Basic Soil Properties and

Classification
Martin Wijaya, S.T., Ph.D.
Additional Literature
• Budhu, M. (2010). Soil Mechanics and Foundations. Hoboken NJ,
Wiley.
• Murthy, V. N. S. (2002). Geotechnical Engineering, Principles and
Practices of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Marcel
Dekker AG.
Soil Mechanics
The branch of science concerned with the properties and behaviour of
soil as they affect its use in civil engineering.
Soil phases
Element of soil (Fredlund , Rahardjo et al. 2012)

Parameter:
Ma = Mass of air
Mw = Mass of water
Ms = Mass of solid
Mt = Total mass of soil
Va = Volume of air
Vw = Volume of water
Vs = Volume of solid
Vt = Total volume of soil
Vv = Volume of void (water + air)
Mass Relationship

Mw
w Ms = Mass of solid
Mw = Mass of water
Ms w = gravimetric water content
Volume Relationship
V Vt = Total volume
e v Vs = Volume of solid
Vs Vv = Volume of void
Sr = Degree of saturation
V
n v e = Void ratio
Vt emax = Maximum void ratio
emin = Minimum void ratio
Va Dr = Relative density
na 
Vt  = Volumetric water content
n = Porosity
Vw na = Air porosity

Vt
Vw
Sr 
Vv
emax  e
Dr  100
emax  emin
Mass-Volume Relationship
Wt Mt  sat   b
b  b  If Sr = 100%
Vt Vt
d = Dry density
Ms s = Solid density
s 
Vs w = Water density
b = Bulk density
s Gs = Specific gravity
Gs 
w d = Dry unit weight
b = Bulk/total unit weight
Ws Ms w = Unit weight of water
d  d 
Vt Vt sat = Saturated unit weight
d = Dry unit weight
Correlation between basic soil properties
Vv
Vv  V t 
1
Vv Vt n
e   
Vs Vt  Vv  1  1  Vv 1 n
 Vt  Vt
Vv
Vv  
1
Vv Vs  Vs e
n   e > 0, hence n <1
Vt Vs  Vv  1  1  Vv 1 e
 Vs  Vs

 V  V  Vw M w /  w  M w   s 
S r e   w  v       wGs
 Vv  Vs  Vs M s /  s M 
 s  w 
Relative Density
 1  1
  
emax  e   d min     d    d   d min     d max  
Dr  100% Dr    
emax  emin  1   1    d max    d min     d 
  
Where :
 
 d min    d max  
Dr = Relative Density, percentage
emax = void ratio of soils in loosest state Where :
emin = void ratio of soils in densest state Dr = Relative Density, percentage
e = in situ soil void ratio d(max) = dry unit weight in densest condition ( when emin)
d(min) = dry unit weight in loosest condition ( when emax)
Relative Description d = in situ dry unit weight ( when e )
Density (%)
0 – 15 Very Loose

15 – 50 Loose

50 – 70 Medium

70 – 85 Dense

85 - 100 Very Dense

Basic soil properties
definition
Soil Particle Size and Sieve analysis http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module06/Soil
Classification.htm

https://webstockreview.net/image/dirt-clipart-silt-soil/2606300.html
Boulders

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/410460953513105990/
Cobbles

https://www.alpinematerials.com/product/arizona-
cobbles/
Gravels

https://offertonsandandgravel.co.uk/product/limesto
ne-20mm/
Sand

https://www.123rf.com/photo_76340147_many-holes-after-
footprints-in-the-beach-sand-background.html
Silt

https://rashidfaridi.com/2016/03/04/silt-environmental-impact/
Clay

https://lilyflowerstore.com/growing-lilies-clay-soil//
Peat/Organic soil
1. Has significant secondary compression
2. Oven dry at temperature 600
3. Requires check on organic content
Soil Particle Size and Sieve analysis
https://geotechnicalengineeringportfolio.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/grain-
size-distribution-and-hydometer/

PAN

https://lpp-
equipment.com/Products/Product-line-
PDF/productline/2343/productgroup/1158/p
roductgroupl2/1168
Hydrometer test

https://civilblog.org/2015/11/18/hydrometer-analysis-of-soil-what-why-how/
Grain Size Distribution
D D 
2

CU  60 CC  30
D10 D10 D60

Particle size (Budhu 2010) CU < 4; uniformly graded or poorly graded.

