ADVANCED

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Presentation on

FACTORS CONTROLLING STRESS

STRAIN BEHAVIOR OF SOIL

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Prof. Samirsinh P Parmar (CE-14103277- Research Scholar)
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India
Mail: samirddu@gmail.com
OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION

 Understanding soil
 Stress –strain models

 Introduction stress-strain in soil

 Suitability of models.

 Factors affecting stress strain in soils.

 Future scope

 References

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 UNDERSTANDING SOIL

METAL SOIL WATER

Crystal
Particulate System, Viscous Free
Structure
Particles Sometimes Structure
free to move,
sometimes not

1 cm
1 cm
5 Million Contacts between sand within 1cm3,
Hence it is impossible to build a stress –strain
law for each particle and the stress strain
1 cm behavior of soil is resultant of this single contact
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behavior.
- Lambe & Whiteman (pg.19)
 STRESS STRAIN MODELS

Non-Linear and
Linear and Elastic
Elastic

Stress, 
Stress, 

Strain,  Strain, 
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Ref: Bina Nusantara

 STRESS-STRAIN MODELS

Elastic Perfectly
Elasto-Plastic
Plastic

Stress, 
Stress, 

Strain,  Strain, 

Ref: Bina Nusantara

 Stress – strain curves I
For elastic materials: Hooke’s Law:
Slope is E: Young’s modulus

E ≡  / , so

=/E
Stress , F/A

DL

Strain , DL/L0 L0 6

Ref: Soil Physics 2010

 Stress – strain curves II
For many materials (including soil, sometimes):

Failure:
Material has
sheared or fractured
Stress , F/A

DL

Strain , DL/L0 L0 7

Ref: Soil Physics ,2010

 STRESSES
 4 Stresses commonly encountered:
• Compressive 
• Tensile  (Considered
Negligible)

• Shear t
• Torsion (not typical in soil)

o Kinds of behavior under stress

- Elastic
- Plastic
- Viscous
- Brittle 8

•Soils have aspects of all of these Ref: Soil Physics 2010

Strain (elastic & plastic)
•Strain is deformation (e.g. in response to stress)

•Often given as  ≡ DL / L0 : a relative change in length

(dimensionless)

•Young’s modulus is the ratio: E ≡  /  =  L0 / DL

DL
L0 – DL:
Height after
Original L0 compression
height
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Ref: Soil Physics 2010

 IDEALIZED STRESS-STRAIN RESPONSE
 It is impossible to take into account all aspects of soil
behaviour in a conceptual stress-strain response and
some idealization is necessary as shown below:

Elastic-Perfectly
Linear Elastic Plastic
OY ’

Rigid Plastic
Elastoplastic

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 SELECTION OF AN APPROPRIATE MODEL

Stress
Settlement
Calculations
OA – Linear Elastic
BC – Perfectly Plastic
Stability
Calculations
Strain

OA : a linear elastic model is adequate for settlement

calculations.

BC : For stability calculations that involve taking the soil to 11

failure, a perfectly plastic model is required.
STRESS STRAIN RELATIONSHIP IN SOILS

(b) Typical Stress –strain

(a) General Stress Strain Relationship
Relationship for soil
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Ref: Geotechnolgy- Robetrs, pg 29

 EFFECTIVE AND NEUTRAL STRESSES IN SATURATED SOILS

Total Stress

• It is having
Physical Meaning.
• Measurable.
• Measured by
Earth Pressure
Cell

Effective Stress σ = Total Stress - Pore water Pressure (u).

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Earth Pressure cell

FACTORS CONTROLLING STRESS-STRAIN BEHAVIOUR
OF SOILS (PAULOS1989)

1. Soil composition ( soil mineralogy)

2. Structure
3. Shape of particles
4. State (Initial)
5. Loading conditions
6. Degree of saturation/ Pore Pressure
7. Confinement

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 1 . SOIL COMPOSITION
 It includes mineralogy, grain size and grain size distribution,
shape of particles, pore fluid type and content, ions on grain and
in pore fluid. More Cation Exchange Capacity,
More it can take stresses

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Not only clay mineralogy but mineralogy
Ref: Soil Science Society, USA of sands is also important
1 . SOIL COMPOSITION
 Inter granular bonds are strong based on cation
exchange capacity.
 Also the adsorbed water in cohesive soil under
strong bonding.
 More inter granular force – More stress it can take.

