2.

 INDEX PROPERTIES

2.1 PHASE DIAGRAM:
➢ Soil mass is a three phase system, composed of solid, liquid & gaseous matter (in
general).
➢ Relative volumetric and gravimetric proportions of solids, water and soil mass are
important factors influencing its physical properties.
➢ Refer Fig. 2.1:
V = V a  + Vw  + Vs
Vv  = V a  + Vw
W = W a  + Ww  + Ws

2.2 SIMPLE DEFINITIONS:
Water content (moisture content):

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Fig. 2.1
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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

Void ratio: e = (V v /Vs )
Porosity: n = (V v /V) x 100
Degree of Saturation: S = (V w /Vv ) x 100
S = 0 (dry soil) & = 100% (fully saturated).
Air Content: a c  = (V a /Vv ) = (1 – S)
Percentage air voids:  n a  = (V a /V) x 100 (n a  = nac )
UNIT WEIGHT (Weight per unit Volume)

Bulk Unit Weight: γ t  = (W/V) =

Dry Unit Weight: γ d = (W s /V)

Saturated Unit Weight: γ sat = (W sat/V)
Submerged Unit Weight: γ sub = γ sat ­ γ w (γw = unit weight of water = 1gm/cc = 9.8 KN/
m3 )
Unit Weight of Solids: γ s  = (W s /Vs )
Specific Gravity: G s = (W s /Vs γ w ) = (γ s / γ w ) Typical values of ‘G s ’ are listed in Table 2.1

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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

Mass Specific gravity: G m = (W/Vγ w ) = (γ/ γ w )

2.3 Some Important Relations:

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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

If na  = 0, soil is fully saturated, &

2.4 WATER CONTENT DETERMINATION:
    (a)Oven drying method:

    W1  = Weight of container., W 2  = Weight of container with moist sample.

    W 3  = Weight of container with dried sample.

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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

(b)Pycnometer method:

W1  = empty pycnometer weight.
W2  = pycnometer + wet soil weight.
W3  = pycnometer + wet soil + water weight.
W4  = pycnometer + water weight.

2.5 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOLIDS DETERMINATION:
Pycnometer method:

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2.6 In­situ unit weight determination
• Unit weight is necessary to compute overburden at any depth within soil.
Core cutter method:
• It involves driving a core cutter of known volume into soil after placing it on a
cleaned soil surface.
• Core cutter is provided with dolly.
• Core cutter is driven using dolly mounted on top of core cutter with suitable
hammer or dolly itself is used to drive core cutter.
• The cutter filled with soil is removed and excess soil is trimmed off.
• Cutter with soil is weighed.
• Volume of cutter is calculated from dimensions of cutter & in situ unit weight
is determined (ratio of soil weight in cutter & volume of cutter).
• Knowing water content from laboratory investigation, dry unit weight is
calculated.
• In sampling tube method, tube diameter is relatively small and hand pushing is
involved.

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Sand replacement method:
• Core cutter method can’t be used in hard or gravelly soils. Sand replacement
method is better suited.
• Method involves making hole in the ground. Excavated soil is weighed.
• Volume of hole is determined by replacement with sand of known density.
• Knowing weight of excavated soil and volume of hole, in­situ unit weight can
be easily determined.
• Site is cleaned and a square tray with central hole in it is placed on cleaned
surface.
• Hole of diameter equal to diameter of hole in tray and depth about 10­15cm is
made in ground.
• Excavated soil is collected in tray and weighed.
• A sand bottle, about two third full of clean dry sand is weighed and placed
upside down centrally over the hole.
• Tap is opened and sand is allowed to run to fill the excavated hole and the
conical end.
• When flow of sand stops, tap is closed and bottle with remaining sand is
weighed.
• Bottle is then placed over level surface and weight of sand filling cone of sand
bottle is noted.

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• Thus weight of sand filling the excavated hole is computed.
• The unit weight of sand in the bottle is determined by pouring sand in a calibrating
container of known dimensions and weighing sand in calibrating container.
• Knowing unit weight of sand in bottle, and weight of sand required to fill the excavated
hole, volume of hole is determined.
• Dividing weight of excavated soil by its volume, in‐situ unit weight of soil is determined.
• Dry unit weight can be determined as previous.
• In case of boulders, it is water replacement and not sand replacement.
Water displacement method:
• Suitable for cohesive soil only where lump sample is available.
• From large sample brought from field, small sample is trimmed to regular shape. Its
weight is taken (W 1).
• Sample coated with paraffin wax is weighed again (W2).
• Container with overflow arrangement is taken. It is filled with water till brim.
• Sample is lowered in the metal container and overflow water is collected in measuring jar.
Its volume is noted (Vw).
• Volume of uncoated sample = V = Vw – (W2‐W1/γp). γp = unit weight of paraffin wax
• Bulk unit weight of soil = W 1/V. Dry unit weight can also be calculated.

