SOIL CLASSIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION

SOIL AND ITS ORIGIN

 Soil is the most important material that influenced mankind in his struggle for survival.
 The material used to build with, or on that acts in combination with other forces of nature to
make structures and land forms
 Soil may be defined as the accumulation of unconsolidated sediments and deposits of solid
particles as a result of the disintegration of rocks
THREE MAJOR CLASSES OF SOIL IN ACCORDANCE WITH
ORIGIN

 Igneous Rock
 Result from the cooling and hardening of molten rock called magma that has originated
from deep within the earth
 Sedimentary Rock
 From accumulated deposits of soil particles or remains of certain organism that have harden
by pressure or cemented by materials
 Metamorphic Rock
 Resulted from metamorphism due to changes in temperature, pressure and plastic flow,
changing the original rock structure ad mineral composition of the rock
TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES OF SOIL

Soil

Residual Soil Transported Soil

Chemical and
Mechanical
Solution
Weathering
Weathering
RESIDUAL SOIL

 Formed from the weathering of rocks or accumulation of organic materials remained at the location of
their origin
 Mechanical Weathering – refers to the physical disintegration due to effects of wind, rain, running
water or tectonic forces
 Chemical and Solution Weathering – decomposition of rock due to chemical reactions that occur
as a result of exposure to atmosphere, temperature changes, reaction with water or other materials
TRANSPORTED SOIL

 Are those materials transported from their place of origin. Transportation may result due to
the effects of gravity, wind, water, glaciers of human activity.
TYPES OF SOIL

Coarse • Gravel
Grain
Aggregate • Sand

Fine Grain • Clay

Aggregate
s • Silt
CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS

 Pedology is the science of soils. It is the basis for pedological classification under the
principle that” “like soil are developed on like slope when like materials are weathered
in like fashion”
 The texture classification of soil depending on the grain size distribution is classified
into three groups
 Sand
 Silt
 Clay
TEXTURAL CLASSIFICATION FOR SUBGRADE SOIL

LOAMS – Soil that is almost entirely a

mixture of sand and silt
UNIFIED SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 It was introduced by the US Army Corps and the Bureau of Reclamations. Letters
were used instead of numbers to designate the different groups.
 This system classifies soils into two broad categories:
 Coarse-grained soils that are gravelly and sandy in nature with less than 50%
passing through the No. 200 sieve. The group symbol start with a prefix of G or S.
G stands for gravel or gravelly soil, and S for sand or sandy soil.
 Fine-grained soils are with 50% or more passing through the No. 200 sieve. The
group symbols start with prefixes of M, which stands for inorganic silt, C for
inorganic clay, or O for organic silts and clays. The symbol Pt is used for peat,
muck, or other highly organic soils.
UNIFIED SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
COMPOSITION OF SOIL

 Soil Density Weight per Unit Volume

 Water Content of the Soil
 Void Ratio
 Degree of Saturation
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MASS VOLUME AND WEIGHT
VOLUME
UNIT WEIGHT OF SOIL AND DENSITY OF SOIL
WATER CONTENT AND WEIGHT OF DRY SOIL
VOID RATIO AND POROSITY
DEGREE OF SATURATION
RELATIVE DENSITY

 For granular soil, the sheer strength and resistance to compression are related to the density of the soil.
Higher strength and resistance to compression are developed by the soil when it is dense, or compact
condition (high density), than when it is in a loose condition (low density). ln a dense condition, the soil
void ratio is low and high on loose condition.
EXAMPLE NO. 1

Compute for the wet density, dry density,

void ratio, water content and the degree of
saturation from a sample of moist soil with
mass weight of 20 kg that occupies a total
volume of 0.008 cu. m. and 0.006 cu. m
volume of solid. The sample is dried in
oven and weighted 18 kg. The specific
gravity of the soil solid is 2.60.
  

   

 
SOIL INVESTIGATION AND SURVEY
IMPORTANCE OF SOIL INVESTIGATION IN HIGHWAY DESIGN
 For verification of probable GeoHazards
 For the construction or improvement of the road, and to this end analyze in detail the soil
types along the road in order to decide the most suitable investigation, method, and
equipment to be used.
 All investigations shall be performed according to ASTM or AASHTO standards, and soil
shall be classified according to the AASHTO system.
SUBSURFACE INVESTIGATION

 Subsurface investigation includes investigation of the area below the subgrade level.
 The required depth of exploration along the alignment of road shall be based on the
knowledge of subsurface conditions from geology, soil surveys and previous explorations,
and on the configuration of the highway at any given point.
SUBGRADE INVESTIGATION

 Subgrade investigation involves detailed investigation of the soil surface on which the
pavement is constructed.
 Where road raising is proposed or new construction required, sampling and testing of
both the in-situ material and the proposed select fill source would be required in order to
supply adequate subgrade data for pavement design.
LABORATORY TEST

 The following tests should be made on the subgrade samples obtained from test pits and
boreholes:
 Mechanical Analysis – AASHTO T 88 or 27
 Specific Gravity – AASHTO T 100 or 84 or 85
 Atterberg Limits – AASHTO T 89 or 90
 Moisture-Density Relationship – AASHTO T 180 or 99
 CBR% – AASHTO T 193
 Natural Moisture Content
MECHANICAL ANALYSIS – AASHTO T 88 OR 27

 Sieve Analysis (AASHTO T 27) is the process being

used to determine the particle size of gravel and fine
aggregates
 Material finer than No. 200 sieve (0.075mm) is not
feasible in determining the particle sizes
MECHANICAL ANALYSIS – AASHTO T 88 OR 27

 Under the Stoke's Law, "The rate of settlement of solid

through a given liquid or gas is proportional to the
square of the diameters of the solid." The AASHTO
method as specified is called Hydrometer Test AASHTO
designation T-88.
ATTERBERG LIMITS – AASHTO T 89 OR 90

 Liquid Limit Test

 The AASHTO T 89 signifies the percentage of moisture at which the sample
changes by decreasing the water from liquid to plastic state
 Plastic Limit Test
 The AASHTO T 90 signifies the percentage of moisture wherein the sample
changes with lowering wetness from plastic to semi solid condition
MOISTURE-DENSITY RELATIONSHIP –AASHTO T 99 0R T 180
 Dynamic or Impact Test – Sample of soils each containing a designated percentage of
water are compacted in layers into molds of specified size. The sample is compacted by
applying a number of blows form a free falling hammer of prescribed dimension and weight
%CBR – AASHTO T193

 California Bearing Ratio Method (CBR)

combines a load deformation test performed in the
laboratory with an empirical design chart to
determine the thickness of pavement base and other
layers
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