18 2 GEOTECHNICAL MATERIALS, TESTING, AND DESIGN

saturated, and unsaturated) according to the total stress

concept. Based on permeability, they may be classified
as pervious geomaterials, semipervious geomaterials, and
impervious geomaterials, according to Lukas (1995). The
pervious geomaterials have high permeability, while the
impervious geomaterials have low permeability. Semiper-
vious geomaterials have permeability between pervious and
impervious geomaterials.

2.2.2 Physical Properties

Physical properties include particle size, specific gravity,
void ratio, relative density, unit weight, moisture content, de-
gree of saturation, and Atterberg limits. Figure 2.1 shows a
few useful particle sizes from a grain size distribution curve.
Using D60 as an example, it corresponds to the sieve size 60%
particles pass. D50 is often called the mean particle size. D10
is referred to as the effective particle size because it affects
the permeability of a soil. D10 , D30 , and D60 are used for
defining the gradation of a soil. D15 and D85 are used for
filter design.
Geomaterial is often represented by a phase diagram, as
shown in Figure 2.2, which consists of solid, liquid (or
water), and air. Air has volume, Va , but does not have weight.
Specific gravity of a geomaterial, Gs , is defined as
𝛾 void ratios, the relative density of a geomaterial, Dr , can be
Gs = s (2.1)
𝛾w
where 𝛾s is the unit weight of solid (i.e., Ws ∕Vs ) and 𝛾w is
the unit weight of water (Ww ∕Vw ). Ws and Ww are weights
of solid and water respectively while Vs and Vw are vol-
umes of solid and water respectively. For soil and rock,
the specific gravity mostly ranges from 2.60 to 2.75. How-
ever, for processed geomaterials, the specific gravity can
vary widely. For example, alumina red mud sand has a spe-
cific gravity from 3.16 to 3.27 (Oweis and Khera, 1998).
Lightweight aggregates have specific gravities from 1.25
Figure 2.2 Phase diagram.
to 1.40 (Holm and Valsangkar, 1993). Specific gravity is an
important parameter to determine the void ratio of a geoma-
terial and the zero air void line for the compaction curve to
be discussed later.
To evaluate the density of a geomaterial, void ratio, defined
as the ratio of volume of void to volume of solid (i.e., Vv ∕Vs ),
is commonly used. The American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) ASTM D4253 and ASTM D4254 can be
used to determine the maximum and minimum void ratios of
a soil with up to 15% (by dry mass) of soil particles passing
the No. 200 sieve size. With the maximum and minimum
calculated as follows:
e −e
Dr = max (2.2)
emax − emin
where emax = maximum void ratio
emin = minimum void ratio
e = void ratio of soil in place
The qualitative description of degree of density of a
coarse-grained soil is provided in Table 2.1. The soil is
typically considered dense if its relative density, Dr > 70%.
Unit weight, defined as the ratio of weight to volume of a
geomaterial, can be easily measured in laboratory and field;
therefore, it is a good quality assurance parameter for ground
improvement, such as shallow compaction. Unit weight can
be dry, moist, or saturated. The dry unit weight and the
moist unit weight have a relationship with moisture content

Table 2.1 Qualitative Description of Degree of Density

Dr (%) Description
0–25 Very loose
25–50 Loose
50–70 Medium dense
70–85 Dense
85–100 Very dense
Figure 2.1 Useful particle sizes.