Soil Mechanics I

1
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION
OF SOILS AND TYPES

1.1 DEFINITIONS OF SOILS AND SOIL MECHANICS

1.1.1 Soils
The word soil is used in many professional fields and depending upon the context in which
it is used, it has different meanings. For engineering purposes, soil is defined as a natural
aggregate of mineral grains, loose or moderately cohesive, inorganic or organic in nature, that
have the capacity of being separated by means of simple mechanical processes e.g. by
agitation in water. This definition is not quite the same as adopted by the agriculturist or the
geologist. To the agriculturist, soil is the top thin layer of earth within which organic forces are
predominant and which is responsible for the support of plant life, and similarly to the
geologist, soil is the material found in the relatively thin surface zone within which roots occur.

1.1.2 Soil Mechanics

Soil mechanics is one of the youngest disciplines of Civil Engineering involving the study
of soil, its behavior and application as an engineering material. According to Terzaghi (1948):
“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”.

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1.2 GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF SOILS

The materials that constitute the earth’s crust are rather arbitrarily divided into two
categories, soil and rock. Soil is a natural aggregate of mineral grains, with or without organic
constituents that can be separated by gentle mechanical means. Whereas rocks is considered
to be a natural aggregate of mineral grains connected by strong and permanent cohesive
forces. Rocks are classified according to their mode of formation as follows:
i. Igneous Rocks: - are formed by cooling and solidification of magma within or on the
surface of the earth’s crust e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, gabbro, andesite, rhyolite,
pegmatites, peridotite, syenite.
ii. Sedimentary Rocks: - are formed by consolidation and cementation of sediments
deposited under water e.g. limestone, sandstone, shale, dolomite, mudstone,
conglomerate.
iii. Metamorphic Rocks: - are formed from older rocks when they are subjected to
increased temperature, pressure and shearing stresses at considerable depth in the
earth’s crust e.g. slate, schist, marble, quartzite, gneiss.
All soils originate, directly or indirectly, from solid rocks by the process of weathering. The
process of weathering of the rock decreases the cohesive forces binding the mineral grains
and leads to the disintegration of bigger masses to smaller and smaller particles. The
weathering of the rocks might be mechanical (disintegration) and/or chemical
(decomposition).
Mechanical weathering is the fragmentation of rock by physical forces. Among the many
physical forces responsible for the disintegration of rock, the following may be cited.

a. Temperature Changes; - Temperature changes of sufficient amplitude and frequency

bring about changes in the volume of the rocks in the superficial layers of the earth’s
crust in terms of expansion and contraction. Such a volume change sets up tensile and
shear stresses in the rock and ultimately leading to the fracture of even large rocks.

b. Freezing action of water: - Water that enters the pores and small cracks of rocks
during the rainy season freezes during the cold season. As the water freezes it
increases in volume thereby exerting pressure against the sides of the cracks. This
enlarges the cracks and loosens particles of rock.

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c. Spreading of roots of plants: - As the roots of trees and shrubs grow in the cracks
and fissures of the rocks, forces act on the rock. The segments of the rock are forced
apart and disintegration of rocks occurs.
d. Abrasion: - The movement of glaciers over exposed rock surfaces, rainstorms and the
resulting torrents of flood water carrying vast quantities of rock debris, the action of the
sea repeatedly pounding the cost line- all these contribute in time to the physical break-
up of the rock mass and extensive erosion and abrasion of the land surface.
In all the processes of the mechanical weathering, there is no change in the chemical
composition. The soil formed has the properties of the parent rock. On the other hand when
chemical weathering of rocks takes place, original rock minerals are transformed into new
minerals by chemical reaction. The soils formed do not have the properties of the parent rock.
The following chemical processes generally occur in nature.
a) Oxidation: - Oxidation occurs frequently in rocks containing iron, which decomposes
in a manner similar to the rusting of steel when in contact with moist-air.
b) Carbonation: - The mineral containing iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium or
potassium can be decomposed by carbonic acid, which is formed by carbon dioxide
with water.
c) Hydration: - Hydration is a common process of rock decay by which water is
combined with some other soil substances thus producing certain new minerals.
d) Leaching: - Leaching is the process whereby water-soluble parts are dissolved and
washed out from the soil by rainfall, percolating water, subsurface flow or other water.
Soils, which are formed by mechanical or chemical weathering, may be classified as
residual or transported soils. Residual soils are soils, which are still located in the place of
their origin. Transported soils are soils which have been transported by water, wind, ice and
deposited in an area different from their place of origin. Residual soils are usually
homogeneous and stiff while transported soils are loose, soft and non-homogeneous.
Transported soils may be classified according to the mode of their transportation and
deposition such as
i. Alluvial soils are those soils that have been transported by running water and
deposited along a stream.
ii. Aeolian soils are those soils that have been transported and deposited by wind.
iii. Lacustrine soils are those soils that have been deposited from suspension in quite
fresh water lakes.

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iv. Colluvial soils are those soils that have been deposited by movement of soil by
gravity such as landslides.
v. Marine soils are those soils that have been deposited from suspension in seawater.
vi. Glacial soils are those soils that have been deposited as a result of glacial activities

1.3 COMMON SOIL TYPES

Depending upon the weathered rocks and the different methods of transportation and
deposition, different soils are formed. These soils have been differently named. Some of the
important soils, so found in general practice, are given below.
1. Sand, gravel, cobbles and boulders are coarse-grained cohesionless soils. Grain-
size ranges are used to distinguish between them. Particles of size from 0.06 to 2mm
are referred to as sand and those with a size from 2 to 60mm as gravel. Fragments
with diameters more than 60mm and less than 200mm are known as cobbles and
those with a size greater than 200mm are categorized as boulders.
2. Silt is a fine grained soil, having particle size between 0.06mm to 0.002mm. Inorganic
silt has little or no plasticity and is cohesionless .Organic silt contains an admixture
of organic matter. It is somewhat plastic, highly compressible, cohesive and relatively
impervious. It is a very poor foundation material because of compressibility.
3. Clay is composed of microscopic particles of weathered rock within a wide range of
water content, clay exhibits plasticity. It contains a large quantity of clay minerals.
Clay is a cohesive fine-grained soil and the particle size is less than
0.002mm.Organic clay contains some finely divided organic matter and is usually
dark grey or black in color. Organic clays are highly compressible when saturated
and their dry strength is very high.
4. Black cotton soil is a residual soil containing a high percentage of the clay mineral
montomorillonite. The soil has high shrinkage and expansive characteristics. Its color
varies from dark grey to black. Great care is required when structures are to be built
on black cotton soil.
5. Tuff is a fine grained soil composed of very small particles ejected from volcanoes
during its explosion and deposited by wind or water.
6. Hardpan is a term often used to describe any hard cemented layers, which are not
softening when wet.

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7. Peat is composed of fibrous particles of decayed vegetable matter. It is so

compressible that it is entirely unsuitable to support any type of foundation.
8. Top soil is surface soil that supports plants. It contains a large quantity of organic
matter and is not suitable for foundation.
9. Lateritic soil is residual soil formed in tropical region. It is formed by decomposition
of rock, removal of bases and silica, and accumulation of iron oxide and aluminum
oxide. The presence of iron oxide gives this soil the characteristics red or pink color.
The lateritic soil is soft and can be cut with a chisel when wet. However, it becomes
hard after long exposure. Hardness is due to cementing action of iron oxide and
aluminum oxide. A hard crust of gravel size particles, known as laterite, exists near
the ground surface.
10. Loam is a mixture of sand, silt and clay.

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