Introduction

A soil classification system-

It is the arrangement of different soils with similar properties
into groups & subgroups based on their application or to their
probable engineering behavior.
A classification for engineering purposes should be based
mainly on mechanical properties: permeability, stiffness,
strength.

H. R K F. U
 Introduction

The aim of a classification system is to establish a set of

conditions which will allow useful comparisons to be made
between different soils.
Most of the soils classification systems that have been
developed for engineering purposes are based on simple
index properties such as particle size distribution & plasticity.

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 Classification System

SOIL CLASSIFICATION BASICS

Commonly based on grain size and soil consistency. Several
classification systems exist:
1. Particle Size Classification
2. Textural Classification
3. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) (ASTM D2487-11).
4. American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO) (ASTM D3282-09).
5. IS Classification
6. BS System

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 Particle size soil classification

In this system, soils are arranged according to grain size.

The following terms are used to indicate grain size
Gravel, Sand, Silt and Clay
These terms are used only as designation of particles size, and do not signify
the naturally occurring types.

The most commonly used Particle size soil classification systems are,

1. U.S. Bureau of soil and public road administration system of U.S.

2. International soil classification system.
3. M.I.T classification
4. I.S classification based on M.I.T classification

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 Particle size soil classification

0.005 0.05 0.10 0.25 0.50 1.0 2.0

Silt (Size) V.F Fine Medium Coarse Fine gravel Gravel

Clay (size)

SAND

1. U. S Bureau of Soil

0.0002 0.0006 0.002 0.006 0.02 0.050 0.1 0.2 0.5 1 2

F
c F
c F
c F M C
v.c
MO
Ultra Clay Clay Silt (m ajla) Sand Gravel

2.International soil classification system

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 Particle size soil classification

0.002 0.006 0.02 0.06 0.2 0.6 2.0mm

Clay Fine Medium Course Fine Medium Coarse Gravel

SILT (SIZE) SAND

3. M.I.T classification

0.002mm 0.075 0.425 2 4.75 20 80 300

Clay Silt Fine Medium Coarse Fine Coarse cobble boulder

r

sand gravel

4.1.S classification

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 Textural Classification

The natural soil are composed of different % of sand, silt and clay size particle.

The classification of composite soils based on the particle size distribution is know as
Textural Classification

It is based on both the particle size composition as well as the plasticity characters.

This system is mostly used for pavement construction.

Most popular is the Triangular Classification of U.S. Public Roads Administration.

Classification based on % of sand, silt and clay size.

Soils are divided in to 7 primary groups, A-1, A-2 ……….. A-7

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 Textural Classification

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 Textural Classification

TEXTURAL CLASSIFICATION CHART

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 Textural Classification

30% sand
30% silt
40% clay

Soil Type
>Clay
Silt (0.05 - 0 005 mm)

TEXTURAL CLASSIFICATION CHART

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

According to the USCS, the soils are divided into two major
categories:
1. Coarse-grained soil that are gravelly and sandy in
nature with less than 50 % passing through the No
200 sieve (that is F200 < 50%).
2. Fine-grained soils with 50% or more passing through the No.
200 sieve (that is F 200 > 50%).
If coarse grained soils contain less than 5 % fines and are well graded, they are given the

symbols GW and SW and if poorly graded (P), symbols GP and SP

If coarse grained soil contains more than 12 % fines, these are designated as GM, GC, SM or

SC as per criteria

If the percentage of fines is between 5 to 12 %, dual symbols such as GW-FM, SP-SM are

used.
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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

•The soil is classified into 15 groups.

• Each group is designated a symbol consisting of two capital

letters.
• The first letter is based on main soil type.

•The second letter is based on gradation and plasticity .

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
The following Symbols are used in this system:
1. Coarse-grained
G-Gravel, S-Sand,
W-Well graded, P-Poorly graded, C-Clayey, M-Silty,

2. Fine-grained soil
M-Silt, C-Clay, O-Organic, Pt- Peat First Letter
L-Low Plastic, H-High Plastic Second Letter

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Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

1. Coarse-grained

Group Symbol Typical Name

Sw or Gw Well graded soil (sand or gravel)
SP or GP Poorly graded soil ( sand or gravel)
GM Silty gravel or Silty gravel with sand
GC Clayey gravel or Clayey gravel with sand
SM Silty sand or Silty sand with gravel
SC Clayey sand or Clayey sand with gravel

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Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

2. Fine-grained soil

Group Symbol Typical Name

CL Inorganic clays of low plasticity.
ML Inorganic silts with slight plasticity.
OL Organic soil of low plasticity.
CH Inorganic clays of high plasticity.
MH Inorganic silts with high plasticity.
OH Organic soil of high plasticity.
Pt Peat.

