Chapter 3

Fundamentals of Soils

3.1. Earthmoving Materials

Soil and rock are the materials that make up the earth and are, therefore, the materials of interest to the
constructor. Soil properties have a direct effect on the ease or difficulty of handling earth, the selection of
construction equipment, and the production rates of the equipment. To successfully complete project
activities involving site work, it is essential that you understand soil characteristics and their influence on
project execution

3.2. Important terms that are used in discussing soil and rock materials, and compaction.

 Coarse aggregate
- Crushed rock or gravel, generally greater in size than ¼ inch.
 Cohesion
- The quality of soil particles to be attracted to like particles, manifested in a tendency of sticking
together.
 Fine aggregate
- The sand or fine-crushed stone used for filling voids in coarse aggregate. Generally, in size less
than ¼ and greater than a No. 200 sieve.
 Dust
- Fine particles passing the No. 200 sieve.
 Cohesive materials
- A soil having strong interparticle attractive forces.
 Grain-size curve
- A graph of a material sample illustrating the percentage of grain sizes by weight.
 Optimum moisture content
- The water content, for a given compactive effort, at which the greatest dry density of a soil can
be obtained.
 Pavement
- One or more of rigid surfacing material used to provide high bending resistance and to
distribute loads to a base layer. Pavements are usually constructed of asphalt or concrete.
 Pit
- A mine where gravel deposits have been loosened by movement in the earth’s crust, typically
the deposits are the result of glacial or flowing water forces.
 Quarry
- A rock mine where rock deposits are mechaically extracted using drilling, blasting and
crushing operations.
 Rock
- The hard mineral matter of the earth’s crust, occuring in masses and often requiring blasting or
mechanical fracture before excavation can be accomplished.
 Shrinkage
- A volume reduction usually occuring when soils or rock are subjected to moisture or
mechanical compaction.
 Soil
- The loose surface material of the earth’s crust, created naturally from the disintegation of rocks
or decay vegetation . soil can be excavated easily using powered equipment in the field.

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 19
  Swell
- A volume increase occring when soils or rocks are excavated and loosened from the earth’s
crust.

3.3. General Characteristics of Soil

 Trafficability
The ability of a soil to support the weight of vehicles under repeated traffic. It controls the amount
and type of traffic that can use unimproved access roads, as well as the operation of earthmoving
equipment within the construction area. Trafficability is a function of soil type and moisture conditions.
Drainage, stabilization of haul routes, or the use of low-ground pressure construction equipment maybe
required when poor trafficability conditions exist.

 Loadability
A measure of the difficulty in excavating and loading a soil. Loose granular soils are highly loadable,
while compacted cohesive soils and rock have low loadability.

 Unit soil weight

Unit weight depends on soil type, moisture content, and degree of compaction. Thus, soil unit weight
is commonly used as a measure of compaction.

 Plasticity
A measure of the amount of water that a soil will absorb

 Moisture content
The moisture content is expressed as a percentage that represents the weight of water in the soil
divided by the dry unit weight of the soil.

wet unit weight - dry unit weight

moisture content % = 100 
dry unit weight

 Liquid limit (LL)

The water content (expressed in percentage of dry weight) at which the soil will just start to flow
when subjected to a standard shaking test.

 Plastic limit (PL)

The moisture content (in percent) at which the soil just begins to crumble when rolled into a thread
3 mm in diameter.

 Plasticity index (PI)

The numerical difference between the liquid and plastic limits and represents the range in moisture
content over which the soil remains plastic.

 Gradation
A measure of the distribution of particle sizes in the soil. A well-graded soil is composed of particles
of all sizes. A uniformly graded soil is composed primarily of particles of the same size.

3.4. Basic Components of Soil

 Solids
 water, and
 air

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 20
 The air component occupies volume, but contributes no weight to the soil mass. Thus, the weight of the
soil is composed of the weight of the solids and the weight of the water.

