CLASSIFICATION OF

SOILS
 INTRODUCTION

 soil classification in engineering involves the systematic

categorization of soil based on its physical and mechanical
properties to predict its behavior for construction and
geotechnical purposes.
 it provides a standardized way to describe soil and assess its
suitability for various engineering applications.
 Types of soil from engineering context

 Gravel:  Sand:
 Coarse-grained soil with  Coarse to fine-grained with
particle sizes larger than particle sizes between 0.075
4.75 mm. mm to 4.75 mm.
 High bearing capacity and  Good drainage but lower
good drainage properties. cohesion, prone to shifting
under load.
 Suitable for foundations
 Often used in road
and backfill material.
construction and as a base
for foundations.
 Silt:  Loam:
 Fine-grained soil with particle sizes  A mixture of sand, silt, and
between 0.002 mm to 0.075 mm. clay.
 Poor drainage, moderate cohesion,  Balanced properties suitable for
and prone to erosion. agricultural and landscaping
 Less suitable for load-bearing purposes.
purposes without stabilization.  Moderate load-bearing
 Clay: capacity.
 Very fine-grained soil with particle  Peat/Organic Soil:
sizes less than 0.002 mm.  High organic content with
 High plasticity, expansive, and decomposed plant material.
retains water.  Compressible and unsuitable
 Poor drainage and susceptible to for construction without
swelling and shrinkage. treatment.
 SOIL CLASSIFICATION LABORATORY TESTS
1. Particle Size Distribution or 2. Soil Consistency tests or
Grain Size Analysis or Sieve Atterberg Limits tests
Analysis test
 Used to classify coarse grained
soil.
 Used for fine grained soils
 Soils are classified based on the that is clays and silts
size of their particles (gravel,
sand, silt, clay).  Specific tests carried out are:
 Mechanical sieving (for coarse  Liquid Limit (LL) test.
soils) and hydrometer analysis
 Plastic Limit (PL) test
(for fine soils) are commonly
used methods.  Shrinkage limit test
SIEVE ANALYSIS TEST
 APPARATUS FOR SIEVE ANALYSIS
 SetTEST
of sieves
mechanical
Sieve shaker

Digital weighing
balance
 Other apparatus

Lid

Soft brush

Pan

hard brush

Bowl
 Procedure for sieve analysis test
 1. Weigh accurately about 200g  4. Place the soil sample in the
of air-dried (or oven dried) soil top sieve and shake the set
sample. using mechanical sieve
 2. Clean the sieves and pan with shaker for ten minutes.
brush, weigh them up and  5. Weigh the pan and each
record accurately. sieve with soil retained in
 3. Arrange the nest of sieves in them and record
ascending order of sieve sizes appropriately.
from bottom to top and place a
pan at the bottom of the sieves.
 Work sheet 1
Sieve sizes Wt. of Wt. of sieve Wt. of Percentage Cumulative Percentage
(mm or um) sieve + soil soil soil percentage passing (%)
retained retained retained (%)
(%)

Pan
TOTAL
 How to fill worksheet 1
Fill the work sheet 1 by determining the following:
 Determine the weight of soil retained in each sieve. The total
should be equal to the initial weight.
 Calculate the percentage of soil retained in each sieve (mass
retained in each sieve or pan / total weight) x 100
 Calculate the cumulative percentage retained by summing up
cumulatively from the first sieve to the pan. NB: The last one
should be 100%
 Calculate the percentage sample passing each of the sieves
 (% passing each sieve) = 100% – cumulative percentage retained
in each sieve.
 Worksheet 2
Sieve sizes Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Percentage Percentage
(mm or um) sieve sieve + soil soil soil passing (%)
retained retained
(%)

Pan
TOTAL
How to fill worksheet 2
 Determine the weight of soil retained in each sieve. The total should be
equal to the initial weight.
 Calculate the percentage of soil retained in each sieve (mass retained in
each sieve or pan / total weight) x 100
 Calculate the percentage sample passing each of the sieves accumulatively.
 (% passing sieve 1) = 100% – percentage retained in sieve 1
 (% passing sieve 2) = % passing sieve 1 – percentage retained in sieve 2
 (% passing sieve 3) = % passing sieve 2 – percentage retained in sieve 3
 (% passing sieve nth ) = % passing sieve (nth -1) – percentage retained nth
sieve
 Analysis of sieve analysis test results

 NOTE:

 If the weight of soil sample after test does not equate the weight of
the soil sample before testing, you should calculate the % error.
 If the % error is more than 2%, then the test should be repeated but
if its 2% and below, then the error is distributed to all the sieves
including the pan according to the weight of soil sample retained in
each sieve and pan.
 Example of how error is distributed
 Assume the initial weight of the soil sample was 200g and the after
the test the final was found to be 199.5g.
 This indicates that there is an error of negative 0.5 which translates
to a loss.

