Soil Mechanics

CEC-3120

Prof. Malik Shoeb Ahmad

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Syllabus
Unit 1 Soil Properties and Stress Distribution: Preliminary definitions, phase diagram, terrelationships.
Sieve and hydrometer analyses, Atterberg’s limit. Classification systems – Unified soil and IS soil
classification systems. Compaction of soil – Theory of compaction, laboratory compaction tests.
Field methods and compaction control. Stress Distribution in Soil: Stresses in soil mass due to
surface loading. Boussinesq and Westergaard’s equations for point load. Applications of
Boussinesq equation. Vertical pressure under various uniformly distributed loaded areas.
Newmark’s influence chart. Approximate methods. Malik Shoeb Ahmad
Unit 2 Permeability and Seepage: Soil water, effective and neutral stress. Darcy’s law, factors
affecting permeability of soil. Laboratory determination of permeability of soil. Permeability of
stratified soils. Seepage, quick sand conditions, and liquefaction of soil. Flownet and inverted
filters. Dr. Rehan Saddique
Unit 3 Compressibility and Consolidation: Definition of the terms. Virgin compression curve. Terzaghi’s
one dimensional consolidation theory. Laboratory consolidation test, height of solids and change
in voids ratio methods. Determination of coefficient of consolidation by log of time fitting and
square root of time fitting methods. Consolidation settlement. Malik Shoeb Ahmad
Unit 4 Shear Strength of Soil: State of stress at a point, Mohr’s stress circle. Mohr-Coulomb failure
envelops. Shear strength of soil, Direct, Triaxial, Unconfined and Vane shear tests, principles of
drained and undrained tests. Stress path. Dr. Rehan Saddique
Text Books and/or Reference Materials
1. Gopal Ranjan and A.S.R.Rao, “Basic and Applied Soil Mechanics”, New Age International (P) Ltd,
New Delhi.
2. Alam Singh, “Soil Engineering in Theory and Practice”, Asia Publishing House, New Delhi.
3. V.N.S.Murty, “Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering”, Sai Kripa Technical Consultants,
Banglore.
4. Som and Das, “Theory and Practice of Foundation Design”, PHI, Delhi, India.
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 Introduction about Soil
The term "soil" can have different meanings, depending upon the field in
which it is considered.
To a geologist, it is the material in the relative thin zone of the Earth's surface
within which roots occur. The rest of the crust is grouped under the term
"rock".
To a pedologist, it is the substance existing on the surface, which supports
plant life.
To an engineer, it is a material that can be:
built on: foundations of buildings, bridges
built in: basements, culverts, tunnels
built with: embankments, roads, dams
supported: retaining walls

Soil Mechanics is a discipline of Civil Engineering involving the study of soil,

its behaviour and application as an engineering material.
Soil Mechanics is the application of laws of mechanics and hydraulics to
engineering problems dealing with sediments and other unconsolidated
accumulations of solid particles, which are produced by the mechanical
and chemical disintegration of rocks, regardless of whether or not they
contain an admixture of organic constituents.
Engineers are concerned with soil's mechanical properties such as
permeability, stiffness, and strength. These depend primarily on the nature
of the soil grains, the stress, the water content and unit weight.

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 Formation of Soil
In the Earth's surface, rocks extend upto as much as 20 km depth. The major rock
types are categorized as igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Igneous rocks: formed from crystalline bodies of cooled magma.

Sedimentary rocks: formed from layers of cemented sediments.

Metamorphic rocks: formed by the alteration of existing rocks due to heat from
igneous intrusions or pressure due to crustal movement.
Soils are formed from materials that have resulted from the disintegration of rocks
by various processes of physical and chemical weathering. The nature and
structure of a given soil depends on the processes and conditions that formed it:
Breakdown of parent rock: weathering, decomposition, erosion.

Transportation to site of final deposition: gravity, flowing water, ice, wind.

Environment of final deposition: flood plain, river terrace, glacial moraine,

lacustrine or marine.

Subsequent conditions of loading and drainage: little or no surcharge, heavy

surcharge due to ice or overlying deposits, change from saline to freshwater,
leaching, contamination.
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All soils originate, directly or indirectly, from different rock types.

