Elasticity of Soil

A soil is said to be elastic when it suffers a reduction in volume (or is changed in shape and bulk) while the load is applied, but recovers its initial volume immediately the load is removed. The most important characteristic of the elastic behaviour of soil is that no matter how many repetitions of load are applied to it, provided that the stresses set up in the soil do not exceed the “yield stresses” the soil does not become permanently deformed. This elastic behaviour is characteristic of peat (a type of soil).