GEOTECH 1 CIV2039S / 3034S

1. SOILS AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION

1.1 Definitions

Soil

The word 'soil' has different meanings for different professions.

To the agriculturist, soil is the top thin layer of earth within which organic forces are
predominant and which is responsible for the support of plant life.

To the geologist, soil is the material in the top thin zone within which roots occur.

From the point of view of an engineer, soil is:

uncemented or weakly cemented accumulation of mineral and organic particles
and sediments found above the bedrock, or

any unconsolidated material consisting of discrete solid particles with fluid or gas
in the voids

Figure 1 Single grain structure

Rock:
indurated (consolidated by pressure or cementation ) material requiring drilling,
blasting, brute force excavation.
The dividing line between soil and rock is arbitrary; the same material may
sometimes be either classified as “very soft rock” or “very hard soil”, depending
on who classifies the material or what the application is.
To a geologist “our” soil is drift or unconsolidated material.
Whereas we are concerned with soil to the depth of bedrock, soil scientists
(pedology) and agricultural scientists (agronomists) are concerned with only the
very uppermost layers of soil.

1.1
Soil Mechanics: (ASTM) the application of the laws and principles of mechanics and
hydraulics to engineering problems dealing with soil as an engineering material.

Geotechnical Engineering:

• Geotechnical engineering is concerned with the engineering properties of earth

materials. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geotechnical_engineering

• The application of engineering geology, hydrogeology, soil mechanics, rock

mechanics and mining seismology to the practical solution of ground control
challenges. www.minesafe.org/training_education/terms.html

1.2 Origin of Soils

Soil is a three phase system of:

solid particles (S)

pore fluid (W)

pore gas (A)

Figure 2 Soil skeleton containing solids and voids

Most solid particles are mineral fragments that originated from the disintegration of
rocks by physical or chemical action, often referred to as weathering.

Physical Weathering: erosion due to freezing & thawing, abrasion from glaciers,
temperature changes, and the activity of plants and animals.

Chemical Weathering: decomposition due to oxidation, reduction, carbonation, and other

chemical processes.

Exceptions: Peat (organic) and shell deposits

Soils at a particular site can be:

Residual or weathered in place (most common in tropical locations), or

1.2
 Transported by the action of:
Glaciers (glacial)
Moving water (fluvial)
Wind (aeolian)
Settling out in salt water (marine)
Settling out in fresh water (lactustrine)
Due to gravity movement downslope (colluvial)
(most common in temperate regions)

Table 1: Naturally occurring soils.

Type of soil Mode of Formation Terms
In-situ weathered soils Mechanical and/or chemical weathering of in-situ rocks – Residual
depending on the climatic environment.
Tropical
In-situ peat Decomposition of organic deposits. Cumulose
Gravitational deposits Gravitational action. Colluvium
Water-borne soils River sediments Alluvium
Lake sediments (Fresh or saltwater) Lacustrine
Formed in an Estuary Estuarine
Formed at the mouth of a river Deltaic
Marine sediments of terrestrial, volcanic or cosmic sources Lithogeneous
Remains of marine organisms Biogeneous
Precipitates from marine or groundwater Hydrogeneous
Glacial deposits Material deposited by ice Till
Materials deposited by melt-waters Outwash
Wind-blown soils Dune sands and loess silts or dust Aeolian

1.3 Main Types of Soils

Granular: gravel, sand, (silt)

Cohesive: (silt), clay

Organic: marsh soil, peat, coal, tar sand

Man-Made: mine tailings, landfill waste, ash, aggregates

Soils can vary from 102 to 10-3 mm in diameter.

