Soil

Qassim University
Unaizah College of Engineering

Civil Engineering Department

CE 285
Introduction to Geotechnical
Engineering
Dr. Waleed S. Tahawy

Soil
Soil
Soil is the uncemented aggregate of mineral grains and

decayed organic particles along with liquid and gas

occupy the empty spaces between the solid particles .

Soil
Soil may be classified according to the method of
formation of the deposit as:

Soil

Residual

Transported

Soil
Soil Classification
Residual Soil: is one which was formed in this present

location through weathering of the parent (or bed) rock.

These soils are found in tropical areas as in Africa.
Transported Soil: Soil that was formed from rock

weathering of the parent (bed) rock at one site and

then transported to another site.
Usually found in river deltas, close to bays and oceans,

and submerged valleys.

Soil
Residual Soil
Residual Soil deposits vary from a few centimeters to

100 m or more in depth depending on geological age

and weathering conditions.
These soils are formed by weathering and leaching

from the top downward of the water-soluble material.

As leaching action naturally diminishes with depth, the

residual soil will be less and less altered until the

parent rock is reached.

Soil
If a vertical cut (Soil Profile) is made in a residual soil, a

horizontal arrangement of layers may be seen:

Soil
Residual Soil

Soil
Soil Profile

Soil
Soil formation

Soil
Soil formation

Soil
Process of soil formation

Soil
Residual Soil
Factors influencing the produced soil type
1- Climate 2- Topography 3- Time
4- Geologic History
5- Rock type (mineralogy, grain size, hardness, solubility,
specific gravity,.)

Characteristics of residual soil

1- Presence of minerals that have weathered from the parent
rock.
2- Soil particles tend to be subangular to angular as compared
to rounded particles of the Transported Soil deposits.
3- Large angular fragments of rock tend to be found

dispersed throughout any mass of soil.

Soil
Residual Soil

Soil
Transported Soil
- Soil that was formed at one site and then transported to

its present site.

- Agents of transportation are:

1- Water >>>> Alluvium or Alluvial deposits.

2- Glaciers >>>> Till or Glacial deposits.
3- Wind
>>>> Dunes and loess deposits.
4- Gravity >>>> Colluvium deposits.

Soil
Transported Soil
1- Alluvial (running water) deposits
Agent of transport is Water.
Once water fell on the land as precipitation, it follows

different paths on the land (known as water runoff)

causing: Erosion and Transportation.
The effects of Erosion and Transportation depend on

the velocity of the moving water on the land.

Soil
Transported Soil
1- Alluvial (running water) deposits
Erosion: is caused by friction of the flowing water,

including the effects of any suspended material, on the

flow channel.
The eroded materials contain fragments with different

sizes and different weights.

With the slow movement of water runoff, the particles
start to precipitate on the land, resulting in what is
known as Alluvium Deposits. With the continuous
deposition, the gradient of the runoff decreases.
With more abrasion of particles and less

Soil
Transported Soil
1- Alluvial (running water) deposits
- Types of Alluvial) Deposits:
1- Marine deposits: It is obtained when the sediments
precipitate through salt water.
2- Deltas deposits: It is obtained when the sediments
precipitate at the mouths of streams into bays, oceans,
or lakes.
3- Fans deposits: It is obtained when sediments

precipitate in the arid areas where mountain stream

runoff flows

Soil
Transported Soil
Deltas deposits

Soil
Transported Soil
Fans deposits

Soil
Transported Soil
Characteristics of Alluvial deposits:
- Relatively Fine-grained, with silt and clay sizes are

predominant.
- Loose and highly compressible.
- Organic materials are

sometimes present and also

traces of fine to medium-coarse sand.

- Thickness of alluvium deposits are 75 to 150 m.

Soil
- Thickness of alluvium deposits are 75 to 150 m.

Soil
Transported Soil
2- Glacial deposits
Agent of transport is Glacial Ice.
The great depths of ice and the resulting enormous pressure

on the underlying rock (or soil) result in the following actions

of Glacial Ice:
- Scrapping up soil at the interface of ice and soil or rock.
- Pulverizing, Crushing, and Abrading the parent rock into silt,

sand, and gravel soils.

The melting glacial ice form streams that flow away carrying

with it fine sand, silt, and clay materials.

