SOIL MECHANICS IA-EECQ 3171

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN CIVIL

ENGINEERING

Dr. George Okwadha

 Seepage
• Seepage is the flow of a fluid usually
water through a soil under a hydraulic
head
• A hydraulic head must exist between two
points for a difference in hydraulic head
to exist
• A hydraulic head is the sum of the
elevation head and pressure head of water
 Flow net
• A flownet is a graphical representation of two-dimensional
steady-state groundwater flow through aquifers.
• Construction of a flownet is often used for solving
groundwater flow problems where the geometry makes
analytical solutions impractical.
• A flow net is composed of a flow line and an equipotential
line
• Flow lines and a equipotential lines are perpendicular to
each other
• Flow lines and equipotential lines are infinite
• A flow line can be demonstrated by a dye dropped on the
saturated soil surface
• The dye will trace a path followed by flowing water
 Flow Nets Cont’
• That is, each drop of water that
goes through the soil follows a
flow line
• An equipotential line is a line
joining points of equal total
head
• Properties of a flow net
1. Flow and equipotential
lines are smooth curves.
2. Flow lines and 4. No two flow or
equipotential lines meet at equipotential lines start from
right angles to each other the same point.
3. No two flow lines cross
each other.
 Flow net cont’
𝑘ℎ𝑁𝑓
• Seepage, 𝑞 = , where Nf is no. of flow lines, Nd is number of
𝑁𝑑
equipotential lines, k is coeff. of permeability and h is head causing
flow

• For example, from the figure above, Nf = 5, Nd = 11

𝑘ℎ𝑁𝑓 𝑘ℎ5
• 𝑞= = . Given k and h, seepage can be computed.
𝑁𝑑 11
 Flow net example

II I
IV III
9
V 1
2 8
3 7
4 5 6
 Solution
𝑘ℎ𝑁𝑓
• 𝑞= , 𝑁𝑓 = 5, 𝑁𝑑 = 9
𝑁𝑑
4.8𝑥10−3 𝑥0.01𝑥 4−1 𝑥5
• Seepage, q = = 8.0𝑥10−3 m/s
9
per unit width
 Effective Stress
• A soil can be visualized as a skeleton of solid
particles enclosing continuous voids which contain
water and/or air
• Stresses encountered in practice are carried by
individual solid particles and water since air is
highly compressible
• These stresses are caused by external loads applied
to the soil and also by self-weight of the soil
 Effective Stress
• The volume of the soil skeleton Soil mass
as a whole can change due to
rearrangement of the soil
particles into new positions with
a corresponding change in forces
acting between them.
• Actual compressibility of the soil
skeleton depends on the Voids space (Air and/or water)
structural arrangement of the soil • Shear stresses can be resisted
particles only by the skeleton of solid
– Saturated soil – water must particles by means of forces
escape from voids developed at the interparticle
– Dry or partially saturated – contacts
Air in the voids is compressed
 Effective Stress
• Normal stress may be resisted by the soil skeleton through an
increase in the interparticle forces
• For a fully saturated soil – water filling the voids will also
withstand normal stress
• The principle of effective stress which applies only to fully
saturated soils (After Karl Terzaghi-1923) therefore has 3 parts
– The total normal stress, (σ) on a plane within the soil is the force
per unit area transmitted in a normal direction across the plane
assuming that the soil is a solid (single-phase) material
– The pore water pressure (or neutral stress), (u) is the pressure of
the water filling the voids space between the solid particles. It is
the same in all directions.
– The effective normal stress (σ’) on the plane is the stress
transmitted through the soil skeleton only
– Therefore, σ’ = σ - u
 Effective Stress
• Fig. 3.1 explains the principle of
effective stress
• When a normal force P is applied to
a soil mass over an area A, it may
be resisted partly by
– interparticles forces and
– the pore water pressure
• Interparticles forces are random
both in magnitude and direction
throughout the soil mass
• At every point of contact on the • The normal and
wavy plane XX, the interparticle tangential components
forces may be split into normal and are N’ and T
tangential components respectively
 Effective Stress
• Then the effective normal stress is interpreted as the
sum of all the components of N’ within the area A,
divided by the area A. That is,
σ 𝑁 ′
𝜎′ =
𝐴

