Sub Grade Soil Investigation

and Properties

Name :- SHAH NIKET RAMESH

Class:- B.Tech IV
Roll no.:- U07CE044
 
Faculty:- Dr. Rakesh Kumar

Transportion Eng ine e ring  Division

Civil Eng ine e ring  De partme nt
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute  of 
Te chnolog y,  Surat.
 Significance of Subgrade Soil
 Subgrade soil is an integral part of the road
pavement structure as it provides the support to
the pavement from beneath.
 The subgrade soil and its properties are important
in the design of pavement structure.
 The main function of the subgrade is to give
adequate support to the pavement and for this
the subgrade should possess sufficient stability
under adverse climate and loading conditions.
 The formation of waves, corrugation, rutting and
shoving in black top pavements and the
phenomena of pumping, blowing and consequent
cracking of cement concrete pavements are
generally attributed due to the poor subgrade
conditions.
Desirable Properties

 Stability
 Incompressibility

 Permanency of strength

 Minimum changes in volume and stability

under adverse conditions of weather and
ground water
 Good drainage, and

 Ease of compaction.

 Index Properties of Soil

 The soil properties on which their

identification and classification are based
are known as index properties.
 The index properties which are usually used
are grain size distribution, liquid limit
and plasticity index.
 Further the properties which are sometimes
used are shrinkage limit, field moisture
equivalent centrifuge moisture
equivalent and compacted dry density.

Grain Size Analysis

 The grain size distribution is found by

mechanical analysis.
 The components of soils which are coarse
grained may be analyzed by sieve analysis
and the soil fines by sedimentation
analysis.
 It is used to determine the percentage of
individual grain size present in a soil sample.

Consistency Limits and Indices

 Liquid limit may be defined as the minimum

water content at which the soil will flow
under the application of very small shearing
force.
 Plastic limit may be defined in general
terms, as the minimum moisture content at
which the soil remains in a plastic stage.
 Plasticity index (P.I.) is defined as the
numerical difference between the liquid and
plastic limits.
 Plasticity index thus indicates the range of
moisture content over which the soil is in
plastic condition.

 Shrinkage limit is the maximum moisture
content at which further reduction in water
content does not cause reduction in volume.
 It is the lowest water content that can occur in
clayey soil sample which is completely
saturated.
 Field moisture equivalent of a soil is the
moisture content at which the demands for
absorbed water are fully satisfies.
 The Centrifuge moisture equivalent of a
soil is the moisture content retained against
a force of 1000 times gravity for one hour.

 Soil Classification Based on Grain
Size
 There are several classification systems for soil grains
based on grain size of soil, according to which soils
have been classified as gravel, sand, silt and clay.
 The various soil classification systems in use in the field
of highway engineering are :


 M.I.T. classification system or Indian Standard

Classification System
 Burmister descriptive classification
 Casagrande soil classification
 Unified soil classification of Revised Casagrande
soil classification and I.S. soil classification
systems.
 U.S. Public Roads Administration (PRA)
classification
 Highway Research Board (HRB) or American
Association of Stage Highway Officials (AASHO)
classification or Revised PRA classification
 Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA)
classification.
 M.I.T. classification system or Indian
Standard Classification System

 The limits of the grain size for each component as

per this system are shown below:

Textural Classification
 The textural classification system is based on grain
size distribution of the soil and is helpful in
classifying a soil which contains different soil
components such as sand silt and clay.
Unified soil classification
system
 Unified soil classification system
MAJOR DIVISION GROUP DESCRIPTIONS
SYMBOLS
COARSE GRAVELS Clean Gravels GW Well Graded Gravels,
GRAINED More Than (little or no Fines) Gravel – Sand Mixtures,
SOILS Half Coarse Little or no Fines
More Than Fraction GP Poorly Graded Gravels,
Half Retained on Gravel - Sand Mixtures,
Retained on No. 4 Sieve Little or no Fines
200 Sieve Gravels with Fines GM Silty Gravels,
(Appreciable Fines) Gravel – Sand - Silt Mixtures
GC Clayey Gravels,
Gravel – Sand - Clay Mixtures
SANDS Clean Sands SW Well Graded Sands,
More Than (Little or no Fines) Gravelly Sand,
Half Coarse Little or no Fines
Fraction SP Poorly Graded Sands,
Passes a No. Gravelly Sand,
4 Sieve Little or no Fines
Sands with Fines SM Silty Sands,
(Appreciable Fines) Sand – Silt Mixtures
SC Clayey Sands,
Sand - Clay Mixtures
 Unified soil classification system
MAJOR DIVISION GROUP DESCRIPTIONS
SYMBOLS
FINE SILTS and CLAYS ML Inorganic Silts & very Fine Sands,
GRAINE Silty or Clayey Fine Sands,
D SOILS Liquid Limit Clayey Silts
More Less Than 50
Than Half CL Inorganic Clays of Low to Medium Plasticity,
Retained Lean Clays
on 200
Sieve OL Organic Silts & Organic Silty Clays Of Low
Plasticity
SILTS and CLAYS MH Inorganic Silts,
Fine Sand or Silty soils,
Liquid Limit Elastic silts
Greater Than 50
CH Inorganic Clays Of High Plasticity ,
Fat Clays
OH Organic Clays Of Medium To High Plasticity,
Organic Silts

Highly Organic Soils PT Peat And Other Highly Organic Soils

Highway Research Board ( HRB )
classification of soils
 This is also called American Association of Stage Highway
Officials (AASHO) classification of Revised PRA classification
(PRA) soil classification system.
 A-1 soils are well graded mixture of stone fragments, gravel
coarse sand, fine sand and non-plastic or slightly plastic soil
binder. The soils of this group are subdivided into two
 subgroups, A-1-a, consisting predominantly of stone
fragments or gravel and A-1-b consisting predominantly of
 coarse sand. 
 A-2 group of soils include a wide range of granular soils
 ranging from A-1 to A-3 groups, consisting of granular soils
and 35% fines of A-4, A-5, A-6 or A-7 groups. Based on the
fines content, the soils of A-2 groups are subdivided into
subgroups A-2-4, A-2-5, A-2-6 and A-2-7. 
 A-3 soils consist mainly, uniformly graded medium or fine
sand similar to beach sand or desert blown sand. Stream-
deposited mixtures of poorly graded fine sand with some
coarse sand and gravel are also included in this group.
 A-4 soils are generally silty soils, non-plastic or
moderately plastic in nature with liquid limit and
plasticity index values less than 40 and 10
respectively.


 A-5 soils are also silty soils with plasticity index less
than 10% , but with liquid limit values exceeding
40%. These include highly elastic or compressible,
soils, usually of diatomaceous of micaceous
character.
  
 A-6 group of soils are plastic clays, having high values
of plasticity index exceeding 10% and low values of
liquid limit below 40%; they have high volume charge
properties with variation in moisture content.
  
 A-7 soils are also clayey soils as A-6 soils, but with high
values of both liquid limit and plasticity index, (LL
greater than 40% and PI greater than 10%). These
soils have low permeability and high volume change
properties with changes in moisture content.

Factors affecting Sub - grade
soil strength characteristics
 Soil type


 Moisture content


 Dry density


 Internal structural of the soil, and



 The type and mode of stress application


Evaluation of Soil Strength
 The tests used to evaluate the strength properties
of soils may be broadly divided into three
groups :-

California Bearing Ratio ( CBR )
 This is a penetration test developed by the California
Division of Highways, as a method for evaluating the
stability of soil, subgrade and other flexible pavement
materials. The test results have been correlated with
flexible pavement thickness requirements for
highways and air fields.
 The C.B.R. value is calculated using the relation:



[ Load (or pressure) sustained by the
specimen at
 2.5 or 5.0 mm penetration ]
CBR, % = ------------------------------------------------------------------------ x
100
 [ Load (or pressure sustained by standard
aggregates at the corresponding penetration level ]
CBR VALUE 3% and less 3% ­ 5% 5% ­ 15%



SUBGRADE  Poor Normal Good
STRENGTH

 Investigating procedure for
classification of Sub grade soil
 In particular , soil and material surveys are
required:

