanics.
► A knowledge and application of the principles of other basic sciences such as
physics and chemistry would also be helpful in the understanding of soil
behaviour. Further, laboratory and field research have contributed in no small
measure to the development of soil mechanics as a discipline.
► The application of the principles of soil mechanics to the design
and construction of foundations for various structures is known
as ‘‘Foundation Engineering’’.
► ‘‘Geotechnical Engineering’’ may be considered to include
both soil mechanics and foundation engineering.
► In fact, according to Terzaghi, it is difficult to draw a distinct line of
demarcation between soil mechanics and foundation engineering; the latter
starts where the former ends.
9
► The use of soil for engineering purposes dates back to
prehistoric times.
► Soil was used not only for foundations but also as construction
material for embankments.
► The knowledge was empirical in nature and was based on trial
and error, and experience.
► The hanging gardens of Babylon were supported by huge
retaining walls, the construction of which should have required
some knowledge, though empirical, of earth pressures.
► The large public buildings, harbours, aqueducts, bridges, roads
and sanitary works of Romans certainly indicate some knowledge
of the engineering behaviour of soil. This has been evident from
the writings of Vitruvius, the Roman Engineer in the first century,
B.C.
► Mansar and Viswakarma, in India, wrote books on ‘construction
science’ during the medieval period.
 The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy, (1174 and 1350 A.D.) is
an example of a lack of sufficient knowledge of the
behaviour of compressible soil, in those days.
 Coulomb (French Engineer) published his wedge theory
of earth pressure (1776), which is the first major
contribution to the scientific study of soil behaviour.
 He was the first to introduce the concept of shearing
resistance of the soil as composed of the two components
- cohesion and internal friction.
 Poncelet, Culmann and Rebhann were the other
engineers who extended the work of Coulomb.
 D’ Arcy and Stokes were notable for their laws for the
flow of water through soil and settlement of a solid
particle in liquid medium, respectively. These laws are still
valid and play an important role in soil mechanics.
 Rankine gave his theory of earth pressure (1857); he did not

consider cohesion, although he knew of its existence.
 Boussinesq (1885) gave his theory of stress distribution in an
elastic medium under a point load on the surface.
 Mohr (1871) gave a graphical representation of the state of
stress at a point, called ‘Mohr’s Circle of Stress’. This has an
extensive application in the strength theories applicable to soil.
 Atterberg, a Swedish soil scientist, gave in 1911 the concept of
‘consistency limits’ for a soil. This made possible the
understanding of the physical properties of soil.
 The Swedish method of slices for slope stability analysis was
developed by Fellenius in 1926. He was the chairman of the
Swedish Geotechnical Commission.
12
 Prandtl gave his theory of plastic equilibrium in 1920 which

became the basis for the development of various theories
of bearing capacity.
 Terzaghi gave his theory of consolidation in 1923 which
became an important development in soil mechanics. He
also published, in 1925, the first treatise on Soil Mechanics,
a term coined by him. (Erd bau mechanik, in German).
Thus, he is regarded as the ‘Father of modern soil
mechanics’.
 Later on, R.R. Proctor and A. Casagrande and a host of
others were responsible for the development of the
subject as a full-fledged discipline.
13
► Romania:
► 1936 – first detailed geotechnical studies about soil
behaviour for CFR Palace in Bucharest
► Test performed by K. Terzaghi in Viena laboratory
www.forumtrenuri.com
14
► Romania
► 1939 – Bucharest – first geotechnical laboratory in
Romania
► Due to the important geotechnical works necessary
for the granary on the border of Danube River
http://gsl.erdc.usace.army.mil/gl-
history/Chap1.htm
15
► Romania
► 1967 – Bucharest – first National Conference of
Geotechnics and Foundations (every 4 years since
1967 – 2016 in Cluj Napoca)
► 1990 – Romanian Society of Geotechnics and
Foundations (SRGF) affiliated to International Society of
Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
(ISSMGE)
16
 Soil mechanics - applications
► The knowledge of soil mechanics has application in many fields of
Civil Engineering
1. Foundations
 The loads from any structure have to be ultimately transmitted to a soil
through the foundation for the structure. Thus, the foundation is an
important part of a structure, the type and details will be decided
only with the knowledge and application of the principles of soil
mechanics.
2. Underground and Earth-retaining Structures
 Underground structures (drainage structures, pipe lines, tunnels and
earth-retaining structures: retaining walls) can be designed and
constructed only by using the principles of soil mechanics and the
concept of ‘soil-structure interaction’.
17
3. Roads Design
 Roads Design may consist of the design of flexible or rigid
elements.
 Flexible - depend more on the subgrade soil for transmitting
the traffic loads.
 Problems peculiar to the design of roads are the effect of
repetitive loading, swelling and shrinkage of sub-soil and
frost action.
 Consideration of these and other factors in the efficient
design of a road is a must and one cannot do without the
knowledge of soil mechanics.
18
4. Excavations, Embankments and Dams
► Excavations require the knowledge of slope stability analysis;
► The construction of embankments and earth dams, where soil itself

is used as the construction material, requires a thorough knowledge
of the engineering behaviour of soil especially in the presence of
water.
► Deep excavations may need temporary supports, the design of

which requires knowledge of soil mechanics.
► Knowledge of slope stability, effects of seepage, consolidation
and consequent settlement as well as compaction
characteristics for achieving maximum unit weight of the soil in-
situ, is absolutely essential for efficient design and construction of
embankments and earth dams.
19
 Soil behaviour
 The knowledge of soil mechanics, assuming the soil to be an
ideal material, elastic, isotropic and homogeneous, coupled
with the experimental determination of soil properties, is
helpful in predicting the behaviour of soil in the field.
 Soil being a particulate and heterogeneous material, does

not lend itself to simple analysis. Further, the difficulty is
enhanced by the fact that soil strata vary in extent as well
as in depth even in a small area.
 A through knowledge of soil mechanics is a prerequisite to

be a successful foundation engineer.
20

 Soil
 Soil mechanics
 Short history
 Soil mechanics - applications
2. Soil composition
21
 The structure of a soil may be defined as the manner of
arrangement and state of aggregation of soil grains.
 In a broader sense, consideration of mineralogical composition,
electrical properties, orientation and shape of soil grains, nature
and properties of soil water and the interaction of soil water and
soil grains, also may be included in the study of soil structure,
which is typical for transported or sediments soils.
 Structural composition of sediment soils influences, many
of their important engineering properties such as
permeability, compressibility and shear strength.
 The following types of structure are commonly studied:
 (a) Single-grained structure
 (b) Honey-comb structure
 (c) Flocculent structure
2. Soil composition
22
a. Single-grained Structure
 Single-grained structure is
characteristic of coarse
grained soils, with a particle
size greater than 0.02mm.
 Gravitational forces
predominate - the surface
forces, hence grain to grain
contact results.
 The deposition may occur in a
loose state, with large voids or
in a dense state, with less of
voids.
2. Soil composition
23
b. Honey-comb Structure (Dispersed
Structure)
 This structure can occur only in fine-grained
soils, especially in silt.
 Due to the relatively smaller size of grains,
besides gravitational forces, inter-particle
surface forces also play an important role in
the process of settling down.
 In the formation of a honey-comb structure,
each cell of a honey-comb is made up of
numerous individual soil grains.
 The structure has a large void space and
may carry high loads without a significant
volume change.
 The structure can be broken down by
external disturbances.
2. Soil composition
24
c. Flocculent Structure
► This structure is characteristic of fine-
grained soils such as clays (or silts).
► Inter-particle forces play a
predominant role in the deposition.
► Mutual repulsion of the particles
may be eliminated by an
appropriate chemical; this will result
in grains coming closer together to
form a ‘floc’.
► Formation of flocs is ‘flocculation’.
But the flocs tend to settle in a
honeycomb structure, in which in
place of each grain, a floc occurs.
► Thus, grains grouping around void
spaces larger than the grain-size are
flocs and flocs grouping around void
spaces larger than even the flocs
result in the formation of a
‘flocculent’ structure.
2. Soil composition 25
 Very fine particles or particles of
colloidal size (< 0.001 mm) may be in a
flocculated or dispersed state.
 The flaky particles are oriented edge-
to-edge or edge-to-face with respect
to one another in the case of a
flocculated structure. Flaky particles of
clay minerals tend to from a card
house structure (Lambe, 1953), when
flocculated.
 When inter-particle repulsive forces
are brought back into play either by
remoulding or by the transportation
process, a more parallel arrangement
or reorientation of the particles
occurs. This means more face-to-face
contacts occur for the flaky particles
when these are in a dispersed state
(honey comb structure).
 In practice, mixed structures occur,
especially in typical marine soils.

 A deposit of soil material, resulting from one or more of the
geological processes, is subjected to further physical and
chemical changes which are brought about by the climate
and other factors prevalent subsequently. Vegetation starts
to develop and rainfall begins the processes of leaching and
eluviation of the surface of the soil material.
 With the passage of geological time, profound changes
take place in the character of the soil.
 Changes lead to the development of ‘soil profile’.
 The soil profile is a natural succession of zones or strata
below the ground surface and represents the alterations in
the original soil material which have been brought about by
weathering processes.
 It may extend to different depths at different places and each
stratum may have varying thickness.
 O - Rich in humus and organic
plant residue. This is usually
eluviated and leached; the ultrafine
colloidal material and the soluble
mineral salts are washed out of this
horizon. It is dark in colour and its
thickness may range from a few
centimetres to half a meter.
 This horizon often exhibits many
undesirable engineering
characteristics and is of value only to
agricultural soil scientists.

 A - Surface soil: The A-horizon is
sometimes referred to as the zone of
accumulation. The material which
has migrated from the O-horizon by
leaching and eluviations gets
deposited in this zone. There is a
distinct difference of colour
between this zone and the dark top
soil of the O-horizon.
 This soil is very much chemically
active at the surface and contains
unstable fine-grained material. The
thickness of A-horizon may range
from 0.50 to 0.75m.

 B – Subsoil: The material in the B-
horizon is in the same physical
and chemical state as it was first
deposited by water, wind or ice
in the geological cycle. The
thickness of this horizon may
range from a few centimetres to
more than 30m. The upper region
of this horizon is often oxidised to
a considerable extent.
 C – Bed rock: Layer of large
unbroken rocks. This layer may
accumulate the more soluble
compounds.
3. Texture of soils
 The term ‘Texture’ refers to the
appearance of the surface of a material,
such as a fabric. It is used in a similar sense
with regard to soils.
 Soil texture refers to particles lay down, in
a certain area of the investigated soil.
 Soil texture can be:
 Homogeneous – with the same type of soil
on the entire layer thickness (a)
 Layered – on the active area there are few
different layers.
 Horizontal layers (b)
 Inclined layers, with the slope >10% - difficult
soil conditions (c)
 Lens shaped layers - difficult soil conditions (d)
31
2. Soil composition.
 Structure of soils
 Soil profile / Soil horizon
 Texture of soils
C1 – Geotechnics 32
Possible exam subjects

2. Soil composition
3. Texture of soils
Course 1 is done!!!
See you next week!!!
1
Geotechnics

C2 – Geotechnics - summary 2
2. Soil composition
4. Soils as “three-phase system”
5. Soil solid particles
6. Physical and mechanical characteristics

of the soil
 Soil is a complex physical system.
 A mass of soil includes:
 solid particles or soil grains and
 the void spaces that exist between the particles.
 The void spaces may be partially or completely filled

with water or some other liquid. Void spaces not
occupied by water or any other liquid are filled with air
or some other gas.
 Because the volume occupied by a soil mass may
generally be expected to include material in all the
three states of matter (solid, liquid and gas), soil is, in
general, referred to as a “three-phase system”

► A soil mass as it exists in nature is a more or less random accumulation
of soil particles, water and air-filled spaces.
►For purposes of analysis it is convenient to represent

this soil mass by a block diagram, called ‘Phase-
diagram’
►It may be noted that the separation of solids from
voids can only be imagined.
►The phase-diagram provides a convenient means of
developing the weight-volume relationship for a soil.
 When the soil voids are completely filled

with water, the gaseous phase being
absent, the soil is ‘fully saturated’ or
‘saturated’.
 When there is no water at all in the voids,
the voids will be full of air or other gas, the
liquid phase being absent; the soil it is dry. (It
may be noted that the dry condition is rare in
nature and may be achieved in the laboratory
through drying).
 In both these cases, the soil system reduces

to a ‘two-phase system’
 These are special cases of the three-phase
system.
 The larger sized particles are generally composed of

quartz and feldspars, minerals that have high strengths
and the particles are fairly round.
 The smaller sized particles are generally composed of
the clay minerals (montmorillonite), minerals that have
low strengths.
 One of the most important aspects of particulate

materials is that there are voids between the particles.
 The amount of voids is influenced by the size, shape and
mineralogy of the particles.
 The extent and properties of the soil on the site have to

be determined for any construction project.
 Cheap and simple tests are required to give an

indication of the engineering properties such as stiffness
and strength for preliminary design.
 To achieve this task, continuous samples are recovered
from boreholes, drilled to a depth that will depend on
the scale of the project.
 Observation of the samples deteremine each soil and
then classification tests are performed for these different
strata.
 The extent of the different soil layers can be determined
by correlating the results from different boreholes.
 An indication of the engineering properties is given on

the basis of particle size. This approach is used because
the engineering behaviour of soils with very small
particles, usually containing clay minerals, is significantly
different from the behaviour of soils with larger particles.
Clays can cause problems because they are relatively
compressible, drain poorly, have low strengths and can
swell in the presence of water.
 Particle size: The precise boundaries between different

soil types/ particle sizes are somewhat arbitrary, but the
there is a scale in use worldwide
 Most soils contain mixtures of (gravel), sand, silt and clay

particles, so the range of particle sizes can be very
large.
 Not all particles less than 2m are comprised of clay

minerals, and some clay mineral particles can be
greater than 2m. (A micron, m, is 10-6m).
2. Soil composition
12
 Coarse-grained soils: sands, gravels and larger particles.
 The grains are well defined and may be seen by the eye.
 The individual particles may vary from perfectly round to highly angular
reflecting their geological origins.
 Fine-grained soils: silts and clays with particles ≤63 m.
 Silts - can be visually differentiated from clays because they have the
property of dilatancy. If a moist sample is shaken in the hand water will
appear on the surface. If the sample is then squeezed in the fingers the
water will disappear. Their gritty feel can also identify silts.
 Clays - exhibit plasticity, they may be readily remoulded when moist, and if
it is let to dry can attain high strengths
 Organic - may be of either clay or silt sized particles. They contain
significant amounts of vegetable matter, they are usually dark grey or black
and have a noticeable odour from decaying matter. Generally they appear
only at the soil surface, but layers of peat may be found at a certain depth.
These are very poor soils for most engineering purposes.
 Procedure for grain size determination
 Different procedures are required for fine and coarse-grained
material.
 Detailed procedures are described in the Romanian or European
norms.
 They will be/were demonstrated in a laboratory session.
► Coarse particles:
► Sieve analysis is used to determine the distribution of
the larger grain sizes.
► The soil is passed through a series of sieves with the mesh
size reducing progressively, and the proportions by weight
of the soil retained on each sieve are measured.
► There are a range of sieve sizes that can be used, and the
finest is usually a 63m sieve. Sieving can be performed
either wet or dry.
► Because of the tendency for fine particles to clump
together, wet sieving is often required with fine-grained
soils.
 Fine particles
 To determine the grain size distribution of
material passing the 63m sieve the hydrometer
method is commonly used (sedimentation
analysis).
 The soil is mixed with water and a dispersing
agent, stirred vigorously, and allowed to settle to
the bottom of a measuring cylinder.
 As the soil particles settle out of suspension the
specific gravity of the mixture reduces.
 An hydrometer is used to record the variation of
specific gravity with time, applying Stoke’s Law,
which relates the velocity of a free falling sphere
to its diameter https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=78sKJKsaUvY
 The test data provide particle diameters and the
% by weight of the sample finer than a
particular particle size.
 Grading Curves
 The results from the particle size determination tests are plotted as
grading curves. They show the particle size plotted against the
percentage of the sample by weight that is finer than that size. The
results are presented on a semi-logarithmic plot.
 The shape and position of the grading curve are used to identify some
characteristics of the soil. 100
80
% F i ne r
60
W - Well graded material 40

U - Uniform material
P - Poorly graded material 20
C - Well graded with some clay
0
F - Well graded with an excess of fines 0 .0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 1 0 .0 1 0 .1 1 10 100
P a rtic le s ize (m m )
 Grading Curves
 Certain properties of granular or coarse-grained soils have been
related to particle diameters.
 Quantitatively, the uniformity of a soil is defined by its “Coefficient of
Uniformity”
 where d60 = 60% finer size and d10 = 10% finer size, or effective size.
 The soil is said to be:
 very uniform, if cU < (5)6
 of medium uniformity, cU = (5)6 to 15
 very non-uniform or well-graded, if cU > 15.
 On the average,
 for sands cU = 10…20, for silts cU = 2…4 and for clays cU = 10…100
(Jumikis)
2. Soil composition
 Ternary diagram /
ternary plot
 The proportions of
gravel, sand, silt and
clay in any soil.
 SR EN ISO 14 688
1
8
2. Soil composition
19
► When defining a soil, all the fractions have to be named,
considering their importance:
► Examples:
► Sandy gravel
► sa Gr
► Fine gravel with coarse sand
► c sa F Gr
► Silt with medium sand
► m sa Si
► Coarse sand with fine gravel
► f gr C Sa
► Silty fine sand
► si F Sa
► Silt with fine gravel and coarse sand
► f gr c sa Si
► Clay with medium sand
► m sa Cl
21
 Soil solid particles
 Grains size determination: methods
 Grading curves
2. Soil composition
6. Physical and mechanical characteristics of the soil
Basic therminology
 A number of quantities or ratios are defined below, which
constitute the basic terminology in soil mechanics.
22
2. Soil composition
1. Porosity, n
 ‘Porosity’ of a soil mass is the ratio of the volume of voids
to the total volume of the soil mass. It is denoted by the
letter symbol n and is commonly expressed as a
percentage:
VV Vp
n   100   100[%]
V V
Vp  Va  Vw
V  Va  Vw  V s
2. Soil composition
2. Voids ratio, e
 ‘Void ratio’ of a soil mass is defined as the ratio of the
volume of voids to the volume of solids in the soil mass. It is
denoted by the letter symbol e and is generally expressed
as a decimal fraction
VV Vp
e 
Vs Vs
Vp  Va  Vw
► e is used more than n in soil mechanics to characterise the natural state of soil. This is for
the reason that, in e, the volume of solids Vs, is supposed to be relatively constant under
the application of pressure, while the volume of voids, Vp, alone changes; however, in
the case of n, both Vp and V change upon application of pressure.
2. Soil composition
3. Unit Weight of Solids
 ‘Unit weight of solids’ is the weight of soil solids per unit
volume of solids alone.
 It is also sometimes called the ‘absolute unit weight’ of a soil. It is
denoted by the letter symbol s G
 S  S [kN / m3 ]
VS
mS
S  g / cm3 
VS
Soil type ρs [gr/cm3] γs[kN/m3]
Sand, silty sand,
2.65 26.0
clayey sand
Silt, sady silt, clayey silt 2.67 26.2
Clay, sandy clay, silty
2.72 26.7
clay
2. Soil composition
4. Water (moisture) content, w
 ‘Water content’ or ‘Moisture content’ of a soil mass is defined as
the ratio of the weight of water to the weight of solids (dry
weight of the soil mass). It is denoted by the letter symbol w and
is commonly expressed as a percentage :
mw mw
w  100   100 %
mS md
Gw Gw
w  100   100 %
GS Gd
 In the field of Geology/Geotechnics, water content is defined as the ratio
of weight of water to the drayed weight of soil mass.
 For the purpose of the above definitions, only the free water in the pore
spaces or voids is considered.
2. Soil composition
5. Bulk (Mass) Unit Weight
 ‘Bulk unit weight’ or ‘Mass unit weight’ of a soil mass is
defined as the weight per unit volume of the soil mass. It is
denoted by the letter symbol .

G
V

kN / m3 
m
 
  g / cm3      g , where g  9,81m/s 2
V
W = Ww + Ws or G = Gw + Gs
V = Va + Vw + Vs
  Gw  
Gs 1   
G Gs  Gw   Gs  Gs 1  w
   
V V V V
2. Soil composition
6. Unit Weight of Water
 ‘Unit weight of water’ is the weight per unit volume of
water. It is denoted by the letter symbol w
w 
Gw
Vw

kN / m3 
w 
mw
Vw
 
g / cm3   w   w  g , where g  9,81m/s 2
► It should be noted that the unit weight of

water varies in a small range with
temperature. It has a convenient value at
4°C, which is the standard temperature for
this purpose. w is the symbol used to denote
the unit weight of water at 4°C.
► The value of w is 1 g/cm3
► The value of w is: 1000 kgf/m3 or 9.81kN/m3.
2. Soil composition
7. Maximum water content (saturated water content),wsat
 ‘Maximum Water content’ or ‘Saturated water content’ of
a soil mass is defined as the ratio of the maximum weight
of the soil (saturated soil) mass to the dry soil mass. It is
denoted by the letter symbol wsat and is commonly
expressed as a percentage :
Gsat Gs  Gw
wsat  
Gd Gd
Vw  Vp For a fully saturated soil mass
w
wsat  e 
s
2. Soil composition
8. Degree of saturation, Sr
 ‘Degree of saturation’ of a soil mass is defined as the ratio
of the volume of water in the voids to the volume of voids.
It is designated by the letter symbol Sr and is commonly
expressed as a percentage:
Vw w
Sr   1
V p wsat
 Where Vv = Vp = Va + Vw
2. Soil composition
8. Degree of saturation, Sr
Gw 
Vw w Vw  
Sr   1 w  Gw  s w s
  S  
V p wsat Gs 
r
 w e  Gs e  w
Vp  e Vs  e
 s 
 For a fully saturated soil mass, Vw = Vp. Sr Soil type
 Therefore, for a saturated soil mass Sr = 100%.  0, 4 Dry

0,4..0,8 Wet
 For a dry soil mass, Vw is zero. 0,8..0,9 Very wet
>0,9 Saturated
 Therefore, for a perfectly dry soil sample Sr =0%.
 In both these conditions, the soil is considered to be a two-phase system.

