APPENDIX

C
Properties of Soils

This appendix presents some information and tables containing properties of soils
which will be of interest to the structural designer.

C.1 Soil Tests

For low-rise buildings, depth of borings may be specified to be about 6 m below
the anticipated foundation level, with at least one boring continuing deeper, to a
lesser of 30 m, the least building dimension, or refusal. At least one soil boring
should be specified for every 230 square metres of the building area for buildings
over 12 m height, or having more than three storeys. For large buildings founded
on poor soils, borings should be spaced at less than 15 m intervals. A minimum of
five borings, one at the centre and the rest at the corners of the building, is
recommended.

C.2 Order of Soil Suitability for Foundation Support

Best
: Bed rock
Very good
: Sand and gravel
Good
: Medium to hard clay (that is kept dry)
Poor
: Silts and soft clay
Undesirable : Organic silts and organic clay
Unsuitable : Peat

C.3 The Plasticity Index (PI)

The plasticity index (PI) of the soil provides an indication of how much clay will
shrink or swell. The higher the PI, the greater is the shrink-swell potential.
PI of 015%
:
Low expansion potential
PI of 1525%
:
Medium expansion potential
PI of 25% and above :
High expansion potential

Properties of Soils 1397

Table C.1 Typical mass densities of basic soil types
Type of Soil

Loose sand
Dense sand
Soft clay
Stiff clay
Silty soils
Gravelly soils

Mass density r (Mg/m3)*

Poorly graded soil
Well-graded soil
Range
Typical value
Range
Typical value
1.701.90
1.75
1.752.00
1.85
1.902.10
2.07
2.002.20
2.10
1.601.90
1.75
1.601.90
1.75
1.902.25
2.00
1.902.25
2.07
1.602.00
1.75
1.602.00
1.75
1.902.25
2.07
2.002.30
2.15

*Values are representative of moist sand, gravel, saturated silt, and clay.
Table C.2 Typical values of modulus of elasticity (ES) for different types of soils
Type of Soil
Clay
Very soft
Soft
Medium
Hard
Sandy
Glacial till
Loose
Dense
Very dense
Loess
Sand
Silty
Loose
Dense
Sand and gravel
Loose
Dense
Shale
Silt

Es (N/mm2)
215
525
1550
50100
25250
10153
144720
4781,440
1457
721
1024
4881
48148
96192
14414,400
220

Table C.3 Typical values of modulus of subgrade reaction (ks) for different types of
soils
Type of Soil
Loose sand
Medium dense sand
Dense sand
Clayey medium dense sand
Silty medium dense sand

ks (kN/m3)
4,80016,000
9,60080,000
64,0001,28,000
32,00080,000
24,00048,000
(contd)

1398 Design of Steel Structures

(contd)
Clayey soil:
qu 200 N/mm2
200 < qu 400 N/mm2
qu > 800 N/mm2
qu Safe bearing capacity

12,00024,000
24,00048,000
> 48,000

Table C.4 Typical values of Poissons ratio (m) for soils

Type of soil
Clay (saturated)
Clay (unsaturated)
Sandy clay
Silt
Sand (dense)
Course (void ratio = 0.4 0.7)
Fine grained (void ratio = 0.4 0.7)
Rock
Loess
Ice
Concrete

0.4 0.5
0.1 0.3
0.2 0.3
0.3 0.35
0.2 0.4
0.15
0.25
0.10.4 (depends on type of rock)
0.1 0.3
0.36
0.15

Table C.5 Allowable bearing pressures on soils (for preliminary design)

Type of rock/soil

Allowable bearing Standard

pressure
penetration
(kN/m2)
blow count (N)

Hard rock without lamination

and defects (e.g., granite, trap,
and diorite)
Laminated rocks (e.g., sandstone and lime-stone in sound
condition)
Soft or broken rock, hard shale,
cemented material
Soft rock
Gravel
Dense
Medium
Sand*

Clay+
Peat, silts,
made-up
ground

Coarse
Medium
Fine or silt

3,200

>30

1,600

>30

900
450
450
96285
Compact and dry
450
250
150

30

Very stiff
190450
Medium stiff
200250
Soft
50100
To be determined after investigation

Apparent
cohesion
cu (kPa)

>30
>30
Loose and dry
250
48120
100

3050
1530
<15

1530
415
04

100200
25100
025

Notes: * Reduce bearing pressures by half below the water table.

+
Alternatively, allow 1.2 times cu for round and square footings, and 1.0 times cu for
length/width ratios of more than 4.0. Interpolate for intermediate values.