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5rockproperties RG
5rockproperties RG
PROPERTIES OF ROCKS
AND SOILS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS AND
SOILS (INDEX PROPERTIES)
For civil engineering design, it is necessary to assign
physical properties to each unit of soil or rock within a
ground model.
These include readily measurable or estimated attributes
such as unit weight, density and porosity.
Other parameters that are often needed are strength,
deformability and permeability. In the case of
aggregates (rock used in construction for making
concrete) and for armourstone, important attributes are
durability and chemical stability.
R. R. GADGIL, DEPT. OF EARTH SCIENCE, GOA UNIVERSITY 2
WEIGHT, POROSITY AND SORPTION
In dealing with any material, it is necessary to know its weight as expressed in
pounds per cubic foot or tons per cubic meter.
The unit weight of a rock depends on the specific gravity (density) of its
constituents, on its porosity and on the amount of water in the pores.
Specific gravity may be determined in the laboratory as follows
1.The rock specimen is dried for 24 hrs in an oven at 105°C, cooled and weighed
(Wo)
2.It is then completely immersed in water for 48hrs and weighed in saturated
condition (Ww)
3.Then the specific gravity 𝐺 = 𝑊𝑜 ÷ 𝑊𝑤
It is the partially saturated zones where vertical water movement can occur that provide the
optimum conditions for oxidation, reduction, and leaching, and where decomposition is most
active.
Decomposition depth, often to depths in excess of 100 ft, is greatest beneath the crests of the hills
composed of foliated crystalline rocks.
Along the sideslopes, where erosion occurs, the depth is about 30 ft. In the narrow valleys, where
rock is permanently saturated, the decomposed depth is usually only of the order of 10 ft at the
most, and streams often flow on fresh rock surfaces.
There is little decomposition activity below the permanent water table. Limestone cavities do
not increase substantially in size unless water is caused to flow.
R. R. GADGIL, DEPT. OF EARTH SCIENCE, GOA UNIVERSITY 44
FINAL PRODUCT AND THICKNESS
Liquid limit: The boundary between the liquid and plastic states;
Glacial Soils: Soils deposited by glaciers or glacial waters can take many forms,
subdivided into two groups:
1. Moraines are deposited directly from the glacier as ground moraine (basal till, ablation till,
drumlins) or as end, terminal, and interlobate moraines.
2. Stratified drift is deposited by the meltwaters as fluvial formations (kames, kame terraces,
eskers, outwash, kettles) or lacustrine (freshwater or saltwater deposition).