10/8/2023

4th Year Architecture

Dr. Asmaa Moddather

Soil Mechanics and Foundations
Faculty of Engineering – Cairo University

FALL 2023

SOIL CLASSIFICATION

Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

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Soil Classification

• Soil classification: is the arrangement of different soils with similar

properties into groups that reflects soil’s physical and mechanical
properties.

• The purpose of soil classification is to provide the geotechnical engineer

with a way to predict the behavior of the soil for engineering projects.

• Soils are usually classified into various types such as:

 Cohesion: cohesive soils (silt, clay)/non-cohesive soils (sand, gravel).
 Grain size: fine-grained soils (silt, clay)/coarse-grained soils (sand,
gravel).
Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

Coarse-grained soils

Angular Subangular Subrounded

Rounded Well rounded

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Fine-grained soils

Plate
Clay

Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

Fine-grained soils

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Grain Size Analysis

• Laboratory testing:
o Sieve analysis tests: for coarse-grained soil
o Hydrometer tests: for fine-grained soil

• A ‘‘grain size distribution curve’’ is obtained

from these tests

Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

Sieve Analysis Test

Sieve shaker Set of sieves

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Soil Sample
w
w1

w2 Sieve Analysis Test

w3
• The usual procedure is to use a system of
w4
sieves having different mesh sizes, stacked on
w5 top of each other, with the coarsest mesh on
top and the finest mesh at the bottom. After

Sieves
w7

w8 shaking the assembly of sieves, by hand or by

w9
a shaking machine, each sieve will contain
the particles larger than its mesh size, and
w10
smaller than the mesh size of all the sieves
w10
above it.
w11

w12
Pan Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023
w13
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Sieve Analysis Test

Sieve No. 3 in 1 ½ in ¾ in 3/8 in 4 10

Particle size 75 38 19 9.5 4.75 2
(mm)

Sieve No. 20 40 60 100 140 200 PAN

Particle size 0.85 0.425 0.25 0.15 0.106 0.075
(mm)

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Example

sieves

Sieve No. 3 in 4 10 20 60 100 200 Pan

Particle size 75 4.75 2.0 0.85 0.25 0.15 0.075 --
(mm)
%Passing 100.0 90.0 70.8 56.8 36.4 17.2 5.2

Hydrometer test

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Hydrometer Test

Hydrometer
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Hydrometer Test

• Indirect method of measurement.

• Soilsample is mixed with water and additives in a
graduated cylinder to form a soil suspension.

• Larger (heavier) particles settles faster than smaller

(lighter) particles.

• The density of the suspension is measured with a

hydrometer at determined time intervals.

• Computations are based on Stokes‘ formula.

Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

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Grain Size Distribution Curve

sieves hydrometer

Sieve No. 3 in 4 10 20 60 100 200

Particle size 75 4.75 2.0 0.85 0.25 0.15 0.075 0.04 0.02 .01
(mm)
%Passing 100.0 90.0 70.8 56.8 36.4 17.2 5.2 3.0 1.8 0.5

100
90
80
70
% Passing

60
50
40
30
20
Arithmetic 10
scale 0
80 60 40 20 0
Particle size (mm)
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Grain Size Distribution Curve

sieves hydrometer

Sieve No. 3 in 4 10 20 60 100 200

Particle size 75 4.75 2.0 0.85 0.25 0.15 0.075 0.04 0.02 .01
(mm)
%Passing 100.0 90.0 70.8 56.8 36.4 17.2 5.2 3.0 1.8 0.5

100 75, 100

90 4.75, 90

80
70 2, 70.8
% Passing

60 0.85, 56.8
50
40 0.25, 36.4
30
Semi-log 20 0.15, 17.2

scale 10 0.075, 5.2

0.04, 3
0 0.02, 1.8 0.01, 0.5

100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001

Particle size (mm)
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Semi-log scale paper

100
90
80
70
60
% Passing

50
40
30
20
10
0
100
100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001
Particle size (mm)
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Grain Size Distribution

100
90
80
70
%Passing = 60
60
% Passing

50
40
%Passing = 30
30
20
%Passing = 10
10
0
100 10 1 D30 0.1 0.01 0.001
Particle size (mm) D60 D10
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Grain Size Distribution

• D60 is the diameter of the particle at 60% passing on the grain size distribution
curve.