Formation of Soil (Contd)

Physical weathering reduces the size of the parent rock material, without any
change in the original composition of the parent rock. Physical or mechanical
processes taking place on the earth's surface include the actions of water,
frost, temperature changes, wind and ice. They cause disintegration and the
products are mainly coarse soils.
Chemical weathering not only breaks up the material into smaller particles
but alters the nature of the original parent rock itself. The main processes
responsible are hydration, oxidation, and carbonation. New compounds are
formed due to the chemical alterations.
Rain water that comes in contact with the rock surface reacts to form
hydrated oxides, carbonates and sulphates. If there is a volume increase, the
disintegration continues. Due to leaching, water-soluble materials are washed
away and rocks lose their cementing properties.
Chemical weathering occurs in wet and warm conditions and consists of
degradation by decomposition and/or alteration. The results of chemical
weathering are generally fine soils with altered mineral grains.

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 Soil Type
Soils as they are found in different regions can be classified into two broad
categories:
(1) Residual soils
(2) Transported soils
Residual Soils
Residual soils are found at the same location where they have been formed.
Generally, the depth of residual soils varies from 5 to 20 m.
Chemical weathering rate is greater in warm, humid regions than in cold, dry
regions causing a faster breakdown of rocks. Accumulation of residual soils
takes place as the rate of rock decomposition exceeds the rate of erosion or
transportation of the weathered material. In humid regions, the presence of
surface vegetation reduces the possibility of soil transportation.
As leaching action due to percolating surface water decreases with depth,
there is a corresponding decrease in the degree of chemical weathering from
the ground surface downwards. This results in a gradual reduction of residual
soil formation with depth, until unaltered rock is found.
Residual soils comprise of a wide range of particle sizes, shapes and
composition.
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Soil Type (Contd)

Transported Soils
Weathered rock materials can be moved from their original site to new
locations by one or more of the transportation agencies to form transported
soils. Transported soils are classified based on the mode of transportation
and the final deposition environment.
(a) Soils that are carried and deposited by rivers are called alluvial deposits.
(b) Soils that are deposited by flowing water or surface runoff while entering
a lake are called lacustrine deposits. Atlernate layers are formed in different
seasons depending on flow rate.
(c) If the deposits are made by rivers in sea water, they are called marine
deposits. Marine deposits contain both particulate material brought from
the shore as well as organic remnants of marine life forms.
(d) Melting of a glacier causes the deposition of all the materials scoured by
it leading to formation of glacial deposits.
(e) Soil particles carried by wind and subsequently deposited are known
as aeolian deposits.

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Phase Relationship
Soil is not a coherent solid material like steel and concrete, but is a
particulate material. Soils, as they exist in nature, consist of solid particles
(mineral grains, rock fragments) with water and air in the voids between the
particles. The water and air contents are readily changed by changes in
ambient conditions and location.
As the relative proportions of the three phases vary in any soil deposit, it is
useful to consider a soil model which will represent these phases distinctly
and properly quantify the amount of each phase. A schematic diagram of the
three-phase system is shown in terms of weight and volume symbols
respectively for soil solids, water, and air. The weight of air can be neglected.
The soil model is given dimensional values for the solid, water and air
components.
Total volume, V = Vs + Vv

Phase Relationship (Contd)

Soils can be partially saturated (with both air and water present), or be fully
saturated (no air content) or be perfectly dry (no water content).

In a saturated soil or a dry soil, the three-phase system thus reduces to two
phases only, as shown.

For the purpose of engineering analysis and design, it is necessary to express

relations between the weights and the volumes of the three phases.
The various relations can be grouped into:
Volume relations
Weight relations
Inter-relations

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Volume Relationship
As the amounts of both water and air are variable, the volume of solids is taken as the
reference quantity. Thus, several relational volumetric quantities may be defined. The
following are the basic volume relations:

1. Void ratio (e) is the ratio of the volume of voids (Vv) to the volume of soil solids
(Vs), and is expressed as a decimal.

2. Porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume of soil (V ),
and is expressed as a percentage.

Void ratio and porosity are inter-related to each other as follows:

and

3. The volume of water (Vw) in a soil can vary between zero (i.e. a dry soil) and
the volume of voids. This can be expressed as the degree of saturation (S) in
percentage.
For a dry soil, S = 0%, and for a fully saturated soil, S = 100%.

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4. Air content (ac) is the ratio of the volume of air (Va) to the volume of voids.

