Horizon Borehole Log Key Sheet and Soil Description Guide

SAMPLE / TEST SYMBOLS

Standard Pizeocone
Sample / Rock Core Hammer Vibrocore Insitu Vane
Push Sample Penetration Grab Sample Piston Sample Penetration
Test Sample Sample Sample Test
Test Test

Symbols 

Letter RC P SPT H GB R VB IVT C

Field observations relating to Undrained Shear Strengths of Fine Soils (Ref: BS5930)

Shear Strength
Term Field Test 2
kN/m
Very soft Finger easily pushed in up to 25mm 0-20
Soft Finger pushed in up to 10mm 20-40
Firm Thumb makes impression easily 40-75
Stiff Can be indented slightly by thumb 75-150
Very stiff Can be indented by thumb nail 150-300
Hard (or very weak
Can be scratched by thumbnail > 300
mudstone)
Relative Density of Coarse Grained Soils
Density Relative Density (%)
Very loose <15
Loose 15-35
Medium dense 35-65
Dense 65-85
Very dense >85

Composite Soil Types (based on BS5930)

Principle Soil Approx.

Term
Group Secondary %

Slightly (sandy) <5

(sandy) 5 to 20
Coarse Soils
Very (sandy) >20
SAND and GRAVEL Approx. 50
Slightly (sandy) <35
Fine Soils (sandy) 35 to 65
Very (sandy) >65
 Horizon Borehole Log Key Sheet and Soil Description Guide
Particle Sizes of Principle Soil Types (Ref: BS5930)
Particle Size
Soil Group Particle Size (mm) Principle Soil Type
Description
>200 - BOULDERS
Very Coarse Soils
<200 - COBBLES
<60 Coarse
<20 Medium GRAVEL
<6 Fine
Coarse Soils
<2 Coarse
<0.6 Medium SAND
<0.2 Fine
<0.06 Coarse
<0.02 Medium SILT
Fine Soils
<0.006 Fine
<0.002 - CLAY
Discontinuity and Bedding Descriptions (based on BS5930)
Discontinuity spacing Term Mean Spacing/ Thickness (mm) Bedding spacing Term
Very widely spaced Over 2000 Very thickly bedded
Widely spaced 2000 to 600 Thickly bedded
Medium spaced 600 to 200 Medium bedded
Closely spaced 200 to 60 Thinly bedded
Very closely spaced 60 to 20 Very thinly bedded
Extremely closely spaced 20 to 6 Thickly laminated
- Under 6 Thinly laminated
Interbedded and interlaminated: Alternating layers of different
Fissured: Breaks into blocks along un polished discontinuities.
types, pre-qualified by thickness term if in equal proportion,
Sheared: Breaks into blocks along polished discontinuities.
otherwise thickness of the spacing between each subordinate layer.
Spacing terms also used for distance between partings, isolated beds or laminae, desiccation cracks, rootlets etc.
Descriptive terms and quantities for minor soils constituents i.e. shell fragments and gypsum crystals (based on BS5930
Term Quantity (%)
Trace, rare Less than 1%
Occasional, little Up to 5%
Some 5% to 20%
Many 20% to 50%

CARBONATE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (Based on Clarke and Walker)

Rock Cementation Cone Carbonate Increasing Grain Size of Particulate Deposit
Strength Degree Resistance Content (%) <0.002mm 0.002-0.06mm 0.06-2mm 2mm-60mm
Carbonate MUD
>90 Carbonate SILT Carbonate SAND Carbonate GRAVEL
(carb. Clay)
Clayey
Very weak to Non-cemented Siliceous Siliceous Siliceous carbonate
<90 carbonate MUD
weak to moderately <35Mpa (carbonate clay)
carbonate SILT carbonate SAND GRAVEL
<5MPa cemented
Calcareous Calcareous silica Calcareous silica Calcareous silica
<50
CLAY SILT SAND GRAVEL
SOIL <10 CLAY Silica SILT Silica SAND Silica GRAVEL
TO
CALCILUTITE
WEAK CALCISILTITE CALCARENITE CALCIRUDITE (carb.
>90 (carb.
ROCK Mudstone)
(carb. Siltstone) (Calc. Sandstone) Conglom. or breccia)
Moderately Clayey Siliceous Siliceous Siliceous
<90
weak Well cemented 35-85Mpa CALCILUTITE CALCISILTITE CALCARENITE CALCIRUDITE
5-12.5MPa Calcareous Calcareous Calcareous Calcareous
<50
CLAYSTONE SILTSTONE SANDSTONE CONGLOMERATE
CONGLOMERATE or
<10 CLAYSTONE SILTSTONE SANDSTONE
BRECCIA
Detrital
>90 Fine Grained LIMESTONE
LIMESTONE Conglomeratic
Moderately Fine grained Fine grained
Siliceous detrital LIMESTONE
strong to <90 argillaceous siliceous
LIMESTONE LIMESTONE
LIMESTONE
strong Well cemented
12.5- Calcareous Calcareous Calcareous Calcareous
<50
ROCK 100MPa >85MPa CLAYSTONE SILTSTONE SANDSTONE CONGLOMERATE
CONGLOMERATE or
<10 CLAYSTONE SILTSTONE SANDSTONE
BRECCIA
Very strong >50 CRYSTALLINE LIMESTONE or MARBLE
to extremely
Re-crystallised
strong <50 Conventional metamorphic nomenclature applies in this section
>100MPa