Classification of Soil: Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan
Chapter 5
Classification
of Soil
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accessible website, in whole or in part.
Learning Objectives
• Understand the textural classification of soil
• Understand how classification by engineering behavior
provides advantages over textural classification
• Learn about the AASHTO classification system
• Learn about Unified Soil Classification System
• Know the differences and similarities between the AASHTO and
Unified Soil Classification systems
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Textural Classification
• Texture of soil refers to its surface appearance
• It is influenced by the size of individual particles present in it
• Soils are mixtures of particles from several size groups,
and they are named after their principal components
• The USDA textural classification system categorizes soils
based on the percentage of:
• Sand
• Clay
• Silt
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Sample Textural Classification Table
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Classification by Engineering Behavior

• The two most widely used soil classification systems are:
• The American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) classification system
• Largely used by state and county highway departments
• The Unified Soil Classification System
• Largely preferred by geotechnical engineers
• Both systems take into account the particle-size
distribution and Atterberg limits
• Soil engineers interpret soil characteristics by the
amount of plasticity present
• Plasticity results from the presence of clay minerals
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AASHTO Classification System
• Soils are classified into seven major groups: A-1 through A-

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• Groups A-1, A-2, and A-3 are granular materials of which 35% or
less of the particles pass through the No. 200 sieve
• Groups A-4, A-5, A-6, and A-7 are granular materials of which
35% or more of the particles pass through the No. 200 sieve
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• The classification system is based on:
• Grain size
• Gravel: fraction passing the 75-mm (3-in.) sieve and retained on the
No. 10 (2-mm) sieve
• Sand: fraction passing the No. 10 (2-mm) sieve and retained on the
No. 200 (0.075-mm) sieve
• Silt and clay: fraction passing the No. 200 sieve
• Plasticity
• Silty: fine fractions of the soil have a plasticity index of 10 or less
• Clayey: fine fractions have a plasticity index of 11 or more
• If cobbles and boulders (size larger than 75 mm) are
encountered, they are excluded from the portion of the soil
sample from which the classification is made
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In order to evaluate the quality
of a soil as a highway subgrade
material, one must incorporate
the group index (GI)
The figure on the right shows a
plot of the range of the liquid
limit and plasticity index for
soils in groups A-2, A-4, A-5, A-
6, and A-7
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• The group index is given by the equation:
GI  (F200  35)[0.2 0.005(LL  40)] 0.01(F200 15)(PI 10)

 where:
 F200 = percentage passing through the No. 200 sieve
 LL = liquid limit
 PI = plasticity index
• In general, the quality of performance of a soil as a subgrade

material is inversely proportional to the group index
• Soils in groups A-1-a, A-1-b, A-2-4, A-2-5, and A-3 always have
a group index of 0
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Unified Soil Classification System
• This system classifies soils into two broad categories:

• 1. Coarse-grained soils that are gravelly and sandy in nature with
less than 50% passing through the No. 200 sieve
• The prefix G is used for gravel/gravelly soil and S for sand/sandy soil
• 2. Fine-grained soils are with 50% or more passing through the No.
200 sieve
• The prefix of M is used for inorganic silt, C for inorganic clay, O for organic
silts and clays, and Pt for peat, muck, and other highly organic soils
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Unified Soil Classification System

• Soils are further classified by the following prefixes:
• W for well-graded
• P for poorly-graded
• L for low plasticity (liquid limit less than 50)
• H for high plasticity (liquid limit more than 50)
• For proper classification according to this system, some or all
of the following information must be known:
• Percent of gravel
• Percent of sand
• Percent of silt and clay
• Uniformity Coefficient
• Liquid limit and Plasticity index
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Plasticity Chart for Unified Soil

Classification System
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Comparison between the AASHTO and

Unified Systems
• Both the AASHTO and Unified Classification systems are
based on the texture and plasticity of soil
• Both systems divide the soils into two major categories,
coarse grained and fine grained, as separated by the
No. 200 sieve
• The AASHTO system considers soil fine grained when more than
35% passes through the No. 200 sieve, and coarse grained
otherwise
• The Unified system considers soil fine grained when more than
50% passes through the No. 200 sieve, and coarse grained
otherwise
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Unified Systems
• The Unified system clearly separates gravelly and sandy soils,
unlike the AASHTO system
• Only the Unified system classifies organic soils such as OL,
OH, and PT
• The Unified system provides more descriptive and specified
soil categories when compared to the AASHTO system
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Unified Systems
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Summary
• Textural classification is based on naming soils by their principal
components such as sand, silt, and clay-size fractions
• Both the AASHTO and Unified systems use sieve analysis,

liquid limit, and plasticity index to categorize soils
• Group Index is added to the soil classification to characterize

the quality of soil as a subgrade material
• The group names under the Unified Classification System can be

determined using Figures 5.4, 5.5, and 5.6 in the text
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Classification of Soil: Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 9E Das/Sobhan

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Sample Textural Classification Table

Classification by Engineering Behavior

AASHTO Classification System

• Soils are classified into seven major groups: A-1 through A-

AASHTO Classification System

AASHTO Classification System

AASHTO Classification System

AASHTO Classification System

AASHTO Classification System

GI  (F200  35)[0.2 0.005(LL  40)] 0.01(F200 15)(PI 10)

• In general, the quality of performance of a soil as a subgrade

Unified Soil Classification System

• This system classifies soils into two broad categories:

Unified Soil Classification System

Plasticity Chart for Unified Soil

Comparison between the AASHTO and

Comparison between the AASHTO and

Comparison between the AASHTO and

• Both the AASHTO and Unified systems use sieve analysis,

• Group Index is added to the soil classification to characterize

• The group names under the Unified Classification System can be

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