5. Percentage air voids (na) is the ratio of the volume of air to the total volume.

Density Relationship
Density is a measure of the quantity of mass in a unit volume of material.
Unit weight is a measure of the weight of a unit volume of material. Both can
be used interchangeably. The units of density are ton/m³, kg/m³ or g/cm³.
The following are the basic weight relations:
1. The ratio of the mass of water present to the mass of solid particles is
called the water content (w), or sometimes the moisture content. Its value is
0% for dry soil and its magnitude can exceed 100%.
2. The mass of solid particles is usually expressed in terms of
their particle unit weight or specific gravity (Gs) of the soil grain solids .

where = Unit weight of water

For most inorganic soils, the value of Gs lies between 2.60 and 2.80. The presence
of organic material reduces the value of Gs.
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3. Dry unit weight is a measure of the amount of solid particles per unit volume.

4. Bulk unit weight is a measure of the amount of solid particles plus water
per unit volume.

5. Saturated unit weight is equal to the bulk density when the total voids is
filled up with water.
6. Buoyant unit weight or submerged unit weight is the effective mass per unit
volume when the soil is submerged below standing water or below the ground water
table.

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Some physical state properties are calculated following the practical measurement of
others. For example, dry unit weight can be determined from bulk unit weight and
water content. The following are some inter-relations:

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Example 1: A soil has void ratio = 0.72, moisture content = 12% and Gs= 2.72.
Determine its
(a) Dry unit weight
(b) Moist unit weight, and the
(c) Amount of water to be added per m3 to make it saturated.
Example 2: The dry density of a sand with porosity of 0.387 is 1600 kg/m3. Find the
void ratio of the soil and the specific gravity of the soil solids.

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Consistency of Soil
The consistency of a fine-grained soil refers to its firmness, and it varies with
the water content of the soil.
A gradual increase in water content causes the soil to change
from solid to semi-solid to plastic to liquid states. The water contents at
which the consistency changes from one state to the other are
called consistency limits (or Atterberg limits).
The three limits are known as the shrinkage limit (WS), plastic limit (WP), and
liquid limit (WL) as shown. The values of these limits can be obtained from
laboratory tests.
Two of these are utilised in the classification of fine soils:
Liquid limit (WL) - change of consistency from plastic to liquid state
Plastic limit (WP) - change of consistency from brittle/crumbly to plastic state
The difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit is known as
the plasticity index (IP), and it is in this range of water content that the soil
has a plastic consistency. The consistency of most soils in the field will be
plastic or semi-solid.

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Classification of Soil
It is necessary to adopt a formal system of soil description and classification in
order to describe the various materials found in ground investigation. Such a
system must be meaningful and concise in an engineering context, so that
engineers will be able to understand and interpret.
It is important to distinguish between description and classification:
Description of soil is a statement that describes the physical nature and state
of the soil. It can be a description of a sample, or a soil in situ. It is arrived at
by using visual examination, simple tests, observation of site conditions,
geological history, etc.
Classification of soil is the separation of soil into classes or groups each having
similar characteristics and potentially similar behaviour. A classification for
engineering purposes should be based mainly on mechanical properties:
permeability, stiffness, strength. The class to which a soil belongs can be used
in its description.
The aim of a classification system is to establish a set of conditions which will
allow useful comparisons to be made between different soils. The system
must be simple. The relevant criteria for classifying soils are the size
distribution of particles and the plasticity of the soil.
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Grain Size Distribution or Particle Size Distribution of Soil
For measuring the distribution of particle sizes in a soil sample, it is necessary
to conduct different particle-size tests.
Wet sieving is carried out for separating fine grains from coarse grains by
washing the soil specimen on a 75 micron sieve mesh.
Dry sieve analysis is carried out on particles coarser than 75 micron. Samples
(with fines removed) are dried and shaken through a set of sieves of
descending size. The weight retained in each sieve is measured. The
cumulative percentage quantities finer than the sieve sizes (passing each given
sieve size) are then determined.
The resulting data is presented as a distribution curve with grain size along x-
axis (log scale) and percentage passing along y-axis (arithmetic scale).

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Grain Size Distribution or Particle Size Distribution of Soil (Contd)

Sedimentation analysis is used only for the soil fraction finer than 75
microns. Soil particles are allowed to settle from a suspension. The
decreasing density of the suspension is measured at various time intervals.
The procedure is based on the principle that in a suspension, the terminal
velocity of a spherical particle is governed by the diameter of the particle
and the properties of the suspension.
In this method, the soil is placed as a suspension in a jar filled with distilled
water to which a deflocculating agent is added. The soil particles are then
allowed to settle down. The concentration of particles remaining in the
suspension at a particular level can be determined by using a hydrometer.
Specific gravity readings of the solution at that same level at different time
intervals provide information about the size of particles that have settled
down and the mass of soil remaining in solution.
The results are then plotted between % finer (passing) and log size.