• D30 is the diameter of the particle at 30% passing on the grain size distribution
curve.

• D10 is the diameter of the particle at 10% passing on the grain size distribution
curve. “effective grain size”

• Coefficient of Uniformity (Cu) = D60/D10

• Coefficient of Curvature (Cc) = (D30)2/(D60D10)

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Grain Size Distribution

Poorly graded
Well graded
Uniformly
100 graded
90
80
70 Gap graded
60

% Passing
50
40
30
20
10
0
100
100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001
Particle size
Dr. Asmaa Moddather –
(mm)FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

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Grain Size Distribution

• Well graded sand  cu > 6.0, cc = 1-3

• Well graded gravel  cu > 4.0, cc = 1-3

Poorly graded
Well graded
Uniformly
100 graded
90
80
70 Gap graded
60
% Passing

50
40
30
20
10
0
100
100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001
Particle size
(mm) Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

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Grain Size Distribution

D60 = 1.0 mm, D30 = 0.2 mm, D10 = 0.095 mm
Cu = 1.0/0.095 = 10.5, Cc = (0.2)2/(1.0 x 0.095) = 0.42
100
90
80
70
%Passing = 60
60
% Passing

50
40
%Passing = 30
30
20
%Passing = 10
10
0
100 10 1 D30 0.1 0.01 0.001
Particle size (mm) D60 D10Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023
Dr.

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Soil Classification

• There are many different soil classification systems in

use:
o MIT classification system.
o Unified Soil Classification System (USCS).

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MIT Classification System

• Soil is classified based on grain size.

• The grain size is determined by performing a grain size analysis.
Sieve analysis Hydrometer test

Boulders Gravel Sand Silt Clay

C M F C M F C M F
20 6 0.6 0.2 0.02 0.006
60 mm 2 mm 0.06 mm 0.002 mm

C: Coarse
M: Medium
F: Fine
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Grain Size Distribution Curve

60 mm 2 mm 0.06 mm 0.002 mm
Gravel Sand Silt Clay

100
90
80
70
60
% Passing

50
40
30
20
10
0
100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001
Particle size (mm)
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Grain Size Distribution Curve

% Boulder = 100 - % Passing 60mm = 100 – 97 = 3%
% Gravel = % Passing 60mm - % Passing 2mm = 97 – 70.8 = 26.2 %
% Sand = % Passing 2mm - % Passing 0.06mm = 70.8 – 6.0 = 64.8 %
% Silt = % Passing 0.06 mm - % Passing 0.002 mm = 6.0 – 0.0 = 6.0 %
% Clay = % Passing 0.002mm = 0.0 %
60 mm 2 mm 0.06 mm 0.002 mm
Gravel Sand Silt Clay
100
90
80
70
60
% Passing

50
40
30
20
10
0
100
100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023
Particle size (mm)

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MIT Classification System

• Soil Group Name:

o 50 – 35 % : and
o 35 – 15 % : adjective
o 15 – 5 % : some
o<5% : trace of

% Boulder = 3.0%
% Gravel = 26.2%
% Sand = 64.8% Gravelly SAND, some silt,
trace of boulder
% Silt = 6.0%
% Clay = 0.0%

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Relative Density of Coarse-Grained Soil

Loose Dense
emax emin

• emax is the maximum possible void ratio  loosest packing

Achieved by carefully pouring the soil into a container, or by letting the
material subside under water, avoiding all disturbance.

• emin is the minimum possible void ratio  densest packing

Obtained by strong vibration of a sample.
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Relative Density of Coarse Grained Soil

• emax is the maximum possible void ratio.

• The loosest packing can be achieved by carefully pouring the soil into a
container, or by letting the material subside under water, avoiding all
disturbance.

• emin is the minimum possible void ratio.

• The densest packing of the soil can be obtained by strong vibration of a

sample.

