An itroduction to soil mechanics / Введение в механику грунтов

Soil mechanics is the science of equilibrium and motion of soil bodies. Here soil is understood to be the weathered material in the upper layers of the earth’s crust. The non-weathered material in this crust is denoted as rock, and its mechanics is the discipline of rock mechanics. In general the difference between soil and rock is roughly that in soils it is possible to dig a trench with simple tools such as a spade or even by hand. In rock this is impossible, it must first be splintered with heavy equipment such as a chisel, a hammer or a mechanical drilling device. The natural weathering process of rock is that under the long-term influence of sun, rain and wind, it degenerates into stones. This process is stimulated by fracturing of rock bodies by freezing and thawing of the water in small crevices in the rock. The coarse stones that are created in mountainous areas are transported downstream by gravity, often together with water in rivers. By internal friction the stones are gradually reduced in size, so that the material becomes gradually finer: gravel, sand and eventually silt. In flowing rivers the material may be deposited, the coarsest material at high velocities, but the finer material only at very small velocities. This means that gravel will be found in the upper reaches of a river bed, and finer material such as sand and silt in the lower reaches. <...>