14.330 SOIL MECHANICS Geology FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING ...faculty.uml.edu/.../14.330/documents/14.330Geology.pdf · Revised 01/2015 Slide 5 of 18 14.330 SOIL MECHANICS Geology

Slide 1 of 18Revised 01/2015

14.330 SOIL MECHANICS

Geology

FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING (FE)EXAM CALCULATOR POLICY (AS OF 01/22/14)

http://ncees.org/exams/calculator-policy/

Casio: All fx-115 models. Examples of acceptable Casio fx-115

models include (but are not limited to):• fx-115 MS

• fx-115 MS Plus

• fx-115 MS SR

• fx-115 ES

Hewlett Packard: The HP 33s and HP 35s models, but no others.

Texas Instruments: All TI-30X and TI-36X models. Examples of

acceptable TI calculators include (but are not limited to):• TI-30Xa

• TI-30Xa SOLAR

• TI-30X IIB

• TI-30X IIS

• TI-36X II

• TI-36X SOLAR

FX-115ES FX-115MSPlus HP 33s

TI-30Xa SOLAR TI-36X SOLAR



Geology

NATURAL SOIL DEPOSITS

Soils are produced by weathering of rock.

Weathering is the physical or chemical breakdown of rock.

Physical Processes:- Unloading- Frost Action- Organism Growth- Crystal Growth- Abrasion

Chemical Processes:- Oxidation- Hydration- Hydrolysis- Carbonation- Solution

after FM 5-410 Military Soils Engineering



Geology

• Igneous Rocks• Granite > silty sands

• Basalts > clayey soils

• Sedimentary Rocks• Shales > clays and silts

• Sandstones > sandy soil

• Limestone > coarse or fine grained soils

• Metamorphic Rocks• Gneiss > silty sands

• Slate > clayey soils

• Marble > fine grained soils• Quartzite > coarse grained soils

ROCK-SOIL RELATIONSHIPS



Geology

SOIL FORMATION METHODS

Two Main Groups

Residual Soils Transported SoilsRock material weathered in place

via mechanical and chemical

processes (chemical usually

dominant factor).

As a result of this process, and

because the rock material may

have an assorted mineral structure,

the upper layers of soils are usually

fine-grained and relatively

impervious to water.

Example: Piedmont (Eastern US).

Soils transported from place of

origin via three main processes:

1. Water

2. Glacial

3. Air

Most soils are transported soils.

Example: Cape Cod.

after FM 5-410 Military Soils Engineering



Geology

RESIDUAL SOILSTYPICAL WEATHERING PROFILES

(a) Mudstone, Shale,and Slate

(b) Gneiss and Schist (c) Granite to Gabbro;

from Sowers, G.F. 1988. Foundation problems in residual soils. Proceedings, Engineering Problems of Regional Soils: 154- 171. Beijing, China and Sowers, G.F. (1994). "Residual soil settlement related to the weathering profile." Vertical and Horizontal Deformations of

Foundations and Embankments, ASCE GSP 40, 1689-1702.



Geology

(a) Metamorphic Rocks (b) Intrusive Igneous Rocks ZONE ZONE

Colluvium of other transported soils;

“pebble marker”

common here IA A horizon

IB B horizon

IC C horizon

(Saprolite)

IIA Transition

from

Saprolite to

Weathered

Rock

IIB Partly

Weathered

Rock

III Unweathered

Rock

II Weathered

Rock

I Residual

Soil

III

IIB

IIA

IC

IB

IA

Colluvium etc.

Figure 3-2. from NHI-06-088 (after Deere and Patton, 1971).

RESIDUAL SOILSTYPICAL WEATHERING PROFILES



Geology

Covers ~1/3 of SC and NC.

Eastern Border ofProvince called Fall Line

“Georgia Red Clay” – Residual Soil

Figure from Finke, K.A., Mayne, P.W. & Klopp, R.A. (2001). Piezocone penetration testing in

Atlantic Piedmont residuum. Journal of Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Engineering 127 (1).

RESIDUAL SOILSPIEDMONT PROVINCE



Geology

TRANSPORTED SOILS DEFINITIONS

Glacial Soils: formed by transportation and deposition of

glaciers.

Alluvial Soils: transported by running water and deposited

along streams.

Lacustrine Soils: formed by deposition in quiet lakes.

Marine Soils: formed by deposition in seas/oceans.

Aeolian Soils: transported and deposited by the wind.

Colluvial Soils: formed by movement of soil from its original

place by gravity (e.g. landslides).

from Das, B.M. (1998). Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 4th edition, PWS Publishing Company.



Geology

TRANSPORTED SOILSMeander and

Erosion along

Rivers

Meander

Development &

Cutoff

from FM 5-410 Military Soils Engineering



Geology


Oxbow Lake Deposits

TRANSPORTED SOILS



Geology

Map courtesy of Google.com

Oxbow Lake

Example

Northampton, MA

TRANSPORTED

SOILS



Geology


Major Floodplain Features

TRANSPORTED SOILS



Geology

NEW ENGLAND

GEOLOGY



Geology

NEW ENGLAND GEOLOGY



Geology

NEW ENGLAND GEOLOGY



Geology

NEW ENGLAND GEOLOGY



Geology

Surficial Geologic Map of the Ashby-Lowell-

Sterling-Billerica11-Quadrangle Area

(Stone and Stone, 2007)

NEW ENGLAND

GEOLOGY



Geology

Documents

14.330 SOIL MECHANICS Geology FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING ...faculty.uml.edu/.../14.330/documents/14.330Geology.pdf · Revised 01/2015 Slide 5 of 18 14.330 SOIL MECHANICS Geology