Engineering Properties

1. Porosity: It is the ratio of the volume of the total voids to the total volume. It is denoted by the letter ‘n’ and it is expressed as a percentage.

2. Voids ratio: It is the ratio of the total volume of voids to the volume of total soil solids. It is denoted by the letter ‘e’ and is expressed as a decimal.  

3. Water content: The ratio of the weight of water to the weight of solids in the soil is called water content. It is denoted by the letter ‘W’ and it is expressed as a percentage.  

4. Specific gravity: It is defined as the ratio of the weight of a given volume of soil solids to the weight of an equal volume of water at that temperature/
   It is defined as the ratio of the density of solids (γs) to the density of water (γw).
   It is denoted by the letter ‘G’ or ‘S’ and it does not have any units.

5. Density: It is defined as the ratio of its weights to its volume. It is denoted by the letter (γ) gamma.
   Note: The above-listed index properties will be dealt with, in detail, in the chapters ahead.