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
According to the USCS, the soils are divided into two major categories:
1.Coarse-grained soil that are gravelly and sandy in
nature with less than 50 % passing through the No
200 sieve (that is F200 < 50%).
2. Fine-grained soils with 50% or more passing through the No. 200 sieve
(that is F 200 > 50%).

If coarse grained soils contain less than 5 % fines and are well graded, they are given the

symbols GW and SW and if poorly graded (P), symbols GP and SP

If coarse grained soil contains more than 12 % fines, these are designated as GM, GC, SM or

SC as per criteria

If the percentage of fines is between 5 to 12 %, dual symbols such as GW-FM, SP-SM are

used.

Fine grained soils are further divided into two types 1) soil of low compressibility (L) if the liquid

limit is 50 % or less (ML, CL, OL) 2)soil of high compressibility (H) if liquid limit is more than

50 %. (MH, CH, OH)

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Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
Main Soil Classification
Prefix Subgroup Suffix
Type Group symbols
Well-graded W GW
Poorly-graded P GP
Gravel G
Silty M GM
Clayey C GC

Well-graded W SW
Poorly-graded P SP
Sand S
Silty M SM
Clayey C SC

Silt M LL < 50% L ML

LL > 50% H MH

Clay C LL < 50% L CL

LL > 50% H CH

LL < 50% L OL
Organic O
LL > 50% H OH
Pt
Peat Pt

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

The classification is based on material passing a 75 mm sieve

■
 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

• F 200 = percent passing No. 200 sieve

( % of fines )
• R4 = percent retained above No.4 sieve.
( % of Gravel)
• R200 = percent retained above No.200 sieve.
• F4 = percent passing No. 4 sieve

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 Worked Example

F200 = 14% R4 =18 %

Gravel = 18 % Gravel

Sand = 68 % Sieve No. 4

Silt and Clay= 14%

R200 = 86% F4 = 82%
R200 Sieve No. 200
0.075 mm

F200
Silt & Clay

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

1. Coarse-grained soil
If R4/ R200 > 0.5, the soil is a gravel ( G )

Symbol Criteria
GW F200<5 % Cu > 4 , 1< Cc < 3
GP F200<5 % Not meeting the GW criteria of Cu & Cc
GM F200>12 % PI < 4, or plots below A-Line ( Plasticity Chart )
GC F200>12 % PI > 7, and plots on or above A-Line
GW-GM 5<F200<12 Satisfies Cu & Cc crit. of GW, meets PI for GM

GW-GC 5<F200<12 Satisfies Cu & Cc crit. of GW, meets PI for GC

GP-GM 5<F200<12 Doesn’t satisfy Cu & Cc crit, of GP, meets PI,GM

GP-GC 5<F200<12 Doesn’t satisfy Cu & Cc crit, of GP, meets PI,GM

GM-GC F200>12 % PI plots in the hatched area ( Plasticity Chart )

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

1. Coarse-grained soil
If R4/ R200 < 0.5, the soil is a Sand ( S )

Symbol Criteria
SW F200<5 % Cu > 6 , 1< Cc < 3
SP F200<5 % Not meeting the GW criteria of Cu & Cc
SM F200>12 % PI < 4, or plots below A-Line ( Plasticity Chart )
SC F200>12 % PI > 7, and plots on or above A-Line
SW-SM 5<F200<12 Satisfies Cu & Cc crit. of SW, meets PI for SM

SW-SC 5<F200<12 Satisfies Cu & Cc crit. of SW, meets PI for SC

SP-SM 5<F200<12 Doesn’t satisfy Cu & Cc crit, of SP, meets PI,SM

SP-SC 5<F200<12 Doesn’t satisfy Cu & Cc crit, of SP, meets PI,SM

SM-SC F200>12 % PI plots in the hatched area ( Plasticity Chart )

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

2. Fine-Grained Soil
Silts and Clays: LL < 50 %

ML PI < 4 orplots below A- Line

CL PI > 7 and plots on or above A-Line

CL- ML PI plots in the hatched area

OL PI plots in the OL area

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

2. Fine — Grained Soil

Silts and Clays: LL >50 %
MH - PI plots above A- Line
CH - PI plots on or above A -Line
OH- plots in the OH area
Pt - High organic matter (Peat)

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
Plasticity Chart
 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Plasticity Chart

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Plasticity Chart

• Note:

If the results of your soil tests fall above the U — line

on the plasticity chart, you should be suspicious of
your results and repeat your tests.