Naturally occurring soils are usually a mixture of two or more of the above
components. (e.g., silty-sand, clayey-silt, clay with gravel)

1.4 The Unique Nature of Soil Material

Highly variable
properties vary widely from point to point within the soil mass
more heterogeneous rather than homogeneous

1.3
 large variations over small distances

Nonlinear stress-strain response

Inelastic
soils “remember” what has happened to them in the past
stress history is very important
soil behaviour is quite different whether normally consolidated or overconsolidated

Anisotropic
different properties in different directions
primarily a result of depositional and loading history

Mulitphase system (soil, water, and air)

Empirical application in design
- empirical - based on experience – what we can see / what we can measure
- good design - combination of art, science and common sense

The soil particles can have varying sizes, shapes and mineralogies, although these
properties are usually interrelated. For instance the larger sized particles are generally
composed of quartz and feldspars, minerals that have high strengths and the particles
are fairly round. The smaller sized particles are generally composed of the clay
minerals kaolin, illite and montmorillonite, minerals that have low strengths and form
plate like particles. One of the most important aspects of particulate materials is that
there are gaps or voids between the particles. The amount of voids is also influenced
by the size, shape and mineralogy of the particles.

Because of the wide range of particle sizes, shapes and mineralogies in a typical soil a
detailed classification of each soil would be very expensive and inappropriate for
most geotechnical engineering purposes. However, some form of simple classification
system giving information about the engineering properties is required on all sites.
Why is this necessary?

Usually the soil on site has to be used. Soils differ from other engineering materials
in that one has very little, if any, control over their properties.

The extent and properties of the soil at the site have to be determined.

Cheap and simple tests are required to give an indication of the engineering
properties such as stiffness and strength for preliminary design.

To achieve this continuous samples are recovered from boreholes, drilled to a depth
that will depend on the scale of the project. Observation of the core enables the
different soil layers to be determined and then classification tests are performed for
these different strata. The extent of the different soil layers can be determined by

1.4
correlating the results from different boreholes and this information is used to build a
picture of the sub-surface profile.

An indication of the engineering properties is determined on the basis of particle size.

This crude approach is used because the engineering behaviour of soils with very
small particles, usually containing clay minerals, is significantly different from the
behaviour of soils with larger particles. Clays can cause problems because they are
relatively compressible, drain poorly, have low strengths and can swell in the
presence of water.

1.5 Particle Size Definitions

The precise boundaries between different soil types are somewhat arbitrary, but the
following scale is now in use worldwide.

Gravel Sand Silt Clay

C M F C M F C M F C M F
60 20 6 2 0.6 0.2 0.06 0.02 .006 .002 .0006 .0002

where C, M, F stand for coarse, medium and fine respectively, and the particle sizes
are in millimetres.

Note
the logarithmic scale. Most soils contain mixtures of sand, silt and clay particles,
so the range of particle sizes can be very large.
not all particles less than 2 m are comprised of clay minerals, and some clay
mineral particles can be greater than 2 m. (A micron, m, is 10-6m).

1.6 Broad Classification

1.6.1 Coarse-grained soils

These include sands, gravels and larger particles. For these soils the grains are well
defined and may be seen by the naked eye. The individual particles may vary from
perfectly round to highly angular reflecting their geological origins.

1.6.2 Fine-grained soils

These include the silts and clays and have particles smaller than 60 m.

Silts These can be visually differentiated from clays because they exhibit
the property of dilatancy. If a moist sample is shaken in the hand
water will appear on the surface. If the sample is then squeezed in the
fingers the water will disappear. Their gritty feel can also identify
silts.

Clays Clays exhibit plasticity, they may be readily remoulded when moist,
and if left to dry can attain high strengths

1.5
 Organic These may be of either clay or silt sized particles. They contain
significant amounts of vegetable matter. The soils as a result are
usually dark grey or black and have a noticeable odour from decaying
matter. Generally only a surface phenonomen but layers of peat may
be found at depth. These are very poor soils for most engineering
purposes.

1.7 Procedure for grain size determination

Different procedures are required for fine and coarse-grained material. These will be
demonstrated in a laboratory demonstration session.

