Significance of Coarse Grained Soil

Coarse Grained Soil is composed of soils with grains that are larger than 0.075 mm and retained on a No.
200 sieve. These soils that can generally be seen with naked eye have engineering behavior that is
influenced mainly by the relative proportions of its various sizes, shapes, and density of packing. Coarse
grained soil has large porosity and strong permeability due to its wide range of gradation. It has high
compaction degree and high shear strength after compaction. As an outcome, it is widely used in the
engineering construction field such as an embankment filling component in highway construction, earth-
rock fill dam, soft foundation treatment, etc. Other good engineering properties of coarse-grained soil
includes small settlement deformation, no volume change with change in moisture condition which means it
does not affect the strength of the soil, high permeability, high shear strength, and great packing density.
These geotechnical properties of coarse-grained soil are usually controlled by the grain size of the particles
and their composition. Relative proportions of the various sizes of grains holds significant influence on the
coarse-grained soil which are described as poor or well based on its gradation. Description of angular, sub-
angular, rounded, or sub-rounded based on its shape and description based on its mineralogical
components. Coarse-grained soils with angular shape possess higher strength or shearing resistance,
lower density, and higher compressibility than with a rounded shape. The excellent geotechnical properties
of the coarse-grained soil derive exhibition of good load-bearing capacity and good drainage qualities which
are applicable in the engineering construction field and its geotechnical aspect.

Coarse grained soil has been widely used in engineering construction for their excellent physical
and mechanical properties.
 Practically incompressible when dense
 Relative proportions of the different grain sizes have significant influence on the
engineering behaviour of a coarse grained soil. Other major factors are the density of
packing of the soil grains and the shape of the soil grains.

that influence the geotechnical characteristics of a coarse grained soil

has excellent engineering property like good compacting effect, high permeability, great packing
density, high shear strength and small settlement deformation, it has been widely applied in
engineering construction

1. Verbal description of coarse grained soil is done on the basis of its gradation (well or
poor), particle shape (angular, sub-angular, rounded or sub-rounded) & mineralogical
components.
2. Coarse grained soil exhibit a good load bearing capacity.
3. Coarse grained soil posse’s good drainage qualities.
4. There is no volume change with change in moisture condition.
5. Engineering properties are controlled by the grain size of the particles and their
structural arrangement.
6. Coarse-grained soils with angular particles have higher strength (shearing
resistance), higher compressibility and lower density than coarse-grained soils
with rounded particles.
7. The coarse-grained soils are mainly identified on the basis of grain
size of the particle size of the soil mass. One of the thumb rules which is
 used for the identification of coarse-grained soils is that the individual
particles of the coarse-grained soils can be seen with our naked eye.

One of an example of coarse-grained soils are sand and gravels. We can

easily see the particles of the sand and gravel with our eyes.

The moisture change in the coarse-grained soil does not affect

the strength of the soil.

Since Coarse grained soil has excellent engineering property like good compacting effect, high
permeability, great packing density, high shear strength and small settlement deformation, it has
been widely applied in engineering construction[1,2], such as earth-rock fill dam, railway
embankment or soft foundation treatmen
Because of the wide range of its gradation, coarse-grained soil has large porosity and strong permeability.
After compaction, it has excellent engineering characteristics such as high compaction degree and high
shear strength, so it is often used as an embankment filling material during highway construction. In
engineering practice, the embankment filled with coarse-grained soil may present large settlements and
local road sections even slide under seasonal rainfall and long-term vehicle loading. The vehicle load is a
type of cyclic force since its direction and amplitude periodically change. To control the deformation and
stability of the coarse-grained soil embankment, it is necessary to have a better understanding of the
deformation behavior of coarse-grained soil during cyclic loading.

