Soil Mechanics I

CE-225
Lec-04 (Weight-Volume Relationships) i

(Hafiz) Asif Arshid

BSc, UET Lahore (2003-07)
MSc, Saitama University, Japan (2012-14)
1
 Three phases of soil 2

Soil element Three phases

in natural state of the soil element

Total volume = V Wa = 0 Air Va

Vv
Total wt. = W

Ww Water Vw
W V

Ws Solids Vs Vs
 Weight-Volume relationships 3

Weight Volume
Wa = 0 Air Va
Vv
Ww Water Vw
W V

Ws Solids Vs Vs
 Weight relationships 4

The common terms used for

weight relationships are

1. Moisture Content, w
2. Unit Weight, g.
 Moisture content, w 5

Moisture content is also known as water content, w, is expressed

either in terms of weight or mass.
W Weight
w w 100%
Ws
Wa = 0 Air
Mw
w 100%
Ms
Ww Water
W
Usual values: 3 to 70%

Moisture content values greater than Ws Solids

100% are found in soft soils below
ground water table.
 Unit weight, g 6

Geotechnical engineers often need to know the unit weight, g:

W
g
V
Two variations of unit weight are commonly used, the dry unit
weight, gd, and the unit weight of water, gw:

Ws Ww
gd gw
V Vw

Normally we use gw = 9.81 kN/m3 = 62.4 lb/ft3 for fresh water, and
gw = 10.1 kN/m3 = 64.0 lb/ft3 for sea water

The unit weight of soil below the ground water table (GWT) is
called saturated unit weight, gsat.
7
 Volume relationships 8

The common terms used for

volume relationships are

1. Void Ratio, e
2. Porosity, n
3. Degree of Saturation, S
 Void ratio, e 9

Void ratio, e, is defined as the ratio of the volume of voids to the

volume of solids.
Volume
Vv
e
Vs Air Va
Vv
Densely packed soils Vw
Water
have low void ratios. V

Typical values in the field Solids Vs Vs

range from 0.1 to 2.5.
 Porosity, n 10

Porosity, n, is defined as the ratio of the volume of voids to the

total volume.
Volume
Vv
n Air Va
V
Vv

Typical values in the field Water Vw

V
range from 0.09 to 0.7.

Solids Vs Vs
 Degree of Saturation, S 11

Degree of saturation, S, is the percentage of the voids filled with

water.
Vw Weight Volume
S 100 %
Vv
Wa = 0 Air Va
S has max. value of
Vv
100% when all of voids
are filled with water. Ww Vw
Water
Such soil are called W V
saturated soils.

S values above GWT are Ws Solids Vs Vs

usually 5 to 100%.

S = 0 is found in very arid

areas.