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Relative Density of Coarse Grained Soil

e max − e act
Dr (%) = x100
e max − e min

Dr (%) Type of Soil

0 – 15 Very loose
15 – 35 Loose
35 - 65 Medium dense
65 – 85 Dense
85 - 100 Very dense

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Consistency of Cohesive Soils

• For fine-grained soils (silt, clay), the consistency is an

important property.
• It determines whether the soil can easily be handled, by
soil moving equipment, or by hand.
• The consistency is often very much dependent on the
amount of water in the soil. This is expressed by the water
content w.

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Consistency of Cohesive Soils

• When the water content is very low (as in a very dry clay) the soil can be
very stiff, almost like a stone. It is then said to be in the solid state.

• Adding water, for instance if the clay is flooded by rain, may make the
clay plastic, and for higher water contents the clay may even become
almost liquid.

• In order to distinguish between these states (solid, plastic and liquid)

three standard tests have been agreed upon, that indicate the
consistency limits. They are denoted as “the Atterberg limits”.

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Atterberg (Consistency) Limits

Volume Adding water

Drying Sample Liquid

limit
Plastic
limit

Shrinkage
limit W
Dry soil
W
A
A W
W

S S S S S
Water content

Solid state Semi-solid state Plastic state Liquid state

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Atterberg (Consistency) Limits

• Liquid limit (L.L., wL): is the transition from the liquid state
to the plastic state. It represents the lowest water content at
which the soil behavior is still mainly liquid.
• Plastic limit (P.L., wP): is the transition from the plastic state
to the semi-solid state.
• Shrinkage limit (Sh.L., wSh): is the transition from the semi-
solid state to the solid state.
• Plasticity index (PI, Ip) = wL- wP
• These limits are obtained using laboratory tests.
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Liquid Limit Test

Liquid limit device

Grooving tool
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Liquid Limit Test

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Liquid Limit Test

• The liquid limit is the value of the water content for which a standard
V-shaped groove cut in the soil, will just close (0.5 inch) after 25 drops.

Water Water
content content

wL wL

25 25
No. of blows Log No. of blows

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Plastic Limit Test

• Plastic limit is defined as the water content at which the clay can just be
rolled to threads of 3 mm diameter.
• Very wet clay can be rolled into very thin threads.
• Dry clay will break when rolling thick threads.

Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

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Shrinkage Limit Test

• Put soil sample in oven until it is completely dry, and get its
weight (ws).

• Shrinkage limit is the water content of this sample if it is

saturated with water at the same volume.

• Measure the total volume of the oven-dried sample (vT):

o Submerging the sample in water after insulating it with paraffin
wax.
o Submerging the sample in mercury. (Gs,mercury = 13.6)
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Shrinkage Limit Test

vs = ws/(Gsγw)
Shrinkage
Dry soil limit
v v = vT – vs
A vw W ww
vv
ww = v v γw vT vT

vs S ws vs S ws
Sh.L. = ww/ws

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Consistency Index of Cohesive Soils

wL − w
CI =
wL − wP

CI Type of Soil
0 – 0.5 Very soft
0.5 – 0.625 Soft
0.625 – 0.75 Medium stiff
0.75 – 1.00 Stiff
1.00 < Very stiff
(w > wSh)
1.00 < Hard
(w < wSh)
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Example

• The following table shows the parameters determined for different

cohesive soil samples, for these soils determine Find the consistency
index and comment on its indication.
Soil w (%) wL (%) wP (%) wSh (%) CI indication

A 46 60 40 10 0.70 M. stiff
B 12 45 15 9 1.10 V. stiff
C 9 10 5 2 0.20 V. soft

CI Type of Soil
0 – 0.5 Very soft
0.5 – 0.625 Soft
0.625 – 0.75 Medium stiff
0.75 – 1.00 Stiff
1.00 < – (w > wSh) Very stiff
1.00 < - (w < wSh) Hard Dr. Asmaa Moddather – FOUNDATIONS – Fall 2023

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Plasticity Chart (A-Line)

60

50
CH
Plasticity Index (%)

40
CL Ip = 0.73(w L-20)
30

20
MH
10
CL-ML ML
ML
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Liquid Limit (%)

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