Coarse Sieve analysis is used to determine the distribution of the larger grain
sizes. The soil is passed through a series of sieves with the mesh size
reducing progressively, and the proportions by weight of the soil
retained on each sieve are measured. There are a range of sieve sizes
that can be used, and the finest is usually a 75 m sieve. Sieving can be
performed either wet or dry. Because of the tendency for fine particles
to clump together, wet sieving is often required with fine-grained soils.

Fine To determine the grain size distribution of material passing the 75 m

sieve the hydrometer method is commonly used. The soil is mixed with
water and a dispersing agent, stirred vigorously, and allowed to settle
to the bottom of a measuring cylinder. As the soil particles settle out of
suspension the specific gravity of the mixture reduces. An hydrometer
is used to record the variation of specific gravity with time. By making
use of Stoke’s Law, which relates the velocity of a free falling sphere
to its diameter, the test data is reduced to provide particle diameters
and the % by weight of the sample finer than a particular particle size.

Figure 3 A schematic view of the hydrometer test

1.8 Grading curves

1.6
The results from the particle size determination tests are plotted as grading curves.
These show the particle size plotted against the percentage of the sample by weight
that is finer than that size. The results are presented on a semi-logarithmic plot as
shown in Figure 4 below. The shape and position of the grading curve are used to
identify some characteristics of the soil.
100

80
% F i ne r

60

40

20

0
0 .0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 1 0 .0 1 0 .1 1 10 100
P a rtic le s ize (m m )
Figure 4 Typical grading curves

Some typical grading curves are shown on the figure. The following descriptions are
applied to these curves

W Well graded material

U Uniform material

P Poorly graded material

C Well graded with some clay

F Well graded with an excess of fines

The use of names to describe typical grading curve shapes and positions has
developed as the suitability of different gradings for different purposes has become
apparent. For example, well graded sands and gravels can be easily compacted to
relatively high densities which result in higher strengths and stiffnesses. For this
reason soils of this type are preferred for road bases. The suitability of different
gradings is discussed in some detail by Terzaghi and Peck (1967).

From the typical grading curves it can be seen that soils are rarely all sand or all clay,
and in general will contain particles with a wide range of sizes. Many organisations
have produced charts to classify soils giving names for the various combinations of
particle sizes. One such example is given in Figure 5 below.

1.7
 0
100
10
90
20
80
30
70
40 Clay

Cla
(%
60

y
es
50

Siz
Siz
50

e s (%
d
60

Sa n

)
Sandy Clay Silty Clay 40
70
30
80 Clay-Sand Clay-Silt
20
90
Silty Sand Sandy Silt 10
100 Sand
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Silt Sizes (%)
LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DIVISION,
U. S. ENGINEER DEPT.

Figure 5 Classification Chart

Important observations from figure 3 are that any soil containing more than 50% of
clay sized particles would be classified as a clay, whereas sand and silt require 80% of
the particles to be in that size range. Also any soil having more than 20% clay would
have some clay like properties.

The hydrometer test is usually terminated when the percentage of clay sized particles
has been determined. However, there are significant differences between the
behaviour of the different clay minerals. To provide additional information on the soil
behaviour further classification tests are performed. One such set of tests, the
Atterberg Limit Tests, involve measuring the moisture contents of the soil at which
changes in the soil properties occur.

1.9 Atterberg Limits

These tests are only used for the fine-grained, silt and clay, fraction of a soil (actually
the % passing a 425 m sieve). If we take a very soft (high moisture content) clay
specimen and allow it to dry we would obtain a relation similar to that shown in
Figure 6.

As the soil dries its strength and stiffness will increase. Three limits are indicated, the
definitions of which are given below. The liquid and plastic limits appear to be fairly
arbitrary, but recent research has suggested they are related to the strength of the soil.