 The degree of saturation is between 0 and 100%, the soil mass being
said to be partially saturated - the most common condition in nature.
2. Soil composition
9. Saturated unit weight
 The ‘Saturated unit weight’ is defined as the bulk unit
weight of the soil mass in the saturated condition.
 It is denoted by the letter symbol sat.
sat=(Gs+Gw,sat)/V
2. Soil composition
10. Submerged (Buoyant) Unit Weight
 The ‘Submerged unit weight’ or ‘Buoyant unit weight’ of
a soil is its unit weight in the submerged condition.
 the submerged weight of soil solids (G’) per unit of total
volume, V of the soil.
G'
 It is denoted by the letter symbol ′:  
'
V
 G’ (the weight of the submerged sample) is equal to
the weight of solids in air minus the weight of water
displaced by the solids.
G’ = Gs – Vs . w
Gw
w   Sa   w Vs  Archimedes force
Vs
2. Soil composition
10. Submerged (Buoyant) Unit Weight
 Since the soil is submerged, the voids must be full of water;
 Total volume V= (Vs + Vw) .
 G’ may now be written as : G’ = G – Gw – Vs . w
= G – Vw . w – Vs . w
= G– w (Vw + Vs)
= G – V . w
 Dividing throughout by V, the total volume,
G' G
   w   '   sat   w
V V
 It may be noted that a submerged soil is invariably saturated, while a

saturated soil need not be submerged.
 Last equation may be written as a direct consequence of
Archimedes’ Principle which states that the apparent loss of weight of
a substance when weighed in water is equal to the weight of water
displaced by it.
2. Soil composition
11. Dry Unit Weight
 The ‘Dry unit weight’ is defined as the weight of soil solids
per unit of total volume (unit weight of soil is obtained by
drying the soil and the total volume is obtained prior to
drying).
 The dry unit weight is denoted by the letter symbol d and
is given by : Gd Gs
d  
V V
 Since the total volume is a variable with respect to packing of the
grains as well as with the water content, d is a relatively variable
quantity, unlike s - the unit weight of solids:

d 
1 w
2. Soil composition
 12. Relationships between soil characteristics
 1. Dry Unit weight - voids ratio and water content
► In order to obtain a relationship among unit weight (or density), void
ratio and water content, consider a volume of soil in which the
volume of the soil solids is 1.
► If the volume of the soil solids is 1, then the volume of voids is
numerically equal to the void ratio, e
Gd
d 
V
s
md  ms   d V   s Vs  ...   d   s (1  n) 
1 e

md  m  mw   d V   V  w   d V  ...   d 
1 w
2. Soil composition
 2. Saturated Unit weight - void ratio and water content
Gsat
 sat 
V
msat  ms  mw,max mw,max  V p   w
 sat V   s VS  V p   w V
 sat   s (1  n)   w  n   sat   d   w  n
  sat   d   w  n
2. Soil composition
 3. Voids ratio - porosity
 The relationship among unit weight, porosity, and water content
can be developed in a manner similar to that presented in the
preceding section.
Vp
 Consider a soil that has a total volume equal to 1: n
V
 If V is equal to 1, then VS=1-n.
ms
Vp V  Vs Vs s
n   1  1 1
V V V V
Vp V  Vs V V  s
e   1  1
Vs Vs Vs ms
2. Soil composition
 The relationship among unit weight, porosity, and water content can
be developed in a manner similar to that presented in the
preceding section. Consider a soil that has a total volume equal to 1
Vp Vp
n , e
V Vs
1 V Vs  Vp Vs Vp 1 1e
     1
n Vp Vp Vp Vp e e
e
n
1e
 Vp 
e
n
, by alegbraic manipulation  
1n e
Vp

Vp
  V 

n
Vs V  V p  Vp  1  n
1   
V 
2. Soil composition
 4. Relationships Involving Saturated Water content, degree
of saturation – voids ratio
mw,max w  Vp w
wsat  wmax    e
md s  Vs s
mww
w  , max. vol. of water from the sample = voids volume
Vp
Vw w w s
Sr    .... 
Vp wmax e w
Note: For saturated condition, Sr = 1.

2. Soil composition
 5. Relationships Involving Submerged Unit Weight
m'
'    '   ' g
V
m'  ms  Sa , where Sa is Archimede's force Sa  Vs w
 ' V  s  Vs  w  Vs  Vs (s  w )
V
Vs
 '  (s  w )  (1  n)  (s  w )
V
2. Soil composition
 6. Relationships Involving Unit Weights, Void Ratio and
Degree of Saturation
   s (1  n)(1  w) 
d 
   s (1  n)  n  S r   w 1 w
1 w n w
  s d 
1 e wsat .
 d   s (1  n)
 '  (1  n)( s   w )
 sat   s (1  n)  n w
 '   s at   w
 sat   d  n w
2. Soil composition
13. Density index
 Density Index (relative density according to older terminology) of a
soil, ID, indicates the relative compactness of the soil mass.
 This is used in relation to coarse-grained soils or sands.
 In a dense condition, the void ratio is lower then in a loose condition,
when the void ratio is high. Thus, the in-place void ratio may be
determined and compared, with the void ratio in the loosest state or
condition and that in the densest state or condition
2. Soil composition
13. Density index
 The density index may be considered zero if the soil is in its
loosest state and unity if it is in the densest state.
 The density index may be defined as follows:
Descriptive condition Density index ID [%]

Loose <35
emax  e0
ID  [%] Medium dense 35 to 65
emax  emin Dense 65 to 85
Very dense >85
 emax = maximum void ratio or void ratio in the loosest state.
 emin = minimum void ratio or void ratio in the densest state.
 e0 = void ratio of the soil mass in the natural state or the condition under question.
 emax and emin are referred to as the limiting void ratios of the soil.
2. Soil composition
14. Consistency of soils
 ‘Consistency’ is that property of a material which is manifested
by its resistance to flow.
 In this sense, consistency of a soil refers to the resistance offered by
it against forces that tend to deform or rupture the soil aggregate.
 ‘Plasticity’ of a soil is defined as that property which allows it to
be deformed, (without rupture and without elastic rebound),
without a noticeable change in volume.
 A soil is said to be in a plastic state when the water content is such
that it can change its shape without producing surface cracks.
 Consistency may also be looked upon as the degree of
firmness of a soil and is often directly related to strength.
 It is applicable specifically to clay soils and is generally related to
the water content.
2. Soil composition
 Consistency is conventionally described as:
 soft,
 medium stiff (or medium firm),
 stiff (or firm),
 hard.
 These terms are unfortunately relative and may have different
meaning to different persons.
 In the case of in-situ or undisturbed clays, it is reasonable and

practical to relate consistency to strength.
 In the remoulded state, the consistency of a clay soil varies with
the water content, which tends to destroy the cohesion
exhibited by the particles of such a soil.
 As the water content is reduced from a soil from the stage of
almost a suspension, the soil passes through various states of
consistency.
2. Soil composition
 A. Atterberg (Swedish Soil Scientist, 1911), formally distinguished
the following stages of consistency – liquid, plastic, semi-
solid and solid. They are called ‘Atterberg limits’ in honour of the
originator of the concept.
 The water contents at which the soil passes from one of
these states to the next have been arbitrarity designated
as ‘consistency limits’.
 Consistency limits
 Liquid limit wL
 Plastic limit wp
 Shrinkage limit wS.
2. Soil composition
 Plasticity Index (Ip) is the range of water content within

which the soil exhibits plastic properties; this is the
difference between liquid and plastic limits.
I p  wL  wp
Ip Plasticity
0 Non-plastic
1..10 Low plasticity
10..20 Medium plasticity
20..35 High plasticity
>35 Very high plasticity
2. Soil composition
 ‘Consistency index’ (Ic) is defined as the ratio of the

difference between liquid limit and the natural water
content to the plasticity index of a soil:
wL  w wL  w Consistency Description Ic
Ic  
Ip wL  w p Liquid Liquid <0
Very soft 0…0.25
Soft 0.25…0.50
Plastic
Medium soft 0.50…0.75
Stiff 0.75…1.00
Semi solid Very stiff or hard >1
Solid Hard or very hard >1
52
 Physical and mechanical soil characteristics
1. Porosity
2. Voids ratio
3. Degree of saturation
4. Water content
5. Saturated water content
6. Bulk unit weight
7. Unit weight of solids
8. Unit weight of water
9. Saturated unit weight
10. Submerged unit weight
11. Dry unit weight
12. Relationships btw. soil characteristics
13. Density index
C2 – Geotechnics 53
2. Soil composition
6. Physical and mechanical characteristics
of the soil
Course 2 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics

C3 – Geotechnics – Summary
3. Water in soils
A. Water vapours (gaseous water)

B. Fluid water
 Chemically and physically bound water
 Free water
 Capillary water
 Gravitational water
C. Ice – iced water (solid water)

3. Water in soils 3
 Water in soils can be found in few different states:
B. Fluid water – Chemically and physically bound water
– Free water - Capillary water
- Gravitational water
*Loaded soil behaviour and soil characteristics depends very much

on soil water content
 Considering water aggressiveness, water can be:

 Non aggressive water (for the foundation) – foundations are
designed without any special measures
 Aggressive water – according to aggressiveness type and
intensity – special measures to realize foundations: cement type,
concrete permeability, reinforcement protection
3. Water in soils
A. Water vapours
 In the empty soil pores or in the water found in the soil
 They are not influencing soil behaviour
4
3. Water in soils 5
B. Fluid water
1. Chemically and physically bound water
 is that water which is held in soil pores or void spaces
because of certain forces of attraction.
 Physically bound water is due to the electro molecular forces

developed between solid minerals grains and the water
molecules (hydrocolloid forces). These forces are the result of
interaction btw. solid grains and water molecules
 This water surrounds the soil grains in form of a thin water layer/
film and is strongly bound by large attraction forces to the solid
grain in the immediate surface of the solid particle
3. Water in soils 6
B. Fluid water
 Chemically bound water may be the water for hydration
 It can be further classified as:
 (a) Structural water and
 (b) Adsorbed water.
 (a) Structural water

 Water that is chemically combined as a part of the crystal structure
of the mineral of the soil grains
 Under the loading encountered in geotechnical engineering, this
water cannot be separated by any means. Even drying at 105° –
110°C does not affect it. Hence structural water is considered as part
and parcel of the soil grains.
3. Water in soils 7
B. Fluid water
 Chemically bound water
 (b) Adsorbed water
This comprises, (i) hygroscopic water and (ii) film water.
 (i) Hygroscopic water
 Soils which appear quite dry contain, nevertheless, very thin films of
water around the mineral grains, called ‘hygroscopic water’, which is
also termed ‘contact water’ or ‘surface bound water’.
 This form of water is in a dense state, and surrounds the surfaces of the
individual soil grains as a very thin film. The soil particles derive their
hygroscopic water not only from water but also from the atmospheric air by
the physical force of attraction of unsatisfied ionic bonds on their surfaces.
 The weight of an oven-dried sample, when exposed to atmosphere, will
increase up to a limit, depending upon its maximum hygroscopicity, which, in
turn, depends upon the temperature and relative humidity of air and the
characteristics of the soil grains.
3. Water in soils 8
B. Fluid water
 Coarse-grained soils have relatively low hygroscopic moisture due to
their low ‘specific surface’ (surface area per unit volume).
 The average hygroscopicity of sands, silts and clays is 1%, 7% and 17%
respectively; the high value for clays is because of the very small grain-
size and consequent high specific surface.
 The thickness of the absorbed layer may vary from 200Å for silts to 30 Å
for clays (1 Å = 10–7 mm).
 The hygroscopic water film is known to be bound rigidly to the soil grains
with an immense force - up to about 10,000 Atmospheres.
 These physical forces are established to be electro-chemical in nature.
3. Water in soils 9
B. Fluid water
 Hygroscopic water is affected neither by gravity nor by capillary forces
and would not move in the liquid form. It cannot be evaporated
ordinarily.
 However, hygroscopic water can be removed by oven-drying at 105° –

110°C. Water in this form has properties which differ considerably from
those of liquid water.
 Hygroscopic water has greater density, higher boiling point, greater

viscosity, greater surface tension and a much lower freezing point than
ordinary water.
 Hygroscopic water has a pronounced effect on the cohesion and
plasticity characteristics of a clayey soil.
3. Water in soils 10
B. Fluid water
This comprises, (i) hygroscopic water and (ii) film water.
 (ii) Film water
 Film moisture forms on the soil grains because of the condensation of
aqueous vapour; this is attached to the surface of the soil particle as a film
upon the layer of the hygroscopic water film.
 This film water is also held by molecular forces of high intensity but not as high
as in the case of the hygroscopic water film. Migration of film water can be
induced by the application of an external energy potential such as thermal
or electric potential; the migration will then be from points of higher
temperature/higher potential to points of lower temperature / lower
potential.
 Film water does not transmit external hydrostatic pressure. It migrates rather
slowly. The greater the specific surface of the soil is, the more is the film water
that can be contained. When the film water corresponds to the maximum
molecular moisture capacity of the soil, the soil possesses its maximum
cohesion and stability.
3. Water in soils
B. Fluid water
 Adsorption complex
 On lateral surface of the solid particle – negative electric charge
 in order to equilibrate negative electric charge, solid particle
attracts positive electric charges (cations) obtained form
electrolytic dissociation of salts in water and other water
molecules
Hydrogen Electro positive
1050
Polarity Oxygen
11 Negative
B. Fluid water
 Adsorption complex
 Soil cations: Elements with 1 or more positive charges, when
dissolved in soil water attract negative charges of water
molecules
 Clay and organic matter are covered in negative electrical
charges called exchange sites. These sites attract and retain
positively charged metallic cations
► Ions in soil water are: Li+, K+, Na+

(attracts a large quantity of water
molecules to equilibrate solid particle
charge), Ca++, Mg++, Al+++, Fe+++
(lower quantity of water molecules
attracted)
B. Fluid water
1.1. Clayey soils behaviour due to chemically and physically bound water
a. Soil cohesion
 The adsorption complex around the solid mineral explains partially the
fact that particles are not independent, but they have a certain
bonding called primary cohesion, cw
 The forces which appear between clay particles results from overlapping
of two different actions: rejection - due to the interaction of water films
and attraction – Van-der-Waals forces.
► When the distance btw. the
particles is in the range of x1-x2
attraction forces appear
(cohesion). The distance btw
particles depends on thickness of
adsorption complex, which also
depends on the cations nature,
solid particle mineralogy etc.
B. Fluid water
1.1. Clayey soils behaviour due to chemically and physically bound
water
a. Soil cohesion
 When the soil water content is high, the distance btw. particles
increase and the cohesion value is decreasing (for a certain soil
water content it can be considered as cu≈0 - saturated soils)
 Between the particles, it is possible to have bonding due to some

cations deposition (Ca, Fe, Si etc.) resulting a cementation cohesion
cc .
 Total cohesion is given by the relation:
c=cw+cc
B. Fluid water
water
b. Consistency and plasticity of clayey soils
► Depends very much on water content of the soil (see course 2)
B. Fluid water
water
c. Swelling and contraction of clays (swelling clays/expansive clays)
3. Water in soils
B. Fluid water
1.1. Clayey soils behaviour due to chemically and physically
bound water
 Swelling - influenced by the factors:

 Mineralogy: montmorillonitic clays, with extensible
structure have higher swellings then kaolin clays, having
a stiff structure
 Density state: when initial porosity and water content
have small values – increasing swelling (higher values)
and decreasing contraction (smaller values)
 Exterior factors: climate conditions, water supply,
effective pressures on the ground etc.
B. Fluid water
water
 Swelling and contraction effects

21
3. Water in soils
 A. Water vapours (gaseous water)

 B. Fluid water
 Chemically and physically bound
water
 Structural water and
 Adsorbed water.
 Clayey soils behaviour due to chemically
and physically bound water
3. Water in soils
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
A. Capillary water - the water held in the “capillary” or small pores of
a soil
 Smaller pores hold water with greater energy
 Non directional
 Water rise by capillarity is due to surface tensions T.
hc=2∙T∙cosa/r∙w≈0.15/r
T = surface tension
a = wetting angle Coarse sand hc=5-10cm
r = radius of pore
w = density of water Medium sand hc= 10-30cm
g = gravitational acceleration Fine sand hc= 30-60cm

Silt hc=60-100cm
c
For fine soils: hc 
e  d10 Silty clay hc=120-160cm
c – coefficient = 0.1-0.5 cm2 Clay hc ≤ 400cm

3. Water in soils
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
A. Capillary water
 Effect on the ground
 Subsidence Settlement - settlement
due to water level decreasing, which
will increase unit weight
 Capillary water will increase the

apparent cohesion ca (disappear by
saturation or by drying).
 Dampness phenomenon
3. Water in soils
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
B. Gravitational water
 When infiltration water, find a impermeable layer of soil, it
accumulates above this level a certain quantity of water, called
ground water
 Water flow in soils occurs in response to a difference in total head
between two points (or more precisely, it occurs in response to a
gradient in total head, with flow being “down gradient” – in the
direction of reducing total head.)
3. Water in soils
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
 Factors affecting the ground
water flow:
 the slope of the water table -
the steeper the water table, the
faster ground water moves
 permeability - if rock pores are
small and poorly connected,
water moves slowly; when
openings are large and well
connected, the flow of water is
more rapid
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
► Essential components of groundwater
► The rate of infiltration is a function of soil type, rock type, antecedent
water and time.
► The unsaturated zone includes all the material between the Earth’s
surface and the zone of saturation.
► The upper boundary of the zone

of saturation is called the water
table. The capillary fringe is a layer
of variable thickness that directly
overlies the water table. Water is
drawn up into this layer by
capillary action
S. Hughes, 2003
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
C. Free water
► Flowing regimes:
► If the water doesn't flow – steady flow
► If the water acts on the solid particles by a hydrodynamic force –
unsteady flow
► J=γw∙A∙Δh – the vertical water force
G – unit weight
Δh – water height
A – cylinder area
► This force induces a pressure : j=J/V= γw∙Δh/l= γw∙i
► Note: ↓G=J↑: Fs=1 sample equilibrium;
↓G<J↑: Fs=G/J<1, unstable.
► When ↓G<J↑ - solid particles are floating
► If G=1∙γ` (γ` – submerged unit weight) and
J=j∙1= γw∙icr for limit equilibrium state: γw∙icr.=1∙γ`
► icr. – critical hydraulic head, for which we still
have solid volume equilibrium
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
C. Free water
► Water movement: Given by Darcy law
v=k∙i [m/s]
where i= Δh/Δs – hydraulic head
k - permeability coefficient
► Water velocity it is determined assuming that flow occurs across the

total cross-sectional area (v - ignores the fact that there is soil
present). The real velocity or seepage velocity is given as:
v=n∙vs
where vs - apparent velocity (water velocity in soil) and n – porosity
► The value of the permeability coefficient k has an enormous range:
► about 1 m/s for gravels,
► 10-9 to 10-10 m/s for clays - practically impermeable
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
C. Free water
► Water movement effects
1. Erosion: transport of soil masses;
suffosion: porosity increasing;
silting: filling pores with fine particles
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
C. Free water
► Water movement effects
2. GWT decreasing – subsidence settlement
3. Hydrodynamic water action

3. Water in soils
B. Fluid water
2. Free water
C. Free water
► Measures to reduce water movement effects
► Retaining walls – diaphragm walls / sheet pile walls
► Drainage mattress – reducing hydrodynamic action
► Etc….
► On temperature below 0°C water passes from liquid state to solid
state – ice, by icing phenomenon
► Water volume - increases due to water migration trough the areas

with low temperature,
► Water migration can be:
► continue, supplied by GWT (open system) – 10% volume
growth
► limited to a certain area (closed system)
► Freezing/thawing capacity
► Reduced on sands (low capillary effect) and clays (adsorption
complex)
► High on silts and silty sands
Soils classification according to freezing capacity
Sensitivity degree Ip Grain size

[%]
Particle diameter [mm]
Very sensitive 10-35 Below 0.002
Below 0.02
Below 0.1
Sensitive <10 Below 0.002
Below 0.02
Below 0.1
► Measures to eliminate icing effect
1. Placing the foundation bottom below freezing depth:
D f min ≥ Hing + (10÷20 cm)
► Measures to eliminate icing effect
2. Eliminate freezing soils from the site and replacing with unfreezable
soils
3. Eliminating capillary rise by using a layer of material with low capillary

rise (mono grained gravel etc) for roads, railways, pavements, etc
Impermeable coating Floor

