TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Ayala Blvd. Ermita, Manila

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

CE 410-4C
SOIL MECHANICS, (Lec)

Assignment No. 1
INTRODUCTION TO SOIL MECHANICS

Castillon, Benelle Jose P. Castillon
12-205-161
June 24, 2014
Engr. Jesus Ray M. Mansayon
Instructor









1. SOIL MECHANICS
Is the science of equilibrium and motion of soil bodies. Here soil is understood to
be the weathered material in the upper layers of the earths crust. The non-weathered
material in this crust is denoted as rock, and its mechanics is the discipline of rock
mechanics. In general the dierence between soil and rock is roughly that in soils it is
possible to dig a trench with simple tools such as a spade or even by hand. In rock this is
impossible, it must rst be splintered with heavy equipment such as a chisel, a hammer
or a mechanical drilling device. The natural weathering process of rock is that under the
long-term inuence of sun, rain and wind, it degenerates into stones. This process is
stimulated by fracturing of rock bodies by freezing and thawing of the water in small
crevices in the rock. The coarse stones that are created in mountainous areas are
transported downstream by gravity, often together with water in rivers. By internal
friction the stones are gradually reduced in size, so that the material becomes gradually
ner: gravel, sand and eventually silt. In owing rivers the material may be deposited,
the coarsest material at high velocities, but the ner material only at very small
velocities. This means that gravel will be found in the upper reaches of a river bed, and
ner material such as sand and silt in the lower reaches.
Soil mechanics has become a distinct and separate branch of engineering
mechanics because soils have a number of special properties, which distinguish the
material from other materials. Its development has also been stimulated, of course, by
the wide range of applications of soil engineering in civil engineering, as all structures
require a sound foundation and should transfer its loads to the soil. The most important
special properties of soils will be described briey in this chapter. In further chapters
they will be treated in greater detail, concentrating on quantitative methods of analysis.

2. GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
Is the science that explains mechanics of soil and rock and its applications to the
development of human kind. It includes, without being limited to, the analysis, design
and construction of foundations, slopes, retaining structures, embankments, roadways,
tunnels, levees, wharves, landfills and other systems that are made of or are supported by
soil or rock.






3. FOUNDATION ENGINEERING
Foundation engineering is the specific branch of engineering that deals with the
design and construction of building foundations, as well as foundations for other
structures. It requires knowledge of geology, structural engineering and the mechanics
of soil and rock.

4. MAJOR PERIODS OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Soil mechanics has been developed in the beginning of the 20th century. The need for
the analysis of the behavior of soils arose in many countries, often as a result of spectacular
accidents, such as landslides and failures of foundations. In the Netherlands the slide of a
railway embankment near Weesp, in 1918 (see Figure 1.1) gave rise to the rst systematic
investigation in the eld of soil mechanics, by a special commission set up by the government.
Many of the basic principles of soil mechanics were well known at that time, but their
combination to an engineering discipline had not yet been completed. The rst important
contributions to soil mechanics are due to Coulomb, who published an important treatise on the
failure of soils in 1776, and to Rankine, who published an article on the possible states of stress
in soils in 1857. In 1856 Darcy published his famous work on the permeability of soils, for the
water supply of the city of Dijon. The principles of the mechanics of continua, including statics
and strength of materials, were also well known in the 19th century, due to the work of Newton,
Cauchy, Navier and Boussinesq. The union of all these fundamentals to a coherent discipline had
to wait until the 20th century. It may be mentioned that the committee to investigate the
disaster near Weesp came to the conclusion that the water levels in the railway embankment
had risen by sustained rainfall, and that the embankments strength was insucient to
withstand these high water pressures.
Important pioneering contributions to the development of soil mechanics were made
by Karl Terzaghi, who, among many other things, has described how to deal with the inuence
of the pressures of the pore water on the behavior of soils. This is an essential element of soil
mechanics theory. Mistakes on this aspect often lead to large disasters, such as the slides near
Weesp, Aberfan (Wales) and the Teton Valley Dam disaster. In the Netherlands much pioneering
work was done by Keverling Buisman, especially on the deformation rates of clay. A stimulating
factor has been the establishment of the Delft Soil Mechanics Laboratory in 1934, now known as
Deltares. In many countries of the world there are similar institutes and consulting companies
that specialize on soil mechanics. Usually they also deal with Foundation engineering, which is
concerned with the application of soil mechanics principle to the design and the construction of
foundations in engineering practice. Soil mechanics and Foundation engineering together are
often denoted as Geotechnics. A well known consulting company in this eld is Fugro, with its
head oce in Leidschendam, and branch oces all over the world.
The international organization in the eld of geotechnics is the International Society for Soil
Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, the ISSMGE, which organizes conferences and
stimulates the further development of geotechnics by setting up international study groups and
by standardization. In most countries the International Society has a national society. In the
Netherlands this is the Department of Geotechnics of the Royal Netherlands Institution of
Engineers (KIVI), with about 800 members.

