What are the most important soil physical properties which p

What are the most important soil physical properties which provide a preliminary characterization of its mechanical properties

Solution

Mechanical Properties of a soil are its strength, stiffness and permeability, and they can be preliminarily judged by some physical properties of the soil, namely - particle size and its distribution, void ratio, unit weight, water content and respective liquid and plastic limits.

Particle size and its distribution is used to find the grading of the soil. A well graded soil is generally of higher strength and low permeability.

Void Ratio and porosity determination helps in telling if the soil is permeable or not. In general, higher the porosity means higher permeability.

Unit Weight also signifies the structural packing of the soil. A dense soil will have higher unit weight, and therefore will be of larger strength.

Water content and Respective Atterberg\'s Limits tell about the plastic nature of the soil. Larger plasticity index represents a mroe of clayey soil, and therefore more stiff and less permeable.