The total normal stress is given by

𝑃
𝜎=
𝐴
• If the point of contact is assumed to between the
particles, the pore water pressure (neutral stress) will act
on the plane over the entire area
 Effective Stress
• Then, for equilibrium in the direction normal to
plane XX
𝑃 = ෍ 𝑁 ′ + 𝑢𝐴

𝑃 σ 𝑁′
= +𝑢
𝐴 𝐴

𝜎 = 𝜎′ + 𝑢
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜎 = total stress
𝜎 ′ = effective stress
𝑢 = 𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
• Note that 𝜎 ′ is the vertical component of forces at solid-
to-solid contact points over a unit cross-sectional area
 Effective Stress
• Considering Fig. (a) at point A
– ⇒ 𝜎 = 𝛾ℎ1 + 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 ℎ2
h1 Unit Wt = 𝛾 – ⇒ 𝑢 = ℎ2 𝛾𝑤
GW – Where 𝛾𝑤 = unit wt. of water
h2 Sat unit Wt = 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 – 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 = saturated unit wt of soil
A
B • But 𝜎 ′ = 𝜎 − 𝑢
• 𝜎 ′ = 𝛾ℎ1 + 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 ℎ2 − ℎ2 𝛾𝑤
• 𝜎 ′ = 𝛾ℎ1 + ℎ2 (𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝛾𝑤 )
F2 F1
x
• 𝜎 ′ = 𝛾ℎ1 + 𝛾 ′ ℎ2
• 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝛾 ′ = effective or
No seepage
submerged unit wt of the soil
(a)
 Effective Stress
h
• Considering Fig. (b) at point A
Water level,
– ⇒ 𝜎 = 𝛾𝑤 ℎ1 + 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 ℎ2
h1 water – ⇒ 𝑢 = (ℎ + ℎ1 +ℎ2 )𝛾𝑤
– Where 𝛾𝑤 = unit wt. of water
– 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 = saturated unit wt of soil
h2 Sat unit Wt = 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡
A • But 𝜎 ′ = 𝜎 − 𝑢
• 𝜎 ′ = 𝛾𝑤 ℎ1 + 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 ℎ2 − (ℎ + ℎ1 +ℎ2 )𝛾𝑤
• 𝜎 ′ = ℎ2 (𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝛾𝑤 ) −ℎ𝛾𝑤
Flow of water • 𝜎 ′ = 𝛾 ′ ℎ2 − ℎγ𝑤
Seepage occurring ℎ
• 𝜎 ′ = ℎ2 (𝛾 ′ − γ )
ℎ2 𝑤
(b)
• 𝜎 ′ = ℎ2 (𝛾 ′ − 𝑖γ𝑤 )
• 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝛾 ′ = effective or submerged
unit wt of the soil
ℎ
• 𝑖= , is hydraulic gradient
ℎ2
 Effective Stress
• If the hydraulic gradient is very high, (𝛾 ′ − 𝑖𝛾𝑤 ) = 0 and
effective stress, 𝜎 ′ = 0
• That is, there will be no contact stress between the soil particles,
and the soil will break up.
• This situation is referred to as the QUICK condition or failure
by heave.
𝛾′ 𝛾𝑤 (𝐺𝑠 −1) 1 𝐺𝑠 −1
• For heave, therefore, 𝑖 = 𝑖𝑐𝑟 = = . =
𝛾𝑤 1+𝑒 𝛾𝑤 1+𝑒
• That is, for heave to occur, (𝛾 ′ − 𝑖𝛾𝑤 ) = 0
𝛾′
• ⇒ 𝛾′ = 𝑖𝛾𝑤 ⇒ 𝑖 =
𝛾𝑤
• Where 𝑖𝑐𝑟 = critical hydraulic gradient
• For most sandy soils, 𝑖𝑐𝑟 ranges from 0.9 to 1.1 with average of
about unity
 Effective Stress
• Effective vertical stress due to the self-weight of the soil
❑Consider a soil mass having a horizontal surface and with the
water table at surface level.
❑The total vertical stress (i.e. the total normal stress on a
horizontal plane) at depth z is equal to the weight of all
material (solids and water) per unit area above that depth, i.e.
𝜎𝑣 = 𝑧𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡
❑The pore water pressure at any depth will be hydrostatic since
the void space between the solid particles is continuous, so at
depth z, 𝑢 = 𝑧𝛾𝑤
❑Hence, the effective vertical stress at depth z will be
❑𝜎 ′ = 𝜎 − 𝑢 ⇒ 𝜎𝑣′ = 𝜎𝑣 − 𝑢 = 𝑧𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑧𝛾𝑤 = 𝑧(γ𝑠𝑎𝑡 − γ𝑤 )
❑⇒ 𝜎𝑣′ = 𝑧𝛾 ′ where 𝛾 ′ is the buoyant/submerged unit weight of
the soil.
 Effective Stress
• Effect of capillary rise
– The water table is the level at which pore water pressure
is atmospheric (i.e. u = 0).
– Above the water table, water is held under negative
pressure and, even if the soil is saturated above the water
table, does not contribute to hydrostatic pressure below
the water table.
– The only effect of a capillary rise, therefore, is to
increase the total unit weight of the soil.
– Both total and effective vertical stresses will therefore be
increased by a constant amount but the pore water
pressures will be unchanged.
 Example 1
• For the soil profile shown A
below, determine the total
4m Dry sand, γ𝑑 =14.5 kNm-3
vertical stress, pore water
pressure and effective B

