An Introduction to

THE MECHANICS OF SOILS

AND FOUNDATIONS
Through Critical State Soil Mechanics

John Atkinson
Professor of Soil Mechanics
City University, London

McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY

London · New York · St Louis · San Francisco · Auckland

Bogota · Caracas · Lisbon · Madrid · Mexico · Milan
Montreal · New Delhi · Panama · Paris · San Juan
Sao Paulo · Singapore · Sydney · Tokyo · Toronto
 CONTENTS

PREFACE xi

A NOTE ON UNITS xiv

GREEK ALPHABET XV

GLOSSARY OF SYMBOLS xvi

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING I

1.1 What is geotechnical engineering? I
1.2 Principles of engineering 3
1.3 Fundamentals of mechanics 3
1.4 Material behaviour 4
1.5 Basic characteristics of soils 6
l.6 Basic forms of geotechnical structure 7
1.7 Factors of safety and load factors 8
1.8 Summary 9

CHAPTER 2 BASIC MECHANICS 10

2.1 Introduction 10
2.2 Stresses and strains 10
2.3 Plane strain a nd axia l symmetry 12
2.4 Rigid body mechanics 12
2.5 Analysis of stress 14
2.6 Analysis of strain 15
2.7 Stress ratio and dilation 16
2.8 Slip surfaces 18
2.9 Summary 19

CHAPTER 3 ESSENTIALS OF MATERIAL BEHAVIOUR 22

3.1 Stress- strain behaviour, stiffness and strength 22
3.2 Choice of parameters for stress and strain 23
3.3 Constitutive equations 25
vi CONTENTS

3.4 Strength 26
3.5 Elasticity 28
3.6 Perfect plasticity 29
3.7 Combined elasto- plastic behaviour 31
3.8 Time and rate effects 34
3.9 Summary 35

CHAPTER 4 THE STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH 37

4. 1 Introduction 37
4.2 The Earth's crust 37
4.3 Geological processes 39
4.4 Stratigraphy and the age of soils and rocks 39
4.5 Depositional environments 41
4.6 Recent geological events 43
4.7 Importance of geology in geotechnical engineering 43

CHAPTER 5 CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS 45

5. 1 Description and classification 45
5.2 Description of soiJs 45
5.3 Soil particle sizes, shapes and gradings 46
5.4 Properties of fine-grained soils 47
5.5 Specific volume, water content and unit weight 50
5.6 Limits of consistency 52
5.7 Current state 53
5.8 Origins of soils 54
5.9 Simple practical exercises 54
5.10 Summary 55

CHAPTER 6 PORE PRESSURE, EFFECTIVE STRESS AND DRAINAGE 59

6. 1 Introduction 59
6.2 Stress in the ground 59
6.3 Groundwater and pore pressure 60
6.4 Effective stress 61
6.5 Importance of effective stress 62
6.6 Demonstrations of effective stress 63
6.7 Volume change and drainage 64
6.8 Drained loading, undrained loading and consolidation 65
6.9 Rates of loading and drainage 68
6.10 Summary 69

CHAPTER 7 LABORATORY TESTING OF SOILS 74

7. 1 Purposes of laboratory tests 74
7.2 Standard tests and specifications 75
7.3 Basic classification tests 75
7.4 Measurement of coefficient of permeability 77
7.5 Principal features of soil loading tests 79
7.6 One-dimensional compressi(an and consolidation (oedometer) tests 80
7.7 Shear tests 81
7.8 Conventional triaxial compression tests 82
7.9 Hydraulic triaxial cells-stress path tests 83
 C'ON IH•iTS vii

7. 10 Comments on soil testing 85

7. 11 Summary 86

CHAPTER 8 COMPRESSION AND SWELUNG 91

8.1 Introduction 91
8.2 Isotropic compression and swelling 92
8.3 Overconsolidation 93
8.4 States of soils on the wet side and on the dry side of critical 95
8.5 One-dimensional compression and swelling 96
8.6 Laboratory demonstrations of compression and swelling of soils 99
8.7 Summary 100

CHAPTER 9 CRITICAL STATE STRENGTH OF SOIL 103

9.1 Behaviour of soil in shear tests 103
9.2 Peak, ultimate and residual states 105
9.3 Critical states 106
9.4 Undrained strength 107
9.5 Normalizing 109
9.6 Critical state strength of soils measured in triaxial tests 110
9.7 Relationships between strength measured in shear and triaxiaJ tests 113
9.8 Simple experimental investigations of critical states 11 4
9.9 True cohesion in soils 11 6
9.10 Estimation of the critical state strength parameters from classification
tests 1I 6
9.1 1 Summary 119

CHAPTER 10 PEAK STATES 124

10.1 Introduction 124
10.2 Mohr- Coulomb line in shear tests 125
10.3 Mohr- Coulomb line in triaxial tests 127
10.4 Curved peak state lines 128
10.5 Peak states and dilation 129
10.6 Variation of peak s tate with initial state 132
10.7 Summary 134

CHAPTER 11 BEHAVIOUR OF SOIL BEFORE FAILURE 138

11.1 Introduction 138
11.2 Wet side and dry side of critical 138
11.3 State boundary surface for soil 140
11.4 Elastic behaviour at states inside the state boundary surface 143
11.5 Undrained loading on the state boundary surface 144
11.6 Stress ratio and dilation 146
ll. 7 Softening of soil beyond the peak state and development of slip
surfaces 147
I 1.8 Summary 147

CHAPTER 12 CAM CLAY 151

12.1 Introduction 151
12.2 Basic features of the Cam clay models 151
\'iii CONTt' NTS

12.3 State boundary surface fo r ordina ry Cam clay 152

12.4 Calculation of plas tic strains 153
12.5 Yielding and hardening 154
12.6 Complete constitutive equations for o rdinary Cam cla y 155
12.7 Applications of Cam clay in design 156
12.8 Summary 156

