CHAPTER 1:

The Origin of Rocks and Soils

Instructor: Engr. Joshua John L. Julio
 Rock Types
 There are 3 main types of rocks:
IGNEOUS – Solidification of molten magma
Extrusive means that the rock formed on the
ground surrface. Instrusuve means that it formed below the
ground surface.

SEDIMENTARY – Formed by compaction and

cementation of sediments.
Clastic – Cemented Soils,
Chemical – deposits formed by chemical action.

METAMORPHIC – Transformation of sedimentary &

igneous rock due to heat and pressure.
 WEATHERING
 Weathering - is the process of breaking down rocks by
mechanical and chemical processes into smaller pieces

 Mechanical/Physical weathering:
1) Water
2) Glaciers
Gravels
3) Wind (. . .interparticle contact)
and
4) Thermal Expansion/Contraction Sands
5) Freeze/Thaw
6) Gravity/Landslide

 Chemical Weathering: Silts

Acids and salts react with minerals to form smaller and
particles and clay minerals Clays
 WEATHERING

 RESIDUAL SOILS – Soils that formed in place

a) Particle size assortment with depth

b) Properties like parent rock

c) Pretty uniform horizontally

 SOIL FORMATION

 Transported Soils

1) Alluvial Soils – Streams, running water

2) Lacustrine Soils – Deposition in lakes

3) Glacial Soils – Glaciers

4) Marine Soils – Ocean deposition and formation

5) Aeolian Soils – Wind deposition e.g. (loess)

6) Colluvial Soils – Gravity, rockfall, landslide

 SOIL FORMATION
 Other Soil Types
1) Calcareous soil contains calcium carbonate and effervesces when
treated with hydrochloric acid.
2) Caliche consists of gravel, sand, and clay cemented together by calcium
carbonate.
3) Expansive soils are clays that undergo large volume changes from
cycles of wetting and drying.
4) Glacial till is a soil that consists mainly of coarse particles. Glacial clays
are soils that were deposited in ancient lakes and subsequently frozen.
5) Gypsum is calcium sulfate formed under heat and pressure from
sediments in ocean brine.
6) Lateritic soils are residual soils that are cemented with iron oxides and
are found in tropical regions.
7) Loam is a mixture of sand, silt, and clay that may contain organic
material.
8) Marl (marlstone) is a mud (see definition of mud below) cemented by
calcium carbonate or lime.
9) Mud is clay and silt mixed with water into a viscous fluid.
 CLAY PARTICLES

 There are several clay minerals, but 3 that are most

common: Kaolinite, Illite, and Montmorillonite (Smectite
or Bentonite).
 The two basic building blocks for clay minerals are:

Oxygen

Silicon

Silica Aluminum
Tetrahedron Octahedron
 CLAY PARTICLES

 Kaolinite

 Illite

 Montmorillonite
 CLAY PARTICLES

 Silica Tetrahedron and Aluminum Octahedron form

molecular “sheets” that together constitute “clay”

Silica Sheet Octahedral (Gibbsite)

Sheet
 CLAY PARTICLES

 Various Combinations of these sheets make different clays

and explain their various properties
Kaolinite Illite Montmorillonite

Less Cohesion, Plasticity More Cohesion, Plasticity

 THE DIFFUSE DOUBLE LAYER

 In dry clay, the negative charge is balanced by

exchangeable cations like Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+
surrounding the particles being held by electrostatic
attraction. When water is added to clay, these cations and
a few anions float around the clay particles. This
configuration is referred to as a diffuse double layer.
 THE DIFFUSE DOUBLE LAYER

 The surface of clay particles is negatively charged. This

charged attracts both cations and water molecules.
Kaolinite
Montmorillonite

Adsorbed Water Double Layer Water

H2O, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+
 WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT THE DOUBLE LAYER?

 The thickness of the double layer relative to the clay

particle size determines how the particle will interact with
other particles and with water

 Soil Structure
 Thick double layer = Dispersive soil
 Settles in water slower; More dense
 Lower permeability
 Weaker strength

 Thin double layer = Flocculated soil

 Settles in water faster, Open structure
 Higher permeability, more compressible
 Higher strength
 WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT THE DOUBLE LAYER?

 Shrink/Swell Potential
 Dispersive = High Shrink/Swell Potential
 Can jack foundations and pavements
 Prone in high plasticity clays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACpuYED9WkU&t=7s

 Erosive Potential
 Dispersive = High Erosive Potential
 Can lead to piping in dams and levees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpwpKjqiodQ
 WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT THE DOUBLE LAYER?

 Geo-environmental Applications
 Flocculated = higher permeability
 Dispersive = lower permeability
 Land Reclamation
 Contaminant Cleanup & Control
 Landfill liners

 Geo-environmental Applications
 Dispersive = higher shrink/swell
potential
 Often use lime treatment to
stabilize
 Lime changes the soil from
dispersive to flocculated
END OF CHAPTER 1