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Grain Size Distribution Curve
The size distribution curves, as obtained from coarse and fine grained
portions, can be combined to form one complete grain-size distribution
curve (also known as grading curve). A typical grading curve is shown.

From the complete grain-size distribution curve, useful information can be

obtained such as:
1. Grading characteristics, which indicate the uniformity and range in grain-
size distribution.

2. Percentages (or fractions) of gravel, sand, silt and clay-size.

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A grading curve is a useful aid to soil description. The geometric properties of a grading
curve are called grading characteristics.

To obtain the grading characteristics, three points are located first on the grading curve.

D60 = size at 60% finer by weight

D30 = size at 30% finer by weight
D10 = size at 10% finer by weight
The grading characteristics are then determined as follows:
1. Effective size = D10
2. Uniformity coefficient,
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 3. Curvature coefficient,

Both Cu and Cc will be 1 for a single-sized soil.

Cu > 5 indicates a well-graded soil, i.e. a soil which has a distribution of particles over a
wide size range.

Cc between 1 and 3 also indicates a well-graded soil.

Cu < 3 indicates a uniform soil, i.e. a soil which has a very narrow particle size range.

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Indian Standard Soil Classification System

Classification Based on Grain Size
The range of particle sizes encountered in soils is very large: from boulders
with dimension of over 300 mm down to clay particles that are less than
0.002 mm. Some clays contain particles less than 0.001 mm in size which
behave as colloids, i.e. do not settle in water.
In the Indian Standard Soil Classification System (ISSCS), soils are classified
into groups according to size, and the groups are further divided into
coarse, medium and fine sub-groups.
Gravel, sand, silt, and clay are represented by group symbols G, S, M, and
C respectively.
Physical weathering produces very coarse and coarse soils. Chemical
weathering produce generally fine soils.

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 The grain-size range is used as the basis for grouping soil particles
into boulder, cobble, gravel, sand, silt or clay.

Very coarse soils Boulder size > 300 mm

Cobble size 80 - 300 mm

Coarse soils Gravel size Coarse 20 - 80 mm

(G) Fine 4.75 - 20 mm

Sand size (S) Coarse 2 - 4.75 mm

Medium 0.425 - 2 mm

Fine 0.075 - 0.425 mm

Fine soils Silt size (M) 0.002 - 0.075 mm

Clay size (C) < 0.002 mm

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Coarse-grained soils are those for which more than 50% of the soil material by weight has
particle sizes greater than
0.075 mm. They are basically divided into either gravels (G) or sands (S).
According to gradation, they are further grouped as well-graded (W) or poorly graded (P).
If fine soils are present, they are grouped as containing silt fines (M) or as containing clay
fines (C).
For example, the combined symbol SW refers to well-graded sand with no fines.
Both the position and the shape of the grading curve for a soil can aid in establishing its
identity and description. Some typical grading curves are shown.

Curve A - a poorly-graded medium SAND

Curve B - a well-graded GRAVEL-SAND (i.e. having equal amounts of gravel and sand)
Curve C - a gap-graded COBBLES-SAND
Curve D - a sandy SILT
Curve E - a silty CLAY (i.e. having little amount of sand)
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Fine-grained soils are those for which more than 50% of the material has particle
sizes less than 0.075 mm. Clay particles have a flaky shape to which water
adheres, thus imparting the property of plasticity.
A plasticity chart , based on the values of liquid limit (WL) and plasticity index (IP),
is provided in ISSCS to aid classification. The 'A' line in this chart is expressed
as IP = 0.73 (WL - 20).

The 'A' line and vertical lines at WL equal to 35% and 50% separate the soils
into various classes.
For example, the combined symbol CH refers to clay of high plasticity.

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Depending on the point in the chart, fine soils are divided into clays
(C), silts (M), or organic soils (O). The organic content is expressed as a
percentage of the mass of organic matter in a given mass of soil to the mass
of the dry soil solids. Three divisions of plasticity are also defined as follows.