Coarse grained soil is wide spreading and abundant reserves in nature. Since Coarse grained
soil [1,2], such as earth-rock fill dam, railway embankment or soft foundation treatment. W

The strength of coarse particle The mineral composition of coarse particles has a remarkable
effect on the strength property of coarse grained soil. Refs [3] revealed that the high strength of
coarse particle would make the friction angle increase about 2~4°. It is because that there are
remarkable difference between hard rock particle and soft rock particle for the strength of
particle edge which can form interlocking for improving the ability to resist shear.
COARSE GRAINED SOIL
8. Coarse grained soils are identified primarily on the basis of particle size or grain size.
Individual particles are visible by naked eye.
9. Coarse grained soils are divided into two groups, Sand & Gravel. Particles having
diameter larger than 4.75 mm is called Gravel and particles having diameter in between
4.75 mm to 75 micron is called Sand.
10. There is no appreciable amount of change in strength characteristic by change in
moisture condition.
11. Vibration accentuates volume change in loose state, by arranging the soil fabric.
12. When touched by hand it feels gritty.
Coarse-Grained Soil for Engineering Use
 Good load-bearing capacities
 Good drainage qualities but reduced by fines content as low as 5%
 Engineering properties of coarse-grained soils are controlled by
o Grain size of the particles
o Structural arrangement of particles
 Significant volume changes can occur when they are loose
 Vibrations accentuate volume changes in loose coarse-grained soils
 When coarse-grained soils (essentially sands) are below groundwater and
vibrated such as in an earthquake they can become like a viscous fluid and
cause instability and failure of structures on and within them
 The particles whose size are larger than 75 mm is known as gravel and
the particles whose size are less than 4.75 mm up to 75 microns are
known as Sand.
 The coarse-grained soil feels gritty when we touch it with our hands.
The shape of the coarse-grained soil is generally angular or sub-
angular.
 Coarse-grained soils are defined as those soils whose
individual grains are retained on a No. 200 (0.075 mm) sieve. Grains of
this size can generally be seen with the naked eye, although a handheld
magnifying glass may occasionally be needed to see the smallest of
the grains. Gravel and sand are coarse-grained soils.
 In coarse grained soils, where the grains are larger than 0.075 mm
(or 75 µm), the engineering behaviour is influenced mainly by the
relative proportions of the different sizes present, the shapes of the soil
grains, and the density of packing. These soils are also
called granular soils.


https://civilblog.org/2014/02/10/what-are-the-differences-between-coarse-grained-soil-fine-
grained-soil/
https://www.aboutcivil.org/coarse-grained-vs-fine-grained-comparison
https://civiljungle.com/coarse-grained-soil-and-fine-grained-soil/
https://theconstructor.org/geotechnical/coarse-fine-grained-soil/26299/
http://www.fao.org/fishery/docs/CDrom/FAO_Training/FAO_Training/General/x6706e/x6706e11.
htm

The description and identification of soil is the primary step in conducting soil investigation. It is
also crucial as it will identify the properties and composition of the gathered soil. Subsequently,
the properties will determine the fundamental importance and the possible approach that is
appropriate for the experiment.

In the activity, the angularity, color, odor, moisture content, and cementation of coarse-grained
soil were identified. For the fine-grained soil, the characteristics of dry strength, dilatancy, and
toughness were analyzed. The gathered soil samples of the two types of soil were analyzed by
observation and tests. The instructions and procedures on the manual were clear and easy to
follow thus, the smooth conducting of the experiment by the group. The video presented by the
group was also outstanding as it includes all the necessary information to carry out a successful
experiment of describing and identifying soils.

Overall, this activity helped the group to attain more engaging experience than the past
activities. With the procedure to be done by the group itself, even though not everybody got to
experience firsthand, is infrequent especially in an online class where the laboratory activities
were turned into alternative laboratory activities.
Analysis  of the results:  Fine-Grained Soil

After gathering four soil samples of fine-grained soil, the group started identifying the properties listed on the manual.
The dry strength, dilatancy, and toughness of the fine-grained soil were described for each soil sample that did not
pass Sieve #40. The first soil sample was determined to have high dry strength, slow dilatancy, and high toughness.
The second soil sample has a low dry strength which indicates that it has a low plasticity or cohesive property, has no
dilatancy or non-plastic soil, and low toughness. The third soil sample exhibits low dry strength, no dilatancy, and low
toughness upon testing. For the last soil sample, the fourth sample, it possesses medium dry strength, slow
dilatancy, and low toughness.

Among the four samples, it is discernible that the first sample has the highest resistance to crumbling between
fingers. It also has high toughness of all four soil samples which required high pressure in rolling the thread. On the
other hand, the second and third soil samples exhibit similar properties while the fourth soil sample differs in its
properties

https://www.soilmanagementindia.com/soil/soil-identification-tests/how-to-conduct-tests-for-fine-grained-soils-soil-
engineering/13462