Volume
V
ol
u
m
e 1.8
SL PL LL
Moisture Content (%)
 Figure 6. Moisture content versus volume relation

(SL) The Shrinkage Limit - This is the moisture content the soil would have had if
it were fully saturated at the point at which no further shrinkage occurs on drying.
weight of water ww
moisture content (1)
weight of solids ws

In the shrinkage test the soil is left to dry and the soil is therefore not saturated when
the shrinkage limit is reached. To estimate SL it is necessary to measure the total
volume, V, and the weight of the solids, ws. Then

w V 1
SL m (2)
ws Gs

where w is the unit weight of water, and

Gs is the specific gravity

(PL) The Plastic Limit - This is the minimum water content at which the soil will
deform plastically

(LL) The Liquid Limit - This is the minimum water content at which the soil will
flow under a small disturbing force

(PI or Ip) The Plasticity Index. This is derived simply from the LL and PL

IP = LL - PL (3)

(LI) The Liquidity Index - This is defined as

m PL m PL
LI (4)
LL PL Ip
The Atterberg Limits and relationships derived from them are simple measures of the
water absorbing ability of soils containing clay minerals. For example, if a clay has a
very high LI and LL it is capable of absorbing large amounts of water, and for
instance would be unsuitable for the base of a pavement. The LL and PL are also
related to the soil strength.

Remember that only the fraction finer than 425 m is tested in the Atterberg Tests. If
this fraction is only small (that is, the soil contains significant amounts of sand or
gravel) it might be expected that the soil would have better properties. While this is
true to some extent it is important to realise that the soil behaviour is controlled by the
finest 10 - 25 % of the particles

1.10 Classification Systems for Soils

Several systems are used for classifying soil. This is because these systems have two
main purposes

1.9
1. To determine the suitability of different soils for various purposes

2. To develop correlations with useful soil properties, for example, compressibility

and strength

The reason for the large number of such systems is the use of particular systems for
certain types of construction, and the development of localised systems.

1.10.1 PRA (AASHO) system

An example is the PRA system of AASHO (American Association of State Highway

Officials), which ranks soils from 1 to 8 to indicate their suitability as a subgrade for
pavements.

1. Well graded gravel or sand; may include fines

2. Sands and Gravels with excess fines
3. Fine sands
4. Low compressibility silts
5. High compressibility silts
6. Low to medium compressibility clays
7. High compressibility clays
8. Peat, organic soils

1.10.2 Unified Soil Classification

The standard system used worldwide for most major construction projects is known as
the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). This is based on an original system
devised by Cassagrande. Soils are identified by symbols determined from sieve
analysis and Atterberg Limit tests.

Coarse Grained Materials

If more than half of the material is coarser than the 75 m sieve, the soil is classified
as coarse. The following steps are then followed to determine the appropriate 2 letter
symbol

1. Determine the prefix (1st letter of the symbol)

If more than half of the coarse fraction is sand then use prefix S

If more than half of the coarse fraction is gravel then use prefix G

2. Determine the suffix (2nd letter of symbol)

This depends on the uniformity coefficient Cu and the coefficient of curvature Cc

obtained from the grading curve, on the percentage of fines, and the type of fines.

1.10
First determine the percentage of fines, that is the % of material passing the 75 m
sieve.

Then if % fines is < 5% use W or P as suffix

> 12% use M or C as suffix
between 5% and 12% use dual symbols. Use the prefix from
above with first one of W or P and then with one of M or C.

If W or P are required for the suffix then Cu and Cc must be evaluated

D60
Cu
D10
D302
Cc
( D60 D10 )

If prefix is G then suffix is W if Cu > 4 and Cc is between 1 and 3

otherwise use P

If prefix is S then suffix is W if Cu > 6 and Cc is between 1 and 3

otherwise use P

If M or C are required they have to be determined from the procedure used for fine
grained materials discussed below. Note that M stands for Silt and C for Clay. This is
determined from whether the soil lies above or below the A-line in the plasticity chart
shown in Figure 5.

For a coarse grained soil which is predominantly sand the following symbols are
possible

SW, SP, SM, SC

SW-SM, SW-SC, SP-SM, SP-SC
Fine grained materials

These are classified solely according to the results from the Atterberg Limit Tests.
Values of the Plasticity Index and Liquid Limit are used to determine a point in the
plasticity chart shown in Figure 5. The classification symbol is determined from the
region of the chart in which the point lies.