 (i) to determine the nature and physical
characteristics of soil and soil profile for design
of embankment and pavement.
 (ii) to determine the proper method(s) of
handling soils;
 (iii) to classify the earth work involved into
various categories such as rock excavation,
earthwork in hard soil etc.
 (iv) to gather general information regarding
subsoil water level and flooding; and
 (v) to locate sources for pavement
construction materials and to ascertain their
availability and suitability for use in the different
pavement courses.
 Soil investigation for low
embankment
 The first operation in the detailed soil survey
is to demarcate the possible borrow areas
along or off the road.
 While demarcating borrow areas within the
road land, the directions contained in IRC :
10-1961 “Recommended Practice for
Borrowpitsfor Road Embankments
Constructed by Manual Operation“ should
be kept in view.
 The extent of borrow areas should be
commensurate with the volume of work
involved in the embankment.
 Test pits 0.5 to 1.0 m.sq. should be dug in the
borrow areas from where the embankment
material is to be obtained.
 For borrow pits along the road land, the test pits
should be at intervals of 200 metres but the
intervals may be varied depending on the
uniformity or variability of the soil.
 When embankment material is to be obtained from
off-road locations, adequate number of samples
should be taken from each such area.
 The depth of test pits should not exceed the likely
depth of the borrow pits by more than 15 cm.

 The general character of material excavated from
the test pits should be recorded and tests
conducted on it in the laboratory for properties
mentioned further on.
 Where the type of material varies in a single pit, the
tests should be conducted on each type of soil
separately and the horizon of occurrence noted.
 Special investigations for high
embankments
 The basic objective of investigations in such cases is to
obtain engineering data for soil and rock that are
necessary for a quantitative design of embankment at
the chosen sites.
 The details of investigations depend upon the
requirements of design.
 Generally for checking stability against slip failures, the
basic properties to be investigated are shear
parameters, unit weight and moisture conditions.
 For safety against excessive settlement, consolidation
properties are important.
 For investigation of such cases, services of specialists
will often be needed.
 Reference may also be made to IRC: 75-1979
‘Guidelines for the Design of High Embankments.
Soil investigations for cut sections
 In the same manner as described in paragraph for
embankment materials, soil in cut sections along the
centre line of the road at an elevation corresponding
to the design subgrade level should be tested for the
following general properties :
 (i) Gradation
 (ii) Atterberg limits
 (iii) Field dendity and moisture content
 (iv) Proctor denstity.
 In the case of rock cuts where necessary, trial pits or
boreholes should be carried out at the foundation level
to make realistic estimates of the type of cutting
involved.
 The interval of trial bores may be 30-50 metresor as
otherwise decided by the Engineer-in-Charge
depending on specific requirements.
 General guide to the selection of soils on
basis of anticipated embankment
performance
P.R.A. Comparable soil groups in Indian StandardVisual
Soil Classification
description Max.
System
Dry density Optimum Anticipated
Classifica range gm per c.c. moisture content embankment
tion range percent performance.

Most probable Possible

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A-1 GW , GP, GB , GM , --- Granular materials 1.84-2.28 7-15 Good to excellent
SW , SP, SB , SM (115-142)
A-2 GM , GC , SM , SC --- Granular materials 1.76-2.16 9-18 Fair to excellent
with soil (110-135)

A-3 SP --- Sand 1.76-1.84 9-15 Fair to good

(110-115)
A-4 ML , MH , OL , OH CL , SM , SB , SC Sandy silts and 1.52-2.08 10-20 Poor to good
silts (95-130)
A-5 MH , OH --- Elastic silts and 1.36-1.60 20-35 Unsatisfactory
silts (85-100)
A-6 CL , CI MH , OH , SC Silt clay 1.52-1.92 10-30 Poor to good
(95-120)
A-7 MH , CI , CH , OH SC Clay 1.36-1.84 15-35 Poor to fair
(85-115)
* For guidance in this respect see Standard No. IRC : 37 – 1970 “Guidelines for the Design of Flexible Pavements”.
Thank you