G.H.

RAISONI COLLEGE OF
ENGINEERING NAGPUR

Name:- Harshal Rajendra Dethe

Roll No:- 41
Section :- A
Subject :-
Concept of Soil
Mechansim
 Introduction to Soil Mechanics

According to Terzaghi (1948):

“Soil Mechanics is the application of laws of
mechanics and hydraulics to engineering problems
dealing with sediments and other unconsolidated
accumulations of solid particles produced by the
mechanical and chemical disintegration of rocks
regardless of whether or not they contain an
admixture of organic constituent.”

3
 Civil Engineering problems related to soil
Soil is the typical foundation for many civil structures, like a pipe bed, concrete and asphalt. The soil has to be compacted to a
certain percent of its theoretical maximum dry density to serve as a good support for these structures. This usually requires
ripping, moisturing and compacting the soil and then testing it for compaction.
The typical problems I have run into in this process are:

1. Bad proctor samples. A geotechnical technician will take samples of the soil to a laboratory to find its optimum moisture
content and dry weight density. There can be many different soil types on a project, and they don't take enough samples, so you
get wrong data back.

2. Inadequate moisturing. With some soils, you just can't get enough water in it in order to get good consolidation. Typically,
we just mix in or replace with engineered base material.

3. Concrete Curing. If the soil is too wet when you place concrete, it adds water to the mixture and it won't set properly. If it is
very dry, then it leeches moisture from the concrete and it won't set properly. The soil has to be just a bit damp.

4. Pumping. You can identify pumping when you see a heavy load, like a roller, moves over soil and then there is a lot of
deflection or water actually comes up to the surface. Basically, this occurs when you compact certain soils with moisture
content above optimum. The context matters. It could be that the soil was watered too much, after a heavy rain, an underground
pipe is leaking, or high water table. The first step is to just leave it alone and don't put any loads on it. If the pumping isn't too
bad, you can try mixing in or replacing with different soil or engineered base. If that doesn't work, you'll have to lay down
Geofabric and gravel, which almost always works.
 Complexity of soil nature

Eight general pathways to changes in soil

complexity are identified. Three are based
on changes in soil forming factors. These
may increase or
decrease complexity depending on
whether the factors themselves are
converging or diverging, and the relative
magnitudes of soil and state factor
divergence
 Soil Forming Processes
There are five key processes by which soil is formed, they are:
Leaching - leaching is the removal of soluable components of the soil column. As water washes down through the soil it can carry
away bases such as calcium, held as exchangeable ions in clay-humus complexes, as well as acidification through the substitution of
hydrogen ions.

Eluviation - here soil particles held in suspension, such as clay, are removed (eg. washed away).

Illuviation - here soil particles held in suspension, such as clay, are accumulated (eg. deposited).

Podsolisation - podsolisation occurs when strongly acid soil solutions cause the breakdown of clay minerals. As a result silica,
aluminium and iron form complexes with organic substances in the soil. These minerals are removed from the surface zone of the
soil and can accumulate in distinct dark sub-surface layers - very evident on inspection. Upland heaths and moors often contain
podsols.

Gleying - gleying occurs in waterlogged, anaerobic conditions when iron compounds are reduced and either removed from the soil,
or segregated out as mottles or concretions in the soil. Marshy wetlands often contain gleyed soils.
It is important to realise also that soil types are closely related to the shape of the landscape - or its 'topography'. Soil scientists use
this to help them create soil maps. An experienced eye can determine changes in underlying soil types when walking through a
landscape and observing changes in topography (and often vegetation too).
 Soil Types
Soil is a natural resource that can be
categorised into different soil types, each
with distinct characteristics that provide
growing benefits and limitations.
Identifying the type of soil you require for a
project is paramount to support the healthy
growth of plant life.
Soil can be categorised into sand, clay, silt,
peat, chalk and loam types of soil based on
the dominating size of the particles within a
soil.
Sandy soil
Sandy Soil is light, warm, dry and tend to be
acidic and low in nutrients. Sandy soils are
often known as light soils due to their high
proportion of sand and little clay (clay weighs
more than sand).
These soils have quick water drainage and are
easy to work with. They are quicker to warm
up in spring than clay soils but tend to dry out
in summer and suffer from low nutrients that
are washed away by rain.
The addition of organic matter can help give
plants an additional boost of nutrients by
improving the nutrient and water holding
capacity of the soil.
Clay Soil
Clay Soil is a heavy soil type that benefits from high
nutrients. Clay soils remain wet and cold in winter and
dry out in summer.
These soils are made of over 25 percent clay, and
because of the spaces found between clay particles,
clay soils hold a high amount of water.
Because these soils drain slowly and take longer to
warm up in summer, combined with drying out and
cracking in summer, they can often test gardeners.
Silt Soil
Silt Soil is a light and moisture retentive soil type with a
high fertility rating.
As silt soils compromise of medium sized particles they
are well drained and hold moisture well.
As the particles are fine, they can be easily compacted
and are prone to washing away with rain.
By adding organic matter, the silt particles can be bound
into more stable clumps.
Peat Soil
Peat soil is high in organic matter and retains a large
amount of moisture.
This type of soil is very rarely found in a garden and often
imported into a garden to provide an optimum soil base for
planting.
 
Chalk Soil
Chalk soil can be either light or heavy but always highly
alkaline due to the calcium carbonate or lime within its
structure.
As these soils are alkaline they will not support the growth
of ericaceous plants that require acidic soils to grow.
If a chalky soil shows signs of visible white lumps then
they can’t be acidified and gardeners should be resigned
to only choose plants that prefer an alkaline soil.
Loam Soil
Loam soil is a mixture of sand, silt and clay that are
combined to avoid the negative effects of each type.
These soils are fertile, easy to work with and provide good
drainage. Depending on their predominant composition
they can be either sandy or clay loam.
As the soils are a perfect balance of soil particles, they are
considered to be a gardeners best friend, but still benefit
from topping up with additional organic matter.
Soil deposits consist of the soil particles and the void
space between the particles. Soil mass is generally
referred to as three-phase system because it
consists of solid particles, liquid, and gas.