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1. INTRODUCTION
Most soils are a heterogeneous accumulation of mineral grains not
cemented together. However, the term `soil' or `earth', as used by
engineers, includes virtually every type of uncemented or partially
cemented inorganic and organic material found in the ground. Only hard
rock which remains firm after exposure is wholly excluded.
In order for engineers, both in the field and in the office, to be able to
`speak the same language' with respect to soils, a standard method of
identifying and classifying soils regarding their engineering
characteristics rather than agricultural or geological or other
characteristics is needed. A system of describing the soil (identification)
and placing it into a category or group (classification) which has distinct
engineering properties enables engineers to exchange information and to
profit by one another's experiences. Borehole logs of soil profile
explorations containing adequate descriptions and soil classifications
(often from field identification) can be used in making preliminary
estimates to determine the extent of additional field investigation needed
for (a) final design, (b) planning an economical testing program, and (c)
extending test results to additional explorations. For final design of
important structures, however, visual soil classification must be
supplemented by laboratory tests to determine performance
characteristics of the soil, such as permeability, shearing strength, and
compressibility, under expected field conditions. Knowledge of soil
classification, including typical engineering properties of soils of the
various groups, is especially valuable to the engineer engaged in
prospecting for earth materials or investigating foundations for
structures. Initially much work was concentrated on grain size
relationships as illustrated by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads
classification system shown in Figure 1 (Rose, 1924), however this was
found insufficient for engineering use.
has the flexibility of being adaptable both to the field and to the
laboratory. Probably its greatest advantage is that a soil can be classified
readily by visual and manual examination without the necessity for
laboratory testing. The Unified Classification System is based on the
sizes of the particles, the amounts of the various sizes, and the
characteristics of the very fine grains. This method of classification of
soils is recommended for use by the Canadian Foundation Engineering
Manual and is described in the following text and summarized in Table
1.
2. SOIL COMPONENTS
(A) Size
(i) General
Particles larger than 76 mm (3 inches) are excluded from the Unified
Soil Classification System. However, the amount of such oversized
material may be of great importance in the selection of sources for
embankment material: hence borehole logs of explorations always
contain information on quantity and size of particles larger than 76 mm
(3 inches). Within the size range of the system (i.e. less than 76 mm)
there are two major engineering performance divisions. (A third division
is used for highly organic material, i.e. Peat):
(a) Coarse grained soils have 50% by weight of their particles greater
than the No. 200 sieve size (0.075 mm), approximately the smallest size
visible by the unaided human eye.
(b) Fine grained soils have 50% by weight of their particles less than the
No. 200 sieve size (0.075 mm) and thus no individual particle should be
visible by the unaided human eye.
(c) Organic material (Symbol Pt): - Organic soils composed of more
than 50% organic material by weight are known as Peat.
(ii) Coarse Grained Fraction
The coarse grain fraction is further divided into two soil types again
based on sizing. These two types form part of the initial identification
regarding engineering performance classification. For brevity they are
given an identification symbol. The soil types and their symbol are (a) Gravel (Symbol G) which
identifies a coarse grained soil
where 50% by weight of only that
fraction of the soil retained on the
No. 200 sieve (0.074 mm) is larger
than the No. 4 sieve size (4.75 mm
or about 3/16 inch).
Size Subdivision: In order to aid
the identification of particle sizes
gravel has two particle size
Figure 2. Ranges for coarse
subdivisions as shown on Figure 2
particle sizing.
and as given by:Coarse gravel -- 76 mm (3 inch)
to 19 mm (3/4 inch),
Fine Gravel -- 19 mm (3/4 inch) to 4.75 mm (No. 4 sieve).
There are no symbol identifications for size.
(b) Sand (Symbol S) which identifies a coarse grained soil where 50%
by weight of only that fraction of the soil retained on the No. 200 sieve
(0.075 mm) is smaller than the No. 4 sieve size (4.75 mm).