RC slab
Rigid waterproofing Separation layer
Thermal insulation
Gravel layer
±0.00
Bitumen stopper
Footwalk
Gravel layer100mm
CTS 3..5%
CTF
36
3. Water in soils
 B. Fluid water
 Free water: capillary water &
gravitational water
 C. Iced water
C3 – Geotechnics
3. Water in soils

B. Fluid water
 Chemically and physically bound water
 Free water
Course 3 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics

C4 – Geotechnics - Summary
4. Soils with special behaviour
1. Marly soils
2. Macro porous soils - Soils with a high sensitivity to water
content variation
3. Soils susceptible to liquefaction
4. Gelive soils
5. Soils with high content of organic matter
6. Saline soils
7. Filling material / embankments
8. Swelling clays / shrinking clays / expansive clays
 Soils which from grain size point of view can be
classified according to ternary diagram, but they have
specific properties requiring specific classification
1. Marly soils
content variation
4. Gelive soils
6. Saline soils
 1. Marly soils
 Soils with Ca2CO3 content >5%
 According to Ca2CO3 content soils can be classified as:
 Clay – Ca2CO3 = 0%
 Marly clay – Ca2CO3 = 5 - 20%
 Clayey marl – Ca2CO3 = 21 - 35%
 Marl – Ca2CO3 = 35 - 65%
 Limestone marl – Ca2CO3 = 66 - 75%
 Limestone – Ca2CO3 > 75%
 Ca2CO3 content determined in the laboratory

 Fine structure like clays, with colour from white to black
 It have fine cracks on the surface, due to water infiltration
 Bearing resistance, for intact surface up to 400 – 500KPa.
2. Macro porous soils - soils sensitive to wetting
 The soils sensitive to wetting are defined as unsaturated
macroporic cohesive soils, which in contact with water
undergo sudden and irreversible changes of internal structure
happen, reflected by additional settlements nature of collapse
and decreases in behavioral geotechnical parameters
 In this category are loessoid soils and other soils mainly silty,
with high porosity.
 Additional settlements defined as the vertical deformation of
sensitive to water soils, manifested with increasing water
content, with values greater than those of the soil in its natural
state at the same state efforts.
 Loess and loessoid soils
 Their structure is collapsing loaded by self weight or under exterior
loads, when water destroy existing bonding
 NP 125 – 2010 – Romanian norm regarding MPS
Loess wall – Ariusd - Olt
NP 125-2010
Macro porous soils in Romania

 MPS identification
 Colour: reddish – yellowish, large pores,
 1cm side cube will disintegrate in water in aprox. 30 sec
 By pressing, soil is not visible deforming, but it is squeezing
 Soil water content increase due to the following factors:
 Soil water content variation due to constructions placed on this
type of soils
 Natural changes in hydro geological site regime
 Structural changes on the site by irrigation systems, valleys with
drainage effect filled with material, filling at slopes toe, water
accumulation from rain falls, seepage system, etc.
 Local water content increasing due to infiltrations
 Liquefaction is the phenomenon of losing of shear strength of
soil, soil starting to behave as a fluid, this fluid being no longer
able to sustain the load of structure and the structure settles.
 During an earthquake or under dynamic loads, dynamic waves
travel vertically and rapid loading of soil occurs under undrained
conditions i.e., pore water has no time to move out.
 In saturated soils the dynamic energy causes an increase in pore
water pressures and consequently the effective stresses decrease.
 The phenomenon is associated with:
 soft soils, ID =50 – 70%
 water-saturated sands
 uniformly graded sands
 fine grained sands and silts
 During liquefaction these soils behave as viscous fluids rather than
solids
Liquefaction tests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eH5fh0YEuQ
 Seismically induced soil liquefaction produced spectacular
and devastating effect
(Niigata, 1964) Kobe (1995)
13
1. Marly soils
2. Macro porous soils - Soils with a high
sensitivity to water content variation
4. Gelive / Freezing soils
 Soils which modify their internal structure and characteristics when
freezing and thawing
 Freezing capacity
 Reduced on sands (low capillary effect) and clays (adsorption
complex)
 High on silts and silty sands
4. Gelive soils
► Freezing depth: D f min ≥ Hing + (10÷20 cm)
► Eliminate freezing soils from the site and replacing with unfreezable
soils
 Organic soils - A sample composed of vegetable tissue in
various stages of decomposition and has a fibrous to
amorphous texture, a dark – brown colour and organic odour,
having different water content
 Organic clay or silt
 (wL<50%) – organic silty clay, low plasticity
 (wL>50%) – organic clay (medium to high plasticity) or organic silt
 Highly organic silts: peat, mulch and other highly organic soils
 Mulch (peaty soils): OM content=10-60%
 Peat : OM content>60%
 Properties
 High compressibility,
 Low shear strength resistance,
 Slow and no homogeneous consolidation
Sludge(Nămol)
Mud(Mâl)
Peat(Turba)
6. Saline soils
 Characterized by a high salts content
 Salts presence cause important phenomenon:
 Settlements caused by suffusion, due to water content
increasing in time
 Swelling phenomenon (swelling clays)
 Chemical aggressiveness for the concrete from: foundation,
basement walls, underground structures
 “Foundation design” - SLS and ULS

 Soil characteristics determined for saturated soil, only for a
leached soil
Saline soils
Diniaș (Timiș)
https://kladia.info/blogs/index.php?blogid=10&itemid=516&itemtype=thematic
7. Filling material - embankments
 Characterized by important no homogeneity, considering their
composition:
 High differential settlements
 Self compaction, loaded by self weight, specially on dynamic
loads, GWT variation, organic matter decompose
 Swellings - for filling material with swelling clays and ash
 Self compaction: from 0,5 – 30 years, depending on soil

characteristics
 For recent fillings it is important to consider: settlements of
surrounding layers of soil, depending on filling thickness,
compressibility characteristics, consolidation conditions
 Foundation ground computation, for embankments / filling material –
at SLS and ULS – GEO
7. Filling material – embankments
 As a foundation ground, embankments can be :
 Man made embankments – from cohesive soil,

consolidated cohesive soils, uncohesive soils (sand, gravel,
cobbles) or mixtures, crushed stone etc.
 Embankments resulting form human activities – demolition,

natural calamities, fire, explosions, leveling excavations
materials.
 Characteristic for ancient urban areas or industrial platforms
25
4. Gelive soils
6. Saline soils
 Swelling and contraction phenomenon depends on water content

variation.
 Contraction – is the phenomenon of volume decreasing due of

water content reduction, when the soil is drying. The volume
decreasing is almost direct proportional to water content, up to a
certain limit (shrinkage limit).
 Swelling - is a phenomenon due to rejection forces which divide
clay particles when the soil volume increase due to the water
content increasing.
 The mechanism of this phenomenon can be explained based on

adsorption complex
 by evaporation, water film of the particle situated on the ground
surface – is evaporating and the water molecules situated above
solid particle level are moving to the surface, in order to re-
establish the thickness of water film
Romania – NP 126 -2010 (Romanian norm for swelling clays)
 Swelling phenomenon - influenced by the factors:
 Mineralogy: montmorillonitic clays, with extensible structure have higher
swelling potential then kaolin clays , having a stiff structure
 Density state – when initial porosity and water content have small values
– increasing swelling (higher values) and decreasing contraction (smaller
values)
 Exterior factors: climate conditions, water supply, effective pressures on
the ground etc.
 Characteristics:
 Characteristics:
Soil swelling potential – measured by contraction – swelling index
wsat  w
I cu  [%]
wsat.  ws
If:
 0<Icu≤0.25 – very high swelling potential and low contraction
potential
 0.25<Icu≤0.5 – high swelling potential and medium contraction
potential
 0.5<Icu≤0.75 – medium swelling potential and high contraction
potential
 0.75<Icu≤1 – low swelling potential and very high contraction
potential
 Swelling clays effect
pu
9. Quick clays
► Quick clays, are unique sensitive glaciomarine clays found in Canada,

Norway, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the United States and other
locations around the world.
► These clays are so unstable that when a mass of quick clay is

subjected to sufficient stress, the material behavior may transition
from that of a particulate material to that of a fluid.
► Quick clay has a remolded strength which is much less than it's
strength upon initial loading. This is caused by a highly unstable clay
particle structure.
The Quick Clay Landslide at Rissa - 1978
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q-qfNlEP4A
35
8. Expansive clays
9. Quick clays
C4 – Geotechnics
1. Marly soils
content variation
4. Gelive soils
6. Saline soils
8. Swelling clays / shrinking clays /
expansive clays
Course 4 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics

5. Soils mechanical properties
1. Compressibility
1.1. General remarks. Introduction
1.2. Soil deformations
1.3. Soil compressibility. Laboratory study

 When a structure (foundation) is placed on a foundation

soil, the loads from the structure cause a stress state into
the soil
 The two most important requirements for the stability and

safety of the structure are:
 (1) The deformation, especially the vertical deformation,
called ‘settlement’ of the soil, should not be excessive and
must be within tolerable or alowable limits;
 consideration and study of the “Compressibility and Consolidation of soils”
 (2) The shear strength of the foundation soil should be

adequate to withstand the stresses induced.
 consideration of the aspects of “Shear Strength and Bearing Capacity of Soil”
1. Compressibility
1.1. General remarks. Introduction.
 The nature of the deformation of soil, under compressive loads may
be elastic, plastic or compressive, or a combination of these
 Elastic deformation causes lateral bulging with little change of

porosity and the material recovers fully upon removal of the load.
 Plastic deformation is due to the lateral flow of the soil under
pressure with negligible rebound after removal of load.
 Plasticity is the property by which the material can undergo
considerable deformation before failure.
 Clays exhibit this property to a greater or smaller degree at
moisture contents greater than the plastic limit.
 Compressive deformation occurs when the particles are brought
closer together by pressure causing volume changes in the soil.
1. Compressibility
 The property of a soil by virtue of which volume decrease
occurs under applied pressure is termed its ‘Compressibility’.
 Since natural soil deposits are laterally confined on all sides,
deformation under stress is primarily associated with volume
changes, specifically, volume decrease.
 A soil is a particulate material, consisting of solid grains and voids.
The voids may be filled with air or other gas, with water or other
liquid, or with a combination of these.
 The volume decrease of a soil under stress might be attributed to:
1. Compression of the solid grains;
2. Compression of pore water or pore air;
3. Expulsion of pore water or pore air from the voids, thus
decreasing the void ratio or porosity.
1. Compressibility
 Under the loads usually encountered in geotechnical
engineering practice, the solid grains as well as pore
water may be considered to be incompressible.
 Compression of pore air and expulsion of pore water are
the primary sources of volume decrease of a soil mass
subjected to stresses.
 A partially saturated soil may experience appreciable

volume decrease through the compression of pore air
before any expulsion of pore water takes place.
 The volume decrease of a saturated soil mass is, for all
practical purposes, assumed to be only due to expulsion
of pore water by the application of load.
1. Compressibility
 Sedimentary deposits and submerged clay strata are
invariably found in nature in the fully saturated condition
and problems involving volume decrease and the
consequent effects are associated with these.
 The compressibility of a soil depends on:
 The structural arrangement of the soil particles,
 The degree to which adjacent particles are bonded together
for fine-grained soils.
 A structure which is more porous, such as a honey-combed
structure, is more compressible than a dense structure.
 A soil which is composed predominantly of flat grains is
more compressible than one with mostly spherical grains.
 A soil in a remoulded state may be more compressible than
the same soil in its natural state.
1. Compressibility
 When the pressure is increased, volume decrease occurs for a
soil.
 If the pressure is later decreased, some expansion will take place,
but the rebound or recovery will not occur to the full extent.
 This indicates that soils show some elastic tendency, but only to a
small degree.
 It is rather difficult to separate the elastic and inelastic
compression in soils.
 There is another kind of volume rebound shown by fine-

grained soils.
 Water held between the flaky particles by certain forces gets
squeezed out under compression.
 When the stress is removed, these forces cause the water to be
sucked in again, resulting in the phenomenon of ‘swelling’.
 Expulsion and sucking of water may take a very long time.
1. Compressibility
 The process of gradual compression due to the expulsion of pore
water under steady pressure is referred to as ‘Consolidation’.
 This is a time dependent phenomenon, especially in clays.
 The volume change behaviour has two distinct aspects:
 (1) the magnitude of volume change leading to a certain total
compression or settlement,
 (2) the time required for the volume change to occur under a
particular stress.
 The process of mechanical compression resulting in reduction or

compression of pore air and consequent densification of soil is
referred to as ‘Compaction’.
 In sands, consolidation may be generally considered to start with the

construction process;
 In clays, the process of consolidation proceeds long after the
construction has been completed and thus needs greater attention.
1. Compressibility
 Soil compressibility, considering:
 Stress – strain state for different areas into the soil massif (a)
 Deformation time dependence, considering water expulsion (b)
 Instant deformation - late deformation / primary deformation –
secondary deformation (c)
1. Compressibility
 Soil deformation stages:
1. p≤p1 – vertical deformations, unitary elements into the soil are
deformed (but 900 angles remain at 900), soil will be more dense,
2. p>p1 – unitary elements are deformed (initial 900 angles don’t have
anymore 900 -  stresses will produce sliding and deform the
unitary element)
– elastic compression, if  - exceeds a certain critical value, in
that area soil became plastic and it will fail – failure zone
1. Compressibility
 Soil deformation stages:
2. p>p1 – into the soil will appear a sliding surface, foundation will
settle up to the maximum compaction state and then pressures
will set horizontally  lateral pressure
 soil will lose it’s ability to undertake loads  soil lateral failure
by a failure critical pressure (p3)
 soil will fail on shearing, considering a shearing surface, not by
compression  soil bearing resistance/capacity depends on
it’s shearing resistance
1. Compressibility
 Soil compressibility
 p1 – pp : proportionality limit/ pressure: settlement directly
proportional to the effective stress (effective pressure)
 p2 – ppl : plastic pressure: p-s curve is no longer linear, into the soil
will appear plastic areas
 p3 – pcr : critical pressure/ critical failure pressure
14
5. Soil mechanical properties
1. Compressibility
1.1. General remarks, introduction

1.Compressibility
 For one dimension deformations, Hooke law is valid
z

E
 Where E – elasticity modulus  linear deformation modulus in Geo
 Hooke law - for 3D deformations state

 z    z     x   y 
1
E
  - Poisson coefficient
1. Compressibility
 One dimension compression (axial compression)
 Considering a soil volume V, which can deform only on vertical
direction, under the influence of exterior vertical pressure, the soil
will modify it’s volume from V0 to Vi
 Initial state: V0 and h

Final state: Vi and hi Vp0
 V0  A  h  Vs  V p 0  Vs (1  )  Vs (1  e0 )
Vs
Vp
Vi  A  hi  Vs  V p  Vs (1  )  Vs (1  e)
Vs
V0 A  h Vs (1  e0 ) 1  e0
  
Vi A  hi Vs (1  e) 1  e
1. Compressibility
 One dimension compression
V0 A  h Vs (1  e0 ) 1  e0
  
Vi A  hi Vs (1  e) 1  e
h 1  e0 1  e0 h
  
hi 1  e 1  e  (1  e0 ) hi  h
1  e0 h 1  e0 h
 Initial state: V0 and h    
e  e0 hi  h  e  h
 Final state: Vi and hi
e h
     compaction law
1  e0 h
18
1. Compressibility
1.2. Soil deformation

1. Compressibility
 The apparatus developed by Terzaghi for the determination of
compressibility characteristics including the time-rate of
compression is called Oedometer.
 It was later improved by A. Casagrande and G. Gilboy and
referred to as the Consolidometer.
Oedometer
1. Compressibility
 The standard oedometer test is carried out on a cylindrical

specimen of saturated soil, with the dimension of usually
D=70mm diameter and h=20 mm thick (D>3.5h).
 The soil sample is enclosed in a steel ring and is placed on a
porous stone.
 The loading cap has also a porous stone, so the sample is
sandwiched between two porous stones.
 When preparing the sample, filter papers are added between
the soil and the porous stones.
 The sample is then mounted in the consolidation cell and the
loading unit.
 Water is added into the cell around the sample, therefore the
sample remains saturated during the test.
 The two porous stones at the top and bottom of the sample
allow a two-way drainage of the sample.
1. Compressibility
 The test involves applying increments of vertical static load to the
sample and recording the corresponding settlement.
 Increments of vertical static load are usually applied using dead
loads and a static loading system.
 The change in the thickness of the sample against time is
recorded during each loading increment.
 The duration of the application of each load depends on the soil
and its consolidation characteristics.
 Once equilibrium reached for a loading step (deformation lower
than 0,01mm), the next increment is applied.
 The load is doubled at each increment until reaching the

maximum required load, e.g. 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500,
1000kPa.
 The range of applied stress depends on the range of effective
stress which is needed in the consolidation analysis of the case
under consideration.
1. Compressibility
 When the full consolidation at the maximum applied load is
reached, the sample is unloaded in one or several stages/ steps.
At the end of the test, the sample is carefully removed and its
thickness and water content is measured.
 The oedometer test results include the presentation of:
 stress - vertical strain curve, plotting stresses and specific strains,
on a logarithmic scale,
 stress-void ratio curve in a semi-logarithmic or in linear scale,
 settlement – time curve.
 From the changes in thickness at the end of each loading step,
we can determine the Swelling Index (Cs), Compression Index
(Cc) and, Coefficient of Volume Compressibility (mv).
 The coefficient of consolidation (cv) and the rate of consolidation
can be also measured using the results of the thickness changes
of the sample against time during a load step.
1. Compressibility
1.3. Soil compressibility. Oedometer test results
a. Stress - vertical strain curve, plotting stresses and specific
strains, on a logarithmic scale
 2   1  z
Eoed  ( M )   [kPa]
 z 2   z1  z
Eoed – oedometer modulus or
tangent modulus (M=Eoed)
Eoed – is not constant, variations
due to the loading stages
M2-3 – defined for 200 – 300kPa,
load for regular buildings
 z 2   z1  z 1
mV   
 2   1  z Eoed
mV – coefficient of volume
compressibility
1. Compressibility
 2   1  z
Eoed   [kPa]
 z 2   z1  z
 
  E
E 
E  M 0  E oed
E – linear deformation modulus

Eoed – oedometer modulus
M0 – coefficient given in Romanian norms, based to on situ
tests, M0>1
1. Compressibility
Soil classification based on M, av
Soil Oedometric modulus Eoed [MPa]
Gravels 60 – 600
Medium dense sands to dense sands 7 – 130
Cohesive 2 – 30
Eoed,2-3[kPa] aV[1/kPa] p2[%]

Incompressible >50000 <0,00003 -
Low compressibility 2000050000 0,000030,0001 <2%
Medium compressibility 1000020000 0,0001 0,0002 2%  4%
High compressibility 500010000 0,00020,0004 4%  6%

Very high compressibility <5000 >0,0004 >6%
1. Compressibility
b. Stress – void ratio curve, plotting stresses and void
ratio, on a linear or a logarithmic scale
- linear scale
e2  e1 e
aV   aV – coefficient of
 2   1  z
compressibility
e1  e2
 z
E oed 
  z (1  e0 )
Eoed  (1  e0 ) 
e e aV
 
1  e0
1. Compressibility
b. Stress – void ratio curve, plotting stresses and void
ratio, on a linear or a logarithmic scale
- logarithmic scale
e2  e1 e
cc   [1 / kPa]
log 2  log 1  log z
cc – compression index
defined on loading curve
e2  e1 e
cs   [1 / kPa]
log 2  log 1  log z
cs – recompression index
defined on unloading curve
1. Compressibility
b. Stress – void ratio curve
 Based on laboratory results it were obtained following relations
for compression index
 cc=0.009(wL-10)
– for undisturbed clays
 cc=0.007(wL-10)
– for disturbed clays
 cc – is influenced by soil sampling from the site, which explains

the differences between estimated settlements and measured
ones
30
1. Compressibility
1.3. Laboratory study, results

C5 – Geotechnics
1. Soil compressibility: General remarks, introduction

2. Soil compressibility: Soil deformations
3. Soil compressibility: Laboratory study
Course 5 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics

1. Compressibility
1.4. Soil compressibility. In situ tests
1.5. Saturated soils compressibility. Soil consolidation
1.6. Soil consolidation laboratory study
1.7. Soil stress history influence on compressibility
1.8. Repeated loading effect on compressibility
1.9. Anisotropy effect on compressibility
1. Compressibility
1.4. Soil compressibility. In situ tests.
 Laboratory study is influenced by sample disturbance
during sampling, transport and sample preparation
 In situ tests – soil behaviour will be different from the soil
behaviour tested by oedometer test
 The closest to reality (in order to obtain deformability
characteristics) are in situ tests
 In situ tests
 The Plate Load Test (PLT).
 Penetration Tests:
 Standard Penetration Test (SPT),
 Dynamic Penetration Test (DP)
 Cone Penetration Test (CPT).
 The Pressure-meter Test (PMT)
1. Compressibility
1. Plate load test (PLT)