C HAPTER 13 STIFFNESS OF SOIL 158

13.1 Introduction 158
13.2 Cam clay and soil stiffness I 58
13.3 Stiffness- strain relationships for soil 159
13.4 Strains in the ground 162
13.5 Measurement of soil stiffness in laboratory tests 162
13.6 Stiffness of soil at small a nd very small strains 164
13.7 Numerical modelling of soil stiffness 166
13.8 Summary 166

CHAPTER 14 CONSOLIDATION 168

14.1 Basic mechan ism of consolidation 168
14.2 Theory for o ne-dimensional consolidation 168
14.3 l sochrones 170
14.4 Properties of isochrones 171
14.5 Solution for one-dimensional consolidation by parabolic
isochrones 173
14.6 Other consolidation solutions 176
14.7 Determination of cv from oedometer tests 176
14.8 Continuous loading and consolidation 178
14.9 Summary 179

CHAPTER 15 AGEING AND STRUCTURE IN NATURAL SOILS 183

15. 1 C haracteristics of natural soils 183
15.2 Formation of uatural soils: one-dimensional compression and
swelling 184
15.3 Ageing 186
15.4 Vibration and compaction 186
15.5 Creep 187
15.6 Cementing 187
15.7 Weathering 188
15.8 Changes in pore water salinity 189
15.9 Summa ry 189

CHAPTER 16 GROUND INVESTIGATIONS 190

16.1 Introduction 190
16.2 Objectives of ground investigations I 90
16.3 Pla nning and doing investigations 192
16.4 Test pitting, drilling and sampling 193
16.5 In situ testing 194
16.6 States of soils in the ground 197
16.7 Investigating groundwater and permeability 198

....
 CONTENTS ix

16.8 Ground inves tigation reports 200

16.9 Summary 200

C HAPTER 17 STEADY STATE SEEPAGE 203

17. 1 Groundwater conditions 203
17.2 Practical problems of groundwater flow 204
17.3 Essentials of steady state seepage 205
17.4 Flow thro ugh a simple flownet 207
17.5 Flownct for two-dimensional seepage 209
17.6 Piping and erosion 210
17.7 Seepage through anisotropic soils 212
17.8 Summary 2 12

CHAPTER 18 STABILITY OF SOIL STRUCTURES USING BOUND METHODS 215

18.1 Introduction 215
18.2 Theorems of plastic coUapse 2 16
18.3 Compatible mechanisms of slip surfaces 217
18.4 Work done by internal stresses and external loads 218
18.5 Simple upper bounds for a foundation 220
18.6 Discontinuous equilibrium stress states 222
I 8. 7 Simple lower bounds for a foundation 226
18.8 Upper and lower bound solutions using fans 227
18.9 Bound solutions for the bearing capacity of a foundation using
fans 23 1
18. 10 Summary 233

CHAPTER 19 LIMIT EQUILIBRIUM METHOD 240

19. 1 Theory of the limit equilibrium method 240
19.2 Simple limit equilibrium solutions 241
I 9.3 Coulomb wedge analyses 242
I 9.4 Simple slip circle analysis for undrained loading 245
I 9.5 Slip circle method for drained loading- the method of slices 246
19.6 Other limit equilibrium methods 249
19.7 Limit equilibrium solutions 251
19.8 Summary 251

CHAPTER 20 STABILITY OF SLOPES 256

20.1 Introduction 256
20.2 Types of instability 257
20.3 Stress changes in slopes 258
20.4 Influence of water on stability of slopes 260
20.5 Choice of strength parameters and factor of safety 261
20.6 Stability of infinite slopes 263
20.7 Stability of vertical cuts 268
20.8 Routine slope stability analyses 270
20.9 Behaviour of simple excavations 271
20. 10 Summary 272

CHAPTER 21 EARTH PRESSURES AND STABILITY OF RETAINING WALLS 275

21.1 Introduction 275
X CONTE>:TS

21.2 T ypes of retaining structure 276

21.3 Failure of retaining walls 277
21.4 Stress changes in soil near retaining walls 278
21. 5 Influence of water on retaining walls 279
21.6 Calculation of earth pressures-drained loading 281
21.7 Calculation of earth pressures-undrained loading 282
21.8 Overall stability 283
21.9 Choices of soil strength and factor of safety 286
21.10 Summary 287

CHAPTER 22 BEARING CAPACITY AND SETTLEMENT OF SHALLOW

FOUNDATIONS 292
22.1 Types of foundations 292
22.2 Foundation behaviour 293
22.3 Stress changes in foundatio ns 295
22.4 Bearing capacity of shallow foundations 296
22.5 Choice of soil strength and load factor for foundations 297
22.6 Foundations on sand 299
22.7 Foundations on elastic soil 299
22.8 Settlements for one-dimensional loading 302
22.9 Summary 304

CHAPTER 23 PILED FOUNDATIONS 309

23. 1 T ypes of piled foundations 309
23.2 Base resistance of single piles 310
23.3 Shaft friction on piles 311
23.4 Pile testing and driving fOimulae 312
23.5 Capacity of pile groups 313
23.6 Summary 313

CHAPTER 24 GEOTECHNICAL CENTRIFUGE MODELLING 316

24.1 Modelling in engineering 316
24.2 Scaling laws and dimensional analysis 316
24.3 Scaling geotechnical models 317
24.4 Purposes of modelling 319
24.5 Geotechnical centrifuges 320
24.6 Control and instrumentation in centrifuge models 322
24.7 Summary 322

CHAPTER 25 CONCLUDING REMARKS 324

AUTHOR IND EX 326

SUBJECT INDEX 328