Examples CH High plasticity clay

CL Low plasticity clay
MH High plasticity silt
ML Low plasticity silt
OH High plasticity organic soil (Rare)
Pt Peat

1.11
 60
Comparing soils at equal liquid limit
50 Toughness and dry strength increase e
lin
with increasing plasticity index "
"A
40
Plasticity index

CH
30

20 OH
CL or
10 CL OL
or MH
ML
0 ML
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Liquid limit
Figure 5 Plasticity chart for laboratoryPlasticity chart
classification of fine grained soils
for laboratory classification of fine grained soils
The final stage of the classification is to give a description of the soil to go with the 2-
symbol class. For a coarse grained soil this should include:

the percentages of sand and gravel

maximum particle size
angularity
surface condition
hardness of the coarse grains
local or geological name
any other relevant information

If the soil is undisturbed mention is also required of

stratification
degree of compactness
cementation
moisture conditions
drainage characteristics

The information required, along with all the details of the Unified Classification
Procedure is given in Figure 6. Note that slightly different information is required for
fine-grained soils.

1.12
 Unified soil classification (including identification and description)

Field identification procedures Group Information required for Laboratory classification

(Excluding particles larger than 75mm and basing fractions on symbols Typical names
1 describing soils criteria
estimated weights)

Depending on percentages of fines (fraction smaller than .075mm

D

Bordeline case requiring use of dual symbols

Wide range of grain size and substantial GW Well graded gravels, gravel-
Clean gravels

C U = --- 60 Greater than 4

Determine percentages of gravel and sand from grain size curve

Give typical names: indicate ap-
(little or no

amounts of all intermediate particle sand mixtures, little or no proximate percentages of sand D 10
fines)

sizes fines 2
and gravel: maximum size: (D )
More than half of coarse

C c = ----------30
----------- Between 1 and 3
fraction is larger than

Predominantly one size or a range of GP Poorly graded gravels, gravel- angularity, surface condition, D10 x D60

sieve size) coarse grained soils are classified as follows

sizes with some intermediate sizes sand mixtures, little or no and hardness of the coarse
More than half of material is larger than

missing fines grains: local or geological name Not meeting all gradation requirements for GW
2.36mm
Gravels

and other pertinent descriptive

amount of fines)

Use grain size curve in identifying the fractions as given under field identification
Gravels with

Non-plastic fines (for identification GM Silty gravels, poorly information and symbol in
(apreciable

procedures see ML below) graded gravel-sand-silt mixtures parentheses. Atterberg limits below Above "A" line with
fines
The .075mm sieve size is about the smallest particle visible to the naked eye
Coarse grained soils

"A" line or PI less than 4 PI between 4 and 7

.075mm sieve size

Plastic fines (for identification pro- GC Clayey gravels, poorly graded For undisturbed soils add infor- are borderline cases
Atterberg limits above "A" requiring use of dual

More than 12% GM, GC, SM, SC

cedures see CL below) gravel-sand-clay mixtures mation on stratification, degree

GW, GP, SW, SP

of compactness, cementation, line with PI greater than 7 symbols
Wide range in grain sizes and sub- moisture conditions and drain- D
SW Well graded sands, gravelly
C U =--- 60 Greater than 6
Clean sands
(little or no

stantial amounts of all intermediate age characteristics.

particle sizes sands, little or no fines D 10
fines)
More than half of coarse

(D )2
fraction is smaller than

Example:
Predominantely one size or a range of SP Poorly graded sands, gravelly C c = -----------30
---------- Between 1 and 3
Silty sand, gravelly; about 20% D 10 x D60
sizes with some intermediate sizes missing sands, little or no fines hard angular gravel particles
2.36mm
Sands

12.5mm maximum size; rounded Not meeting all gradation requirements for SW
amount of fines)