3.5. Soil Identification and Classification

3.5.1. Major Types of Soils
 Gravel
- Gravel is composed of rounded or semi-round particles of rock that will pass a 3 in. and be
retained on a 2.0 mm No. 10 sieve. Sizes larger than 10 in. are usually called boulders.
 Sand
- Sand is disintegrated rock with particles that vary in size from the lower limit of gravel (2.0
mm) down to 0.075 mm (No. 200 sieve). It will be classified as coarse or fine sand, depending
on the grain size. Sand is a granular non-cohesive material and its particles have a bulky
shape.
 Silt or dust
- a material finer than sand, and thus its particles are smaller than 0.075 mm but larger than
0.005 mm. It is a non-cohesive material and has little or no strength. Silt compacts very poorly
by itself, but can enhance compaction of larger aggregates by filling void spaces or
reorienting particle position.
 Clay
- a cohesive material whose particles are less than 0.005 mm. The cohesion between the
particles gives a clay high strength when air-dried. Clays can be subject to considerable
changes in volume with variations in moisture content. They will exhibit plasticity within a
range of “water contents.”
 Organic matter
- is partly decomposed vegetation. It has a spongy, unstable structure and it will continue to
decompose and is chemically reactive. If present in soils used for construction purposes,
organic matter should be removed and replaced with a more suitable soil.

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 21
 Table on characteristics of soils
Soil Gravels & Sand Silts Clays
Grain size  Coarse grained  Fine grained  Fine grained
 Can see individual  Cannot see  Cannot see
grains by eye alone individual grains by individual grains by
eye alone eye alone
Characteristics  Cohesionless  Cohesionless  Cohesive
 Non-plastic  Non-plastic  Plastic
 Granular  Granular
Effect of water  Relatively  Important  Very important
unimportant
(exception: loose
saturated case with
dynamic loading)
Effect of grain  Important  Relatively  Relatively
size distribution unimportant unimportant
on engineering
properties

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 22
 Table on Unified Soil Classification System
Symbol Primary Secondary Supplementary
GW Coarse-grained soils Well-graded gravels, gravel- Wide range of grain size
sand mixtures, little or with no
fines
GP Coarse-grained soils Poorly graded gravels, gravel- Predominantly one size or
sand mixtures, little or no fines a range of intermediate
sizes missing
GM Gravel mixed with fines Silty gravels and gravel-sand- Predominantly one size or
silt mixtures , maybe poorly a range of intermediate
graded sizes missing
GC Gravel mixed with fines Clayey gravels, gravel-sand- Plastic fines
clay mixtures, which may be
poorly graded
SW Clean sands Well-graded sands, gravelly Wide range in grain sizes
sands, little or no fines
SP Clean sands Poorly graded sands, gravelly Predominantly one size or
sands, little or no fines a range of intermediate
sizes missing
SM Sands with fines Silty sands and sand-silt Non-plastic fines or fines
mixtures, which may be poorly of low plasticity
graded
SC Sands with fines Clayey sands, sandy-clay Plastic fines
mixtures, which may be poorly
graded
ML Fine-grained soils Inorganic silts, clayey silts, Plastic fines
rock flour, silty very fine sands
CL Fine-grained soils Inorganic clays of low to Plastic fines
medium plasticity, silty sandy
or gravelly clays
OL Fine-grained soils Inorganic silts, clayey silts,
elastic silts
CH Fine-grained soils Inorganic clays of high
plasticity, fat clays
OH Fine-grained soils Organic clays and silty clays of
medium to high plasticity
PT Peat Highly organic soils
Symbol classification
Coarse-Grained Material Subdivision
G – Sand grain size from 3” to No. sieve size W – Well graded, little or no fines
S – Sand grain size from No. to 200 sieve size P – Poorly graded, little or no fines
M – Concentration of silty or non-plastic fines
C – Concentration of clay or plastic fines
Fine-Grained Material Subdivision
M – Silt very fine grain size, floury appearance L – Low plastic material, lean soil
C – Clay finest grain size, high dry strength – H – High plastic material, fat soil
plastic
O – Organic matter partly decomposed, appears
fibrous, spongy and dark in color

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 23
 3.5.2. Field Identification of Soil (Unified System)
1) All particles over 75 mm in diameter are first removed. The soil particles are then separated
visually at the No. 200 sieve size (this corresponds to the smallest particles that can be seen by
the naked eye).

 If more that 50% of the soil by weight is larger than the No. 200 sieve, it is a coarse-grained
soil

2) The coarse particles are then divided into particles larger and smaller than 6 mm (1/4 in.) in
diameter.