 Executed in an open pit
or in drillings
 Applying loads on a stiff
plate, having circular
cross section (D=30cm;
56.4cm; 79.8cm; 112.8cm) or
squared cross section
(B=50cm; 70.7cm; 100cm)
 Recording settlements
 settlement – pressure
curve
1. Compressibility
1. Plate load test
1. Compressibility
1. Plate load test 1000 cm2
1. Compressibility
1. Compressibility
1. Compressibility
1. Compressibility
1. Plate load test - results
 Linear deformation modulus, E

  pl  d
E (1  2 )[kPa]
Sl
Where ω – coefficient ω =0.79 (circular cross section),
ω =0.88 (squared cross section),
pl- limit pressure,
Sl=plate settlement for the limit pressure pl,
d= plate diameter/side.
1. Compressibility
 Limit pressure, pl – maximum pressure, when between the applied
pressure and the settlement there is a quasilinear relationship
 It can be determined checking if the following condition is fulfilled for
different ranges of pressure:
si 1  si  1,5( si  si 1 )
si  sl  pi  pl
 Plate load tests has very good results when the test is executed
immediately after the excavation (avoiding swellings) and for
homogenous soils.
 When a layer of soft soil is present, plate load test may give wrong
results
1. Compressibility
 Undrained cohesion can be determined using the relation
( pl   z )
cu 
Hc
Where: pl- limit pressure;
z – geological pressure,
Hc - Coefficient Hc=6 – for plate test on the soil surface,
Hc=9 – for plate test executed in a drilling
1. Compressibility
 The plate is loaded and the settlements are measured on each
gauge, for different time ranges up to settlement stabilization
 The test will be finalized when settlement don’t stabilize for 24 hours
 Unloading – stepped, reading settlements at 1 hour after applying
each pressure step, respectively after 24 hours from complete
unloading
15
1. Compressibility
1.4. Soil compressibility. In situ tests:
Plate load test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z1JrhsdD1M
1. Compressibility
2. Penetration tests
a. Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
b. Cone Penetration Test (CPT)
c. Dynamic Penetration Test (DP)

SPT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo64QIE4hr4
1. Drive a section of casing pipe.
2. Complete wash boring and clean the hole
3. Replace driving bit by split spoon sampler at the bottom end of the driving
rod
4. Drive the sampler by dropping a hammer of 63.5kg weight through a height
of 75 cm
5. The number of blows required to penetrate three successive lengths of 15
cm are noted.
6. The first 15 cm drive is considered as seating load and is ignored. The total
number of blows required to penetrate the remaining 30 cm is called the
blow count or penetration number N.
7. Raise the sampler to the surface, open it and extract the sample.
8. Drive the next length of casing and repeat the process until required depth
is reached.
9. At the end of the borehole, note the GWT after it stabilizes and then backfill
the borehole.
Correlations between N values and soil properties
Relative o
N Compactness
Density (%)
0 to 4 Very Loose 0 -15 < 28

4 to 10 Loose 15 - 35 28 -30
10 to 30 Medium Dense 25 - 65 30 -36
> 50 Very Dense > 85 > 41
 The test method consists of pushing an instrumented cone, with the
tip facing down, into the ground at a controlled rate (usually 2
centimetres/second).
CPT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvu9iBSnQYo
 The test method consists of pushing an instrumented cone, with the
tip facing down, into the ground at a controlled rate (usually 2
cm/second).
 The purpose of the CPT in delineating stratigraphic layers is related
to the size of the cone tip, with typical cone tips having a cross-
sectional area of either 10 or 15 cm², corresponding to diameters of
3.6 and 4.4 cm.
 The early CPT mainly determined the soil geotechnical property
of bearing capacity. The original cone penetrometers involved
simple mechanical measurements of the total penetration
resistance to pushing a tool with a conical tip into the soil.
 Different methods were employed to separate the total measured
resistance into components generated by the conical tip (the "tip
friction") and friction generated by the rod string. A friction sleeve
was added to quantify this component of the friction and aid in
determining soil cohesive strength in 1960 (Begemann, 1965).
Electronic measurements began in 1948 and improved further in the
early 1970.
 Most modern electronic CPT cones now also employ a pressure
transducer with a filter to gather pore water pressure data. Pore water
pressure data aids determining stratigraphy and is primarily used to
correct tip friction values for those effects. CPT testing which also
gathers this piezometer data is called CPTU testing.
► CPT and CPTU testing
equipment generally advances
the cone using hydraulic rams
mounted on either a
heavily ballasted vehicle or
using screwed-in anchors as a
counter-force.
► One advantage of CPT over
the SPT is a more continuous
profile of soil parameters, with
CPTU data recorded typically at
2cm intervals.
c. Dynamic Penetration Test (DPT)
 Soil samples are not usually obtained using this method and
therefore penetration testing is often carried out in
conjunction with other investigation methods such as
boreholes in order to provide infill information, or where
obstructions or the presence of voids is suspected.
 Depending on the nature of sub soils, probing can be carried
out to a maximum depth of about 20m.
 The test method consists of applying a number of blows
necessary for a cone to enter into the soil, by dropping a
hammer with different weights:
 Dynamic penetration light (DPL)
 Dynamic penetration medium (DPM)
 Dynamic penetration heavy (DPH)
 Dynamic penetration super heavy (DPSH)
1. Compressibility
3. The Pressuremeter Test (PMT)
 The PMT is typically performed by
inserting a cylindrical probe into an
open borehole, supporting it at the test
depth, and then inflating a flexible
membrane in the lateral direction to a
radial strain.
 The PMT operator may expand the
pressuremeter probe in equal pressure
increments (stress controlled test) or in
equal volume increments (strain
controlled test) typically stopping the
test when initial volume of the probe has
doubled or when reaching the
maximum allowable pressure.
Presiometric tests inside boreholes – trial gallery Valík 2002
Borehole Tests of Deformation Properties
Producer: Louis Ménard (France)

Maximum attainable depth: cca 60 m
Maximum pressure: 2,4 MPa
Probe diametres:44 mm, 60 mm, 74 mm
control and
measuring board
source of compressed-air
connecting coaxial cable
measuring probe
Presuremeter Menard
28
1. Compressibility
1.4. Soil compressibility. In situ tests:
Penetration tests
Pressuremeter test
1. Compressibility
 Considering soil like a three phases system, compressibility refers to
the “phases” deformations when a load is applied
 For a saturated sample total load P=P`+Pw
Where: P`- the load transmitted by direct contact between mineral
grains (As);
Pw- the load transmitted by the water from the pores
P P' Pw
  or     'u
A AS A  AS
Effective pressures principle (Terzaghi, 1925).
Where σ` – effective pressure, transmitted by solid grains contact

σ – total pressure
u – pore water pressure
As – total surface of the contacts between solid grains
1. Compressibility
 A mechanistic model for the phenomenon of consolidation was
given by Taylor (1948), by which the process can be better understood.
1. Compressibility
1.5. Saturated soils compressibility.
Soil consolidation
 A spring of initial height Hi is surrounded by water
in a cylinder. The spring is analogous to the soil
skeleton and the water to the pore water. The
cylinder is fitted with a piston of area A, through
which a certain load may be transmitted to the
system representing a saturated soil. The piston, in
turn, is fitted with a vent, and a valve by which
the vent may be opened or closed.
 Referring to Fig.(a), let a load P be applied on the

piston. Let’s assume that the valve of the vent is
open and no flow is occurring. This indicates that
the system is in equilibrium under the total stress
P/A which is fully borne by the spring, the pressure
in the water being zero.
1. Compressibility
Soil consolidation
 Referring to Fig.(b), let’s apply an increment

of load δP to the piston, the valve being kept
closed.
 Since no water is allowed to flow out, the
piston cannot move downwards and
compress the spring; therefore, the spring
carries the earlier stress of P/A, while the
water is forced to carry the additional stress of
δP/A imposed on the system, the sum
counteracting the total stress imposed.
 This additional stress δP/A in the water in
known as the hydrostatic excess pressure.
1. Compressibility
Soil consolidation
 Referring to Fig.(c), let’s open the valve and start

recording time from that instant.
 Water just starts to flow under the pressure
gradient between it and the atmosphere
seeking to return to its equilibrium or atmospheric
pressure.
 The excess pore pressure begins to diminish, the
spring starts getting compressed as the piston
descends consequent to expulsion of pore
water. It is just the beginning of transient flow,
simulating the phenomenon of consolidation.
 The openness of the valve is analogous to the
permeability of soil.
1. Compressibility
Soil consolidation
 Referring to Fig.(d), flow has occurred to the

extent of dissipating 50% of the excess pore
pressure.
 The pore water pressure at this instant is half
the initial value, i.e., 1/2(δP/A). This causes a
corresponding increase in the stress in the
spring of 1/2(δP/A), the total stress
remaining constant at [(P/A) + (δP/A)].
 This stage refers to that of “50%
consolidation”.
 Referring to Fig.(e), the final equilibrium

condition is reached when the transient flow
situation ceases to exist, consequent to the
complete dissipation of the pore water
pressure.
1. Compressibility
 The spring compresses to a final height Hf < Hi, carrying the total stress
of (P+δP)/A, all by itself, since the excess pore water pressure has
been reduced to zero, the pressure in it having equalled the
atmospheric.
 The system has reached the equilibrium condition under the load
(P+δP). This represents “100% consolidation” under the applied load
or stress increment.
 We may say that the “soil” has been consolidated to an effective
stress of (P+δP)/A.
 In this mechanistic model, the compressible soil skeleton is

characterised by the spring and the pore water by the water in the
cylinder.
 Conclusions
 The less compressible the soil, the longer the time required for
consolidation;
 The more permeable the soil, the shorter the time required for
consolidation.
1. Compressibility
 Conclusions
 This mechanistic model using the presented analogy fails to

simulate perfectly the consolidation of a soil because the
pressure conditions are the same throughout the height of the
cylinder, whereas the consolidation of a soil begins near the
drainage surfaces and gradually progresses inward.
 It may be noted that soil consolidates only when

effective stress increases; that is to say, the volume
change behaviour of a soil is a function of the effective
stress and not the total stress.
37
1. Compressibility

Soil consolidation
1. Compressibility
 Consolidation test
 The coefficient of consolidation, Cv, in any stress range of interest,
may be evaluated:
by experimentally determining the parameters k, mv, av and e0 for the

stress range under consideration.
 k may be obtained from a permeability test conducted on the
oedometer sample itself, after complete consolidation under the
particular stress increment.
 mv, av and e0 may be obtained from the oedometer test data, by
plotting the e – σ curve.
1. Compressibility
 cv is also evaluated from the consolidation test data by the use of
characteristics of the theoretical relationship between the time
factor T, and the degree of consolidation, U (ratio btw settlement at
time t and final settlement).
 These methods are known as ‘fitting methods’, as one tries to fit in the
characteristics of the theoretical curve with the experimental or
laboratory curve.
 The more generally used fitting methods are the following:
 (a) The square root of time fitting method

 (b) The logarithm of time fitting method
1. Compressibility
 This method has been devised by D.W. Taylor (1948).
 The coefficient of consolidation is the soil property that controls
the time-rate or speed of consolidation under a load-increment.
 The relation between the sample thickness and elapsed time
since the application of the load increment is obtainable from an
oedometer test and is somewhat as shown in the figure for a
typical load-increment.
1. Compressibility
 t90 - is read off from the

figure
 T90 = 0.848 (Terzaghi’s
theory)
 H is the drainage path,
which may be taken as
half the thickness of the
sample for double
drainage conditions, or
as (Th0+Thf)/4 in terms of
the sample thickness
1. Compressibility
 This method was devised by A. Casagrande and R.E. Fadum (1939).
 The point corresponding to 100% consolidation curve is plotted on a
semi-logarithmic scale, with time factor on a logarithmic scale and
degree of consolidation on arithmetic scale, the intersection of the
tangent and asymptote is at the ordinate of 100% consolidation.
 t50 - is read from laboratory curve
 T50 = 0.197 ( Terzaghi’s theory)
 H is the drainage path, which may
be taken as half the thickness of the
sample for double drainage
conditions, or as (Th0+Thf)/4 in terms
of the sample thickness
1. Compressibility
 Comparison of the theoretical and laboratory plots
1. Compressibility
 In view of the marked difference in the compressibility behaviour of
clay soils which are being loaded for the first time since their origin, in
relation to the behaviour of clay soils, which are being reloaded
after initial loading and unloading, it becomes imperative that one
should know the stress history of the soil to predict its compressibility
behaviour.
 A soil for which the existing effective stress is the maximum, to which it
has ever been subjected in its stress history, is said to be ‘normally
consolidated’.
 For a particular
change in pressure,
there will be a
significant change in
void ratio, leading to
substantial settlement
in a practical
foundation.
1. Compressibility
 A quantitative measure of the degree of over consolidation is what is
known as the ‘Over consolidation Ratio’, OCR (in Ro - RSC).
Max effevctive stress to which the soil has been subjected in its stress history
OCR 
Existing effective stress in soil
 OCR<1 – unconsolidated soil
 OCR=1 – normally consolidated soil
 OCR=1,1 – 2,0 – lightly over consolidated soil
 OCR=2,1 – 4,0 – medium over consolidated soil
 OCR>4 – heavily over consolidated soil
1. Compressibility
 By loading and reloading a sample
(large number of loading –
unloading cycles), residual
deformations will decrease
 From a certain number of cycles,
loading – unloading process will be
described by a line (ef). It can be
considered that ef//cd
(approximately).
 For short time loads (as traffic)
dynamic deformation modulus will
increase as the number of loading
cycles will increase:
Ed=(1.5…2)E0
– depending on soil type
1. Compressibility
 In order to design elements embedded into the soil, it is

important to have information about soil compressibility
characteristics on horizontal direction.
 Experimental tests shown that: Eh≠ E0
 Therefore it can be considered

 Eh=0.5E0 – for sandy soils
 Eh=0.65E0 – for clayey soils
48
1. Compressibility
1.6. Soil consolidation. Laboratory study.

C6 – Geotechnics
1. Compressibility
4. Soil compressibility. In situ tests
5. Saturated soils compressibility. Soil consolidation
6. Soil consolidation laboratory study
7. Soil stress history influence on compressibility
8. Repeated loading effect on compressibility
9. Anisotropy effect on compressibility
Course 6 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics

2. Soil shear strength
2.1. General remarks. Definitions.

2.2. Type of soil shear strength tests based on
drainage conditions
2.3. Shearing strength tests
2.4. Factors influencing soil shear strength
1.General remarks. Definitions.
 ‘Shearing Strength’ of a soil is perhaps the most important of its
geotechnical properties.
 ‘Shearing strength’ or merely ‘Shear strength’, may be defined
as the resistance to shearing stresses and a consequent
tendency for shear deformation.
 Shearing strength of a soil is the most difficult to comprehend
in view of the multitude of factors known to affect it.
 Basically speaking, a soil derives its shearing strength from the
following :
 (1) Resistance due to the interlocking of particles.
 (2) Frictional resistance between the individual soil grains,
which may be sliding friction, rolling friction, or both.
 (3) Adhesion between soil particles or ‘cohesion’.
 The shear strength of all uncemented soils (sands or clays) is
explainable purely on the basis of friction.
 The basic parameter is the coefficient of internal friction (μ) or the
angle of internal friction (Φ').
► The angle of internal friction Φ' N
N
can be thought of as the angle
F
between the resultant force R F F
and the vertical (where R is the
resultant of the normal force N
and the shear force F).
► It is also seen directly in the two
cases shown on the bottom of
the diagram above.
 For a frictional material, the shear strength on a potential
failure plane is a function of the normal stress on the failure
plane.
 In all cases, it is the effective stress that matters - that is, the total
stress less the pore water pressure.
 Think of a hovercraft - it moves easily because the total stress due
to the weight of the hovercraft is balanced by the air pressure
generated underneath, giving zero effectives stress, and hence
very little resistance to horizontal movement.
 Strength theories for soils
 At a point in a stressed material, every plane will be subjected, in
general, to a normal or direct stress and a shearing stress.
 In the field of geotechnical engineering, compressive direct stresses
are usually considered positive, while tensile stresses are considered
negative
 A number of theories have been propounded for explaining the

shearing strength of soils. Of all such theories, the Mohr’s strength theory
and the Mohr-Coulomb theory, a generalisation and modification of the
Coulomb’s equation, meet the requirements for application to a soil in
an acceptable manner.
Mohr-Coulomb Theory
 The Mohr-Coulomb theory of shearing strength of a soil, first
proposed by Coulomb (1876) and later generalised by Mohr, is the
most commonly used concept.
 The functional relationship between the normal stress on any plane
and the shearing strength available on that plane was assumed to
be linear by Coulomb; thus the following is usually known as
Coulomb’s law:
s = c +   tg  f = c +   tg
▪ where c and Φ are empirical parameters, known as the ‘apparent cohesion’
and ‘angle of shearing resistance’ (or angle of internal friction).
 These are better visualised as ‘parameters’ and not as absolute
properties of a soil since they are known to vary with: water content,
conditions of testing: speed of shear, drainage conditions other
factors, besides the type of soil.
Mohr-Coulomb Theory
 Coulomb’s law is a mathematical equation
of the failure envelope shown in Fig. (a)
 Mohr’s generalisation of the failure envelope
as a curve which becomes flatter with
increasing normal stress is shown in Fig. (b).
 The envelopes are called ‘strength
envelopes’ or ‘failure envelopes’.
 The meaning of an envelope: if the normal and
shear stress components on a plane plot on to
the failure envelope, failure is supposed to be
incipient and if the stresses plot below the
envelope, the condition represents stability. And,
it is impossible that these plot above the
envelope, since failure should have occurred
previously.
Mohr-Coulomb Theory
 Coulomb’s law is also written as follows to indicate that the stress
condition refers to that on the plane of failure: s = c + σf tan Φ
 In a different way, it can be said that the Mohr’s circle of stress
relating to a given stress condition would represent:
► incipient failure condition if

it just touches or is tangent
to the strength or failure
envelope - circle I;
► otherwise, it would wholly
lie below the envelopes as
shown in circle II .
Mohr-Coulomb Theory
 The Coulomb envelope in special cases may take the shapes given in
Fig. (a) and (b):
 a purely cohesionless or granular soil or a pure sand, Fig. (a)
 a purely cohesive soil or a pure clay, Fig. (b).
12
2.1. General remarks. Definitions

2. Type of soil shear strength tests based on drainage
conditions
 Before considering various methods of conducting shearing strength
tests on a soil, it is necessary to consider the possible drainage
conditions, before and during the tests, since the results are
significantly affected by these.
 A cohesionless or a coarse-grained soil may be tested for shearing
strength either in the dry condition or in the saturated condition.
 A cohesive or fine-grained soil is usually tested in the saturated condition.
 Depending upon whether drainage is permitted before and during
the test, shear tests on such saturated soils are classified as follows:
 Unconsolidated Undrained Test (UU)
 Consolidated Undrained Test (CU)
 Consolidated Drained Test (CD)
conditions
Unconsolidated Undrained Test (UU)
 Drainage is not permitted at any stage of the test, that is, either
before the test during the application of the normal stress or during
the test when the shear stress is applied. Hence no time is allowed for
dissipation of pore water pressure and consequent consolidation of
the soil; also, no significant volume changes are expected.
 Usually, 5 to 10 minutes may be adequate for the whole test,
because of the shortness of drainage path. However, undrained tests
are often performed only on soils of low permeability.
 This is the most unfavourable condition which might occur in
geotechnical engineering practice and hence is simulated in shear
testing.
 Since a relatively small time is allowed for the testing till failure, it is
also called the ‘Quick test’ It is designated UU, Q or Qu test.
conditions
Consolidated Undrained Test (CU)
 Drainage is permitted fully in this type of test during the application
of the normal stress and no drainage is permitted during the
application of the shear stress.
 The volume changes do not take place during shear and excess
pore pressure develops.
 Usually, after the soil is consolidated under the applied normal stress
to the desired degree, 5 to 10 minutes may be adequate for the test.
 This test is also called ‘consolidated quick test’ and is designated CU
or Qc test,
 These conditions are also common in geotechnical engineering
practice.
conditions
Consolidated Drained Test (CD)
 Drainage is permitted fully before and during the test, at every stage.
 The soil is consolidated under the applied normal stress and is tested
for shear by applying the shear stress also very slowly while drainage
is permitted at every stage. Practically no excess pore pressure
develops at any stage and volume changes take place.
 It may require 4 to 6 weeks to complete a single test of this kind in the
case of cohesive soils, although not so much time is required in the case
of cohesionless soils as the latter drain off quickly.
 This test is rarely conducted on cohesive soils except for purposes of
research.
 It is also called the ‘Slow Test’ or ‘consolidated slow test’ and is
designated CD, S, or Sc test.
conditions
 The shear parameters c and  vary with the type of test or
drainage conditions.
 The suffixes u, cu, and d (or ‘)are used for the parameters obtained from
the UU, CU-and CD tests respectively.
 The choice as to which of these tests is to be used depends
upon the types of soil and the problem to be treated.
 For problems of short-term stability of foundations,
excavations and earth dams UU-tests are appropriate.
 For problems of long-term stability, either CU-test or CD tests
are appropriate, depending upon the drainage conditions
in the field.
18

drainage conditions
3. Shearing strength tests
 Determination of shearing strength of a soil involves the plotting of
failure envelopes and evaluation of the shear strength parameters
for the necessary conditions.
 The following tests are available for this purpose :
 Laboratory Tests
1. Direct Shear Test
2. Triaxial Compression Test
3. Unconfined Compression Test
4. Laboratory Vane Shear Test
 The first three tests are very commonly used, while the fourth is
gaining popularity owing to its simplicity.
 Determination of shearing strength of a soil involves the plotting of failure
envelopes and evaluation of the shear strength parameters for the
necessary conditions. The following tests are available for this purpose :
 Field Tests
1. Vane Shear Test
 The principle of the field vane test is the same as that of the laboratory
vane shear test, except that the apparatus is bigger in size for
convenience of field use.
2. Penetration Test
 The penetration test involves the measurement of resistance of a soil
to penetration of a cone or a cylinder, as an indication of the
shearing strength. This procedure is indirect and rather empirical in
nature although correlations are possible.
 Direct Shear Test
 The direct shear device, also called the ‘shear box apparatus’,
essentially consists of a brass box, split horizontally at mid-height of the
soil specimen, as shown schematically in the figure.
► The soil is gripped in perforated metal grilles, behind which porous

discs can be placed if required to allow the specimen to drain.
► For undrained tests, metal plates and solid metal grilles may be used.
► The usual plan size of the specimen is 60mm square; but a larger size
such as 300mm square or even more, is employed for testing larger
size granular material (gravel).
► The min. thickness (height) of the specimen is 20mm.
 After the sample to be tested is placed in the apparatus or shear
box, a normal load which is vertical is applied to the top of the
sample by means of a loading yoke and weights.
► Since the shear plane is
predetermined as the horizontal
plane, this becomes the normal
stress on the failure plane, which
is kept constant throughout the
test.
► A shearing force is applied to the
upper-half of the box, which is
zero initially and is increased until
the specimen fails.
 The stress-conditions on the failure plane and the corresponding
Mohr’s circle for direct shear test are shown in Fig. (a) and (b)
respectively. The failure plane is predetermined as the horizontal
plane here.
 Several specimens are tested under different normal loads and the
results plotted to obtain failure envelopes.
 Disadvantages:
1. The stress conditions are complex primarily because of the non-
uniform distribution of normal and shear stresses on the plane.
2. There is virtually no control of the drainage of the soil specimen as
the water content of a saturated soil changes rapidly with stress.
3. The area of the sliding surface at failure will be less than the
original area of the soil specimen.
4. The ridges of the metal gratings embedded on the top and
bottom of the specimen, causes distortion of the specimen to some
degree.
5. The effect of lateral restraint by the side walls of the shear box is
likely to affect the results.
6. The failure plane is predetermined and this may not be the
weakest plane. In fact, this is the most important limitation of the
direct shear test.
26
2.3. Shearing strength tests:

Direct shear test
 Triaxial Compression Test
 The triaxial compression test, introduced by Casagrande and
Terzaghi in 1936, is by far the most popular and extensively used
shearing strength test, both for field application and for purposes of
research.
 The soil specimen is subjected to three compressive stresses in
mutually perpendicular directions, one of the three stresses being
increased until the specimen fails in shear.
 Usually a cylindrical specimen with a height equal to twice its
diameter is used.
 The desired three-dimensional stress system is achieved by an initial
application of all-round fluid pressure or confining pressure through
water.
 While this confining pressure is kept constant throughout the test,
axial or vertical loading is increased gradually and at a uniform rate.
 The axial stress thus constitutes the major principal stress and the
confining pressure acts in the other two principal directions, the
intermediate and minor principal stresses being equal to the
confining pressure.
▪ The apparatus, consists of a

lucite or perspex cylindrical
cell, called triaxial cell, with
appropriate arrangements
for an inlet of cell fluid and
application of pressure by
means of a compressor,
outlet of pore water from
the specimen if it is desired
to permit drainage which
otherwise may serve as
pore pressure connection
and axial loading through
a piston and loading cap.
Triaxial Compression Test
 Test Procedure
 A saturated porous stone is placed on the pedestal and the
cylindrical soil specimen is placed on it.
 The specimen is enveloped by a rubber membrane to isolate it
from the water with which the cell is to be filled later; it is sealed
with the pedestal and top cap by rubber ‘‘O’’ rings.
 The cell is filled with water and pressure is applied to the water,
which in turn is transmitted to the soil specimen all-round and at
top. This pressure is called ‘cell pressure (chamber pressure or
confining pressure).
 Additional axial stress is applied while keeping the cell pressure
constant. This introduces shearing stresses on all planes except
the horizontal and vertical planes, on which the major, minor and
intermediate principal stresses act, the last two being equal to the
cell pressure on account of axial symmetry.
 The additional axial stress is continuously increased until failure of
the specimen occurs. (What constitutes failure is often a question
of definition and may be different for different kinds of soils).
 Mohr’s Circle for Triaxial Test: The stress conditions in a triaxial test
may be represented by a Mohr’s circle, at any stage of the test, as
well as at failure, as shown in the figures:
 Types of Failure of a Triaxial Compression Test Specimen
 A triaxial compression test specimen may exhibit a particular pattern or
shape as failure is reached, depending upon the nature of the soil and
its condition
a. brittle failure with well-
defined shear plane,
b. semi-plastic failure
showing shear cones and
some lateral bulging,
c. plastic failure with well-
expressed lateral bulging.
 In the case of plastic failure, the strain goes on increasing slowly at a
reduced rate with increasing stress, with no specific stage to pin-point
failure. In such a case, failure is assumed to have taken place when the
strain reaches an arbitrary value such as 20%.
34

Triaxial compression test
 Unconfined Compression Test
 This is a special case of a triaxial compression test; the confining
pressure being zero. A cylindrical soil specimen, usually of the
same standard size as that for the triaxial compression, is loaded
axially by a compressive force until failure takes place.
 Since the specimen is laterally unconfined, the test is known as
‘unconfined compression test’. No rubber membrane is necessary
to encase the specimen. The axial or vertical compressive stress
is the major principal stress and the other two principal stresses
are zero.
 The test is a quick or undrained one because it is assumed that
there is no loss of moisture during the test, which is performed
fairly fast.
 The failure plane is not predetermined and failure takes place
along the weakest plane.
 The test specimen is loaded through a calibrated spring by a simple
manually operated screw jack at the top of the machine.
► Different springs with stiffness values
ranging from 2 to 20 N/mm may be
used to test soils of varying strengths.
► The axial stress is got by dividing the
load by the corrected area
► This test may be conducted on

undisturbed or remoulded cohesive
soils. It cannot be conducted on
coarse-grained soils such as sands
and gravels as these cannot stand
without lateral support.
 The specimen is placed between two metal cones attached to two
horizontal plates, the upper plate being fixed and the lower one sliding
on vertical rods.
 The spring is supported by a plate and a screw on either side. The plate
is capable of being raised by turning a handle so as to apply a
compressive load on the soil specimen.
 A loading frame with a proving ring and a dial gauge for measuring the
axial compression of the specimen is used.
 The maximum compressive stress is that at the peak of the stress-strain

curve. If the peak is not well-defined, an arbitrary strain value such as
20% is taken to represent failure.
 Considering σ3 = 0 →σ1 = 2c tan (45° + φ/2). The two unknowns –c and
φ– cannot be solved since any number of unconfined compression tests
would give only one value for σ1.
 The unconfined compression test is mostly found useful in the
determination of the shearing strength of saturated clays for which φ is
negligible or zero, under undrained conditions.
 In such a case, the equation reduces to σ1 = φu = 2c, where φu is the
unconfined compression strength.
 The shearing strength or cohesion value for a saturated clay from
unconfined compression test is taken to be half the unconfined
compression strength.
39

Unconfined compression test
 Vane Shear Test
 Is suitable for undisturbed and
remoulded samples which cannot be
tested in triaxial or unconfined
compression tests.
 The shear vane usually consists of four
steel plates welded orthogonally to a
steel rod,
 The applied torque is measured by a
calibrated torsion spring, the angle of
twist being read on a special gauge.
 A uniform rotation of about 1° per
minute is used. The vane is forced into
the soil specimen or into the
undisturbed soil at the bottom of a
bore-hole in a gentle manner and
torque is applied. The torque is
computed by multiplying the angle of
twist by the spring constant.
 Vane Shear Test
 If we add these contributions considering both
the top and bottom faces and equate to the
torque T at failure, we get shear strength at
failure, s.
 Regarding the shearing stress distribution on
the soil cylinder, it is assumed uniform on the
cylindrical surface but it is triangular over the
shear end faces, varying from zero at the axis
of the vane device, to maximum at the edge.
 The vane shear test is particularly suited for soft
clays and sensitive clays for which suitable
cylindrical specimens cannot be easily
prepared.
43

Vane shear test
4. Factors influencing soil shear strength
A. Uncohesive soils
1. Soil relative density
2. Shape and grains size, soil grading
3. Failure plans displacement on direct shear tests.
4. Soil water content
5. Vibrations
6. Shear speed
B. Cohesive soils
1. Soil structure
3. Soil consolidation
A. Uncohesive soils
1. Soil relative density
e0 tgφ=a (a≈0.55)
A. Uncohesive soils
2. Grains shape and size, soil grading
Φ°=36°+ Φ1 + Φ2 + Φ3 + Φ4
Φ1 Φ2 Φ3 Φ4
Unrounded +1 Sand 0 Well graded -3 Loose -6
sand
Medium rounded 0 Fine Gravel +1 Medium graded 0 Medium 0
dense
Rounded -3 Medium – +2 Ungraded +3 Dense +6
coarse
Very rounded -5
A. Uncohesive soils
3. Failure plans displacement on direct shear tests.
 Dilatancy (initially dense)
 Contractancy (initially loose)
A. Uncohesive soils
 Has a small influence on shear strength
 For some soils – large influence – liquefaction sands
5. Vibrations
 Reduce shear strength on uncohesive soils
6. Shear speed
A. Cohesive soils
1. Soil structure
50
A. Cohesive soils
 High w – will reduce c, 
 c=cw+cs+ca
 Sampling depth
 Drainage possibility
3. Soil consolidation

51

C7 – Geotechnics
2.1. General remarks. Definitions.

drainage conditions
2.3. Shearing strength tests
Course 7 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics

C8 – Geotechnics - summary
2.5. Soil massifs limit equilibrium state. Failure
condition for soil.
6. Stress distribution in soil

1. General remarks. Introduction.
2. Pressures distribution
3. Approximate methods to determine pressures
distribution
5. Soils mechanical properties 3
5. Limit equilibrium state of soil massifs. Failure condition for soil.
 In a point in a stressed material, every plane will be subjected, in
general, to a normal or direct stress and a shearing stress.
 In the field of geotechnical engineering, compressive direct stresses
are usually considered positive, while tensile stresses are considered
negative.
5. Limit equilibrium state of soil massifs. Failure condition for soils.
 A ‘Principal plane’ is defined as a plane on which the stress is
wholly normal, or one which does not carry shearing stress.
 From mechanics, it is known that there exists three principal
planes at any point in a stressed material.
 The normal stresses acting on these principal planes are known
as the ‘principal stresses’.
 It can be shown that satisfactory solutions may be obtained for

many problems in the field of geotechnical engineering by
two-dimensional analysis, the intermediate principal stress
being commonly ignored.
 In case the normal and shearing stresses on two mutually
perpendicular planes are known, the principal planes and principal
stresses may be determined with the aid of the Mohr’s circle
diagram, as shown in Fig.
 The shearing stresses on two mutually perpendicular planes are
equal in magnitude by the principle of complementary shear.
( )/2
5

 Fig.(a) shows an element subjected to a general two-dimensional
stress system, normal stresses x and y on mutually perpendicular
planes and shear stresses xy on these planes, as indicated.
 Fig. (b) shows the corresponding Mohr’s circle.
 Considering the equilibrium of a portion of the element,  and , on
a plane inclined at an angle , measured counter-clockwise with
respect to the plane on which x acts, may be obtained as follows:
 Squaring previous Eqs. and adding →
 A circle with the centre at: and radius:

 Once the Mohr’s circle is constructed, the principal stresses 1 and
3 and the orientation of the principal planes may be obtained from
the diagram.
 The shearing stress is to be plotted upward or downward
according as it is positive or negative.
 It is common to take a shear stress which tends to rotate the
element counter-clockwise, positive.
( )/2
5. Limit equilibrium state of soil massifs. Failure condition
for soils.
 It may be noted that the same Mohr’s circle and hence the same
principal stresses are obtained, irrespective of how the shear stresses
are plotted.
 The centre of the Mohr’s circle, C, is the mid-point of DE, with the co-
ordinates (1+3)/2 and 0; the radius of the circle is CG, the co-
ordinates of G being y and xy.
 The following relationships are also easily obtained:
 Invariably, the vertical stress will be the major principal stress and the
horizontal one the minor principal stress in geotechincal engineering
situations.

Strength theories for soils
 A number of theories have been proposed for explaining the shearing
strength of soils. Of all such theories, the Mohr’s strength theory and the
Mohr-Coulomb theory, a generalisation and modification of the
Coulomb’s equation, meet the requirements for application to a soil.
1. Mohr’s Strength Theory
 We have seen that the shearing stress may be expressed as  =  tan on
any plane, where  is the angle of obliquity.
 If the obliquity angle is the maximum or has limiting value , the shearing
stress is also at its limiting value and it is called the shearing strength, s.
 For a cohesionless soil the shearing strength may be expressed as:
s =  tan

 If the angle of internal friction is assumed to be a constant, the
shearing strength may be represented by a pair of straight lines at
inclinations of + and – with the  axis and passing through the
origin of the Mohr’s circle diagram.
▪ A line of this type is called a Mohr

envelope.
▪ The Mohr envelopes, for a
cohesionless soil, as shown in Fig.,
are the straight lines OA and OA′.

 If the stress conditions at a point are represented by Mohr’s circle I,
the shear stress on any plane through the point is less than the
shearing strength, as indicated by the line BCD;
▪ BC represents the shear stress on

a plane on which the normal
stress is given by OD.
▪ BD representing the shearing
strength for this normal stress, is
greater than BC.

 The stress conditions represented by the Mohr’s Circle II, which is
tangential to the Mohr’s envelope at F, are such that the shearing
stress, EF, on the plane of maximum obliquity is equal to the shearing
strength.
▪ Failure is incipient on this plane

and will occur unless the
normal stress on the critical
plane increases.

▪ It may be noted that it would be
impossible to apply the stress
conditions represented by Mohr’s
circle III (dashed) to this soil sample,
since failure would have occurred
even by the time the shear stress on
the critical plane equals the shearing
strength available on that plane, thus
eliminating the possibility of the shear
stress exceeding the shearing
strength.
 The Mohr’s strength theory (theory of failure or rupture), may be
stated as follows:
 The stress condition given by any Mohr’s circle falling within the
Mohr’s envelope represents a condition of stability, while the
condition given by any Mohr’s circle tangent to the Mohr’s
envelope indicates incipient failure on the plane relating to the
point of tangency.
 The Mohr’s envelope may be treated to be a property of the
material and independent of the imposed stresses.
 Also, the Mohr’s circle of stress depends only upon the imposed
stresses and has nothing to do with the nature and properties of
the material.

 It is possible to express the strength in terms of normal stress on any
plane, with the aid of the Mohr’s circle of stress.
 Some common relationships are :

 The primary assumptions in the Mohr’s strength theory are:
 the intermediate principal stress has no influence on the strength and
 the strength is dependent only upon the normal stress on the plane of
maximum obliquity.
 The shearing strength, in fact, does depend to a small extent upon the
intermediate principal stress, density, speed of application of shear etc.
 It may also be noted that the Mohr envelope will not be a straight line
but is actually slightly curved since the angle of internal friction is known
to decrease slightly with increase in stress.
17
2.5. Limit equilibrium state of soil massifs. Failure

condition for soils: Mohr’s Strength Theory

2. Mohr-Coulomb Theory
 The Mohr-Coulomb theory of shearing strength of a soil, first proposed by
Coulomb and later generalized by Mohr, is the most commonly used
concept. The functional relationship between the normal stress on any plane
and the shearing strength available on that plane was assumed to be linear
by Coulomb;
 The following eq. is usually known as Coulomb’s law:
s = c + σ tan
where c and are empirical parameters, known as the ‘apparent cohesion’
and ‘angle of shearing resistance’ (or angle of internal friction), respectively.
 These are better visualized as ‘parameters’ and not as absolute properties of a
soil since they are known to vary with water content, conditions of testing such as
speed of shear and drainage conditions, and a number of other factors besides
the type of soil.
 Coulomb’s law is a mathematical equation of the failure envelope
shown in Fig.(a); Mohr’s generalisation of the failure envelope as a curve
which becomes flatter with increasing normal stress is shown in Fig.(b).
 The envelopes are called ‘strength envelopes’ or ‘failure envelopes’.

 The meaning of an envelope: if the normal and shear stress components on a
plane plot on to the failure envelope, failure is supposed to be incipient and if
the stresses plot below the envelope, the condition represents stability. And, it is
impossible that these plot above the envelope, since failure should have
occurred previously.

 Coulomb’s law is also written as follows to indicate that the stress
condition refers to that on the plane of failure: s = c + σf tan
 The Mohr’s circle of stress relating to a given stress condition represent,
incipient failure condition if it just touches or is tangent to the strength or
failure envelope (circle I); otherwise, it would wholly lie below the
envelopes (circle II) (b).
21
2.5. Limit equilibrium state of soil massifs. Failure

condition for soils: Mohr - Coulomb Theory
6. Stress distribution in soil 22
 Stress in soil is caused by the first or both of the following:
 (a) Self-Weight of soil.
 (b) Structural loads, applied at or below the surface.
 Many problems in foundation engineering require a study of the
transmission and distribution of stresses in large and extensive masses
of soil.
 Some examples are:

 wheel loads transmitted through embankments to culverts,
 foundation pressures transmitted to the soil strata below footings,
 pressures from isolated footings transmitted to retaining walls,
 wheel loads transmitted through stabilised soil pavements to sub-
grades below.
 In such cases, the stresses are transmitted in all downward and
lateral directions.
6. Stress distribution in soil 23
 Estimation of vertical stresses at any point in a soil mass due to
external loading is essential to the prediction of settlements of
buildings, bridges and embankments.
 The theory of elasticity, which gives primarily the
interrelationships of stresses and strains (Timoshenko and
Goodier, 1951), has been the basis for the determination of
stresses in a soil mass.
 According to the elastic theory, constant ratios exist between
stresses and strains. For the theory to be applicable, the real
requirement is not that the material necessarily to be elastic but that
there must be constant ratios between stresses and the
corresponding strains.
 It is known that, only at relatively small magnitudes of stresses, the
proportionality between strains and stresses exists in the case of soil.
 Fortunately, the order of magnitudes of stresses transmitted into soil from structural
loadings is also small and the application of the elastic theory for determination of
stress distribution in soil gives reasonably valid results.
 The most widely used theories regarding distribution of stress in soil
are those of Boussinesq.
 He have developed first for point loads and later, the values for point
load have been integrated to give stresses below uniform strip loads,
uniformly loaded circular and rectangular areas.
 The vertical stress in soil due to its self-weight, also called ‘geostatic /
geologic stress’ is given by:
z =   z
where σz= vertical stress in soil at depth z below the surface due to its
self-weight
γ = unit weight of soil.
 If there are imposed structural loadings also on the soil, the resultant
stress may be obtained by adding algebraically the stress due to self-
weight and stress transmitted due to structural loadings.
Point load
 Although a point load or a concentrated load is, strictly
speaking, hypothetical in nature, consideration of it serves a
useful purpose in arriving at the solutions for more complex
loadings in practice.
 The most fundamental of the solutions of stress distribution in
soil is that for a point load applied at the surface.
 Boussinesq have given the solution with different assumptions
regarding the soil medium.
 Boussinesq’s Solution
 Boussinesq (1885) has given the solution for the stresses
caused by the application of a point load at the surface of a
homogeneous, elastic, isotropic and semi-infinite medium,
with the aid of the mathematical theory of elasticity. (A semi-
infinite medium is one bounded by a horizontal boundary
plane, which is the ground surface for soil medium).
Point load
 Assumptions made by Boussinesq in the derivation of his theory:
(i) The soil medium is an elastic, homogeneous, isotropic, and semi-
infinite medium, which extends infinitely in all directions from a level
surface. (Homogeneity: identical properties at all points in identical
directions; isotropy: identical elastic properties in all directions at a point).
(ii) The medium obeys Hooke’s law.
(iii) The self-weight of the soil is ignored.
(iv) The soil is initially unstressed.
(v) The change in volume of the soil upon application of the loads on to
it is neglected.
(vi) The top surface of the medium is free of shear stress and is subjected
to only the point load at a specified location.
(vii) Continuity of stress is considered to exist in the medium.
(viii) The stresses are distributed symmetrically with respect to Z-axis.
Point load
 Fig. (a): the origin of co-ordinates is taken
as the point of application of the load Q
and the location of any point A in the soil
mass is specified by the co-ordinates x, y,
and z.
 The stresses acting at point A on planes
normal to the co-ordinate axes are shown
in Fig. (b). ’z are the normal stresses on the
planes normal to the co-ordinate axes; ’zx are
the shearing stresses. The first subscript of 
denotes the axis normal to which the plane
containing the shear stress is, and the second
subscript indicates direction of the axis parallel to
which the shear stress acts.
 Fig. (c): the cylindrical co-ordinates and
the corresponding normal stresses - radial
stress r, tangential stress t, and the shear
stress rz are shown; z is another principal
stress in the cylindrical co-ordinates; the
polar radial stress R is also shown.
28

6.2. Pressures distribution
 It is possible to calculate the pressure distributions by Boussinesq
equation and present them graphically:
 (i) Vertical stress distribution on a horizontal plane, at a depth z
below the ground surface.
 (ii) Vertical stress distribution along a vertical line, at a distance r
from the line of action of the single concentrated load.
Vertical Stress Distribution on a Horizontal Plane