Size Subdivision: In order to aid the identification of particle sizes
sand has three particle size subdivisions as shown on Figure 2 and as
given by:Coarse sand -- No. 4 (4.75 mm) to No. 10 sieves (2.00 mm),
Medium sand -- No. 10 (2.00 mm) to No. 40 sieves (0.425 mm),
Fine sand -- No. 40 (0.425 mm) to No. 200 sieves (0.074 mm).
There are no symbol identifications for size.
10
Blows
25
0.1
(1)
Similarly, the water content of the soil at the boundary between the
plastic state and the solid state is called the `plastic limit' (PL or wP) and
is recorded as a whole number. The laboratory test consists of
repeatedly rolling threads of the soil to 3 mm (1/8 inch) in diameter until
they crumble, and then determining the water content. The difference
between the liquid limit and the plastic limit corresponds to the range of
water contents within which the soil is plastic. This difference of water
content is called the `plasticity index' (PI or Ip). Highly plastic soils
have high PI values. In a non-plastic soil the plastic limit and the liquid
limit are the same (and the PI equals 0) or the liquid limit test is
impossible to perform.
These limits of consistency, which are called `Atterberg limits' after
a Swedish scientist, are used in the Unified Soil Classification System as
the basis for laboratory differentiation between materials of appreciable
plasticity (clays) and slightly plastic or non-plastic materials (silts). They
are also used to subdivide the silts, clays and organic materials into those
with
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Soil
Dry Strength
Dilatancy
Toughness
ML
MH
CL
CH
None to Low
Low to Medium
Medium to High
High to Very High
Slow to Rapid
None to Slow
None to Slow
None
Reaction
Visual Response
Low
Medium
No visible change.
Water appears slowly on shaking and disappears
slowly on squeezing.
Water appears quickly on shaking and disappears
quickly on squeezing.
High
Strength
None
Low
Medium
High
Very High
(C) Toughness
Toughness or consistency near plastic limit: -- After removing
particles larger than the No. 40 sieve (0.425 mm) size, a specimen of soil
about two cubic cm (one-half inch) volume in size is moulded to the
consistency of putty. If too dry, water must be added and if sticky, the
specimen should be spread out in a thin layer and allowed to lose some
moisture by evaporation. Then the specimen is rolled out by hand on a
smooth surface or between the palms into a thread about 3 mm (oneeighth inch) in diameter. The thread is then folded and then rerolled
repeatedly. During this manipulation the moisture content is gradually
reduced and the specimen stiffens, finally loses its plasticity, and
crumbles when the plastic limit is reached.
After the thread crumbles, the pieces should be lumped together and
a slight kneading action continued until the lump crumbles.
The tougher the thread near the plastic limit and the stiffer the lump
when it finally crumbles, the more potent is the colloidal clay fraction in
the soil. Weakness of the thread at the plastic limit and quick loss of
cohesion of the lump below the plastic limit indicate either inorganic clay
of low plasticity, or materials such as kaolin-type clays and organic silts
which occur below the A-line.
Highly organic clays have a very weak and spongy feel at the plastic
limit. Typical criteria for classification is:
Toughness
Low
Medium
High
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fraction of coarse grains are larger or smaller than the No. 4 sieve (4.75
mm) size (about 1/4 inch).
If the soil is a gravel, it is next identified as being `clean' and
containing little or no fines (by definition less than 5 percent by weight),
or `dirty' and containing an appreciable amount of fines (by definition
more than 12 percent by weight). For clean gravels, final classification
is made by estimating the gradation, the well-graded gravels belong to
the GW group, and uniform or well sorted (not to be confused with well
graded) and skip-graded gravels belong to the GP group. Dirty gravels
are of two types - those with non-plastic (silty) fines, GM, and those with
plastic (clayey) fines, GC. The determination of whether the fines are
silty or clayey is made by the three manual (i.e. by hand) tests for finegrained soils.