CU = 1; There is only 1 soil particle size between 60% and 10% passing.
CU > 4; the soil is commonly referred as well graded.

According to Hazen (1892), D10 is the effective

size of soil. Effective size is the diameter of an
artificial sphere that will produce approximately
similar effect as an irregularly shaped particle and
is important in regulating the flow of water
through soils. The higher the D10, the coarser the
soil and the better the drainage characteristic
(Budhu, 2010).
 Water in Fine Grained Soils
1. Adsorbed water held on the surface of the particle by powerful forces of
electrical attraction and virtually in a solid state. This layer is of very small
thickness, perhaps of the order of 0.005 μm. This water cannot be removed by
oven drying at 110°C, and may, therefore, be considered to be part of the solid
soil grain.
2. Water which is not so tightly held and can be removed by oven drying, but not by
air drying (hygroscopic moisture).
3. Capillary water, held by surface tension, generally removable by air drying.
4. Gravitational water, which can move in the voids between soil grains and is
removable by drainage.
5. Chemically combined water, in the form of water of hydration within the crystal
structure. Except for gypsum and some tropical clays, this water is not generally
removable by oven drying.

For routine soil test, oven drying at 105-1100C

Clay Minerals
• Kaolinite
• Illite
• Montmorrilonite Silica sheets

Alumina sheet
Kaolinite
Illite

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/of01
-041/htmldocs/clays/illite.htm
Montmorillonite
Clay Minerals Size

Yong and Warkentin (1975)

Adsorbed water in Clay Mineral

Lambe (1958)
Atterberg Limits
Cr = Relative consistency (Terzaghi and Peck, 1948)
IL = Liquidity index (Lambe and Whitman, 1967)
Liquid Limit Test
Fall cone test
Cassagrande Liquid Limit

Soiltest, USA

Liquid limit at 25 bumps

Liquid limit at 20 mm penetrations
Cassagrande Liquid Limit
Cassagrande Apparatus (Budhu, 2010)

1. Prepare a 300 g of soil paste and placed it on the glass plate

2. Mix the paste for around 10 minutes and add more distilled water if

necessary.

3. Place a portion of the paste into the Casagrande cup without

entrapping air and level off the soil surface parallel to the base.

Cassagrande Apparatus (Head, 2006) 4. Hold the grooving tool normal to the surface of the cup with the

chamfered edge facing the direction of movement and split the soil

into two equal parts.

Cassagrande Liquid Limit

5) Turn the crank handle at the rate of two revolutions per second so the cup is lifted and dropped until the two

parts of the soil come into contact at the bottom of the groove along a distance of 13 mm and record the

number of bumps at which this occur.

6) Repeat steps 3 to 5 until two consecutive consistent number of bumps can be achieved. If the soil slide on

the surface of the cup instead of within the soil, the test is discarded and steps 2 to 5 are repeated.

7) If two consistent consecutive number of bumps can be achieved, take about 10 g of soil with a spatula from

the portions of the sample that have flowed together and determine the water content of the soil.

8) Remove the soil from the cup, clean and wash dry the Cassagrande cup and the grooving tool, and add more

water to the paste.

9) Repeat steps 2 to 8 for at least three times. Plots the number of bumps with their respective water content.

10) Make a straight (regression) relationship, and determine liquid limit from the regression line correspond to

