INTRODUCTION TO SOIL MECHANIC

DEFINITION
Dr. Karl Von Terzaghi the Father of Modern Soil
Mechanics defined Soil Mechanics as follows:
Soil Mechanics is the application of the laws of
mechanics and hydraulics to engineering
problems dealing with sediments and other
unconsolidated accumulations of solid particles
produced by the mechanical and chemical
disintegration of rocks regardless of whether or
not they contain an admixture of organic
constituents.

ORIGIN OF SOIL

IGNEOUS ROCK

Igneous rock is the result from cooling

and hardening of molten rock called
magma that has originated from deep
within the earth.

SEDIMENTARY ROCK

Sedimentary rocks are formed from

accumulated deposits of soil particles
or remains of certain organisms that
have harden by pressure or cemented
by materials.

METAMORPHIC ROCK

Metamorphic rocks are rocks resulted

from metamorphism due to changes in
temperature, pressure and plastic flow,
changing the original rock structure
and mineral composition of the rock.

CATEGORIES OF SOIL

RESIDUAL SOIL

Residual Soil or Sedimentary Soil is formed from the

weathering of rocks or accumulation of organic
materials remained at the location of their origin.
Weathering process may be attributed to mechanical,
chemical or solution weathering.
Mechanical weathering, refers to physical
disintegration due to effects of wind, rain, running
water or tectonic forces (earth quake).
Chemical or Solution Weathering, is decomposition of
rock due to chemical reactions that occur as a result of
exposure to atmosphere, temperature changes,
reaction with water or other materials.

TRANSPORTED SOILS

Transported Soils are those materials

transported from their place of origin.
Transportation mat result due to the
effects of gravity, wind, glaciers of
human activity.

TYPES OF SOIL

The major categories of soils are

gravel, sand, silt and clay. Gravel and
sand are universally known as coarse
grain soil. On the other hand, silt and
cay are considered as fine grain soil.
Particles larger than gravel are
commonly referred to as cobbles or
boulders.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL

Behavior of soil mass could be

determined based on the
characteristics of individual soil
particles such as:
a) Grain size
b) Grain shape
c) Surface texture and electrical
surface charges, resulted from the
chemical composition and molecular
structures.

The General Characteristics and Classification of soil

particles are enumerated as follows:
Gravel
Gravel consist of rock fragments more or less rounded by
water action or abrasion classified according to the following
types:
a) Quartz is the hardest of common rock forming minerals.
b) Well Rounded Pebbles and Boulders those that
undergone long period of wear that become almost quartz.
c) Slightly Worm Gravel is rough and angular including other
materials or rocks like granite, schist, basalt or limestone.

Coarse sand
Coarse Sand is usually rounded like
gravel with which it is found and
generally contains the same materials.
Fine sand
Fine Sand has particles that are more
angular than the coarse and fine
particles.

Silt grain
Silt Sand is similar to fine sand with the same
mineral composition. They are found as
Rock flour in glacial moraines. It could be
produced by chemical decay. Occasionally,
silt contains:
a) Pumice
b) Loess
c) Materials foreign to the associated sand

Clay
Clay is plate like, scale like, or rod like in shape
as a result of chemical weathering.
Because of their smaller sizes, its performance
is influenced by moisture and surfacechemistry.
Colloidal clay
Colloidal clay is fine clay that remains
suspended in water and does not settle under
the force of gravity.

Coarse Grain Materials

For most purposes, coarse grain materials are
considered satisfactory construction material.
On the other hand, silty soil will create problems
in areas where the ground has moisture
movement due to capillary action. Soil that
contains clay would be troublesome, making the
design and construction more difficult. As a rule
of thumb, soil with clay should not be used
closer to the roadway surfaces.

Important Grain Shape Characteristics

Rounded particles extracted from the stream that
has undergone wear, are consideredstrong materials.
Flat and flaky particles that were not subjected to
wear, are weak and variable that is not suitable for
various used.
Angular or roughly cubical shape particles produced
from crushing strong and tough rocks, increases the
resistance of soil mass to deformation when
subjected to load, due to individually interlocking
grains.

CLASSIFICATION FOR SOILS

Pedalogy is the science of soils. It is the

basis for pedalogical classification
under the principle that: like soil are
developed on like slope when like
materials are weathered in like
fashion.. Regardless of geographical
locations where slopes and climate are
the same, the depth and nature of soil
mantle, are also similar.

The textureclassification of
soildepending on thegrain
sizedistribution isclassified into three
groups, namely:
(a) Sand
(b) silt and
(c) clay.

The positions of every point inside the triangle

represent the sieve analysis of soil in
particular grading. After determining the grain
size of the sample, charts is read asfollows:
Spaces vertically upward starting from zero at
the bottom represent clay percentage.
Spaces from left to right diagonally downward
starting with zero at the left, represents silt.
Spaces from right to left diagonally downward
starting with zero at the right,represents sand.

The Unified Soil Classification System,

was introduced by the U.S. Army Corps
and the Bureau of Reclamations.
Letters were used instead of numbers
to designate the different groups. The
mechanical analysis and the liquid and
plastic limit tests are the primarily
classification tools. The principal
symbols and soil designation are:

The Unified Soil Classification System recommended several ways for

quick identification of fine grain portions of the soil, namely:
1. The sample is mixed with water to have a putty-like consistency,
then formed into pat and dried completely.
2. If the pat is broken by the fingers and the fry strength is high,
plasticity of the sample is considered high.
3. If dry strength of the sample is high, then, it exhibits clay and
colloid characteristics.
4. If the sample is a pat of silty sand, it will easily break in the finger.
5. Fine sand will cause the pat to feel gritty on the fingers and silts is
smooth.
6. Dilatancy or reaction to shaking is another way of classifying the
soil mortar. About one cubic inch is mixed with water and formed into
a pat of soft but not sticky consistency. If the material is of fine sand,
shaking and jolting the sample on the palm of the hand will bring
water to the surface of the sample. Squeezing it between fingers
causes the moisture to disappear. Silts react less completely but clay
does not.