538 | GEOTECH

PRELIM TERM MODULES

1.2.1 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL PART 1 (WEEK 2)

I. Specific Gravity (Gs)

Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the unit weight of a given material to the unit weight of water.

II. Mechanical Analysis of Soil

Mechanical analysis is the determination of the size range of particles present in a soil, expressed as a percentage of the total dry weight. Two methods
generally are used to find the particle-size distribution of soil:

(1) sieve analysis - for particle sizes larger than 0.075 mm in diameter

(2) hydrometer analysis - for particle sizes smaller than 0.075 mm in diameter.

1. Sieve Analysis

Sieve analysis consists of shaking the soil sample through a set of sieves that have progressively smaller openings. U.S. standard sieve numbers and the sizes of
openings are given in Table 2.5.

Sieve Analysis Procedure

1. Oven-dry the soil and then break all lumps into small particles.
2. The soil then is shaken through a stack of sieves with openings of decreasing size from top to bottom (a pan is placed below the stack). Note: The
smallest-sized sieve that should be used for this type of test is the U.S. No. 200 sieve
3. After the soil is shaken, the mass of soil retained on each sieve is determined. Note: When cohesive soils are analyzed, breaking the lumps into
individual particles may be difficult. In this case, the soil may be mixed with water to make a slurry and then washed through the sieves.
4. Portions retained on each sieve are collected separately and oven-dried before the mass retained on each sieve is measured.

4.1. Determine the mass of the soil retained on each sieve (i.e., M1, M2,…Mn) and in the pan (i.e., Mp)

4.2. Determine the total mass of the soil: M1 + M2 + … + Mi + Mn + Mp = ∑M

4.3. Determine the cumulative mass of the soil retained on each sieve. For the ith sieve, it is M1 + M2 + … + Mi.

4.4 The mass of the soil passing the ith sieve is ∑M – (M1 + M2 + … +Mi)

4.5. The percent of soil passing the ith sieve (or percent finer) is

Once the percent finer for each sieve is calculated (step 4.5), the calculations are plotted on semi-logarithmic graph paper with percent finer as the
ordinate (arithmetic scale) and sieve opening size as the abscissa (logarithmic scale). This plot is referred to as the particle-size distribution curve.
 2. Hydrometer Analysis

Hydrometer analysis is based on the principle of sedimentation of soil grains in water. When a soil specimen is dispersed in water, the particles settle at different
velocities, depending on their shape, size, weight, and the viscosity of the water. For simplicity, it is assumed that all the soil particles are spheres and that the velocity
of soil particles can be expressed by Stokes’ law, according to which

III. Particle-Size Distribution Curve

A particle-size distribution curve can be used to determine the following four parameters for a given soil:

1. Effective size (D10): This parameter is the diameter in the particle-size distribution curve corresponding to 10% finer. The effective size of a granular soil
is a good measure to estimate the hydraulic conductivity and drainage through soil.

2. Uniformity coefficient (Cu): This parameter is defined as

where D60 =diameter corresponding to 60% finer.

2. Coefficient of gradation (Cc): This parameter is defined as

2. Sorting coefficient (S0): This parameter is another measure of uniformity and is generally encountered in geologic works and expressed as

IV. Particle Shape

The particle shape generally can be divided into three major categories:

1. Bulky
2. Flaky
3. Needle shaped

Bulky particles are formed mostly by mechanical weathering of rock and minerals. Geologists use such terms as angular, subangular, subrounded, and
rounded to describe the shapes of bulky particles. These shapes are shown qualitatively in Figure 2.29.
The angularity, A, is defined as

The sphericity of bulky particles is defined as

Flaky particles have very low sphericity—usually 0.01 or less. These particles are predominantly clay minerals.

Needle-shaped particles are much less common than the other two particle types.

Examples of soils containing needle-shaped particles are some coral deposits and attapulgite clays.

Sieve Analysis Examples