CE 240

Soil Mechanics & Foundations

Lecture 2.2

Weight-Volume Relationships
(Das, Ch. 3)
 Outline of this Lecture
1.Density, Unit weight, and
Specific gravity (Gs)
2.Phases in soil (a porous
medium)
3.Three phase diagram
4.Weight-volume relationships
For a general discussion we have
Weight W
W = Mg
density ρ
M
ρ=
V
Unit weight γ
W
γ=
V
So that
W Mg
γ= = = ρg
V V
Unit weight: γ = ρg
Unit weight is the product of density and
gravity acceleration. It is the gravitational
force caused by the mass of material
within a unit volume (density) in the unit of
Newtons per cubic meter in SI system.
Specific Gravity (Gs)
Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of
unit weight (or density) of a given material
to the unit weight (or density) of water since

γ ρg ρ
Gs = = =
γ w ρw g ρw
 Specific Gravity
• Expected Value for Gs

Type of Soil Gs

Sand 2.65 - 2.67

Silty sand 2.67 – 2.70

Inorganic clay 2.70 – 2.80

Soils with mica or iron 2.75 – 3.00

Organic soils < 2.00

Three Phases of Soils

Naturally occurred soils always consist of

solid particles, water, and air, so that soil
has three phases: solid, liquid and gas.
Soil model

Solid Particles

Volume

Voids (air or water)

 Three Phase Diagram

Air

Water

Solid

Mineral Skeleton Idealization:

Three Phase Diagram
Fully Saturated Soils (Two phase)

Water

Solid

Mineral Skeleton Fully Saturated

Dry Soils (Two phase) [Oven Dried]

Air

Solid

Mineral Skeleton Dry Soil

 Three Phase Diagram

Wa~0 Air Va
Vv

Vw
Ww Water
WT
VT

Ws Solid Vs

Weight Volume
 Phase relationship: the phase diagram

Wa~0 Air Va
Vv

Vw
Ww Water
WT
VT

Ws Solid Vs

Wt: total weight Vt: total volume

Ws: weight of solid Vs: volume of solid
Ww: weight of water Vw: volume of water
Wa: weight of air = 0 Vv: volume of the void
 Wa~0 Air Va
Vv

Vw
Ww Water
WT
VT

Ws Solid Vs

Vt = Vs + Vv = Vs + Vw + Va;
It is convenient to assume the volume of the
solid phase is unity (1) without lose generality.

Mt = Ms + Mw; and
Wt = Ws + Ww, since W=Mg
Void ratio: e = Vv/Vs; Porosity n = Vv/Vt

Vv Vv Vv / Vt n
e= = = =
Vs Vt − Vv 1 − Vv / Vt 1 − n
Vv Vv Vv / Vs e
n= = = =
Vt Vs + Vv 1 + Vv / Vs 1 + e

Apparently, for the same material we always

have e > n. For example, when the porosity is
0.5 (50%), the void ratio is 1.0 already.
 Wa~0 Air Va
Vv

Vw
Ww Water
WT
VT

Ws Solid Vs

Degree of saturation: S =Vw/Vv x 100%

Saturation is measured by the ratio of volume.

Moisture content (Water content): w = Ww/Ws,

Ww – weight of water, Ws – weight of solid
Water content is measured by the ratio of weight.
So that w can be greater than 100%.
 Wa~0 Air Va
Vv

Vw
Ww Water
WT
VT

Ws Solid Vs

Degree of saturation: S =Vw/Vv x 100%

Saturation is measured by the ratio of volume.
Moisture content: w = Ww/Ws, Ww=Vwγw
Ww – weight of water, Ws – weight of solid
Water content is measured by the ratio of weight.
Definition of 3 types of unit weight
Total unit weight (moisture unit weight, wet unit
weight) γ :
Wt Ws + Ww
γ= =
Vt Vt
Dry unit weight γd :
Ws
γ d = , ∵Vt > Vs ∴γ d < γ s
Vt

Saturated unit weight (when saturation S=1) γsat :

Wt
γ sat =
Vt
Moisture unit weight γ:

Wt Ws + Ww
γ= =
Vt Vt
Solid unit weight γs
Ws
γs =
Vs
dry unit weight γd
Ws
γ d = , ∵Vt > Vs ∴γ d < γ s
Vt
Since
Ws Wt − Ww Wt Ww WwWs
γd = = = − =γ − = γ − wγ d
Vt Vt Vt Vt WsVt
γ
so that γ d + wγ d = γ and γd =
1+ w
 From the original form of the dry unit weight
γ
γd =
1+ w
By taking the Taylor expansion and truncated at the
first order term:
γ
γd = = γ (1 − w + w2 − w3 + w4 − w5 + ...) ≈ γ (1 − w)
1+ w
Because the moisture content w is a number always
smaller than one, i.e., w<1.