5. ORIGIN OF SOIL
Soils are formed by weathering of rocks. More specifically, the mineral grains that
form the solid phase of a soil aggregate are the product of rock weathering.











6. SOIL AND ROCK
Soil is defined as the uncemented aggregate of mineral grains and decayed organic
matter with liquid and/or gas in the pores between the grains:
(A) gas (mostly air);
(B) solid particles (minerals);
(C) liquid (water, contaminant liquid, etc.).





In Geology Rock is defined as the solid material forming the outer rocky shell or
crust of the earth. There are three major groups of rocks:

1. Igneous rocks: cooled from a molten state.

2. Sedimentary rocks: deposited from fluid medium; e.g., products of weathering of
other rocks in water.

3. Metamorphic rocks: formed from pre-existing rocks by the action of heat and
pressure. Apparently, the igneous rock is the one far more essential and intrinsic since the other
two types are relative secondary in origin.











7. SOIL TYPES

There are basically three types of soil:
1. Clay Soil particles are very small and compact. Gardens with these types of soil particles
dont work well because the air has a hard time getting to the roots. The soil absorbs and
holds water and creates a drainage problem. This adversely affects healthy root and plant
growth.
2. Sandy Soil particles are large. The water and nutrients (particularly nitrogen) quickly drain
away from the plant root zone. Sandy soil is the opposite of clay soil.
3. Silt Soil is made up of fine particles. Like clay the soil holds water but doesnt have good
aeration around the roots.


Other types of soil:
1. Acidic Soil Types of soil generally found more in the eastern states where theres a heavier
rainfall. To make your soil more alkaline, burn your vines, stalks, or branches on your garden
from your yard. The ash creates an alkaline condition. You can also lime your soil to make it
more alkaline. This is for Eastern soils not for Western Soils.
2. Alkaline Soil Types of soil generally found more in the western soils. Your composting fruits
are going to make your soil more acidic. We put our apple pulp on the garden after pressing
our apple cider. You still want to compost in Eastern soils.
3. Loamy Soil is actually made up of a few different types of soil, with varying amounts of clay
soil, silty soil, and sandy soil mixed together. Loamy soil holds water well because of the
heavy grittiness given from the sand, has exceptional drainage so that the water doesnt
build up too much and rots plant roots, and is nutrient rich. Loamy soil is the ideal soil for
gardening, and wide ranges of loam can be found at most supply stores.
4. Chalky Soils are extremely alkaline, and usually have stones of varying size mixed in with
them. Chalky soil stops plants from up taking important minerals, and dries out very easily,
making it less than ideal for planting.
5. Peaty Soils are high in organic matter, usually with large amounts of dead plants in them,
but the organic matter is unable to decompose fully because of a high acid content in the
soil. Peaty soil isnt particularly rich in nutrients, but if well-handled can actually be an
excellent soil for planting.

8. FIELDS OF APPLICATION OF SOIL MECHANICS

Soil Testing: Soil testing is often performed by commercial labs that offer a variety of tests,
targeting groups of compounds and minerals. The advantages associated with local lab are that
they are familiar with the chemistry of the soil in the area where the sample was taken. This
enables technicians to recommend the tests that are most likely to reveal useful information.

Mining: is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth
from an orebody, lode, vein, seam, or reef, which forms the mineralized package of economic
interest to the miner.

Highway Engineering: is an engineering discipline branching from civil
engineering that involves the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of
roads, bridges, and tunnels to ensure safe and effective transportation of people and goods.
Highway engineering became prominent towards the latter half of the 20th Century after World
War 2. Standards of highway engineering are continuously being improved. Highway engineers
must take into account future traffic flows, design of highway intersections/interchanges,
geometric alignment and design, highway pavement materials and design, structural design of
pavement thickness, and pavement maintenance.

Building Construction: is the process of preparing for and forming buildings and
building systems. Construction starts with planning, design, and financing and continues until
the structure is ready for occupancy.



REFERENCE
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/soil-mechanics.html
http://www.whatisgeotech.org/
http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~lanbo/CE240LectW012Rock2soil.pdf
http://faculty.uoh.edu.sa/m.touahmia/CE353-CH2.pdf
http://geo.verru http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-
soil.htm#ijt.net/software/SoilMechBook2012.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_test
http://www.provident-living-today.com/Types-of-Soil.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-soil.htm#