 If over 50% of the coarse fraction (by weight) is larger than 6 mm (1/4 in.) in diameter, the soil
is classified as gravel; otherwise it is sand.
 If less than 10% by weight of the total sample is smaller than the No. 200 sieve, the soil is either
well graded (W) or poorly graded (P).
 If more than 10% of the sample is smaller than the No. 200 sieve, the soil is either low plasticity
(L) or high plasticity (H)

3) If the sample is more than 50% by weight smaller than the No. 200 sieve, it is a fined-grained soil.
Classification is based on dry strength and shaking tests of the material smaller than 0.4 mm (1/64
in.) in diameter.

 Dry Strength Test

Mold a sample into a ball about the size of a golf ball to the consistency of putty, adding
water as needed. Allow the sample to dry completely. Attempt to break the sample using the
thumb and forefinger of both hands. If the sample cannot be broken, the soil is highly plastic. If
the sample breaks, attempt to powder it by rubbing it between it between the thumb and the
forefinger of one hand. If the sample is difficult to break and powder, it has the medium
plasticity. Samples of low plasticity will break and powder easily.

 Shaking Test
Form the material into a ball 19 mm in diameter, adding water until the sample does not
stick to the fingers as it is molded. Put the sample in the palm of the sand and shake vigorously.
Observe the speed with which the water comes to the surface of the sample to produce a shiny
surface. A rapid reaction indicates a non-plastic silt.

3.6. Soil Volume – Change Characteristics

There are three principal conditions or states in which earthmoving material may exist:
 Bank
Material in its natural state before disturbance. Often referred to as “in-place” or “in situ”. A unit
volume is identified as a bank cubic meter (BCM). Bank volume is used when determining the
volume of material to be excavated. This is the unit measure for performing the quantity takeoff
from construction drawings.
 Loose
Material that has been excavated or loaded. A unit volume is identified as loose cubic meter
(LCM). Loose volume is used to describe the volume capacity of excavating and hauling
equipment.
 Compacted
Material after compaction. A unit volume is identified as a compacted cubic meter (CCM).
Compacted volume is used to determine the volume of any earth structure such as a dam or fill.
It represents the volume after the required compactive effort has been applied.

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 24
Table on Construction characteristics of soils (Unified System)
Soil Type Symbol Drainage Construction Suitability for Suitability for
Workability Subgrade (No Surfacing
Frost Action)
Well-graded GW Excellent Excellent Good Good
gravel
Poorly graded GP Excellent Good Good to Poor
gravel excellent
Silty gravel GM Poor to fair Good Good to Fair
excellent
Clayey gravel GC Poor Good Good Excellent
Well-grade SW Excellent Excellent Good Good
sand
Poorly graded SP Excellent Fair Fair to good Poor
sand
Silty sand SM Poor to fair Fair Fair to good Poor
Clayey sand SC Poor Good Poor to fair Excellent
Low-plasticity ML Poor to fair Fair Poor to fair Poor
silt
Low-plasticity CL Poor Fair to good Poor to fair Fair
clay
Low-plasticity OL Poor Fair Poor Poor
organic
High-plasticity MH Poor to fair Poor Poor Poor
silt
High-plasticity CH Very poor Poor Poor to fair Poor
clay
High-plasticity OH Very poor Poor Very poor to Poor
organic poor
Peat Pt Poor to fair Unsuitable Unsuitable Unsuitable

 Swell
A phenomenon accompanied by increased in the volume of the soil when excavated because the soil
grains are loosened during excavation and air fills the void spaces created. As a result, a unit volume
of soil in the bank condition will occupy more than one unit volume after excavation.

 
swell (%)=  bank  1 100 
  loose 
 Shrinkage
A phenomenon accompanied by decreased volume of the soil when compacted. When the soil is
compacted, some of the air is forced out of the soil’s void spaces. As a result, the soil will occupy less
volume than it did under either the bank or loose conditions.

  bank 
shrinkage (%) = 1 
  compacted  100 
 

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 25
  Load and Shrinkage Factors
 Load factor
- It is used to convert loose volume to bank volume.

 loose
load factor = or
 bank

1
load factor =
1  swell
 Shrinkage factor
- A factor used for the conversion of bank volume to compacted volume.

 bank
shrinkage factor = or
 compacted

shrinkage factor = 1-shrinkage

Typical soil weight and volume change characteristics*

Unit Weight (kg/m3) Swell Shrinkage Load Shrinkage
Loose Bank Compacted (%) (%) Factor Factor
Clay 1370 1780 2225 30 20 0.77 0.80
Common
1471 1839 2047 25 10 0.80 0.90
earth
Rock
1815 2729 2106 50 -30** 0.67 1.30**
(blasted)
Sand and
1697 1899 2166 12 12 0.89 0.88
gravel
*Exact values vary with grain size distribution, moisture, compaction, and other factors. Tests are required to determine exact values for
a specified soil.
**Compacted rock is less dense than is in-place rock.

