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SOIL AND ROCK AS FOUNDATION STRATA Every engineering structure such as a building ,bridge, dam or a dock, transmission line

tower etc.has to be rested either on soil or rock in order to transfer the load to underlying stratum. Thus the soil or rock which is directly in contact with the structure acts as a medium to transfer the applied load. Thus the safety of the structure is eitherly depends on the foundation which rest on soil or rock TYPES OF ROCKS:1.Igneous rocksSolidification of molten lava forms these rocks. Slow rate of cooling of lava produces crystalline rock such as Granite.Fast rate of cooling gives rise to non-crystalline amorphous rock such as Basalt. These rocks are strong, durable and massive .Some other ex. of igneous rocks are Gabbros,Trap etc.Amorphous rocks are formed at the surface of the earthdue to fast rate of cooling of the lava.Eg. basalt. 2.Sedimentary rocksDeposition of the disintegrated material form the parent rocks from these rocks.The weathering action and river water carry the disintegrated material and deposit it gradually in layers to form rocks. Limestone , sand stone ,shale are the examples of these rocks. 3.Metamorphic rocksMetamorphism:-the above two types of rocks undergo change in their structure and texture due to intense heat and pressure in the core of the earth this pressure is known as metamorphism. The rocks formed by metamorphism are called as metamorphic rocks.eg.limestone are converted into marbles of high durability and elegance by this process. eg. marble ,slate,gneiss , schists etc. TYPES OF SOILS:1.SoilDisintegration of the rocks takes place for centuries of years due to heating and cooling actions, wetting and drying effect and wind conditions etc. So the rocks are split and powdered due to such "weathering".This powder is the soil. 2.Residual soilThe portion of the soil remained at the place of origin is called as "residual soil". 3.Alluvial soilThe portion of the soil transported due to wind, storm etc.and get deposited at large distance from the place of origin are called as "alluvial soil" The soil are classified into following types. 1) Gravel 2)Sands 3)Silts 4) Clays 5) Peat and organic soils 6) Made up ground. 1)GravelThese are the coarser particles of rock. generally 2 mm or above.

They do not shrink or swell due to evaporation or absorbtion of water.Gravels beome rounded during transportation. They have very less settlements.They are supposed to be one of the best foundation, next to rocks because of high load bearing strength and less settlements. 2) Sandsthe coarser particles of the silica , having size between 0.06 to 2mm. are treated as "sands". They are derived from disintegration of rocks.Fine sands have size 0.06 to 0.2 mm. medium sands have size betweeen 0.2 and0.6 mm and coarse sand have size from 0.6 to 2 mm.They also produce very little settlement problems and have provide good foundation. 3) SiltsThe fine soil particles having size between 0.002 mm and 0.06 mm are termed as a silts . They have little or no plasticity . They are flaky in appearance and smooth in texture.They swell with increase of water and shrink with loss of water .Thus there is slight changes in their volume due to the presence of water. They produce settlement with the load on them so they are supposed to be poor foundation. 4) ClaysFine soil particles of size less than 0.002mm are termed as "clays".They have cohesion and plasticity in the nature state. They can moulded when they are moist. Chesion is internal molecule attraction . It decreases with increase in moisture .They swell with addition of water and shrink with evaporation of water.Thus there are large value change with water .They have very less permeability i.e more time is required to remove moisture from them because the distance between their adjacent particles is very small. 5) Peat and organic soilsThese are the materials with high proportion of fibrous or spongy vegetable matter formed by decay of plant and trees.They are not recommended for foundation. 6) Made up ground-(fills)It include refuge, excavated soil or rocks deposited for fillings any depression for raising ground to the natural surface. Such situations arise normally in cities. SOIL PROPERTIES:1. Combination of various soil in various proportions are available in practice. 2. "Soil mechanics" is the branch of "civil engineering" which deals with various studies of soil, testing and foundation associate with them. 3. For foundation design the following soil properties are considered 1) specific gravity 2)Void radio 3)Optimum moisture contents 4)Maximum dry density 5)Compressibility 6)Permeability 7) Cohesive strength 8)Consistency limit 9) Friction etc. SETTLMENTS OF FOUNDATION 1.DefinitionWhen the soil mass of the foudation is subjected to lode of structur above, its soil grains come cloes together i.e decrease in the depth of soil mass. This decreas in the depth of soil mass is known as "settlement". 2. Hard Strata-

The settlement is zero in rocky strata and only slight in compact , hard gravel and sandy soils. These hard strata require less time for such settlement because they are very much permeable to drive away the water in the soil pores quickly. 3.Clayey soils:i)Consolidation : In clayey soils , the whole of the settlement phenomenon is a very slow and lenghty process requiring a very large period. Clayey soils have very less permeability. So such soil mass takes more time to squeeze and expel out the water from pores under loads. Hence the process of soil particles coming close together is also prolonged. This prolonged continuous settlement process is termed as "consolidation". ii)Fig shows a graph of settlement as a function of time for a specific load.The rate of consolidation is initially fast and then it decreases as revealed from plate bearing test.Thus the rate of settlement decreases with lapse of time. iii)The knowledge of total settlement of soil and is very difficult to determine them due to above phenomenon. 4.Causes of settlements :i)Elastic compression of the foundation and the soil below. ii)Consolidation including secondary compression. iii)Swelling in rainy season and shrinking in summer in case of expansive clays like black cotton soil. iv)Repeated rising and lowering water level in loose granular soil produce compaction of the soil at the time of lowering of ground water. v)Ground movements on earth slopes like surface erosion, slow creep, land slide etc. vi)Vibration due to blasting , pile driving etc. vii)Adjacent excavation and subsidence due to mining. viii)Underground erosion and pumping out in the vicinity' TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS :1. Uniform settlement It is defined as the uniform vertical, downward movement of the total base of the structure. Cause;It is caused when the soil mass has uniform properties and load intensity is also uniform over the entire foundation area. 2.Differential settlement It is defined as the non-uniform vertical downward movement of some portion of the base of the structure . Causes :a) Variation in soil strata-Geological and physical non-uniformity of the soil . eg. density, thickness, voids , stands and clays. b)Non-uniform loading- non-uniform or incomplete loading on the foundation causes non-uniform pressurre on the soil strata. c)Large loaded area- Large load area on the flexible foundation. d)Unequal soil expansion - This is due to excavation of footing . 3. Effects of settlements :i)No damage - If uniform settlement is within limits , there is no damage to the structure itself but if it exceeds 150 mm,it is objectionable due to disturbance caused to water

pipeline, sewer lines , electric lines , telephone lines etc. ii)Structure and architectural damage - There is structure damage like collapse of beams and columns .There is archictural damage such as cracking of walls , floors etc...........

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