Low plasticity WL< 35%

Intermediate plasticity 35% < WL< 50%

High plasticity WL> 50%

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Soil classification using group symbols is as follows:
Group Symbol Classification

Coarse soils
GW Well-graded GRAVEL
GP Poorly-graded GRAVEL
GM Silty GRAVEL
GC Clayey GRAVEL

SW Well-graded SAND
SP Poorly-graded SAND
SM Silty SAND
SC Clayey SAND

Fine soils
ML SILT of low plasticity
MI SILT of intermediate plasticity

MH SILT of high plasticity

CL CLAY of low plasticity

CI CLAY of intermediate plasticity

CH CLAY of high plasticity

OL Organic soil of low plasticity

OI Organic soil of intermediate plasticity

OH Organic soil of high plasticity

Pt Peat 29

Activity
"Clayey soils" necessarily do not consist of 100% clay size particles. The
proportion of clay mineral flakes (< 0.002 mm size) in a fine soil increases its
tendency to swell and shrink with changes in water content. This is called
the activity of the clayey soil, and it represents the degree of plasticity
related to the clay content.
Activity = (PIasticity index) /(% clay particles by weight)
Classification as per activity is:

Activity Classification

< 0.75 Inactive

0.75 - 1.25 Normal

> 1.25 Active

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Liquidity Index
In fine soils, especially with clay size content, the existing state is dependent on the
current water content (w) with respect to the consistency limits (or Atterberg limits).
The liquidity index (LI) provides a quantitative measure of the present state.
Liquidity index Classification
Classification as per liquidity index is:

>1 Liquid

0.75 - 1.00 Very soft

0.50 - 0.75 Soft

0.25 - 0. 50 Medium stiff

0 - 0.25 Stiff

<0 Semi-solid
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Visual Classification
Soils possess a number of physical characteristics which can be used as aids to
identification in the field. A handful of soil rubbed through the fingers can yield
the following:
SAND (and coarser) particles are visible to the naked eye.

SILT particles become dusty when dry and are easily brushed off hands.

CLAY particles are sticky when wet and hard when dry, and have to be scraped or
washed off hands.

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Example
The following test results were obtained for a fine-grained soil:
WL= 48% ; WP = 26%
Clay content = 55%
Silt content = 35%
Sand content = 10%
In situ moisture content = 39% = w
Classify the soil, and determine its activity and liquidity index

Solution:
Plasticity index, IP = WL– WP = 48 – 26 = 22%
Liquid limit lies between 35% and 50%.
According to the Plasticity Chart, the soil is classified as CI, i.e. clay of
intermediate plasticity.

Liquidity index , = = 0.59

The clay is of normal activity and is of soft consistency.

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Compaction of Soil
Compaction is the application of mechanical energy to a soil so as to rearrange its
particles and reduce the void ratio.
It is applied to improve the properties of an existing soil or in the process of
placing fill such as in the construction of embankments, road bases, runways,
earth dams, and reinforced earth walls. Compaction is also used to prepare a level
surface during construction of buildings. There is usually no change in the water
content and in the size of the individual soil particles.
The objectives of compaction are:
To increase soil shear strength and therefore its bearing capacity.
To reduce subsequent settlement under working loads.
To reduce soil permeability making it more difficult for water to flow through.

Laboratory Compaction
The variation in compaction with water content and compactive effort is first
determined in the laboratory. There are several tests with standard procedures
such as:
Indian Standard Light Compaction Test (similar to Standard Proctor Test)
Indian Standard Heavy Compaction Test (similar to Modified Proctor Test)

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Indian Standard Light Compaction Test
Soil is compacted into a 1000 cm3 mould in 3 equal layers, each layer receiving 25
blows of a 2.6 kg rammer dropped from a height of 310 mm above the soil. The
compaction is repeated at various moisture contents.

Indian Standard Heavy Compaction Test

It was found that the Light Compaction Test (Standard Test) could not reproduce
the densities measured in the field under heavier loading conditions, and this led
to the development of the Heavy Compaction Test (Modified Test). The equipment
and procedure are essentially the same as that used for the Standard Test except
that the soil is compacted in 5 layers, each layer also receiving 25 blows. The same
mould is also used. To provide the increased compactive effort, a heavier rammer
of 4.9 kg and a greater drop height of 450 mm are used.

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To assess the degree of compaction, it is necessary to use the dry unit weight, which
is an indicator of compactness of solid soil particles in a given volume. The
laboratory testing is meant to establish the maximum dry density that can be
attained for a given soil with a standard amount of compactive effort.