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 26
3.7. Spoil Bank
When planning and estimating earthwork, it is frequently necessary to determine the size of the pile of
material that will be created by the material removed from the excavation. If the pile of material is long in
relation to its width, it is referred to as spoil bank. Spoil banks are characterized by a triangular cross
section. If the material is dumped from a fixed position, a spoil pile is created which has a conical shape. To
determine the dimensions of spoil banks or piles, it is necessary to convert the volume of excavation from
in-place conditions (BCM) to loose conditions (LCM).

Formula for spoil bank Formula for spoil pile

volume =  section area  length  1
volume =  base area  height 
1 3
 4V  2
B 
1
 L tan    7.64V  3
D=  
B tan   tan  
H= 1
2 H= D tan 
2
Where:
B  base width in meter
H = pile height in meter
L = pile length in meter
D = diameter of the pile base in meter
 = angle of repose (the angle which the sides of the pile makes with the horizontal) in degrees
V = pile volume in m3

3.8. Graphical Presentation of Earthwork

Horizontal distances along a linear project are referenced in stations. The term station refers to
locations on a base - 20 numbering system. Therefore, the distance between two adjacent stations is 20 m.
Station 1 is written 1 + 00. The plus sign is used in this system of referencing points. The term station refers
to the surveyor notation for laying out a project in the field and is used on the plans to denote locations along
the length of the project.

 Station
- A horizontal distance of 20 m.
 plan view
- A construction drawing representing the horizontal alignment of the work. It is drawn looking
down on the proposed work and presents the horizontal alignment of features.

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 27
  profile view
- A construction drawing depicting a vertical plane cut through the centerline of the work. It
shows the vertical relationship of the ground surface and the finished work. The profile view is
a cut view, typically along the centerline of the work. It presents the vertical alignment of
features.

 cross section view

- A construction drawing depicting a vertical section of earthwork at right angles to the centerline
of the work. It is formed by a plane cutting the work vertically and at right angles to its long axis.

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 28
3.9. Earthwork Quantities
When planning or estimating an earthmoving project, it is often necessary to estimate the volume of
material to be excavated or placed as fill. The procedures to be followed can be divided into three principal
categories:

 pit excavations – small, relatively deep excavations such as those required for basements and
foundations.
 trench excavation – for utility lines
 excavating or grading relatively large areas.

Earthwork computations involve the calculation of earthwork volumes, balancing cuts and fills, and
planning the most economical material hauls. The usual method is to calculate the cross sectional area of cut
or fill at regular intervals (such as stations 20 m along the centerline). The volume of cut or fill between
stations is then calculated, accumulated and plotted as mass diagram. Keep in mind that cut volume is
normally calculated in bank measure while volume of compacted fill is calculated in compacted measure.
Both cut and fill must be expressed in the same volume units before being added.
Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 29
  Pit Excavations (Unit Area Method)
To perform these calculations, first divide the horizontal area into a convenient set regular
geometric shapes (i.e. rectangles, triangles, etc.). After the area of each segment has been calculated,
the total area is found as the sum of the segment areas. The average depth is then calculated. Then the
volume is calculated from the formula:

volume =  horizontal area  average depth 

 Trench Excavations (End-Area Method)

The volume required for a trench can be calculated as the product of the trench cross-sectional
area and the linear distance along the trench line. For rectangular trench sections where the trench
depth and width are relatively constant, trench volume can be found as the product of trench width,
depth, and length. When trench sides are slope and vary in width and/or depth, cross sections should
be taken at frequent linear intervals and the volumes between locations computed. These volumes are
then added to find the total volume.

volume =  cross-sectional area  length 

 Area Calculation by Trapezoidal Method

h 
area =  0  h1  h2   h n1  hn  w
 2 
Where:
h0 hn = lengths of the individual adjacent parallel sides
w = distance between two adjacent sides

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 30
 In the case of sidehill construction, both a cut area and a fill area can appear in the same cross
section. When making area computations, it is always necessary to calculate cut and fill areas
separately.