Solution
 Step 1. Work out the % of the error
 (0.5/ 200) x 100 = 0.25%
 Step 2. since the error is below 2% , then it should be distributed to
all sieves and pan according to the weight of soil in each sieve.
 From 1st sieve = 0.25/100 x soil retained in sieve 1
e.g 0.25/100 x 20g = 0.05g
 Down to the Pan = 0.25 /100 x soil retained in the pan
e.g 0.25 / 100 x 6g = 0.015g
Step 3. Because it is a loss, the distributed loss should be added in
order to get weight equivalent to the initial weight.
Example sieve 1 = 20 g + 0.05g =20.05g
 Note if the error is positive (gain) e.g 200.5g should following the
same procedure but in step 3, should subtracting (-) instead of
adding (+)
 e.g 20g – 0.05 = 19.95g
  NB: INCASE OF AN ERROR NOTE THAT THE WORKSHEET WILL HAVE AN ADDITIONAL
COLUMN AS SHOWN BELOW: INTIAL WEIGHT = 200g

Sieve Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of soil Total wt. Percentage soil Percentage
sizes sieve sieve + soil distributed retained in retained (%) passing (%)
(mm or soil retained in each sieve each sieve
um) (-) for gain after
and (+) for distribution
loss

49 0.16317 49.16317
40.5 0.134865 40.634865
45 0.14985 45.14985
pan 15 0.04995 15.04995
149.5 (+) 0.5 200
TOTAL 199.5
(loss)
TOTAL 200.5 (-) 0.5 200
(gain)
Plotting the results on a semi-logarithmic
Particle Size Distribution chart.

c
 Interpretation of the particle size distribution
curve
 Gradation of coarse-grained soil refers to the distribution of particle sizes within the soil sample.
 It is an important factor in determining soil properties such as permeability, strength,
compaction, and stability.
 Gradation is typically analyzed using a grain size distribution curve obtained from a sieve
analysis.
 The different types of gradations for coarse-grained soils are:
1. Well-Graded Soil
 A soil is well-graded if it contains a good representation of all particle sizes within a given range,
resulting in a dense packing of particles.
 Characteristics:
 Wide range of particle sizes.
 Grain size distribution curve is smooth and spans a wide range on the graph.
 High density and good stability.
 2. Poorly-Graded Soil
 A soil is poorly graded if it consists of particles of nearly the same size (uniformly
graded) or if there are gaps in the particle size distribution (gap-graded).
 Types:
 Uniformly Graded: Contains particles of nearly the same size.
 Grain size curve is steep and narrow.
 Low density due to poor packing of particles.
Example
Uniformly graded: Sand with similar-sized particles e.g medium

 Gap-Graded: Missing certain particle sizes, creating gaps in the distribution.

 Grain size curve shows flat sections (indicating missing sizes).
Example: Gap-graded: Mixture of coarse gravel and fine sand, missing
intermediate particles.
Exercise 1
Observe the gradation curves provided above and state the gradations of
curve A, B and C.
 Determination of Percentages

 Gravel (>>> 4.75 mm): Can also do a detailed

 % retained = 100%−60%=40% determination of percentages by
 Gravel content = 40%.
working out the % of:
 Sand (4.75 mm to 0.075 mm):
 % sand = 60%−10%=50%  coarse, medium and fine
 Sand content = 50%.
gravel
 Silt and Clay (<<< 0.075 mm):
 % silt + clay = 10%.  coarse, medium and fine sand
 Silt and clay content = 10%.
 coarse, medium and fine silt
Exercise

 Work out the percentages of the particle distribution of the curves

Example
Sieve No. Weight of Weight of Weight of % Cumulative
(mm) sieve sieve + soil soil sample retained % passing
sample

4.75 544 544 0 0 100

2.00 537 572 35 17.5 82.5
1.18 520 561 41 20.5 62
0.600 496 521 25 12.5 49.5
0.425 424 434 17 8.5 41
0.300 410 420 13 6.5 34.5
0.150 385 424 39 19.5 15.0
0.075 365 386 21 10.5 4.5
pan 389 398 9 4.5 0
TOTAL 200
Example
Sieve No. Weight of Weight of Weight of % Cumulative
(mm) sieve sieve + soil soil sample retained % passing
sample

4.75 544 544

2.00 537 572
1.18 520 561
0.600 496 521
0.425 424 434
0.300 410 425
0.150 385 427
0.075 365 388
pan 389 398
TOTAL
 Example 2
Sieve Weigh Weight of Weight % Cumulative
No. t of sieve + soil of soil retained % passing
(mm) sieve sample sample
4.75 544 544 0 0 100
2.00 537 577 40 20 80
1.18 520 566 46 23 57
0.600 496 526 30 15 42
0.425 424 424 0 0 42
0.300 410 410 0 0 42
0.150 385 434 49 24.5 17.5
0.075 365 391 26 13 4.5
pan 389 398 9 4.5 0
TOTAL 200