Craig’s soil mechanics / Почвенная механика Крейга

To the civil engineer, soil is any uncemented or weakly cemented accumulation of mineral particles formed by the weathering of rocks as part of the rock cycle (Figure 1.1), the void space between the particles containing water and/or air. Weak cementation can be due to carbonates or oxides precipitated between the particles, or due to organic matter. Subsequent deposition and compression of soils, combined with cementation between particles, transforms soils into sedimentary rocks (a process known as lithification). If the products of weathering remain at their original location they constitute a residual soil. If the products are transported and deposited in a different location they constitute a transported soil, the agents of transportation being gravity, wind, water and glaciers. During transportation, the size and shape of particles can undergo change and the particles can be sorted into specific size ranges. Particle sizes in soils can vary from over 100mm to less than 0.001mm. In the UK, the size ranges are described as shown in Figure 1.2. In Figure 1.2, the terms ‘clay’, ‘silt’ etc. are used to describe only the sizes of particles between specified limits. However, the same terms are also used to describe particular types of soil, classified according to their mechanical behaviour (see Section 1.5). <...>