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2.7 Index properties of soils
• Tests carried out in order to classify soil are termed classification tests.
• Numerical results obtained based on such tests are index properties of soils.
• These index properties are soil grain properties and soil aggregate properties.
• Soil grain properties depend on individual soil grain and are independent of
manner of soil formation (mineralogical composition, specific gravity of solids,
size and shape of grain).
• Soil aggregate properties are dependent on soil mass as a whole and
represents collective soil behaviour.
• They are influenced by soil stress history, mode of soil formation and soil
structure.
• Aggregate properties have geotechnical significance as geotechnical
construction is on undisturbed natural soil deposit.
• Grain shape (rounded, subrounded, subangular, angular, flaky, needle shaped),
grain size distribution, consistency limits, permeability, unconfined
compressive strength (table 2.6), sensitivity & thixotropy, void ratio, porosity,
unit weight, relative density and activity are important index properties.

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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

2.9 GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION:
Sieve analysis:
➢ It is used for coarse grained soils. (particle size > 75μ)

➢ Particle size larger than 4.75mm size, is used for coarse sieve
analysis.
➢ Particle size in between 4.75mm and 75μ size is used for fine sieve
analysis.
➢ % retained on a particular sieve
➢ Cumulative % retained = sum of % retained on all sieves of larger
sizes and the % retained on that particular sieve.
➢ % finer than the sieve under reference = 100 – cumulative % retained.

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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

Hydrometer analysis:
➢ For particles smaller than 75μ size.

➢ He  = H1  + 0.5(h –         )

➢ Particle size D(cm) =

He  → in cm., t → in minutes, γ s , γ w  → in gm/cc,

η   → in gm sec/cm 2
➢ % finer = N =

Ws  → Weight of soil grains (gm) in 1000 cc suspension.
          Fig. 2.10(a)
➢ 1 gm. sec. per sq. cm. = 980.7 poise

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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

Grain size distribution curves: (Fig. 2.11)

Well graded soil: has good representation of grain sizes over a wide range and
curve is smooth (curve 1).

Poorly graded soil: has either excess or deficiency of certain particle sizes or has
most of the particles about the same size (curve 2).

Gap graded soil:  has some of the particle sizes missing (curve 3).

➢ Cu = coefficient of uniformity =

Cc  = coefficient of curvature =

➢ For well graded, 1 ≤ C c  ≤ 3 and C u • 4 for gravel & C u • 6 for sands

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 GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION :

Fig. 2.11
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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

2.10 ATTERBERG LIMITS (for fine grained

soils) (Fig. 2.12):
Liquid limit (wL): Water content at which a
groove cut in a part of soil by a
grooving tool of standard dimensions
will flow together for a distance of
13mm under the impact of 25 blows in a
standard liquid limit device.
Fig. 2.15
Also,                              (for 0.068 < e < 0.121)

Plastic limit (wp): Water content at which a

soil would just begin to crumble when
rolled into a thread of approximately
3mm diameter.
Shrinkage limit (ws ): Maximum water
content at which a decrease in moisture
content does not cause any decrease in
the volume of soil mass.
➢ Shrinkage limit = water content at state
(b) (Fig. 2.16)

Fig. 2.16
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Fig. 2.12
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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

➢ Also, from state (a), Fig. 2.16:

γ s  = G s γ w  =

But,                                              ⇒

And, shrinkage limit = w s  =              where, W w  = (V 2 ­V s )γw   =

Plasticity index (I p): I p = w L ­ w p

Consistency index (I c ): I c  =

Liquidity index (I L): I L =

Flow index (I F): I F =                          from flow curve (Fig. 2.15)

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 2. INDEX PROPERTIES

Toughness Index: I T  =

Shrinkage ratio: SR =                       (at & above shrinkage limit)

V1 = volume of soil mass at water content w 1 & V2 = volume of soil mass at water
content w2 . V d = volume of dry soil mass.

But, (w 1 ­w2 ) =                                   ⇒ SR =

Relative density: (table 2.8) Dr  or I D =

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Sensitivity & thixotropy:
• Sensitivity is a measure of loss in strength upon remoulding in
cohesive soils.
• It is defined as the ratio of unconfined compressive strength of an
undisturbed specimen of soil to unconfined compressive strength of
same soil sample after remoulding at unaltered water content (table
2.7).
• Thixotropy is property of certain clays by virtue of which they regain,
if left alone for a time, a part of the strength lost due to remoulding, at
unaltered water content.
Activity:
• Amount of adsorbed water in soil is greatly influenced by the amount
of clay present in soil.
• Plasticity index depends on the type and amount of clay mineral
present
Activity of clay = plasticity index/% by weight finer than 2micron (table
2.9)
• As activity increases, clay like behaviour (increased compressibility &
swelling shrinkage characteristics) increases in soil.

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