 Volume Calculation by End-Area Method

The average-end-area method is commonly used to determine the volume bounded by two
cross sections or end areas. These calculations are made assuming the volume of the solid bounded
by two parallel, or nearly parallel, cross sections is equal to the average of the two end areas times
the distance between the cross sections along their centerline.

 A  A2  Where:
V=  1 L A1 and A2 = area of the respective end areas
 2 
L = distance between the end areas

 Large Areas (Grid Method/Spot Levels Method)

To estimate the earthwork volume involved in large or complex areas, one method is to divide the
area into a grid indicating the depth of excavation or fill at each grid intersection. Assign the depth at
each corner or segment intersection a weight according to its location (number of segment lines
intersecting at the point). Average depth is then computed and multiplied by the horizontal area to
obtain the volume of excavation.

A   h1  2 h2  3 h3  4 h4  Where:
Volume 
4  h1  sum of depths common to one prism
 h2  sum of depths common to two prisms
 h3  sum of depths common to three prisms
 h4  sum of depths common to four prisms
A  area of one prism

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 31
Problem Set for Chapter 3:
1. A contractor is planning to haul in soil to construct a parking lot for a shopping center she is constructing.
Density tests taken on the soil in its natural state (wet) indicate a unit weight of 1 617.86 kg/m3. The
contractor heated a soil sample in an oven and determined the dry unit weight to be 1 537.77 kg/m3.
a) What is the moisture content of the soil?
b) To minimize the amount of compaction required to achieve the design density for the parking lot, the
contractor wants to increase the moisture content to 10%. How many liter of water should he add to
each cubic meter of soil to increase the moisture content to 10%?
2. A contractor has a contract for the construction of a new school. One of the project tasks is the
construction of a compacted fill that will be used as a parking lot for the school. Inspection of the project
plans indicates that 7 645.5 compacted cubic meter are required for the fill. The contractor has selected
a source for the fill material and determined the bank density to be 4 719.6 kg/m3, the loose density to
be 3 775.6 kg/m3, and the compacted density to be 5 756.2 kg/m3. He plans to excavate the fill material
with a wheeled loader and load dump trucks that will haul the soil to the construction site.
a) What is the percent swell for the fill material?
b) What is the percent shrinkage for the fill material?
c) How many bank cubic meter must the contractor excavate with the loader?
d) How many loose cubic meter must the contractor haul in the dump trucks?

3. A soil weighs 1163 kg/LCM, 1661 kg/BCM, and 2077 kg/CCM.

a) Find the load factor and shrinkage factor of the soil.
b) How many bank cubic meter (BCM) and compacted cubic meter are contained in 593 300 loose cubic
meter of this soil?
4. Find the base width and height of a triangular spoil bank containing 76.5 BCM if the pile length is 9.14
m. The soil’s angle of repose is 37 and its swell is 25%.
5. Find the base diameter and height of a conical spoil pile that will contain 76.5 BCM of excavation if the
soil’s angle of repose is 32 and its swell is 12%.
6. Estimate the volume of excavation required (bank measure) for the basement shown in the figure below.
Values shown at each corner are depths of excavation. All values are in meter.

7. Find the volume (bank measure) of excavation required for a trench 0.92 m wide, 1.83 m deep, and 152
m long. Assume trench sides will be approximately vertical.
8. Given the cross section notes of an earthwork between Sta. 10 + 100 to Sta. 10 + 200. Assume both stations
have the same side slope and width of the base.

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 32
 a) Compute the side slope of both sections.
b) Compute the value of x at station 10 + 200 if it has a cross sectional area of 14.64 m2.
c) Compute the volume between stations 10 + 100 and 10 + 200 using end area method.
9. Find the volume of excavation required for the area shown in the figure below. The figure at each grid
intersection represents the depth (in meter) of cut at that location.

10. A square lot is divided into 20 m squares and the corners are numbered I-IV horizontal and A-D vertical.
The ground elevations of the different corners are given in the table below. It is required to grade to a
level surface of elevation 11 m. Allowing a shrinkage factor of 25%, what is the excess excavated
materials available after the grading work is completed?

Prepared by: Melvin R. Esguerra, mpice Advanced Construction Methods and Equipment Page 33