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Example 1
Using the grain-size distribution curve shown below,

determine the uniformity coefficient Cu and classify the soil

Particle diameter (mm)

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Solution
• From the grain distribution curve, D60 = 0.60 mm, D30 = 0.20 mm and D10
= 0.09 mm,F200= 0, R4= 3 therefore the coefficients are,

A well-graded soil has a uniformity coefficient greater than 4 for gravels and
6 for sands.
Therefore, this soil is classified as uniform sand. (According USCS, the soil
is SP ).

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r >|

Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Example 2
Laboratory tests were performed on a light-brown
sandy soil, which visually has several pieces of
gravel larger than 6 mm, indicated that PL = 22.6
% and LL = 33.2 %. Classify this soil using USCS.

Sieve No. % Passing

4 98.0
40 36.5
200 28.5

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Solution
• F200 = 28.5% < 50% , the soil is coarse grained. R4 = 2%, R4/R200 < 0.5,
the soil is sand
• F200 = 28.5% > 12% The soil group is SM or SC
• PI = 33.2 - 22.6 = 10.6%
• Atterberg limits above A-Line
• Therefore, this soil can be classified as SC

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 AASHTO Classification System

The classification system is based on the following criteria

1. Grain size
a. Gravel: fraction passing the 75 mm sieve and retained on the
No. 10 ( 2mm ) sieve
b. Sand: fraction passing the No. 10 sieve and retained on the No.
200 U.S. sieve.
c. Silt and clay: fraction passing No.200 sieve.

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 AASHTO Classification System

2. Plasticity : the term silty is applied when the fine

frictions of the soil have a plasticity index of 10
or less.
The term clayey is applied when the fine frictions have a plasticity
index of 11 or more.
3. If cobbles and boulders are encountered, they are excluded form
the portion of the soil sample which classification is made.

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 AASHTO Classification System

According to the present form of this system, soils can be

classified according to eight major groups, A-1 through A-8,
based on their grain size distribution, liquid limit, and plasticity
indices.

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 AASHTO Classification System

Soils listed in groups A-1, A-2, and A-3 are coarse-grained materials,
and those in groups A-4, A-5, A-6, and A-7 are fine-grained materials.
Peat, muck, and other highly organic soils are classified under A-8.
They are identified by visual inspection.

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 AASHTO Classification System

According to the AASHTO, the soils are divided into two major
categories:
1. Coarse-grained soil that are gravelly and sandy in nature with
less than 35 % passing through the No 200 sieve (that is F200 <
35%).
2. Fine-grained soils with 35% or more passing
through the No. 200 sieve (that is F 200 >
35%).

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 AASHTO Classification System
Granular Materials (F200< 35 %)

Group A -1
A -3
classification A -1 -a A- 1 -b

Sieve analysis No. 10 50 max

(Percentage No. 40 30 max 50 max 51 min
passing ) No.200 15 max 25 max 10 max
Characteristic of Liquid
fraction passing Limit
Plasticity 6 max NP
No. 40 index
Usual types of materials Stone fragments, gravel, and Fine sand
sand

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 AASHTO Classification System

Granular Materials (F200< 35 %)

Group
classification A -2
A-2 -4 A-2 -5 A-2-6 A -2 -7
No. 10
Sieve analysis
(Percentage No.40
passing )
No.200 35 max 35 max 35 max 35 max
Characteristic Liquid 40 max 41 min 40 max 41 min
of fraction Limit
passing No. 10 max 10 max 11 min 11 min
Plasticity
40 index
Usual types of Silty or clayey gravel and sand
materials

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 AASHTO Classification System

Plasticity Chart

Liquid Limit, LL
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 AASHTO Classification System

Group Index ( GI)

To evaluate the quality of a soil as a highway subgrade
material, one must also incorporate a number called the group
index (GI) with the groups and subgroups of the soil.
Group index of a soil depends on amount of material passing
75 micron IS sieve, liquid limit , and plastic limit.

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 AASHTO Classification System

Group Index ( GI)

1. Used to describe performance of soil when used for
pavement construction.
2. Note used to place a soil in a particular group
3. It means rating the value of soil as a subgrade material within its
own group
4. Higher the value of GI, poorer is the quality of material. The
quality of performance of a soil as a subgrade material is
inversely proportional to GI.

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 AASHTO Classification System

Group Index ( GI)

The group index is given by the equation:

GI = (F200-35)[0.2+0.005(LL-40)]+0.0l(F200-I5)(PI-I0)

When calculating the group index for soils that belong to group A-
2-6 and A-2-7, use the partial group index for PI, or
GI = 0.0I(F200 -15) (PI - 10)

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 AASHTO Classification System

Group Index ( GI)

A soil having GI of zero is considered as the best..