vertical stress at A, B and C 5m

Clay, γ𝑠𝑎𝑡 =17.2 kNm-3

C
• Solution
Point σ (kNm-2) u (kNm-2) σ‘ = σ-u (kNm-2)
A 0 0 0
B (4)(γ𝑑 )=(4)(14.5) = 58 0 58-0 = 58
C 58+γ𝑠𝑎𝑡 (5) = 58+ 5(𝛾𝑤 )=5(9.81)= 144-49.05=94.95
(17.2)(5) =144 49.05
 Example 2
• A layer of saturated clay 4m thick 0m
51
is overlain by sand 5m deep. If 3m
the water table is 3m below the Sand
91
5m 71.4
surface and the saturated unit
σ

Depth
weights of the clay and sand are Clay
-3 σ'
19 and 20 kNm respectively. 9m
Above the water table, the unit 108.1 167

wt. of sand is 17kNm-3. Plot the A plot of Stress distribution with depth
values of total normal stress and.
effective stress against depth.
Depth (m) σ (kNm-2) u (kNm-2) σ‘ = σ-u (kNm-2)

3 (3)(γ)=(3)(17) = 51 0 51-0 = 51
5 51+γ𝑠𝑎𝑡 (2) = 51+ 2(𝛾𝑤 )=2(9.81)= 91-19.62=71.38
(20)(2) = 91 19.62
9 91+(4)(19)=167 19.62+(4)(9.81) 167-58.9 = 108.1
 Example 2 cont’
• The alternative calculation of effective normal
stress, 𝜎 ′ at depths 5 and 9m is as follows
– Buoyant/submerged unit wt. of sand, 𝛾 ′ = 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝛾𝑤 =
20 − 9.81 = 10.2kN/m3
– Buoyant/submerged unit wt. of Clay, 𝛾 ′ = 𝛾𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝛾𝑤 =
19 − 9.81 = 9.2kN/m3
– At depth 5m, 𝜎 ′ = (3)(17)+(2)(10.2) = 71.4kN/m2
– At depth 9m, 𝜎 ′ = (3)(17)+(2)(10.2)+(4)(9.2) =
108.1kN/m2
 References
• Craig’s Soil Mechanics, RF Craig, 6th Ed
• Elements of Soil Mechanics, GN Smith and
Ian GN Smith 6th Ed
 End

Thank you