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Module Name: Introduction to Geotechnics

Module Code: 4204CIV

Lab Report: Soil Classification

Student Name:

Student Number:

Lecturer: Monower Sadique

Date:
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1. Introduction

Engineering infrastructures such as water storage dams and roads contain large volumes of

concrete, rock-fill, and earth-fill. The cost of these materials is increasing, and it is imperative

that appropriate lab tests are performed to ensure that the quality of materials used meet

engineering specifications for sound structures. These tests help determine the engineering

properties of the materials for structural design. In particular, soils, sands and gravels are

used in the construction of earth embankment dams, and have to be tested for their suitability

(Carter & Bentley, 2016). The most important tests for soils include: grading analysis,

Atterberg limits, and compaction test. In this experiment we will stick to the first two limits.

Soil Grading

Soil particle size is one of the factors that determines the behaviour of soil. Soil particle size

distribution is an important aspect of geotechnical engineering and soil mechanics because it

indicates other engineering properties such as hydraulic conductivity, compressibility, and

shear strength. In geotechnical engineering, soil gradation controls the design and site

drainage conditions (Tan, 2003). To determine soil gradation, a sieve analysis is performed,

based on which a soil can be classified as well-graded or poorly-graded. Poorly graded soils

have better drainage than well-graded soils.

Atterberg Limits

Atterberg limits define the boundaries of soil moisture content in terms of “consistency

limits”. These boundaries are: Liquid limit (LL), Plastic limit (PL), and Shrinkage limit (SL).

The liquid limit is the moisture content at which a soil transforms from liquid state to plastic

state. The plastic limit is defined as the water content at which soil starts to crumble when

rolled into 3 mm diameter threads (BSI, 1990). The difference between the liquid limit and
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plastic limit is known as the Plasticity Index (PI), and it indicates the range of moisture

content over which a soil behaves like a plastic material. The Plasticity Index is given by:

PI =¿ – PL

PI is an important measure of plasticity of clay soils and soil classification. The shrinkage

limit defines a soil moisture content where further reduction in moisture content will not lead

to more reduction in soil volume.

2. Aim

The objective of this experiment was to determine soil classification based on the values

obtained from Atterberg limit tests and soil particle distribution curve.

3. Method

Materials and Apparatus

 Soil samples

 Oven

 Weighing Balance

 Sieves + pan

 Sieve shaker

 Cone penetrometer and dial gauge

 Flat glass plate

 Metal cups

 Metal straight-edge

 Palette knives

 Stop watch

 Moisture content determination apparatus

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 Distilled water

 Cleaning brush

Procedure

Plasticity Limit

About 20 g of the soil paste is placed on the glass plate. More water was added to the soil

until the soil exhibited plastic behaviour when rolled into a ball. About 8 g of the moistened

soil was rolled to obtain nearly elliptical in shape. The elliptical shape was then rolled on the

glass plate using finger tips to form elongated threads. Rolling and amassing of the threads

continued until 3mm-thick threads were obtained, and could crumble under slight rolling

pressure. The crumbled soil portions were then collected to determine their moisture content,

which gives the value of PL. The procedure was repeated to obtain two sets of PL values.

Liquid Limit

To determine plastic limit, a soil of approximately 300 grams and passing through a 425 μm

sieve was used. The soil was placed in a glass plate before adding water to obtain a uniform

mix. With care not to entrap air, the wet soil was transferred into the cylindrical cup of the

cone penetrometer. After levelling the soil in the cup, the cup was placed on the base of the

penetrometer apparatus in such a way that the cone point just comes into contact with the soil

surface. The cone was then released by releasing the vertical clump to allow the cone fall by

gravity into the soil. After about 5 seconds, the cone penetration was recorded. The test was

repeated at different levels of moisture content to obtain six readings.

Grading

The sieves were cleaned using the cleaning brush, before taking their masses. An oven dried

soil specimen was weighed. The sieves were arranged from the smallest (63 μm) on top to the
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largest (3.35 mm) at the bottom and the closing pan. The sample was then put in a sieve

shaker to complete the sieving process. After about five minutes, the sieves were carefully

removed and the soil particle retained in each sieve and the pan were weighed.

4. Results and Analysis

PART A: PLASTIC INDEX

Table 1.1: Plastic Limit (PL)

Test No. 1 2
Container No.
Mass of wet soil & container (g) 97.87 88.43
Mass of dry soil & Container (g) 90.54 82.88
Mass of container (g) 47.91 49.78
Moisture content (%) 17.2 16.8
Plastic Limit 17.0

Table 1.2: Liquid Limit

Test No. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Initial dial gauge reading (mm)
Final dial gauge reading (mm)
Cone penetration (mm) 15.6 16.9 19.1 21.2 23.1 24.8
Container No. A B C D E
Mass of wet soil & container (g) 82.27 89.06 81.06 76.75 105.45 99.89
Mass of dry soil & container (g) 69.91 74.13 68.72 66.67 83.79 79.86
Mass of container (g) 45.99 45.99 45.99 45.99 45.99 45.99
Moisture content (%) 51.7 53.1 54.3 48.7 57.3 59.1
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Graph of cone penetration against moisture content:

G raph for ll
30

25
Cone Penetration (mm)

f(x) = 0.575590108654927 x − 10.9843855376546

20

15

10

0
45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61
Moisture Content (%)

Figure 1.1: Graph of cone penetration (mm) against moisture content (%) for LL

From the graph above, LL is the % moisture content where cone penetration = 20 mm. This

can be obtained from the equation of the graph:

y=0.5756 x – 10.984

At y = 20mm,

20+10.984
x= =53.8
0.5756

Thus, LL = 53.8%

Plasticity Index = LL – PL

¿ 53.8−17.0

= 36.8

Using the plasticity chart (BS 1377-2: 1990), we can determine the soil classification:
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Figure 1.2: Plasticity chart (BS 1377–2: 1990)

The results are summarized in the table below:

Table 1.3: Summary of results

Liquid Limit (LL) 53.8

Plastic Limit (PL) 17.0

Plasticity Index (PI) 36.8

Classification of soil Clay of high plasticity

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PART B: CLASSIFICATION: Sieve Analysis

Table 2.1: Sieve analysis results

Sieve size (mm) Mass retained (g) Percentage Percentage passing

retained
3.35 11.97 2.6 97.5
2.00 13.72 2.9 94.5
1.18 13.20 2.8 91.9
600 μm 30.21 6.3 85.5
425 μm 38.99 8.2 77.4
300 μm 79.77 16.7 60.6
212 μm 204.26 42.8 17.9
150 μm 67.38 14.1 3.7
63 μm 15.53 3.3 0.5
Pan 2.36 0.5 0.0
Total 477.39 100 100

Particle size distribution chart:

P article size distribution chart

100
90
80
Percentage Passing (%)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.01 0.1 1 10
Particle Size (mm)

Figure 2.1: Particle size distribution curve

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Table 2.1: D10, D30 and D60 values from the distribution chart in figure 2.1 above

D10 0.109 mm
D30 0.15 mm
D60 0.12 mm

Calculated values of Coefficients of uniformity (Cu) and curvature (Cc)

C c =¿ ¿ ¿

C c = 1.72

D60 0.12
C u= = =1.10
D10 0.109

C u = 1.10

Classification of soil:

For Gravel,

C u ≥ 4, and 1≤ C c ≤ 3

Based on the above criterion, the soil can be classified as Uniformly Graded Gravel (Either

criterion is not met).

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5. Discussion

A fine-grained soil can exhibit several states depending on the amount of water in the soil. As

more water is added to a soil, soil particles become covered by a film of water. The

thicknesses of water films continue to increase as more water is added, allowing the soil

particles to slide past each other more easily. Thus, the soil behaviour is related to the amount

of moisture present in the soil. In part A, the plasticity index of the soil, PI = 36.8. The

corresponding value of LL = 53.8%. The meeting point of the PI and the LL values on the

plasticity chart in figure 1.2 is within the region marked CH, which corresponds to clay of

high plasticity. Thus, the Atterberg limits are important in classifying fine-grained soils using

the plasticity chart shown in figure 1.2.

In part B, the particle size distribution chart indicates the proportion of different soil particle

sizes in the coarse-grained soil sample (see figure 2.1). The aim of performing soil grading is

to show particle size distribution, which is important for characterization and classification of

coarse-grained soils. The Unified Soil Classification System ranks a soil sample based on the

size of individual grains in the soil. The soil grain diameters at 10% passing (D 10), 30%

passing (D30), and 60% passing (D60) are 0.109 mm, 0.15 mm, and 0.12 mm respectively.

These value are used to determine Cu and Cc for soil classification. Cu has been obtained as

1.10, and Cc has been obtained as 1.72. These values are closer to criteria for classifying a

gravel soil than a sandy soil. Thus,

Cu ≥ 4 & 1 ≤ Cc ≤ 3

Since only one criteria is fulfilled (1 ≤ Cc ≤ 3), the gravel cannot be classified as well graded,

but uniformly graded according to the Unified Soil Classification System.

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6. Conclusions

Soil plastic limit, liquid limit, and soil grading tests are integral part in soil classification. The

plastic limit and liquid limit are used to determine the plasticity index of fine-grained soils. In

this experiment, the value of PI was obtained as 36.8, which classifies the soil as clay of high

plasticity. For the grading test, the particle size analysis revealed that Cu = 1.10, and Cc =

1.72, an indication that the soil sample was uniformly graded gravel. Grading is important in

the classification of coarse-grained soils.

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References

BSI, 1990. BS 1377-2:1990: Methods of test for soils for civil engineering purposes.

Classification tests, London: BSI.

Carter, M. & Bentley, S. P., 2016. Soil Properties and Their Correlations. London: John

Wiley & Sons.

Tan, T. S., 2003. Characterisation and Engineering Properties of Natural Soils. Volume 2

ed. New York: CRC Press.