Thus, the dry unit weight γd can be approximated as:

γ d = (1 − w)γ
Relationships among S, e, w, and Gs
Vw
S = , then Vw = SVv = Se, given Vs = 1
Vv
A simple way to get Das, Equation 3.18

Ww γ wVw γ weS eS
w= = = = , ∵Vs = 1, ∴Vv = 1
Ws γ sVs Gsγ w Gs
thus Se = wGs
When the soil is 100% saturated (S=1)
we have, Equation 3.20
e = wGs
Relationships among γ, n, w, and Gs
Ws = γ sVs = Gsγ w (1 − n), given Vs = 1 − n
Ww = wWs = wGsγ w (1 − n)
So that the dry unit weight γd is
Ws Gsγ w (1 − n)
γd = = = Gsγ w (1 − n)
Vt 1− n + n
And the moist unit weight γ is
Wt Ws + Ww Gsγ w (1 − n) + wGsγ w (1 − n)
γ= = =
Vt Vt 1
= (1 + w)Gsγ w (1 − n) = Gsγ w (1 − n)(1 + w)
 Relationships among γ, n, w, and Gs (cont.)

When S=1 (fully saturated soil)

Ws + Ww Gsγ w (1 − n) + nγ w
γ sat = = = [Gs (1 − n) + n]γ w
Vt 1

the moisture content w when S=1 can be expressed as

Ww nγ w n e
w= = = =
Ws Gsγ w (1 − n) Gs (1 − n) Gs
recall Se = wGs , thus e = wGs ∵S =1
 Weight-Volume Relationships (Table 3.1)

The 3rd column is a special case of the 1st column when S = 1.

 Example:
• Determine moisture content, void ratio,
porosity and degree of saturation of a soil
core sample. Also determine the dry unit
weight, γd
Data:
• Weight of soil sample = 1013g
• Vol. of soil sample = 585.0cm3
• Specific Gravity, Gs = 2.65
• Dry weight of soil = 904.0g
 Example

134.9cm3 Wa~0
Air
γW =1.00
243.9cm3
Water 109.0g
109.0cm3
585.0cm3 1013.0g

γs =2.65
341.1cm3 Solid 904.0g

Volumes Weights
 Results
• From the three phase diagram we can find:

Ww 109 ( g )
– Moisture content, w w= = × 100 = 12.1%
Ws 904 ( g )
Vv 243.9cm3
– Void ratio, e e= = 3
= 0.715
Vs 341.1cm
Vv 243.9 (cm3 )
n= = × 100 = 41.7%
– Porosity, n VT 585.0 (cm 3 )

Vw 109
– Degree of saturation, S S = = × 100 = 44 . 7 %
Vv 243 . 9
W s 904 g
γd = = = 1 .55
– Dry unit weight, γd VT 585 cm 3
Measurement of the submerged density (or unit weight)
 Now consider the submerged case, i.e., the two-
phase system has been put into the water:

M w − buoyancy = eρ w − eρ w = 0 and
M s − buoyancy = Gs ρ w − 1ρ w = (Gs − 1) ρ w

Thus, the submerged density is

M t′ M w + M s 0 + (Gs − 1) ρ w (Gs − 1) ρ w
ρ submerg = ρ′ = = = =
Vt Vt 1+ e 1+ e
 In a two-phase system, i.e., if S=100%, and we let
Vs=1, we then have:
Vt = 1 + e , since Vw = Vv = e

Consider the not-submerged case, i.e., the two-

phase system has been just put in the air:

M w = ρ wVw = eρ w and
M s = ρ sVs = Gs ρ wVs = Gs ρ w
Thus, the saturated density is
M w + M s eρ w + Gs ρ w ρ w (e + Gs )
ρ sat = = =
Vt 1+ e 1+ e
and the dry density is
M s Gs ρ w
ρd = =
Vt 1+ e
Recall that the saturated density is

M w + M s ρ w ( e + Gs )
ρ sat = =
Vt 1+ e

If we do the following
( e + Gs ) ρ w (e + Gs ) ρ w − (1 + e) ρ w
ρ sat − ρ w = − ρw =
1+ e 1+ e
(e + Gs − 1 − e) ρ w (Gs − 1) ρ w
= = = ρ′
1+ e 1+ e
i.e., ρ ′ = ρ sat − ρ w
If you have got the submerged density ρ’ and
sure you know water density ρw
M w + M s ρ w ( e + Gs )
ρ sat = =
Vt 1+ e
You can calculate the saturated density ρsat.If you
know ρw then you can calculate the void ratio e. if
you think you can know e from the dry density ρd
Gs ρ w
ρd =
1+ e
You can also calculate the submerged density ρ’
when the sample is not 100% saturated.
(Gs − 1) ρ w + e( S − 1)
ρ′ =
1+ e
Reading Assignment:
Das, Ch. 3
Homework:
3.4, 3.5