Soil Classification

Soil Texture

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 Soil Texture
The texture of a soil is its appearance or feel
and it depends on the relative sizes and shapes
of the particles as well as the range or
distribution of those sizes.
Coarse-grained soils: Fine-grained soils:
Gravel Sand Silt Clay

0.075 mm (USCS)
0.06 mm (BS) (Hong Kong)

Sieve analysis Hydrometer analysis

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1.2 Characteristics
(Holtz and Kovacs, 1981)

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Grain Size and Grain Size
Distribution

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 Take note!!!
The sizes of particles that make up soil vary
over a wide range. Soils are generally called
gravel, sand, silt, or clay, depending on the
predominant size of particles within the soil. To
describe soils by their particle size, several
organizations have developed particle-size
classifications.
Particle Size Distribution

boulders > 60mm

60mm > gravel > 2mm
2mm > sand > 60 m
60 m > silt > 2 m
2 m > clay
Each class may is sub-divided into coarse, medium and fine.
for sand:
2mm > coarse sand > 600 m
600 m > medium sand > 200 m
200 m > fine sand > 60 m
Classification boundaries either begin with a '2' or a '6'.
Soil-Particle Size Classification
 Grain Size

USCS 4.75 0.075

BS 2.0 0.06 0.002

USCS: Unified Soil Classification

BS: British Standard

Unit: mm (Holtz and Kovacs, 1981)

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 Particle Size Distribution (continued)
Data often presented as Particle Size Distribution Curves with
logarithmic scale on X-axis

clay silt

sand

S - shaped - but some conventions of curves going left to right,

others, the opposite way around
 Particle Size Distribution (continued)
A Problem
clay is used both as a classifier of size as above, and also to define
particular types of material.
clays exhibit a property known as cohesion
(the "stickiness" associated with clays).

General Properties
Gravels ----- permeability is of the order of mm s-1.
Clays ----- it is 10-7 mm/s or less.
Compressibility of the soil increases as the particle size decreases.
Permeability of the soil decreases as the particle size decreases.
 Sieve Sizes

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(Das, 1998)
(Head, 1992)
 Grain Size Distribution (Cont.)
Experiment
Coarse-grained soils: Fine-grained soils:
Gravel Sand Silt Clay

0.075 mm (USCS)
0.06 mm (BS) (Hong Kong)

(Head, 1992)

Sieve analysis Hydrometer analysis

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 Grain Size Distribution (Cont.)

Log scale
Effective size D10: 0.02 mm
D30: D60: (Holtz and Kovacs, 1981)
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 Grain Size Distribution (Cont.)
Describe the shape Criteria
Example: well graded

D10 0.02 mm (effective size ) Well graded soil

D30 0.6 mm 1 Cc 3 and C u 4
D 60 9 mm (for gravels )
Coefficien t of uniformity 1 Cc 3 and C u 6
D 9 (for sands )
C u 60 450
D10 0.02
Coefficien t of curvature
2 2
Question
(D 30 ) ( 0 .6 )
Cc 2 What is the Cu for a soil with
(D10 )( D 60 ) (0.02)(9)
only one grain size?
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 Answer
Question
What is the Cu for a soil with only one grain size?

Coefficient of uniformity
Finer

D
Cu 60 1
D10

Grain size distribution

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 SAMPLE PROBLEM
1. For a soil with D60 =0.42mm, and D30 =0.21mm, and
D10 =0.16, calculate and the coefficient of gradation.

Soln;

CU =D60 /D10 =0.42mm/0.16mm=2.625

CC = (D30 )2 /(D10 )(D60) =(0.21)2 / (0.16)(0.42)=0.66

 2. The following are the results of a sieve analysis:
US Sieve Mass of Soil Retained on Opening Commulative % Passing
No. Each Sieve (g) Mass
4 0 4.75 0 100
10 18.5 2.0 18.5 95.608
20 53.2 .850 71.5 82.977
40 90.5 .425 162.2 61.491
60 81.8 .250 244 42.070
100 92.2 .150 336.2 20.180
200 58.5 .075 394.1 6.434
PAN 26.5 421.2 0

a.) Determine the percent finer than each sieve size and plot a grain-
size distribution curve.
b.) Determine D10 , D30 and D60 from the grain-size distribution curve.
c.) Calculate the uniformity coefficient, Cu.
d.) Calculate the coefficient of graduation, Cc.
 Grain-size distribution curve

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
0.01 0.1 1 10
 Solution

c.) Cu = D60 /D10 =0.4/0.12= 3.33

d.) CC = (D)2/(D60)(D10) =1.01
3.The particle-size characteristics of a soil are given in the table.

Sieve no. Opening % Passing

4 4.75 100
10 2.00 90
20 0.850 64
40 0.425 38
80 0.180 18
200 0.075 13

Calculate the uniformity coefficient ( Cu) and

coefficient of gradation ( Cc).
 Soln:

Cu= D60/ D10= 0.73/0.019= 38.421

Cc = (0.29)2 / (0.73)(.019)=0.063
 Grain Size Distribution (Cont.)
Engineering applications
It will help us feel the soil texture (what the soil is) and it will
also be used for the soil classification (next topic).
It can be used to define the grading specification of a drainage
filter (clogging).
It can be a criterion for selecting fill materials of embankments
and earth dams, road sub-base materials, and concrete
aggregates.
It can be used to estimate the results of grouting and chemical
injection, and dynamic compaction.
Effective Size, D10, can be correlated with the hydraulic
conductivity (describing the permeability of soils). (Hazens
Equation).(Note: controlled by small particles)
The grain size distribution is more important to coarse-grained soils.
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 Particle Shape

Coarse- Rounded Subrounde

grained d
soils

Subangular Angular

Important for granular soils (Holtz and Kovacs, 1981)

Angular soil particle higher friction

Round soil particle lower friction
Note that clay particles are sheet-like.
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Thank you!!!