As the glaciers melted, material suspended in the ice

precipitate onto the underlying soil or rock to form Glacial Till.

Soil
Transported Soil
2- Glacial deposits

Soil
Transported Soil
2- Glacial deposits

Soil
Transported Soil
2- Glacial deposits
Characteristics of Till Deposits:
- Containing

all
arrangements.

sizes

of

particles

with

no

obvious

- They range from excellent to poor foundations material.

- Deposits are usually dense and contain considerable sand

and gravel.
- Thickness of Glacial deposits is highly variable.

Soil
Transported Soil
3- Wind (Aeolian) deposits
Agent of transport is Wind:
- Deposits are primarily: Loess and Dune Sands.

- Deposits are believed to have been caused by: Changes in air

density in the vicinity of melting glaciers and flowing outwash

streams causing windborne particles to precipitate.
- Dune sand deposits are found in desert areas such as areas
of California, the Sahara Desert in northern Africa, large areas
of Mideast such as Saudi Arabia.

Soil
Transported Soil
3- Wind (Aeolian) deposits

Soil
Transported Soil
3- Wind (Aeolian) deposits

Soil
Transported Soil
3- Wind (Aeolian) deposits
Characteristics of Loess Deposits:
- Being buff color.

- Low density (often less than 14 kN/m3).

- Low wet strength.
- The ability to stand on vertical cuts.
- Thickness of Loess deposits ranges from few cm to more than

30 m.

Soil
Transported Soil
3- Wind (Aeolian) deposits
Dune Sands Deposits:
- Formed by wind action rolling the sand, which is too large for

air transport, along the ground until an obstruction is met,

whereupon a dune (or mound) forms.
- Later, winds may demolish the dune and redeposit it at a new
location further downward.
Characteristics of Dune Sands:
- Particles tend to be well rounded from abrasion.

Soil
Transported Soil
3- Gravity deposits
They are primarily Talus found at the base of Cliffs.

They may also include deposits resulting from Landslides.

Talus is the weathered rock/soil deposit formed at the base

of cliffs when rock weathering causes the face of the cliff to

loosen and fall away.
This process produces a pile of rock fragments at the cliff

base.

Soil
Transported Soil
3- Gravity deposits
Characteristics of Talus deposits:
- They are loose and porous.

Soil
Transported Soil
3- Gravity deposits

Talus deposits

Soil
Groundwater

Soil
Groundwater
Groundwater: is the water that lies beneath the ground
surface, and is found in one or more soil layers.
The one nearest the surface is the "zone of aeration", where
gaps between soil are filled with both air and water. Below this
layer is the "zone of saturation", where the gaps are filled with
water.
Factors that affect the amount of groundwater:
1- The amount of rainfall in the area.
2- The amount of plants in the area.
3- The soil type and parameters (porosity
permeability).

and

Soil
Groundwater

Soil
Groundwater
Porosity: the percentage of rock or sediment that

consists of voids or openings

Permeability: the capacity of a rock to transmit a fluid
such as water or petroleum through pores and fractures
Porous: a rock that holds much water
Permeable: a rock that allows water to flow easily
through it
Impermeable: a rock that does not allow water to flow
through it easily

Soil
Groundwater
Saturated zone: the subsurface zone in which all rock

openings are filled with water

Water table: the upper surface of the zone of saturation
Unsaturated zone: a subsurface zone in which rock
openings are generally unsaturated and filled partly with
air and partly with water; above the saturated zone

Soil
Groundwater
Groundwater and
the Water cycle
Infiltration
Infiltration capacity
Overland flow
Ground water

recharge
GW flow
GW discharge

Unsaturated
zone

Soil
Groundwater
Water that infiltrates the soil flows downward until it
encounters impermeable rock (shown in gray), and then travels
laterally. The locations where water moves laterally are called
"aquifers".

Soil
Aquifers
Aquifer: a body of saturated rock or sediment through

which water can move easily

good aquifers include sandstone, conglomerate, welljoined limestone, bodies of sand and gravel, and some
fragmental or fractured volcanic rocks such as columnar
basalt.
Unconfined aquifer: a partially filed aquifer exposed to the
land surface and marked by a rising and falling water table.
Confined aquifer: an aquifer completely filled with
pressurized water and separated from the land surface by a
relatively impermeable confining bed, such as shale.