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Water adsorption by hydrogen bond in soil minerals

 2. STRUCTURE
 Refers to the arrangement of particles within the soil mass.
 The manner the particles are packed or distributed.

 Features such as layers, joints, fissures, slickensides,

voids, pockets, cementation, etc., are part of the structure.
 Structure of soils is described by terms such as:
undisturbed, disturbed, remoulded,
compacted, cemented; flocculent, honey-combed, single-
grained; flocculated, deflocculated; stratified, layered,
laminated; isotropic and anisotropic.

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 2.STRUCTURES OF SOIL
Clay structures: dispersed
(a)flocculated
(b)Dispersed (edge-face)
(c) Dispersed (aggregated)
(d) and the natural structure of clay
(after Craig, 1990)

Honeycombed fabric Loose packing Dense packing

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Ref: Holtz and Kovacs, 1981

2.STRUCTURES OF SOIL

 Structure of soil decided the Inter particle Forces

and hence the shear strength.
 Large volume change occurs – strain increases
under constant stress.

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3. SHAPE OF PARTICLES

Shape of Sand
Particles

Ref: AGCSA Australia

Angular particles offer more frictional resistance

Highly Spherical particles rolls / slides from its place offers 20

less frictional resistance
4. STATE (INITIAL)
 It includes Normally Consolidated soil Behavior and
Over consolidated soil behavior.

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4. STRESS STRAIN BEHAVIOR : STATE

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4.STRESS STRAIN BEHAVIOR : STATE

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4.STRESS STRAIN BEHAVIOR : STATE

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5. LOADING CONDITIONS

 Effective stress path,

i.e., drained, and
undrained; and type of
loading, i.e.,
magnitude, rate (static,
dynamic), and time
history (monotonic,
cyclic).

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 6. DEGREE OF SATURATION/ PORE WATER PRESSURE

It Includes
 Permeability

 Pore water Pressure

 Total vs Effective
Stress
 Drained / Undrained (Ref. B.M Das pg.153)
Condition
Volume change due to uniaxial stress
application with zero excess pore water
pressure.
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(Note: V is the volume of the soil
element at any given value of .)
CD TEST STRESS PATH

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CU TEST

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UU TEST

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DECREASED PORE PRESSURE

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INCREASED PORE PRESSURE

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7. CONFINEMENT / DENSITY

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8. CRITICAL VOID RATIO- CONFINING STRESS
(AFTER CASSAGRANDE)

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8.CRITICAL VOID RATIO- CONFINING STRESS
(AFTER CASSAGRANDE)

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9. PLAIN STRAIN CONDITION

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10.THIXOTROPY

o An isothermal, reversible, time-dependent increase in strength at a constant

water content.

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 COMMON
TYPE OF
STRESS
STRAIN
TESTS

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Ref. Lambe, pg. 117

ADDITIONAL FACTORS NOT CONSIDERED IN
PRESENTATION

 Material isotropy
 Soil-water-air combined effect on stress-strain.

 Stress strain behavior under dynamic loads.

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FUTURE SCOPE

 Effect of cementation due to Chemicals.

 Nano-technology application to study stress-strain
effects.
 (Soil + water + micro organism) Constitutive
relationship ( Geo environmental issue)
 Geotechnical Structure Health Monitoring.

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REFERENCES

 Soil Mechanics , SI version- Lambe & Whitman.

Pg. 29- 241.
 Geotechnology, A. Roberts. Pg. 17-65.

 Geotechnical Engineering , A Rao, C Venkatramiah, pg.

60-62.

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