 The vertical stress on a horizontal plane at depth z is:
 For several assumed values of r, KB is calculated, as a function of r/z

and the value of σz is then computed.
 For r = 0, σz is the maximum of 0.4775 Q/z2;
 for r = 2z, it is only about 1.8% of the maximum
 for r = 3z, it is just 0.3% of the maximum.
Vertical Stress Distribution on a Horizontal Plane
 The distribution is as shown in Fig. and Table
Vertical Stress Distribution Along a Vertical Line
 The variation of vertical stress with depth
at a constant radial distance from the
axis of the load may be shown by
horizontal ordinates .
 As z increases, r/z decreases for a
constant value of r.
 As r/z decreases KB - value in the
equation for σz increases, but since z2
is involved in the denominator of the
expression for σz, its value first
increases with depth, attains a
maximum value, and then decreases
with further increase in depth.
Vertical Stress Distribution Along a Vertical Line
 It can be shown that the maximum value of σz occurs when the
angle θ made by the polar ray attains a value 39°13′53.5′′,
corresponding to a value of 2/3 or 0.817 for r/z;
 The maximum value σz is then 0.0888 Q. This value decreases rapidly
with depth: for r/z = 0.1, the value is just 0.0047 Q.
Stress Isobar or Pressure Bulb Concept
 An ‘isobar’ is a stress contour or a line which connects all points
below the ground surface at which the vertical pressure is the same.
 In fact, an isobar is a spatial curved surface and resembles a bulb in
shape; this is because the vertical pressure at all points in a horizontal
plane at equal radial distances from the load is the same.
 The stress isobar is also called the ‘bulb of pressure’ or the ‘pressure
bulb’. The vertical pressure at each point on the pressure bulb is the
same.
▪ Pressure at points inside the bulb are

greater than that at a point on the
surface of the bulb;
▪ Pressures at points outside the bulb
are smaller than that value.
Stress Isobar or Pressure Bulb Concept
▪ Any number of pressure bulbs may be drawn for any applied load,
since each one corresponds to an arbitrarily chosen value of stress.
▪ A system of isobars indicates the decrease in stress intensity from the
inner to the outer ones and reminds one of an ‘Onion bulb’.
▪ An isobar diagram, consisting of a system of isobars appears
somewhat as shown in Fig.
Line load
 A load uniformly distributed along a
line, of intensity q′ per unit length of a
straight line of infinite extension, act on
the surface of a semi-infinite elastic
medium.
 Such a loading produces a state of
plane strain (the strains and stresses in all
planes normal to the line of the loading are
identical and it is adequate to consider the
conditions in one such plane as in Fig.(a);
the y-axis is directed along the line of
loading as shown in Fig.(b))
 Considering a small length dy of the line
loads, the equivalent point load is q′dy and,
the vertical stress at A due to this load is:
Strip load
 A uniform load of intensity
q per unit area, acting on
a strip of infinite length
and a constant width
B(=2b).
 The corresponding
principal stresses may be
established as:
36
Strip load
 Pressure bulbs for strips load of
infinite length (After Terzaghi, 1943)
 The knowledge of shear stresses

may not be important in normal
foundation design procedure, but
Jürgenson (1934) obtained the
solution for this case. Pressure
bulbs of shear stress are shown in
Fig.
Uniform load on rectangular area
 The more common shape of a loaded area in foundation
engineering practice is a rectangle, especially in the case of buildings.
 Applying the principle of integration, one can obtain the vertical
stress at a point at a certain depth below the centre or a corner of a
uniformly loaded rectangular area, based on Boussinesq’s solution
for a point load.
 Steinbrenner (1934) has given another form of chart for this purpose,
which is shown in Fig., plotting the influence values Iσ on the
horizontal axis and 1/m (=z/B) on the vertical axis, for different values
of L/B (= n/m).
 The vertical stress at a point beneath a uniformly loaded
rectangular area may be found using the influence value for a
corner by the principle of superposition, dividing the rectangle
into four equal parts by lines parallel to the sides and passing
through the centre.
 The principle of superposition may be conveniently employed to
compute the stress beneath any point either inside or outside a
uniformly loaded rectangular area.
▪ Let the point A at which the vertical stress is

required be at a depth z beneath A′, inside the
uniformly loaded rectangular area PQRS, Fig. (a).
▪ Imagine TU and VW parallel to the sides and
passing through A′, and IσI IσII are the influence
factors for the stress at A due to the rectangular
areas as I, II, ..., by the principle of superposition,
since A′ happens to be a corner for these areas.
40
 The point A is beneath A′, outside the
uniformly loaded rectangular area
PQRS, as in Fig. (b), imagine PQ, SR, PS
and QR to be extended such that
PWA′T is a rectangle and U and V are
points on its sides, as shown.
 Then σz at A is... and IσI IσII, ..., are the
influence factors for the stress at A
due to the rectangular areas
designated I, II, ..., by the principle of
superposition. z = q(II − III − IIII + IIV )
 Since area IV is deducted twice, its
influence has to be added once.
42
2. Pressure distribution.
6.3. Approximate methods to determine pressures distribution
 Approximate methods are used to determine the stress
distribution in soil under the influence of complex loadings
and/or shapes of loaded areas, saving time and labour
without sacrificing accuracy to any significant degree.
 Two commonly used approximate methods are:

 Equivalent Point Load Method
 Two is to One Method
1. Equivalent Point Load Method
 In this approach, the given loaded area is divided into a convenient
number of smaller units and the total load from each unit is assumed
to act at its centroid as a point load.
 The principle of superposition is then applied and the required stress
at a specified point is obtained by summing up the contributions of
the individual point loads from each of the units by applying the
appropriate Point Load formula, such as that of Boussinesq.
▪ Referring to Fig. if the influence values
are KB1 KB2 , ,... for the point loads
Q1,Q2, ..., for σz at A we have:
1. Equivalent Point Load Method
◼ If a square area of size B is acted on by a

uniform load q, the stress obtained by
theoretical influence value differs from
the approximate value obtained by
treating the total load of (qB2) to be
acting at the centre.
◼ It has been established that this
difference is negligible for engineering
purposes if z/B ≥ 3.
◼ This give a hint to us that, in dividing the
loaded area into smaller units, we have
to remember to do it such that z/B≥3;
that is to say, in relation to the specified
depth, the size of any unit area should
not be greater than one-third of the
depth.
2. Two is to One Method
 This method involves the assumption that the stresses get distributed
uniformly on to areas, the edges of which are obtained by taking the
angle of distribution at 2 vertical to 1 horizontal (tan θ = ½ - θ is the
angle made by the line of distribution with the vertical, sometimes
θ=450). The average vertical stress at depth z is:
◼ The discrepancy between this

and the accurate value of the
maximum vertical stress is
maximum at a value of z/B=0.5,
while there is no discrepancy at
all at a value of z/B ≈ 2.
47
3. Approximate methods to determine

pressures distribution
C8 – Geotechnics

2.5. Soil massifs LIMIT equilibrium state. Failure condition for soil.

2. Pressures distribution
3. Approximate methods to determine pressures distribution
Course 8 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics

C9 – Geotechnics – summary

4. Vertical stress in soil due to self weight
5. Deformations in soil massifs
7. Lateral earth pressure

1. General remarks. Definitions
A. Earth pressure at rest.
B. Earth pressure theories
6.4. Vertical stress in soil due to self weight
– geostatic /geologic pressure.
 The vertical stress in soil due to its self-weight, also called
‘geostatic / geologic stress’ is given by:
z = z
where
σz= vertical stress in soil at depth z below the surface due to its
self-weight
γ = unit weight of soil.
 If there are imposed structural loads also on the soil surface,

the resultant stress may be obtained by adding algebraically
the stress due to self-weight and stress transmitted due to
structural loads
6.4. Vertical stress in soil due to self weight – geologic
pressure
 Homogeneous soil
 gz – linear variation with depth (=const).
 gx= k0gz , where k0 – pressure coefficient
 gz =   z
6.4. Vertical stress in soil due to self weight – geologic
pressure.
 Non homogeneous soil
 gz – linear variation on each layer, variation with different
slopes (=const/layer).
 gz =   z
σgz=γ1h1+ γ2h2 +…γihi +…+γnhn
σgz=  ihi
6.4. Vertical stress in soil due to self weight – geologic pressure.
 Non homogeneous soil, below GWT
 Cohesive soils:  → sat
 Non cohesive soils:  → ’
 Water unit weight influence w
σ`gz=γ1h1+ γ2z +(h2-z)∙γ2sat. σ``gz=γ1h1+ γ2z +(h2-z)∙γ2`+ (h2-z)∙γw
 gz – linear variation on each layer, variation with different slopes

(=const/layer).
7

– geologic pressure.
6.5. Deformations in soil massifs
 Foundations of all structures have to be placed on soil. The structure
may undergo settlement depending upon the characteristics such
as compressibility of the strata of soil on which it is founded. Thus the
term ‘settlement’ indicates the “sinking” of a structure due to the
compression and deformation of the underlying soil.
 Clay strata often need a very long time - a number of years - to get fully
consolidated under the loads from the structure.
 The settlement of a loose strata of cohesionless soil occurs relatively fast.
 Thus, there are two aspects - the total settlement and the time-rate of
settlement - which need consideration.
 Initial settlement (elastic settlement, Si), corresponding to the
load application moment.
 Consolidation settlement (primary compression, Sc), due to
time consolidation, by water and air expulsion from soil pores.
 Secondary settlement (secondary compression, Scl), due to
soil time deformations under constant loading.
S=0Si+1Sc+Scl(t)
 There is another aspect of a structure settlement: ‘uniform
settlement’ or ‘differential settlement’.
 Uniform settlement or equal settlement under different points of the
structure does not cause much harm to the structural stability of the
structure.
 Differential settlement or different magnitudes of settlement at different
points underneath a structure - especially a rigid structure is likely to
cause supplementary stress and thereby cause harmful effects such as
cracking, permanent and irreparable damage, and ultimate yield and
failure of the structure. As such, differential settlement must be guarded
against.
s
s s
 Deformations / settlements
1. Rotation ( or ) defined as inclination of a line joining two points from
the deformation curve of the foundation.
2. Relative angular strain (max) positive for ascending concavity
(deformation like a cavity) and negative for descending concavity
(deformation like a hill, horseback).
3. Settlement (s) defined as total vertical displacement of any point of a
stiff or elastic foundation.
4. Differential settlement (s) - total settlement difference between two
points located at the studied zone extremities.
5. Maximum relative deflection (max) – defined as the relative
displacement of a line joining two reference points A and D (the
distance btw A and D is LAD)
6. Deflection ratio (/L), where L is the distance btw two reference points
defining differential settlement  ,
7. Relative rotation (or angular distortion) (max) rotation of a line joining

the two points A and B, related to line AD (joining foundation
extremities)
8. Inclination/tilt () describe the foundation rotation as a stiff body
Allowable settlements
A.Reinforced concrete buildings (walls with reinforcement)
Allowable values Skempton & Meyerhof Polshin & Bjerrum EC7
for rotation  MacDonald (1956) (1956) Tokar (1957) (1963) (1994)
Structure
1/150 1/250 1/200 1/150 1/150
degradation and
1/300 1/500 1/500 1/500 1/300
walls cracks
B. Walls without reinforcement
Deflection Meyerhof Polshin & Tokar (1957) Burland & Wroth
ratio /L (1956) (1975)
Deformation  L/H <3 - 1/3500 up to 1/2500 1/2500 – L/H=1
1/2500
L/H >5 - 1/2000 până la 1/1500 1/1250 – L/H=5
Deformation  - - 1/5000 – L/H=1
1/2500 – L/H=5
Allowable settlements for spread foundations

Allowable settlements Burland and Skempton & EC 7 (1994)
all (1977) MacDonald (1956)
Total settlements for sands 25 40 50

Differential settlement for sands 20 25 20
Total settlements for clays 45 65

Differential settlement for clays 25 40 Higher values
 Methods to calculate settlements
 Theoretical methods – Strength of materials, Theory of elasticity
1 +  P  z   C P
2
w=     + 2(1 − ) = 
2E R  R   2 E r
C – from tables, C=f(r/z and )
1−  P
S=  (z=0)
E r
p  B  (1 −  2 ) (Eurocode 7 – SR EN 1997)
S= k
E
k – influence coefficient, k=f (foundation shape, stiffness

and the point position, where settlement is calculated)
 Methods to calculate settlements
 Semi theoretical methods – Geo
(Method of summing settlements of elementary layers)
 z =  0  p net pnet = pef −   D f
L z
0 = f ( , )
N pnet B B
Df
1 B
h1  z  0.2   gz − active area limit
h2
2
 zimed  hi
z i-1
n
s = 10 2    
zi 3
zona , [cm]
activa
i
zi-1
hi i =1 E si
 = 0,8
zi
zi-1 zi
zi,med
 zisup +  ziinf
n  med
zi =
z gz
2
hi  0,4 B
L
L/6 L/6
a bs a V2 B/6
B
NEd MEd B/6
V1
Df Vd V1
Md H e1
C6/7,5 pmin
pmax
L(B)
Rd e 2 V2
L pmin
e< pmax pmax
6
L 2Vd
e= pmax=
6 BxL N
2 1
p2 Mx
L 2Vd L p1 x
e> pmax= c= - e My B
6 3Bxc 2 3 4
L'>0,8L L
p3
Vd 6e 6e p4
pmin/ max = (1  L  B ) y
A L B
19

 Lateral earth pressure is the force exerted by the soil mass
upon an earth-retaining structure, such as a retaining wall.
 There are two distinct kinds of lateral earth pressure; the nature
of each is to be clearly understood.
 First, let us consider an earth-retaining structure which holds
back a mass of soil.
 The soil exerts a push against the structure by virtue of its
tendency to slip laterally and seek its natural slope or angle
of repose, thus making the structure to move slightly away
from the backfilled soil mass.
 This kind of pressure is known as the ‘active earth pressure of
the soil’.
 The soil, being the actuating element, is considered to be
active and therefore the name active earth pressure.
 Lateral earth pressure is the force exerted by the soil mass
upon an earth-retaining structure, such as a retaining wall.
 There are two distinct kinds of lateral earth pressure; the nature
of each is to be clearly understood.
 Next, let us imagine that in some manner the earth-retaining

structure is caused to move toward the soil.
 The earth-retaining structure is the actuating element and
the soil provides the resistance which soil develops in
response to movement of the structure toward
 The soil response it is called the ‘passive earth pressure’, or
more appropriately ‘passive earth resistance’ which may
be very much greater than the active earth pressure.
Lateral earth pressure on different structures
 The limiting values of both the active earth pressure and passive
earth resistance for a given soil depend upon the amount of
movement of the structure.
 In the case of active pressure
▪ the structure tends to move

away from the soil, causing
strains in the soil mass,
▪ strains from the soil mass
mobilise shearing stresses
▪ the stresses help to support the
soil mass and thus tend to
reduce the pressure exerted by
the soil against the structure.
 The limiting values of both the active earth pressure and passive
earth resistance for a given soil depend upon the amount of
movement of the structure.
 In the case of passive earth resistance
▪ internal shearing stresses
develop, but act in the
opposite direction to those in
the active case,
▪ must overcome the
movement of the structure,
▪ the difference in direction of
internal stresses accounts for
the difference in magnitude
between the active earth
pressure and the passive
earth resistance.
 Active pressures are accompanied by movements directed away
from the soil, and passive resistances are accompanied by
movements towards the soil.
 Logically, therefore, there must be a situation intermediate between
the two when the retaining structure is perfectly stationary and does
not move in either direction. The pressure which develops in this
condition is called ‘earth pressure at rest’.
 The value of earth pressure at rest is a little larger than the limiting value
of active pressure, but is considerably less than the maximum passive
resistance.
 Very little movement (about 0.5% horizontal strain) is required to
mobilise the active pressure;
 Relatively much larger movement (about 2% of horizontal strain for
dense sands and as high as 15% for loose sands) may be required to
mobilise full passive resistance.
 About 50% of the passive resistance may be mobilised at a
movement comparable to that required for the active case.
 It was shown that the failure planes will be inclined to
horizontal at (45°+φ/2) - in the active case and (45°–φ/2) in
the passive cases
 This means that the width of the sliding wedge at the top of the
wall will be (Hcot(45° + φ/2))- for active case and (Hcot(45° –
φ/2)) - for passive case.
 For average values of φ, the width will be approximately
H/2(active case) and 2H(passive case).
 It was shown that the failure planes will be inclined to horizontal at
(45°+φ/2)- in the active case and (45°–φ/2) in the passive cases
 The strains will have then an amount to a horizontal
movement at the top of the wall of 0.0025H for the active
case and (0.4 H to 0.30)H for the passive case.
 This agrees fairly well with Terzaghi’s observation that a movement
of 0.005H of the top of the wall, or even less, is adequate for full
mobilisation of active state.
 There are two reasons why less strain is required to reach the active
condition than to reach the passive condition.
 First, an unloading (the active state) always involves less strain
than a loading (passive state).
 Second, the stress change in passing to the active state is much
less than the stress change in passing to the passive state.
 The other factors which affect the lateral earth pressure are:
▪ The soil nature - cohesive or
cohesionless,
▪ The porosity, water content and unit
weight.
▪ The magnitude of the total earth
pressure (the force on the structure)
is dependent on the height of the
backfilled soil as also on the nature
of pressure distribution along the
height.
30
1. General remarks. Definitions.

 Earth pressure at rest may be obtained theoretically from the
theory of elasticity applied to an element of soil, remembering that
the lateral strain of the element is zero.
 Fig. (a): the principal stresses acting on an element of soil situated at
a depth z from the surface in semi-infinite, elastic, homogeneous
and isotropic soil mass are σv, σh and σh, σv and σh denoting the
stresses in the vertical and horizontal directions respectively.
 The soil deforms vertically under its self-weight but is prevented from
deforming laterally because of an infinite extent in all lateral
directions.
 Let Es and  be the soil modulus of elasticity and Poisson’s ratio of the soil
respectively.
 Lateral strain:
 σv = σgz = z, where  is the unit weight of the soil

 If it is denoted k0 =  then
1 −
 k0 – is the “Coefficient of earth pressure at rest” and it is the ratio of the
intensity of the earth pressure at rest to the vertical stress at a specified
depth.
 The distribution of the earth pressure at rest with depth is linear for
constant soil properties such as E, , and , (Fig. b).
 If a structure such as a retaining wall of
height H is interposed from the surface
and imagined to be held without yield,
the total force on the wall unit length, P0,
is given by the equation:
 This is considered to act at (1/3)H above

the base of wall.
 Various researchers proposed empirical
relationships for K0, some of which are given
below:
Where - ′ - is the soil effective angle of friction

- Ip – is the plasticity index.
35
A. Earth pressure at rest

 The magnitude of the lateral earth pressure is evaluated by the
application of one or the other of the so-called ‘lateral earth
pressure theories’ or ‘earth pressure theories’.
 The problem of determining the lateral pressure against retaining
structures is one of the oldest in the field of engineering.
 A French military engineer, Vauban, set forth certain rules for the
design of revetments in 1687. Famous for fortifications in France; his
principles applied also in Romanian fortresses (Alba Iulia, Timisoara,
Oradea etc.)
 Since then, several investigators have proposed many theories of
earth pressure after a lot of experimental and theoretical work.
 The theories given by Coulomb and Rankine stood the test of
time and are usually referred to as the “Classical earth
pressure theories”.
 Classical earth pressure theories - Coulomb & Rankine theories
 These theories are considered reliable in spite of some limitations
and are considered basic to the problem.
 These theories have been developed originally to apply to
cohesionless soil backfill, since this situation is considered to be
more frequent in practice and since the designer will be on the
safe side by neglecting cohesion.
 Later researchers gave necessary modifications to take into
account cohesion, surcharge, submergence and so on.
 Some have evolved graphical procedures to evaluate the total
force on the retaining structure.
 Although Coulomb presented his theory nearly a century earlier
to Rankine’s theory, Rankine’s theory will be presented first due to
its relative simplicity.
38