In the test, the dry density cannot be determined directly, and as such the bulk
density and the moisture content are obtained first to calculate the dry density
as , where = bulk density, and w = water content.
A series of samples of the soil are compacted at different water contents, and a
curve is drawn with axes of dry density and water content. The resulting plot usually
has a distinct peak as shown. Such inverted “V” curves are obtained for cohesive
soils (or soils with fines), and are known as compaction curves.

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Dry density can be related to water content and degree of saturation (S) as

Thus, it can be visualized that an increase of dry density means a decrease of voids ratio and a
more compact soil.

Similarly, dry density can be related to percentage air voids (na) as

The relation between moisture content and dry unit weight for a saturated soil is the zero
air-voids line. It is not feasible to expel air completely by compaction, no matter how much
compactive effort is used and in whatever manner.
Effect of Increasing Water Content
As water is added to a soil at low moisture contents, it becomes easier for the particles to
move past one another during the application of compacting force. The particles come
closer, the voids are reduced and this causes the dry density to increase. As the water
content increases, the soil particles develop larger water films around them.
This increase in dry density continues till a stage is reached where water starts occupying
the space that could have been occupied by the soil grains. Thus the water at this stage
hinders the closer packing of grains and reduces the dry unit weight. The maximum dry
density (MDD) occurs at an optimum water content (OMC), and their values can be
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obtained from the plot.

Effect of Increasing Compactive Effort

The effect of increasing compactive effort is shown. Different curves are obtained for
different compactive efforts. A greater compactive effort reduces the optimum
moisture content and increases the maximum dry density.

An increase in compactive effort produces a very large increase in dry density for soil
when it is compacted at water contents drier than the optimum moisture content.It
should be noted that for moisture contents greater than the optimum, the use of
heavier compaction effort will have only a small effect on increasing dry unit weights.
It can be seen that the compaction curve is not a unique soil characteristic. It depends
on the compaction effort. For this reason, it is important to specify the compaction
procedure (light or heavy) when giving values of MDD and OMC.

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 For cohesionless soils (or soils without any fines), the standard compaction tests are
difficult to perform. For compaction, application of vibrations is the most effective
method. Watering is another method. The seepage force of water percolating through
a cohesionless soil makes the soil grains occupy a more stable position. However a
large quantity of water is required in this method. To achieve maximum dry density,
they can be compacted either in a dry state or in a saturated state.

For these soil types, it is usual to specify a magnitude of relative density

(ID) that must be achieved. If e is the current void ratio or gd is the current dry
density, the relative density is usually defined in percentage as

or

where emax and emin are the maximum and minimum void ratios that can be
determined from standard tests in the laboratory, and gdmin and gdmax are the
respective minimum and maximum dry densities

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Field Compaction
To control soil properties in the field during earthwork construction, it is usual to specify
the degree of compaction (also known as the relative compaction). This specification is
usually that a certain percentage of the maximum dry density, as found from a laboratory
test (Light or Heavy Compaction), must be achieved. For example, it could be specified
that field dry densities must be greater than 95% of the maximum dry density (MDD) as
determined from a laboratory test. Target values for the range of water content near the
optimum moisture content (OMC) to be adopted at the site can then be decided, as
shown in the figure.

Relative Compaction
In end-product specifications, the required field dry density is specified as a percentage of
the laboratory maximum dry density, usually 90% to 95%. The target parameters are
specified based on laboratory test results.

The field water content working range is usually within ± 2% of the laboratory
optimum moisture content.
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Field Compaction Equipment
There is a wide range of compaction equipment. The compaction achieved will
depend on the thickness of lift (or layer), the type of roller, the no. of passes of
the roller, and the intensity of pressure on the soil. The selection of equipment
depends on the soil type as indicated.

Equipment Most suitable soils Least suitable soils

Smooth steel Well-graded sand-gravel, Uniform sands, silty

drum rollers (static or crushed rock, asphalt sands, soft clays
vibratory)

Pneumatic tyred rollers Most coarse and fine soils Very soft clays

Sheepsfoot rollers Fine grained soils, sands and Uniform gravels, very
gravels with > 20% fines coarse soils

Grid rollers Weathered rock, well-graded Uniform materials, silty

coarse soils clays, clays

Vibrating plates Coarse soils with 4 to 8% fines

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Applications of Boussinesq Equation
1. Vertical Stress due to Point Load in Vertical Plane
2. Vertical Stress due to Point Load in Horizontal Plane
3. Isobar Diagram

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