If a soil is a sand, the same steps and criteria are used as for the
gravels in order to determine whether the soil is a well-graded clean sand
(SW), poorly graded clean sand (SP), sand with silty fines (SM), or sand
with clayey fines (SC).
If a material is predominantly (more than 50 percent by weight) fine
grained, it is classified into one or six groups (ML, CL, OL, MH, CH,
OH) by estimating its dilatancy (reaction to shaking), dry strength
(crushing characteristics), and toughness (consistency near plastic limit),
and by identifying it as being organic or inorganic.
Soils that are typical of the various groups are readily classified by the
foregoing procedures. However, many natural soils will have property
characteristics of two groups because they are close to the borderline
between the groups, either in percentages of the various sizes or in
plasticity characteristics. For this substantial number of soils, boundary
classifications are used, that is, the two group symbols most nearly
describing the soil are connected by a hyphen, such as GW-GC.
If the percentages of gravel and sand sizes in a coarse-grained soil are
nearly equal, the classification procedure is to assume that the soil is a
gravel, and then continue in the chart until the final soil group, say GC,
is reached. Since we could have assumed that the soil is a sand, the
correct field classification is GC-SC, because the criteria for the gravel
and sand subgroups are identical. Similarly, within the gravel or sand
groupings, boundary classifications such as GW-GP, GM-GC, GW-GM,
SW-SP, SM-SC, and SW-SM can occur.
Proper boundary classification of a soil near the borderline between
coarse-grained and fine-grained soils is accomplished by classifying it
first as a coarse-grained soil and then as a fine-grained soil. Such
classifications as SM-ML and SC-CL are common.
Within the fine-grained division, boundary classifications can occur
between low liquid limit soils and high liquid limit soils as well as
between silty and clayey materials in the same range of liquid limits. For
example, we may have ML-MH, CL-CH, OL-OH and ML-CL, ML-OL,
CL-OL, MH-CH, MH-OH, CH-OH soils. A guide for a textural
classification of soils is shown in Figure 7. The textural properties can
be supplemented by manually performed tests already presented for field
classification purposes.
(C) Laboratory Classification
Although most classifications of soils will be done visually and by the
manually performed tests, the Unified Soil Classification System
provides a precise delineation of the soil groups by mechanical analyses
and Atterberg limits tests in the laboratory. Laboratory classifications are
often performed on representative samples of soils which are being
subjected to extensive testing for strength, compressibility, and
permeability. They also can be used to advantage in training the field
classifier of soils to improve his ability to estimate percentages and
degrees of plasticity.
The grain-size curve is used to classify the soil as being coarse
grained or fine grained, and if coarse grained, into gravel or sand by size,
using the 50 percent criterion. Within the gravel or sand groupings, soils
containing less than 5 percent finer than the No. 200 sieve (0.074 mm)
size are considered `clean' and are then classified as well graded or
poorly graded by their coefficients of uniformity and curvature. In order
for a clean gravel to be well graded (GW), it must have both a coefficient
CHARACTERISTICS
OF
SOIL
Some of the main engineering properties of the various soil types are
given in summary form in Table 2 and typical safe bearing pressures and
13
sand and gravel may make the soil virtually impervious, especially when
the coarse grains are well graded. Also, serious frost heaving in wellgraded sands and gravels may be caused by less than 12 percent of fines.
Typically 6% fines at the surface results in some frost heave. The
allowable amount increases with depth.
Soils containing large quantities of silt and clay are the most
troublesome to the engineer. These materials exhibit marked changes in
physical properties with change of water content. A hard, dry clay, for
example, may be suitable as a foundation for heavy loads so long as it
remains dry, but may turn into a quagmire when wet. Many of the fine
soils shrink on drying and expand on wetting, which may adversely
effect structures founded on them or constructed on them. Even when
moisture content does not change, the properties of fine soils may vary
considerably between their natural condition in the ground and their state
after being disturbed. Deposits of fine particles which have been
subjected to loading in geologic time frequently have a structure which
gives the material unique properties in the undisturbed state. When the
soil is excavated for use as a construction material or when the natural
deposit is disturbed by driving piles, for example, the soil structure is
destroyed and the properties of the soil are changed radically.