C9 – Geotechnics

Course 9 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics


1. Rankine’s theory
2. Comparison of Coulomb’s with Rankine’s Theory
 Classical earth pressure theories - Coulomb & Rankine theories
 These theories are considered reliable in spite of some limitations
and are considered basic to the problem.
 These theories have been developed originally to apply to
cohesionless soil backfill, since this situation is considered to be
more frequent in practice and since the designer will be on the
safe side by neglecting cohesion.
 Later researchers gave necessary modifications to take into
account cohesion, surcharge, submergence and so on.
 Some have evolved graphical procedures to evaluate the total
force on the retaining structure.
 Although Coulomb presented his theory nearly a century earlier
to Rankine’s theory, Rankine’s theory will be presented first due to
its relative simplicity.
 Rankine (1857) developed his theory of lateral earth pressure
when the backfill consists of dry, cohesionless soil. The theory
was later extended by Resal (1910) and Bell (1915) to be
applicable to cohesive soils.
 The assumptions of Rankine’s theory:
1. The soil mass is semi infinite, homogeneous, dry and cohesionless.
2. The ground surface is a plane which may be horizontal or
inclined.
3. The face of the wall in contact with the backfill is vertical and
smooth. In other words, the friction between the wall and the
backfill is neglected.
4. The wall yields about the base sufficiently for the active pressure
conditions to develop; if it is the passive case that is under
consideration, the wall is taken to be pushed sufficiently towards
the fill for the passive resistance to be fully mobilised.
Notes:
 Friction between the wall and fill is supposed to reduce
the active earth pressure on the wall and increase the
passive resistance of the soil. Similar is the effect of
cohesion of the fill soil.
 By neglecting wall friction as also cohesion of the backfill,

the geotechnical engineer are on the safe side in the
computation of both the active pressure and passive
resistance.
1.Rankine’s theory
Plastic Equilibrium of Soil -Active and Passive Rankine States
 A mass of soil is said to be in a state of plastic equilibrium if failure is
incipient or imminent at all points within the mass. This is referred to
as the ‘general state of plastic equilibrium’ and occurs only in rare
instances such as when tectonic forces act.
 Usually, failure may be imminent only in a small portion of the mass
such as that produced by the yielding of a retaining structure in the
soil mass adjacent to it. This situation is referred to as the ‘local state
of plastic equilibrium’.
 Rankine (1857) was the first to investigate the stress conditions
associated with the states of plastic equilibrium in a semi-infinite
mass of homogeneous, elastic and isotropic soil mass under the
influence of gravity or self-weight alone.
1.Rankine’s theory
 The concept as postulated by Rankine for a cohesionless soil mass is
shown in Fig.
 It is considered an element of unit area, at a depth z below the
horizontal ground surface, with the unit weight of the cohesionless
soil - .
 The vertical stress acting on the horizontal face of the element σv=z.
 Since any vertical plane is symmetrical with respect to the soil mass,
the vertical as well as horizontal planes will be free of shear stresses.
Consequently, the normal stresses acting on these planes will be
principal stresses.
 The horizontal principal stress, σh, or the lateral earth pressure at rest
in this case, is given by (K0σv) or (K0z). The element is in a state of
elastic equilibrium under these stress conditions.
 Horizontal movement or deformation of the soil mass can change
the situation.
 Horizontal movement or deformation of the soil mass can

change the situation.
 If the soil mass gets stretched horizontally, the lateral stress or
horizontal principal stress gets reduced and reaches a limiting
minimum value. Any further stretching will induce plastic flow or
failure of the soil mass.
 This limiting condition is one of plastic equilibrium at which failure is
imminent and is referred to as the ‘active state’. Subsequent
failure, if it occurs, is active failure. It is said to be active because
the weight of the soil it self assists in producing the horizontal
expansion or stretching.
 Horizontal movement or deformation of the soil mass can

change the situation.
 On the other hand, if the soil mass gets compressed horizontally,
the lateral pressure or horizontal principal stress increases and
reaches a limiting maximum value; any further compression will
induce plastic flow or failure of the soil mass.
 This limiting condition also is one of plastic equilibrium at which
failure is imminent, and is referred to as the ‘passive state’.
Subsequent failure, if it occurs, is passive failure. It is said to be
passive because the weight of soil resists the horizontal
compression.
▪ The orientation or
pattern of the failure
planes as well as the
lateral pressures in these
two states may be
obtained from the
corresponding Mohr’s
circles of stress
representing the stress
conditions for these two
states, Fig. (c).
 From the geometry of the Mohr’s circle, for active condition,
▪ σv is the major principal stress and

σh is the minor one for the active
case.
▪ This leads to
▪ The ratio it is known as the

coefficient of lateral earth
pressure and is denoted by Ka for
the active case.
 AC1D = 90° + φ, from ΔOC1D.
 This is twice the angle made by the

plane on which the stress
conditions are represented by the
point D on the Mohr’s circle.
 The angle made by the failure

plane with the horizontal is given by
½ (90°+ φ) or (45° + φ/2).
 Similarly, from the geometry of the Mohr’s circle for the passive
condition,
▪ σh is the major principal stress and

σv is the minor principal stress for
the passive case.
▪ This leads to /
▪ The ratio is the coefficient of lateral
earth pressure and is denoted by
Kp for the passive case.
 The angle made by the failure plane with the vertical is (45° + φ/2),
i.e., with the plane of which the major principal stress acts.
▪ The angle made by the failure
plane with the horizontal is (45° –
φ/2) for the passive case.
▪ The effective angle of friction, φ′, is
to be used for φ, if the analysis is
based on effective stresses, as in
the case of submerged or partially
submerged backfills.
▪ These two states are the limiting

states of plastic equilibrium; all the
intermediate states are those of
elastic equilibrium, which include
‘at rest’ condition.
16
B. Earth pressure theories:

Rankine’s theory
7.1. General remarks.
Definitions ◼ σv = γz at a depth z below the
B. Earth pressure theories surface Assuming that the wall
yields sufficiently for the active
1. Rankine’s theory– Active pressure conditions to develop,
 It is considered a retaining wall, with
a vertical back, retaining a mass of where
cohesionless soil, the surface of
which is level with the top of the ◼ For a total height of H of the wall,
wall, as shown in Fig. a. the total active force Pa on the
 The distribution of the active pressure wall per unit length of the wall is:
with depth is obviously linear, as
shown in Fig. b.
 Total active force, Pa, may be taken
to act at a height of (1/3)H above
the base, through the centroid of
the pressure distribution diagram.
 The appropriate value of the unit
weight γ should be used.
◼ σv = γz at a depth z below the
B. Earth pressure theories surface. Assuming the wall
moves towards the fill
1. Rankine’s theorie – Passive pressure sufficiently to mobilise the full
 It is considered a retaining wall with a passive resistance
vertical back, retaining a mass of
cohesionless soil, the surface of which
is level with the top of the wall, as where
shown in Fig. (a). ◼ For a total height H of the wall,
 The distribution of passive pressure the total passive force Pp on
(resistance) with depth is obviously the wall per unit length of the
linear, as shown in Fig. (b). wall is given by:
 Total passive force, Pp, may be taken

to act at a height of (1/3)H above the
base as shown, through the centroid
of the pressure distribution diagram.
 The appropriate value of the unit
weight γ should be used.
1. Rankine’s theory – Effect of Submergence
 When the backfill is fully saturated/
submerged, the lateral pressure will be due
to two components, Fig. (a):
 Lateral earth pressure due to submerged
unit weight of the backfill soil
 Lateral pressure due to pore water.
 In case water stands to the full height of the
retaining wall on the other side of the
submerged backfill, as shown in Fig. (b), the
net lateral pressure from the submerged
backfill will be only from the first component,
i.e., due to submerged unit weight of the
backfill soil, as the water pressure acting on
both sides will get cancelled.
1. Rankine’s theory – Effect of Submergence
 If the backfill is submerged only to a part of its height, the backfill
above the water table is considered to be moist.
 The lateral pressure above the water table is due to the most unit
weight of soil, and that below the water table is the sum of that due
to the submerged unit weight of the soil and the water pressure. This
is illustrated in Fig. (a).
 Lateral pressure at the base of wall -
Where
H1 - depth of submerged fill,
Ka- active earth pressure
coefficient,
H2 - depth of fill above water
table (taken to be
moist),
γ - moist unit weight,
γ′ - submerged or effective
unit weight.
1. Rankine’s theory – Effect of Uniform Surcharge
 The extra loading carried by a retaining structure is known as
‘surcharge’. It may be a uniform load (roadway, stacked goods etc.), a
line load (trains running parallel to the structure), or an isolated load (a
column footing).
 The effect of a uniform surcharge on the lateral pressure acting on the
retaining structure is shown in Fig. (a). Fig. (b) and (c) show two different
ways in which the pressure distribution may be shown. In Fig. (c), the uniform
surcharge is also considered to have been converted into an equivalent
height He, of backfill, which is easily established , as shown.
◼ In the case of a wall retaining a

backfill with horizontal surface
level with the top of the wall and
carrying a uniform surcharge of
intensity q per unit area, the
vertical stress at every elevation in
the backfill is considered to
increase by q. As such, the lateral
pressure has to increase by (Kaq).
1. Rankine’s theory – Effect of Inclined Surcharge – Sloping Backfill
 Sometimes, the surface of the backfill will be inclined to the horizontal.
 This is considered to be a form of surcharge - ‘inclined surcharge’, and the
angle of inclination of the backfill with the horizontal is called the ‘angle of
surcharge’.
 Rankine’s theory for this case is based on the assumption that a ‘conjugate’
relationship exists between the vertical pressures and lateral pressures on
vertical planes within the soil adjacent to a retaining wall.
1. Rankine’s theory – Effect of Inclined Surcharge - Sloping Backfill
 Considering an element of soil of unit horizontal width at depth z below the
surface of the backfill, the faces of which are parallel to the surface and to
the vertical, as shown in Fig. (a).
 The vertical stress and the lateral stress on the vertical plane are each
parallel to the plane of the other and, therefore, are said to be conjugate
stresses. Both have obliquities equal to the angle of inclination of the slope β.
1. Rankine’s theory – Active Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soil
▪ A cohesive soil is
partially self-supporting
and it will, therefore,
exert a smaller pressure
on a retaining wall than
a cohesionless soil with
the same angle of
friction and density.
▪ The Mohr’s circle of
stress for a cohesionless
soil and for a cohesive
soil for an element at a
depth z for the active
case are superimposed
and shown in Fig.
1. Rankine’s theorie – Active Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soil
 The equation for σ3c, or the lateral pressure for a cohesive soil, is known
as Bell’s equation. In fact, this may be also obtained from the relation
between principal stresses expressed, by taking σ1 = γz and σ3 = σh as
follows:
 The negative values of active pressure up to a depth equal to half of the so-
called ‘critical depth’ indicate suction effect or tensile stresses; however, it is
well known that soils cannot withstand tensile stresses and hence, suction is
unlikely to occur. The pressure from the surface in the tension zone is ignored
 In practice, cracks occur over the entire depth, zc, of the tensile zone,
making the backfill soil lose contact with the wall in that zone.
 zc may be got by equating σ3c to zero.
1. Rankine’s theorie – Active Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soil
 If the total active force per unit length of the wall is to be obtained
ignoring the tensile stresses, one has to proceed as follows:
 For pure clay, φ = 0

 This acts (H – zc)/3 above the base.
 The net pressure over depth of 2zc is obviously zero. This indicates that a
cohesive soil mass should be able to stand unsupported up to this depth
which is known as the critical depth.
 The critical depth Hc, is given by
 If φ = 0
1. Rankine’s theory – Passive Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soil
 Cohesion is known to increase the passive earth resistance of a soil.
◼ This fact can be mathematically demonstrated from the
relationship btw. the principal stresses that may be derived
from the geometry of the Mohr’s circle related to the passive
case for a c–φ soil, considering σ3=γz and σ1=σh
1. Rankine’s theory – Passive Earth Pressure of Cohesive Soil
 (Here, Kp = NΦ in the usual notation).

 The pressure distribution with depth is shown in Fig.
 The total passive resistance per unit length of wall is
 PP′ acts at H/3 and PP" acts at H/2 above the base. The location of PP
may be useful to calculate bending moments about the base.
32

Rankine’s theory
1. The soil mass is semi infinite, homogeneous, dry and cohesionless.

inclined.
3. The face of the wall in contact with the backfill is vertical and
smooth. In other words, the friction between the wall and the
backfill is neglected.
4. The wall yields about the base sufficiently for the active pressure
conditions to develop; if it is the passive case that is under
consideration, the wall is taken to be pushed sufficiently towards
the fill for the passive resistance to be fully mobilised.
2. Comparison of Coulomb’s Theory with Rankine’s Theory
 (i) Coulomb considers a retaining wall and the backfill as a system;
he takes into account the friction between the wall and the backfill,
while Rankine does not.
 (ii) The backfill surface may be plane or curved in Coulomb’s theory,
but Rankine’s allows only for a plane surface.
 (iii) In Coulomb’s theory, the total earth force is first obtained and its
position and direction of the earth pressure are assumed to be
known; linear variation of pressure with depth is tacitly assumed and
the direction is automatically obtained from the concept of wall
friction.
In Rankine’s theory, plastic equilibrium inside a semi-infinite soil mass
is considered, pressures evaluated, a retaining wall is imagined to be
interposed later, and the location and magnitude of the total earth force
are established mathematically.
 (iv) Coulomb’s theory is more versatile than Rankine’s, taking into
account:
 any shape of the backfill surface,
 break in the wall face or in the surface of the fill,
 effect of stratification of the backfill,
 effect of various kinds of surcharge on earth pressure,
 effects of cohesion, adhesion and wall friction.
 it lends itself to elegant graphical solutions and gives more reliable
results, especially in the determination of the passive earth
resistance; this is in spite of the fact that static equilibrium condition
does not appear to be satisfied in the analysis.
 (v) Rankine’s theory is relatively simple and hence is more commonly
used, while Coulomb’s theory is more rational and versatile;
therefore, the use of the latter is called for in important situations or
problems.
36

Comparison of Coulomb’s Theory with
Rankine’s Theory
C10 – Geotechnics
1. Rankine’s theory (active state, passive state, at rest)
Course 10 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics


B. Earth pressure theories (II)
2. Coulomb’s theory
3. Comparison of Coulomb’s with Rankine’s Theory
1. The soil mass is semi infinite, homogeneous, dry and

cohesionless.
inclined.
3. The face of the wall in contact with the backfill is vertical
and smooth. In other words, the friction between the wall
and the backfill is neglected.
4. The wall yields about the base sufficiently for the active
pressure conditions to develop; if it is the passive case that
is under consideration, the wall is taken to be pushed
sufficiently towards the fill for the passive resistance to be
fully mobilised.
2. Coulomb’s theory - Coulomb’s wedge theory
 Charles Augustine Coulomb (1776), a famous French scientist
and military engineer, was the first to give a scientific basis to
the arbitrary ideas existing in his time regarding lateral earth
pressure on walls.
 Coulomb’s theory considers the soil behind the wall as a whole
instead of an element in the soil.
 If a wall supporting a granular soil were not to be there, the soil
will slide down to its angle of repose or internal friction.
 It is reasonable to assume that if the wall only moved forward
slightly a rupture plane would develop somewhere between
the wall and the surface of sliding
 The triangular
mass of soil
between this
plane of failure
and the back of
the wall is
referred to as the
‘sliding wedge’.
 The analysis of the

forces acting on the
sliding wedge at
incipient failure will
reveal the force from
the lateral earth
pressure which is
necessary for the wall
to withstand in order to
hold the soil mass in
place. 5
 Coulomb’s theory is also called the ‘Wedge theory’, implying
the existence of a plane rupture surface.
 However, Coulomb recognized the possibility of the existence of a
curved rupture surface, although he considered a plane surface for
the sake of mathematical simplicity.
 In fact, it is now established that the assumption of a plane rupture
surface introduces significant error in the determination of passive
earth resistance, a curved rupture surface being nearer to facts, as
demonstrated by experiments.
 In time Coulomb’s theory underwent some alternations and new
developments. The theory is very adaptable to graphical solution.
Poncelet(1840), Culmann(1866), Rebhann(1871) and Engesser(1880)
are the notable figures who contributed to further development of
Coulomb’s theory.
 The significance of Coulomb’s work may be recognized best by the
fact that his ideas on earth pressure are considered valid even today
in the design of retaining walls.
Assumptions: the primary assumptions in Coulomb’s wedge theory are:
1. The backfill soil is considered to be dry, homogeneous and

isotropic; it is elastically underformable, but breakable, granular
material, possessing internal friction, but no cohesion.
2. The rupture surface is assumed to be a plane for the sake of

convenience in analysis. It passes through the heel of the wall. It is
not actually a plane, but is curved and this is known to Coulomb.
3. The sliding wedge acts as a rigid body and the value of the
earth force is obtained by considering its equilibrium.
Assumptions: the primary assumptions in Coulomb’s wedge theory are:
4. The position and direction of the earth force are assumed to be
known.
 The force acts on the back of the wall at a point 1/3 of the height
of the wall above the base of the wall and makes an angle δ, with
the normal to the back face of the wall.
 This is an angle of friction between the wall and backfill soil, usually
called ‘wall friction’ and it’s calculated as a ratio from friction
angle.
Assumptions: The primary assumptions in Coulomb’s wedge theory are:
5. The problem of determining the earth force is solved, on the basis
of two-dimensional case of ‘plane strain’. The retaining wall is
assumed to be of great length and all conditions of the wall and fill
remain constant along the length of the wall. Thus, a unit length (1m)
of the wall perpendicular to the plane of the paper is considered.
6. When the soil wedge is at incipient failure or the sliding of the
wedge is impending, the theory gives two limiting values of earth
pressure, the least and the greatest (active and passive),
compatible with equilibrium.
7. The soil forms a natural slope angle, φ, with the horizontal, without
rupture and sliding. This is called the angle of repose and in the case
of dry cohesionless soil, it is nothing but the angle of internal friction.
8. If the wall yields and the rupture of the backfill soil takes place,
a soil wedge is torn off from the rest of the soil mass.
 Active case: the soil

wedge slides
sideways and
downward over the
rupture surface, thus
exerting a lateral
pressure on the
wall.
8. If the wall yields and the rupture of the backfill soil takes place,
a soil wedge is torn off from the rest of the soil mass.
 Passive earth
resistance: the soil
wedge slides
sideways and
upward on the
rupture surface due
to the forcing of the
wall against the fill.
 9. For a rupture plane within the soil mass, as well as between
the back of the wall and the soil, Newton’s law of friction is
valid
 The shear force developed due to friction is the coefficient of
friction times the normal force acting on the plane.
 This angle of friction, whose tangent is the coefficient of
friction, is dependent upon the physical properties of the
materials involved.
 10. The friction is distributed uniformly on the rupture surface.

 11. The back face of the wall is a plane.
 12. The following considerations are employed for the
determination of the active and passive earth pressures:
 Among the infinitely large number of rupture surface that may be
passed through the heel of the wall, the most dangerous one is that
for which the active earth force is a maximum (the wall must resist
even the greatest value to be stable).
 In the case of passive earth resistance, the most dangerous rupture
surface is the one for which the resistance is a minimum.
 The assumptions allow to treat the problem as a statically
determinate one.
 Coulomb’s theory is applicable to inclined wall faces, to a wall with a
broken face, to a sloping backfill, curved backfill surface, broken
backfill surface and to concentrated or distributed surcharge loads.
 13. Deficiencies:
 One of the main deficiencies in Coulomb’s theory is that, in general,
it does not satisfy the static equilibrium condition occurring in nature.
 The three forces (weight of the sliding wedge, earth pressure and soil
reaction on the rupture surface) acting on the sliding wedge do not
meet at a common point, when the sliding surface is assumed to be
planar. Even the wall friction was not originally considered but was
introduced only some time later.
 Regardless of this deficiency and other assumptions, the theory

gives useful results in practice; however, the soil constants should
be determined as accurately as possible.
15

Coulomb’s theory
Active Earth Pressure of Cohesionless Soil
 A simple case of active earth pressure on an inclined wall face with
a uniformly sloping backfill may be considered first. The backfill
consists of homogeneous, elastic and isotropic cohesionelss soil.
 A unit length of the wall perpendicular to the plane of the paper is
considered.
 The forces acting on the sliding wedge are:
 (i) W, weight of the soil contained in the sliding wedge,
 (ii) R, the soil reaction across the plane of sliding,
 (iii) the active force Pa against the wall, in this case, the reaction
from the wall on to the sliding wedge.
 (i) W, weight of the soil contained in the sliding wedge,
 (ii) R, the soil reaction across the plane of sliding,
 (iii) the active force Pa against the wall, in this case, the reaction from the wall on
to the sliding wedge, as shown in Fig.
 The triangle of forces is shown in Fig. (b) is used for the determination of
the active force, Pa.
 W =  x (area of wedge ABC)
 The max. val. of Pa is obtained by equating the first derivative of Pa with

respect to  to zero; or ∂Pa/∂θ=0 and substituting the corresp. value of θ.
 The value of Pa obtained is:
 Ka - the coefficient of active earth pressure.

 For a smooth vertical wall retaining a backfill with horizontal surface,
α=90°, δ=0, and β=0
which is the same as the Rankine value.