If the equation gives negative value for GI, consider it zero.
Always round off the GI to nearest whole number.
GI=0 for soils of groups A-1 -a, A-1 -b ,A-2-4, A-2-5, and A-3.
There is no upper limit for the group index

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 Worked Examples

Example 3

The results of the particle-size analysis of a soil are as follows:

Percent passing through the No. 10 sieve = 100

Percent passing through the No. 40 sieve = 80
Percent passing through the No. 200 sieve = 58
The liquid limit and plasticity index are 30 and 10, respectively.
Classify the soil by the AASHTO system.

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 Worked Examples
Solution

F200 = 58% > 35%, the soil is fine- grained (silt or clay )
Using plasticity chart(slid No. 24), the soil is A-4.
|GI = (F20O-35)[0.2+0.005(LL-40)]+0.01 (F200-15)(PI-10)

GI = (58-35)[0.2+0.005(30-40)]+0 .01 (58-15)(10-10)

GI = 3.45

So, the soil will be classified as A-4 (3)

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 Worked Examples

Example 4
Ninety-five percent of a soil passes through the No. 200 sieve and has a liquid limit of 60% and
plasticity index of 40.
Classify the soil by the AASHTO system.
Solution:
F200 = 95% > 35
According to plasticity chart, this soil falls under group
A-7 , 40 > 60 — 30, GI = 42

The soil is A-7-6 ( 42 )

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 Worked Examples

Example 5
For an inorganic soil, the following grain-size analysis is given:

Sieve No. % Passing

4 100

10 90

20 64

40 38

80 18
200 13

For this soil, EE = 23% and PL = 19%. Classify the soil according to:

a. the AASHTO soil classification

b. the Unified soil classification system
 Worked Examples

Example 6
Classify the following soils using Unified classification system

Sieve analysis, Liquid Plasticity

Soil
Limit index
No.4 No.200
A 80 52 30 8
B 79 45 26 4
C 91 80 60 32

D 95 75 41 12
E 82 41 24 2

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 Worked Examples
Example 6

Classify the following soils using USCS and

AASHTO systems and give the GI.
Sieve analysis,

Soil NO. NO. NO. NO.

LL PI
No. NO. 0.01 0.002

No.4
10 20 60 100 200 mm mm
40

A 94 63
21 7 NP
10 3

B 98 86 14 10 NP

C 100 100 98 93
88 83 77 65 60 63 25

D 100 100 100 99 95 90 86 42 40 28

55

E 100 100 100 94 82 66 45 26 21 36 22

^41^
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 Worked Examples

Curve — soil A Example 6

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 Worked Examples

Example 7

Classify the following soils using the AASHTO system

and give the GI.
Sieve analysis,
Soil LL PI
NO. 10 NO. 40 NO. 200

A 62 30 8 - NP
R 90 67 35 32 8
L)

C 90 76 34 37 12
D 100 78 8 NP

E 85 68 45 38 9

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Indian Standard Classification System
(ISCS) IS:1498-1970
 Introduction

Based on USCS system

Modifications are:
> Fine grained soils subdivided into 3 groups (low, intermediate and high
plasticity) as against two groups (low and high) in USCS.

> wL <35=L, 35<wL <5o=I, wL >50=H

> Thus, soil classified into 18 groups as against 15 in USCS.

 Introduction
Coarse grained soils
-Sub divided into gravel and sand
-Gravel (G) when more than 50 % of coarse fraction is retained on 4.75 mm IS
sieve and termed sand (S) if more than 50 % of the coarse fraction is smaller
than 4.75 mm IS sieve.
-sub divided into 8 groups

Fine grained soils

-3 sub division depending upon LL
-Low, medium and high plasticity
-sub divided into 9 groups
 Classification Group Symbols
Main Soil Prefix Subgroup Suffix Classification
Type Group symbols

Well-graded W GW
Poorly-graded P GP
Gravel G
Silty M GM
Clayey C GC

Well-graded W SW
Poorly-graded P SP
Sand S
Silty M SM
Clayey C SC

LL < 35% L ML
Silt M
35<LL<>50 I MI
LL > 50% H MH

LL < 35% L CL
Clay C
35<LL<>50 I CI
LL > 50% H CH

L OL
Organic O LL < 35%
OI
35<LL<>5° I
LL > 50% H OH
Peat Pt
 Plasticity Chart

Below A-line, use M (Silt) or High Plasticity use H - wL >50

O (Organic)
Intermediate Plasticity use I - 35< wL >50
Above A-line, use C - Clay
Low Plasticity use L - wL <35