Silts are different from clays in many important respects, but because
of their similarity in appearance, they often have been mistaken one for
the other sometimes with unfortunate results. Dry, powdered silt and
clay are indistinguishable, but they are easily identified by their
behaviour in the presence of water. The importance of the recognition
of the difference in behaviour of fines as being silt or clay is an essential
part of the Unified Soil Classification System.
(i) Silts
Silts are the non-plastic fines. They are inherently unstable in the
presence of water and have a tendency to become `quick' when saturated.
Silts are fairly impervious, difficult to compact, and are highly
susceptible to frost heaving. Silt masses undergo change of volume with
change of shape (the property of dilatancy) in contrast to clays which
retain their volume with change of shape (the property of plasticity).
Thus silts, at the same liquid limit, have relatively low plasticity
compared with clays. In terms of the classification chart (Figure 6) they
plot below the `A' line. The dilatancy property of silts, together with the
`quick' reaction to vibration, affords a means of identifying typical silt in
the loose wet state. When dry, silt can be pulverized easily under finger
pressure (has very slight dry strength), and will have a smooth feel
between the fingers in contrast to the grittiness of fine sand.
Silts differ among themselves in size and shape of grains which are
reflected mainly in the property of compressibility. For similar
conditions of previous loading, the higher liquid limit of a silt the more
compressible it is. This is also true for clays and a general pattern of
results for remould fine grained soils is shown in Figure 9 demonstrating
this point. The liquid limit of a typical bulky-grained inorganic silt is
about 30, while highly micaceous or diatomaceous silts (so-called
`elastic' silts) consisting mainly of flaky grains, may have liquid limits as
high as 100. The differences in quickness and dilatancy properties afford
a means of distinguishing in the field between silts of low liquid limit
14
are dark grey or black in colour, and usually have a characteristic odour
of decay. Organic clays feel spongy in the plastic range as compared to
inorganic clays. The tendency for soils high in organic content to create
voids by decay or to change the physical characteristics of a soil mass
through chemical alteration makes them undesirable for engineering use.
Soils containing even moderate amounts of organic matter are
significantly more compressible and less stable than inorganic soils,
hence they are less desirable for engineering use.
6. ACTIVITY
Although not part of the classification of soils Skempton (1953) has
defined the `Activity' of a soil as the ratio of the Plasticity Index to the
percentage by weight of the soil smaller than the 2 micrometre. The
results that accommodated Skempton's definition are illustrated in Figure
11 and were done on clays that were basicly 100% passing the 75 m
sieve. The value of obtaining the activity of the fines fraction is that high
activity is generally but not always associated with swelling soils.
8. REFERENCES
ASTM D-2487, "Classification of soils for engineering purposes",
American Society for Testing Materials. (TA401.A5S).
ASTM D-2488, "Description and identification of soils (visualmanual procedure)", American Society for Testing Materials.
(TA401.A5S).
Bjerrum, L. (1954), "Geotechnical properties of Norwegian marine
clays". Geotechnique, Vol. 4, pp. 49-69. (TA1.G3).
Burmister, D.M., 1951, "Identification and Classification of Soils".
Symposium on Identification and Classification of Soils, Special
Technical Publication No. 113, American Society for Testing Materials,
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B1 Air dry
B2 Somewhat dry
B3 Normal moisture
B4 Wet
B5 Very wet
F. Number of
Fibres:
F1 No fibres
F2 Few fibres
F3 Plenty of fibres
F4 Mainly fibres
R. Number of
Root Threads:
R1 No root threads
R2 Few root threads
R3 Plenty of root threads
R4 Root threads forming main part of peat
V.
V1 No wood remainder
V2 Few wood remainders
V3 Plenty wood remainders
V4 Very many wood remainders
Quantity of
Wood:
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
H9
H10
16
17
18