2. Coulomb’s theory - Coulomb’s wedge theory: Wall friction
 If the wall friction is present, the shape of the rupture surface is
curved and not plane. The nature of the surface for positive and
negative values of wall friction is shown in Figs. (a) and (b).
 The angle of wall friction, δ, will not be greater than φ; at the maximum
it can equal φ, for a rough wall with a loose fill. For a wall with dense fill, δ
will be less than φ. It may range from ½ φ to ¾ φ in most cases; it is
usually assumed as (2/3)φ in the absence of precise data.
 The possibility of δ shifting from +φ to –φ in the worst case should be
considered in the design of a retaining wall.
Passive Earth Pressure of Cohesionless Soil
 The passive case differs from the active case in that the obliquity angles at
the wall and on the failure plane are of opposite sign. Plane failure surface
is assumed for the passive case also in the Coulomb theory but the critical
plane is that for which the passive force is minimum. The failure plane is at a
much smaller angle to the horizontal than in the active case.
 The triangle of forces is shown in Fig. With the usual notations, the
passive resistance PP may be determined as follows:
 The minimum value of Pp is obtained by differentiating with respect to θ,

equating ∂Pp/∂θ to zero, and substituting the corresponding value of θ.
 The value of Pp so obtained may be written as:
KP - the coefficient of passive earth

resistance.
Lateral Earth Pressure for Cohesive Soil
 The lateral earth pressure of cohesive soil may be obtained from the
Coulomb’s wedge theory; however, one should consider the tension zone
near the surface of the cohesive backfill and consequent loss of contact
and loss of adhesion and friction at the back of the wall and along the
plane of rupture, so as to avoid getting erroneous results.
The following five forces act on a trial wedge:
1. Weight of the wedge including the tension zone, W.
2. Cohesion along the wall face or adhesion between the wall and the fill, Ca.
3. Cohesion along the rupture plane, C.
4. Reaction on the failure plane, R, acting at φ to the normal to the plane of
failure.
5. Active force, Pa, acting at δ to the normal to the face of the wall.
Lateral Earth Pressure for Cohesive Soil – Active case
 The total adhesion force, Ca, is given by Ca = caxBF
 ca - is the unit adhesion between the wall and the fill, which cannot be
greater than the unit cohesion, c, of the soil.
 ca may be obtained from tests; however, in the absence of data, ca may be
taken as equal to c for soils with c up to 50kN/m2, ca may be limited to
50kN/m2 for soils with c greater than this value (Smith, 1974).
Lateral Earth Pressure for Cohesive Soil – Active case
 The total cohesion force, C, is given by C = c x BC
 c - the unit cohesion of the fill soil and BC is the length of the rupture plane.
 The three forces W, Ca, and C are fully known and the directions of the other
two unknown forces R and Pa are known; the vector polygon may therefore
be completed as shown in Fig. (b), and the value of Pa may be scaled-off.
 A number of such trial wedges may be analysed and the maximum of all Pa
values chosen as the active force. The rupture plane may also be located.
The final value of the force on the wall is the resultant of Pa and Ca.
Lateral Earth Pressure for Cohesive Soil – Passive case
 The procedure adopted to determine the active earth pressure of
cohesive soil from Coulomb’s theory may also be used to determine
the passive earth resistance of cohesive soil.
 The points of difference are that the signs of friction angles, φ and δ,
will be reversed and the directions of Ca and C also get reversed.
30

Coulomb’s theory
3. Comparison of Coulomb’s and Rankine’s Theory
 (i) Coulomb considers a retaining wall and the backfill as a system;
he takes into account the friction between the wall and the backfill,
while Rankine does not.
 (ii) The backfill surface may be plane or curved in Coulomb’s theory,
but Rankine’s allows only for a plane surface.
 (iii) In Coulomb’s theory, the total earth force is first obtained and its
position and direction of the earth pressure are assumed to be
known; linear variation of pressure with depth is tacitly assumed and
the direction is automatically obtained from the concept of wall
friction.
In Rankine’s theory, plastic equilibrium inside a semi-infinite soil mass is
considered, pressures evaluated, a retaining wall is imagined to be
interposed later, and the location and magnitude of the total earth force
are established mathematically.
 (iv) Coulomb’s theory is more versatile than Rankine’s, taking into
account:
 any shape of the backfill surface,
 break in the wall face or in the surface of the fill,
 effect of stratification of the backfill,
 effect of various kinds of surcharge on earth pressure,
 effects of cohesion, adhesion and wall friction.
 it lends itself to elegant graphical solutions,
 It gives more reliable results, especially in the determination of the
passive earth resistance; this is in spite of the fact that static
equilibrium condition does not appear to be satisfied in the analysis.
 (v) Rankine’s theory is relatively simple and hence is more commonly
used, while Coulomb’s theory is more rational and versatile;
therefore, the use of the latter is called for in important situations or
problems.
33
B. Earth pressure theories: Comparison of

Coulomb’s and Rankine’s Theory
C11 – Geotechnics
1. Rankine’s theory (active, passive state, at rest)
Course 11 is done!!!
1
Geotechnics

C12 – Geotechnics –summary
8. Retaining structures

2. Retaining walls design
3. Simple retaining systems
Types of earth-retaining structures
A. Retaining walls may be classified as:
 (i) Gravity retaining walls - usually of masonry or concrete.
Gravity walls depend on their weight for stability; walls up to
2m height are invariably of this type.
The other types of retaining walls, are known as ‘flexible walls’.

 (ii) Cantilever walls of reinforced concrete.
 (iii) Counterfort walls usually of reinforced concrete.
 R.C. Cantilever walls have a vertical or inclined stem/wall
monolithic with a base slab. These are considered suitable up
to a height of 7.5m. A vertical or inclined stem is used in
counterfort walls, supported by the base slab as well as by
counterforts with which it is monolithic.
Gravity Walls
Unreinforced masonry wall

Gravity Walls
Gabion wall
Gravity Walls
Crib wall
RC (Gravity) Walls
Types of RC
Gravity Walls
Reinforced and anchored earth
Reinforced earth and soil nailing

Reinforced earth structure
B. Sheet pile walls may be classified as
 (i) Cantilever sheet pile walls are held in the ground by the
passive resistance of the soil both in front of and behind them.
 (ii) Anchored sheet pile wall is fixed at its base as a cantilever
wall but supported by anchorages near the top, sometimes using
two rows of ties and properly anchored to hard soil / rock.
Sheet Pile Walls
 Sheet piles are tine, wide steel piles,
driven to the ground using pile
hammer
 Series of sheet piles in a row form a
sheet pile wall
 It’s usually necessary to provide
lateral support at 1 or more levels
above the ground that can be done
using 2 ways that is internal braces or
tieback anchor. Tieback Anchors
are tension members drilled into the
ground behind the wall
 The most common type is a grouted
anchor with a steel tendon
C. Soldier Pile Walls / Berlin walls
 Often used as temporary retaining
structures for construction
excavation
 Boreholes along the wall, at 2-3m
distance, up to a lower level than
excavation final level
 Metallic elements fixed in this holes,
by concreting (sometimes bored
piles)
 Timbered elements (sometimes
precast reinforced concrete)
cladded into the ground betwen
this metallic elemets
Soldier Pile Walls / Berlin walls
D. Slurry Trench Concrete (Dyaphragm)
Wall and Pile Walls
Slurry Trench Concrete Wall
 It’s a cast-in-place concrete walls built
using bentonite slurry
 A trench it is digged a along the proposed
wall alignment and it is keept open using
the slurry
 The reinforcing steel is inserted and the
concrete is placed using pumps
 As the concrete fills the trench, slurry exits
at the ground surface.
Dyaphragm wall Technology
Pile Walls
 It’s a cast-in-place concrete
walls built piling technology
 Used for buildings with large
loads or ground stratigraphy
contain soft layers
 Pile walls:
 Equidistant pile walls
 Secant pile walls
 Tangent pile walls
Installation technology
20
1. General remarks. Definitions. Types of

retaining structures
8.2. Retaining walls design
 SR EN 1997-1 : 2004 – Geotechnical design - defines the
following limit conditions / states:
 EQU - the loss of equilibrium of structure or ground,
considered as a rigid body, in which the strengths of
structural materials and the ground are insignificant in
providing resistance,
 STR - the internal failure or the excessive deformation of
structures or structure elements,
 GEO - failure or excessive deformation of ground, in which
the strength of soil or rock is significant,
 UPL - loss of structure or ground equilibrium due to uplift by
water pressure or other vertical actions
 HYD - hydraulic heave, internal erosion and piping in
ground caused by hydraulic gradients.
 SR EN 1997-1 : 2004 – Geotechnical design.
 When designing retaining walls we need to complete the
following verifications on ultimate limit states:
 overall stability (a),

 sliding (b),
 overturning (c), a) Overall stability
a) Overall stability
b)Sliding c) Overturning
b)Sliding c) Overtu
 bearing capacity (d),

 structural failure (e);
d)d) Bearing
Bearing capacity
capacity e) Structural failure failure
e) Structural
1. The verification of overall stability
 An essential step in geotechnical design is the stability check of
the site against overall rotational failure and other types of
verifications that aim is to detect ground failure in any way.
 The verification of general stability is performed by using any type

of stability analysis, having a calculus model that involves a
circular (cylindrical) sliding surface, taking into account the
weight of retaining walls and the overload from their superior side
as geotechnical actions, not as structural actions.
a) Overall stability b)Sliding c) O

2. Initial sizing of retaining walls
 The bottom (foundation) width of the
retaining wall, B, (bottom of the wall) is
usually (0.5–0.7) x the total height of the
wall (ha).
 The wall’s width, bs, is usually h/15 - h/10,
the same as the thickness of the wall’s
bottom, tb.
 The part of base in front of the wall’s
bottom, is usually between B/4 and B/3.
 The foundation base is very important for the
endurance against sliding and the bearing
capacity of the wall, and therefore its
dimensions and proprieties must be carefully
chosen.
 In order to simplify the calculus we suppose
that the retaining wall has a drainage system
behind it, so that the water pore pressure
need not to be considered.
3. The determination of soil properties
 Once the characteristic values are established –
 the soil’s weight density ( k),
 the angle of shearing resistance (’Uk, ’k,),
 the drained cohesion (c’k)
 the undrained cohesion (cUk)
 we can move on to the application of partial safety factors, to
determine the design values for material properties of ground.
 d =  k /   =  k , because   = 1,0 ;
 'd = tan−1 (tan 'k ) /   '  ;
c 'd = c 'k /  c '
cud = cuk /  cu
4. Actions/Loads
 The self-weight of the retaining wall,
of the drain behind it and of the
corresponding weight centers, in
order to establish their distance in
relation with point E, necessary for
the design against overturning.
 The soil’s pressure against the
retaining wall:
 The active earth pressure
coefficient, depending on the
design value of the angle of
shearing resistance, (’d) and on the
angle between the slope and the q
horizontal plane(β).
k
K p
a1 a1.0
d1 h1
c' Pa1v P
The active pressure

d1 x a1

1
d1 p Pa1h
a1.1
K p
a2 a2.0 P'
a2v P'a2
d2 h2 2 P''
a2v P''
a2
P'
 The active force

c' a2h 2
d2 P''
a2h
d2 p
a2.1
Ka3 p
a3.0
P'
a3v P'a3
d3
c'
d3
h3 P' 3 P''
a3v P''
a3
a3h 3
d3 P''
a3h
y p
a3.1
x
5. Design against sliding
 The verification is performed in the ultimate limit state GEO.
 In order to calculate the resistance in case of sliding we need
to accomplish the following condition:
H d  Rd + Rp,d
a) Overall stability c) Overturning

▪ Hd - the design value for b)Sliding
horizontal actions at the Hd
base of the retaining wall;
▪ Rd - the design sliding
resistance; Vd
▪ Rp,d - the design resistance
caused by the passive earth R d =Vd
pressure in front of the wall.
5. Design against sliding
Rd = Vd'  tg d
q
 for reinforced concrete,

cast in place
Dren
V
Pak,d
 for precast concrete Gd H
Pak,d
where is the effective friction angle Rp,d

Vd V'
d 
 Hd
Rd
 Rpd – it can be neglected H'd
V ' d = Vd  cos + H d sin 

H ' d  Rd

 H ' d = H d  cos − Vd sin 
6. Design against overturning
 Generally, this verification is needed when the retaining wall is
placed on very hard soil or on rock.
 The design in case of overturning is performed in the ultimate limit
state GEO, despite the definition for the EQU limit state, because in
this case, the strength of soil is significant in providing resistance.
 This verification supposes the calculus of a stabilizing moment and
destabilizing moment in point E that is in this case the rotation centre.
 The condition for this verification is the following:
M Ed  M Rd
Hd
MR - destabilizing moment about the wall toe (point E);
MS - stabilizing moment about the wall toe (point E); Mdst Vd
Mstb
7. Design against bearing failure (design on bearing
resistance)
 The verification in case of bearing failure is performed in the ultimate
limit state GEO.
 This verification supposes the calculus of bearing capacity of the
foundation soil and the comparing with vertical components of
actions. a) Overall stability b)
 The verification condition is the following:
Evd  Rd
Where:
Evd- is the design value for the vertical
components of actions at the base
foundation.
Rd - is the design value for bearing
resistance of the ground. d) Bearing capacity
7. Design against bearing failure
 The steps that have to be followed for the verification are:
 The calculus of vertical components actions at the bottom
foundation (the vertical component of active earth pressure, the
self-weight of the wall, the self-weight of the drainage system
behind the wall);
 The calculus of the soil bearing capacity, using the relation from
SR EN 1997:
- in undrained conditions:
Rd / A' = ( + 2)  cu  bc  sc  ic + q'
- in drained conditions:
Rd / A ' = c ' Nc  bc  sc  ic + q ' Nq  bq  sq  iq + 0.5  B '  ' N  b  s  i
 Where:
 b - factor depending on the inclination of the foundation
 s - factor depending on the shape of the base foundation .
 i - factor depending on inclination the load, produced by a
horizontal load H.
7. Design against bearing failure
Vd =  G  (G z + Gdren + Gu ) +  Pai.V
H d =  Pai.H
M ed =  PaiH  y ai −  PaiV  xa −  Gk  xki

Vd
L' = L
B ' = B − 2  eB
Rd where :
Vd Vd M
eB = ed
Med <==> e
Vd
Vd A'  Rd A'
B/2 B/2 B'/2 B'/2 A ' = B ' L '
 The verification of the bearing resistance condition. If the condition is

not satisfied, we must rerun the designing process beginning with the
resizing phase.
8. Design against structural failure
 The verification is performed in each section considered to be critical
for failure.
 In the case of reinforced concrete walls, the necessary area of
reinforcement is calculated in the critical sections of the connection
between the center and the base of the wall, at a bending moment.
 The active earth pressure acts on the center of the wall.
 The verification conditions are the following:
pmin  ftd
 Where ftd – is the tensile strength of reinforcement;
pmax  f cd
 Where fcd – is the compression strength of concrete.
 The steps to be followed for the verification are:
 The determination of possible failure sections.
Zid de sprijin Zid de sprijin Zid de sprijin Zid de sprijin
talpa - beton armat beton simplu zidarie din piatra gabioane
a-a
a a a a
c b b-b
a a a a
c-c c b
 The calculus of moments Mi and forces Vi in each section.

 The calculus of pressure/ unit efforts diagrams for each section
considered to be critical, using the design values.
 The calculus of reinforcement (if it is necessary to) according to SR EN
1992-1-1:2004.
 The verification of structural failure conditions. If the conditions are
not satisfied, we have to rerun the designing process beginning with
the resizing phase.
pmin  ftd  ftd – is the tensile strength of reinforcement;
pmax  f cd  fcd – is the compression strength of concrete.
Vd  6  e B 
p. =  1  
B  1m 
min
p
a1.1
ef
max
B 
p
a2.0
M ed
p
p
a2.1 eB =
med h2p a3.0 Vd
Med,a-a
p
a3.a-a
Med,c-c Med,b-b
p1 =  med  h1 p
med
h1p p p
1 2
p
p2 =  med  h2 p
ef,min
p
ef,max
pmin  ftd  ftd – is the tensile strength of reinforcement;
pmax  f cd  fcd – is the compression strength of concrete.
V ' d =  G  Gk ,a−a
p p
a1.1 a1.1
M ed ,a −a =  PaiH  y a −a ,i
p p
a2.0 a2.0
Med V'd Med V'd

a a p
a2.a a a p
a2.a
b b
c p
min
p p
max max
2  V 'd Vd  6  eb 
 max = b
c = − eb
 min =  1   M ed ,a − a
3  c  1m b  1m  b  eb =
2 max
V 'd
M ed ,a − a  min  x
eb = Ta −a =
V 'd 2
START
8.2. Retaining walls
design Check overall stability of site
 Design procedure for Initial sizing of the wall
retaining walls
Determination of the characteristic
material (soil) properties
Calculate characteristic values of actions
Calculate the design values of actions, NO

material properties of soil and resistances
Design against sliding
Design against overturning

Sufficient
capacity?
Design against
bearing capacity
YES
Design against STOP

structural failure
40
2. Retaining walls design.

8.3. Simple retaining systems
◼ Temporary works used when excavation depth is <3m or
when it is impossible to use sloped excavations (limited
space, economic condition, etc.)
A. Timbered wall – horizontal disposal of timber elements
(sprijniri cu dulapi orizontali)
A. Timbered wall
Large excavation span(≥ 5 m) – struts vertical bracing
Inclined struts
B. Timbered wall – vertical disposal of timber elements
(sprijniri cu dulapi verticali)
C. Timbered wall – inclined disposal of timber elements (for
deep excavations)
(sprijniri cu dulapi inclinati – metoda
Marciavanti)
46
3. Simple (Timbered) retaining systems.

C12 – Geotechnics –
1. General remarks. Definitions. Classification
2. Retaining walls design
3. Simple retaining systems
Last Course is done!!!
See you at the exam!!!
Geotechnics – exam – 4ECTS 49
 The final mark of the examination (E) will be

calculated as follows:
 50% - written exam (ES): 10 questions: 3 questions
from the laboratory work performed, 3 numerical
applications, like the numerical applications made
in the laboratory work during the semester, 4
theoretical questions. The answers to the questions
will be multiple choice or open answer. Test
duration: 50 minutes
 50% - oral examination (EO): 2-3 theoretical
questions, from the course. Duration of the oral test:
15 minutes
 Condition for promotion / obtaining credits: E ≥ 5, if
ES≥ 5, EO≥5, Fulfillment of laboratory duties.
References 50
1. SR EN 1997-1+2/2006. Geotechnical design.
General rules + Geotechnical investigation.
2. FĂRCAS V., POPA A. - Geotehnică, U.T.Press,
2014
3. F. M. THOMLINSON - Foundations
4. V.POP – Geotehnică si fundatii, Lito IPCN,
1983
5. A. POPA, F. ROMAN – Calculul structurilor de
rezistenţă pe mediu elastic, 2000
6. V. POP, col. – Proiectarea fundatiilor, Lito
IPCN, 1985.
7. A. STANCIU, I. LUNGU – Fundatii – Fizica si
mecanica pământurilor, Ed. Tehnică, 2006
8. T. SILION – Geotechnics, Iasi, 1995
9. * * * STAS and romanian norms
10. A. Verruijt – Soil mechanics, Delft University of
Technology, 2010
11. C. Venkantramaiah – Geotechnical
Engineering, 2006
Geotechnics – exam
 GETECHNICS EXAM
Date, please see www.constructii.utcluj.ro
 CONSULTATION
 22.06.2020 &23.06.2020, from 17.00pm
 https://zoom.us/j/96411192987?pwd=MDZsVHlhQVY3KzV1ci9scnVK
dE9OQT09
 Meeting ID: 964 1119 2987
 Password: 2b87c9
52
“Do not worry if you have
built your castles in the
air. They are where they
should be. Now put the
foundations under them”
Henry David Thoreau

Geotechnics - C1-C12 PDF

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Geotechnics - C1-C12 PDF

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

1

Assoc. prof. phd. eng. Nicoleta Ilieș

► 30% Laboratory tests (L≥5)

Geotechnics – semester plan

4 C. Soil compressibility 11 G. Soil lateral pressure.

1. Geotechnics – soil mechanics.

► Foundations of all structures have to be placed on or in

 Rankine gave his theory of earth pressure (1857); he did not

 Prandtl gave his theory of plastic equilibrium in 1920 which

► The construction of embankments and earth dams, where soil itself

► Deep excavations may need temporary supports, the design of

 Soil being a particulate and heterogeneous material, does

 A through knowledge of soil mechanics is a prerequisite to

1. Geotechnics – soil mechanics.

2. Soil profile / soil horizon

2. Soil profile / soil horizon

2. Soil profile / soil horizon

Possible exam subjects

Assoc. prof. phd. eng. Nicoleta Ilieș

4. Soils as “three-phase system”

5. Soil solid particles

6. Physical and mechanical characteristics

 The void spaces may be partially or completely filled

4. Soils as “three-phase system”

►For purposes of analysis it is convenient to represent

4. Soils as “three-phase system”

 When the soil voids are completely filled

 In both these cases, the soil system reduces

5. Soil solid particles

 The larger sized particles are generally composed of

 One of the most important aspects of particulate

5. Soil solid particles

 The extent and properties of the soil on the site have to

 Cheap and simple tests are required to give an

 An indication of the engineering properties is given on

5. Soil solid particles

 Particle size: The precise boundaries between different

 Most soils contain mixtures of (gravel), sand, silt and clay

 Not all particles less than 2m are comprised of clay

W - Well graded material 40

► It should be noted that the unit weight of

Vw  Vp For a fully saturated soil mass

 For a fully saturated soil mass, Vw = Vp. Sr Soil type

 Therefore, for a saturated soil mass Sr = 100%.  0, 4 Dry

 In both these conditions, the soil is considered to be a two-phase system.

 It may be noted that a submerged soil is invariably saturated, while a

Note: For saturated condition, Sr = 1.

Descriptive condition Density index ID [%]

 In the case of in-situ or undisturbed clays, it is reasonable and

 Plasticity Index (Ip) is the range of water content within

 ‘Consistency index’ (Ic) is defined as the ratio of the

Assoc. prof. phd. eng. Nicoleta Ilieș

A. Water vapours (gaseous water)

C. Ice – iced water (solid water)

*Loaded soil behaviour and soil characteristics depends very much

 Considering water aggressiveness, water can be:

 Physically bound water is due to the electro molecular forces

 (a) Structural water

 However, hygroscopic water can be removed by oven-drying at 105° –

 Hygroscopic water has greater density, higher boiling point, greater

Hydrogen Electro positive

► Ions in soil water are: Li+, K+, Na+

 Between the particles, it is possible to have bonding due to some