the water content at 25 number of bumps. Present the liquid limit as a whole number.
Fall Cone Liquid Limit
1. Prepare a 300 g of soil paste and placed it on the glass plate.
2. Mix the paste for around 10 minutes and add more distilled water if necessary.
3. Place s portion of the soil paste into the cup using the palette knife and push it with the palette knife without entrapping air. Repeat it until
the cup is full.
4. Use a straightedge to level the soil surface at the cup level.
5. Adjust the fall cone position such that the tip of the cone just touches the surface of the soil. Correct position is indicated by moving the
cup slightly and the cone tip should mark the soil surface.
6. Record the initial dial gauge reading to the nearest 0.1 mm.
7. Release the cone for around 5 s.
8. Record the final dial gauge reading to the nearest 0.1 mm and calculate the penetration which is the difference between final and initial
dial reading.
9. Lift out the cone and clean it.
10. Add wet soil paste to patch the soil in the cup and repeat steps 3 to 9.
11. If the first and second penetration reading difference is not more than 0.5 mm, record the average of the two penetrations. If the second
penetration is more than 0.5 mm and less than 1 mm different from the first test, patch the soil in the cup and redo steps 3 to 9 to get the
third penetration. If the overall range is not more than 1 mm, record the average of the three penetrations, otherwise, remove the whole
soil from the cup and repeat step 2 to 11.
12. Take 10 g of the sample around the penetrated area and determine its water content.
13. Placed the soil in the cup back to the soil paste, wash and clean the cup.
14. Add more distilled water to the paste and repeat steps 2 to 12 for at least three times such that the range of penetration from 15 mm to
25 mm is covered by the test.
15. Plot water content versus cone penetration and fit a straight line through the data points (i.e. regression line), and determine the liquid
limit which is the water content on the straight line corresponding to a cone penetration of 20 mm.
16. Present the liquid limit as a whole number and report the percentage of material passing the 425 mm sieve.
Liquid Limit Determination
Plastic Limit
1. Prepare 20 g of the soil paste and place it on the scratch free glass plate
2. Let the soil dry on the plate such that it can be shaped into a ball
3. Mould the ball with fingers and roll it between palms such that there is a slight crack on its surface
4. Divide the sample into two 10 g of sub samples
5. Divide the sub sample into four equal parts
6. Mould the soil in the finger and form the soil into a thread of 6 mm diameter
7. Roll the thread between the fingers, from finger-tip to the second joint of one hand and the surface of the glass rolling
plate.
8. Use small pressure to reduce the thread diameter to about 3 mm by using forward and back movement of the hand.
9. Pick up the soil, mould it between the fingers to dry it further.
10. Repeat steps 7 to 9 until the thread shears both longitudinal and transversely when it has been rolled to about 3 mm
diameter. Water content of the soil at this point is considered as plastic limit.
11. Gather together the portions of the crumbled soil thread and placed it in a moisture content can.
12. Repeat steps 6 to 11 for the other three equal parts of the sub sample and place all the four crumbled parts together in
the same moisture content can and determine the water content.
13. Repeat steps 5 to 12 to the other sub samples.

14. Take the average water content of the two samples as the plastic limit and present it to the nearest whole number.
Plastic Limit based on Fall Cone Test

Feng (2020)
Shrinkage Limit
• Estimated From LL and PI
• Shrinkage Curve
• Mercury Method
• Photogrammetry method
 Cassagrande Method

 LL  43.5 
SL  46.355    43.5
 PI  46.355 

SL(1) SL(2)

(-43.5,46.355)
Mercury Method ASTM D427
Photogrammetric Method
Foto Computer Model
Shrinkage Curve
Effect of Density on Shrinkage Curve
Type of Shrinkage Curve
 Activity

IP = Plasticity Index
Classification for Fine Grained Soil
Determining Clay Mineral
Soil Classification-USCS
Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) is a modification
from Airfield Classification (AC) System developed in1942
for the Corps of Engineer.

USCS is based on:

1. Predominant of constitution (grain size and organic
content)
2. Gradation
3. Plasticity

USCS is adopted by American Society for Testing Material

(ASTM) in 1969.
AASHTO Soil Classification
The system was proposed in 1928 by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads for highway engineer and
then revised in 1945 by a committee of highway engineers for the highway research board.
AASHTO Soil Classification A4 ≈ ML
A5 ≈ MH
A6 ≈ CL
A7-6 ≈ CH
A7-5 ≈ MH to CH
 Group Index (GI)
GI  max  0.2 a  0.005 ac  0.01bd , 0 
a  max  P200  35, 0 
b  max  P200  15, 0 
c  max  LL  40, 0 
d  max  PI  10, 0 
Higher GI means lower quality (no upper limit

For A-2-6 and A-2-7, P200 < 35%, a = 0 hence Group index is placed after soil classification. i.e.:
1. Soil group : A-6
GI  max  0.01bd , 0  2. GI : 12
3. Soil classification A-6(12)
Question on Soil Classification
• How reliable it is?