Non-plastic fines (for identification pro- SM Silty sands, poorly graded and subangular sand grains
(appreciable

Less than 5%
Sands with

cedures, see ML below) sand-silt mixtures coarse to fine, about 15% non- Atterberg limits below Above "A" line with

5% to 12%
fines

plastic lines with low dry "A" line or PI less than 4 PI between 4 and 7
Plastic fines (for identification pro- SC Clayey sands, poorly graded strength; well compacted and are borderline cases
cedures, see CL below) sand-clay mixtures moist in places; alluvial sand; Atterberg limits above "A" requiring use of dual
(SM) line with PI greater than 7 symbols
Identification procedure on fraction smaller than .425mm
sieve size
Dry strength Dilatency Toughness
More than half of material is smaller than

Silts and clays

crushing (consistency
less than 50

(reaction
liquid limit

character- to shaking) near plastic

istics limit)
Inorganic silts and very fine sands, Give typical name; indicate degree
None to Quick to rock flour, silty or clayey
None ML
Fine grained soils

and character of plasticity,

.075mm sieve size

slight slow fine sands with slight plasticity 60

amount and maximum size of Comparing soils at equal liquid limit
Medium to None to very Inorganic clays of low to medium coarse grains: colour in wet con-
Medium plasticity, gravelly clays, sandy 50 Toughness and dry strength increase e
high slow CL,CI dition, odour if any, local or in
clays, silty clays, lean clays with increasing plasticity index "l
geological name, and other pert- "A
40

Plasticity index
Slight to Slow Slight Organic silts and organic silt- inent descriptive information, and
medium OL clays of low plasticity symbol in parentheses CH
30 CI
inorganic silts, micaceous or
Silts and clays

Slight to Slow to Slight to For undisturbed soils add infor-

greater than
liquid limit

MH dictomaceous fine sandy or

medium none medium silty soils, elastic silts mation on structure, stratif- 20 OH
ication, consistency and undis-
50

High to very Inorganic clays of high or

None High turbed and remoulded states, CL OL
high CH plasticity, fat clays moisture and drainage conditions 10
CL-ML or MH
ML
Medium to None to very Slight to Organic clays of medium to Example 0
high high medium OH high plasticity Clayey silt, brown: slightly plastic: 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Liquid limit
Readily identified by colour, odour small percentage of fine sand:
Highly organic soils spongy feel and frequently by fibrous Pt Peat and other highly organic soils numerous vertical root holes: firm Plasticity chart
and dry in places; loess; (ML) for laboratory classification of fine grained soils
texture

Figure 6 Unified Soil Classification Chart

Example - Classification using USCS

Classification tests have been performed on a soil sample and the following grading
curve and Atterberg limits obtained. Determine the USCS classification.

100

80
% Finer

60

40

20

0
0 .0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 1 0 .0 1 0 .1 1 10 100
P a rtic le s ize (mm)
1.13
Atterberg limits: Liquid limit LL = 32, Plastic Limit, PL =26

Step 1: Determine the % fines from the grading curve

%fines (% finer than 75 m) = 11% - Coarse grained, Dual symbols required

Step 2: Determine % of different particle size fractions (to determine G or S), and D10,
D30, D60 from grading curve (to determine W or P)

D10 = 0.06 mm, D30 = 0.25 mm, D60 = 0.75 mm

Cu = 12.5, Cc = 1.38, and hence Suffix1 = W

Particle size fractions: Gravel 17%

Sand 73%
Silt and Clay 10%

Of the coarse fraction about 80% is sand, hence Prefix is S

Step 3: From the Atterberg Test results determine its Plasticity chart location

LL = 32, PL = 26. Hence Plasticity Index Ip = 32 - 26 = 6

From Plasticity Chart point lies below A-line, and hence Suffix2 = M

Step 4: Dual Symbols are SW-SM

Step 5: Complete classification by including a description of the soil

1.14
AASHTO Classification

1.15
1.16