GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1

SOIL CLASSIFICATION
T-CEET316

ppt by Engr. Ace Daria

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS PROVIDE A
COMMON LANGUAGE TO CONCISELY
EXPRESS THE GENERAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS, WHICH
ARE INFINITELY VARIED, WITHOUT
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS. MOST OF THE GROUN
SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS THAT
HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR
ENGINEERING PURPOSES ARE BASED ON
SIMPLE INDEX PROPERTIES SUCH AS GWT
PARTICLE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION AND
PLASTICITY.
CATEGORIES OF CLASSIFYING SOIL
1. THE TEXTURAL CLASSIFICATION IS
BASED ON THE PARTICLE-SIZE
DISTRIBUTION OF THE PERCENT OF
SAND, SILT, AND CLAY-SIZE FRACTIONS GROUN

PRESENT IN A GIVEN SOIL. IN THIS

CHAPTER, WE WILL DISCUSS THE
TEXTURAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
GWT
DEVELOPED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE.
CATEGORIES OF CLASSIFYING SOIL
2. THE OTHER MAJOR CATEGORY IS
BASED ON THE ENGINEERING BEHAVIOR
OF SOIL AND TAKES INTO
CONSIDERATION THE PARTICLE-SIZE GROUN

DISTRIBUTION AND THE PLASTICITY (I.E.,

LIQUID LIMIT AND PLASTICITY INDEX).
GWT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
THE USDA SYSTEM WAS
DEVELOPED FOR AGRICULTURAL
PURPOSES. IT HAS SOME ENGINEERING
APPLICATION IN THAT IT PROVIDES A
RELATIVELY EASY METHOD FOR GENERAL
FIELD CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS.
HOWEVER, “LOAMY”, WHILE DESCRIPTIVE,
IS NOT AN ENGINEERING TERM AND
SHOULD BE AVOIDED WHEN DISCUSSING
THE ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF A SOIL.
IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE TEXTURAL
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
GRAVEL > 2.0mm
SAND 2.0 - 0.05mm
SILT 0.05 – 0.002
CLAY <.002

NOTE!
WHEN GRAVEL IS EQUAL OR GREATER THAN
10%, THE SOIL IS GRAVELLY AND THE
PERCENTAGE MUST BE MODIFIED.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
PROBLEM 01
CLASSIFY THE GIVEN SOIL SAMPLE ACCORING TO TEXTURAL
CLASSIFICATION.
SOIL SAMPLE 1 2 3 4
%G 12 0 10 21
%S 25 18 20 12
%M 35 29 41 35
%C 28 58 29 32
SOIL SAMPLE 2
%G 0
%S 18
%M 29
%C 53
100%

SOIL SAMPLE 2: CLAY

 SOIL SAMPLE 1
%G 12
%S 25
%M 35
%C 28
TOTAL
100%
𝟐𝟓
SAND: %𝑺 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎%
𝟐𝟓 + 𝟑𝟓 + 𝟐𝟖
%𝑺 = 𝟐𝟖. 𝟒𝟎𝟗𝟏%
𝟑𝟓
SILT: %𝑴 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎% = 𝟑𝟗. 𝟕𝟕𝟐𝟕%
𝟖𝟖
𝟐𝟖
CLAY: %𝑪 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎% = 𝟑𝟏. 𝟖𝟏𝟖𝟐%
𝟖𝟖

SOIL SAMPLE 1: GRAVELLY CLAY LOAM

 SOIL SAMPLE 3
%G 10
%S 20
%M 41
%C 29
TOTAL
100%
𝟐𝟎
SAND: %𝑺 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎%
𝟐𝟎 + 𝟒𝟏 + 𝟐𝟗
%𝑺 = 𝟐𝟐. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐%
𝟒𝟏
SILT: %𝑴 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎% = 𝟒𝟓. 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟔%
𝟗𝟎
𝟐𝟗
CLAY: %𝑪 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎% = 𝟑𝟐. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐%
𝟗𝟎

SOIL SAMPLE 3: GRAVELLY CLAY LOAM

SOIL SAMPLE 4
%G 21
%S 12
%M 35
%C 32
ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND
TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS
THE AASHTO SYSTEM OF SOIL
CLASSIFICATION WAS DEVELOPED IN
1929 AS THE PUBLIC ROAD GRAVEL 76.2 - 2.0mm
ADMINISTRATION CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM. SAND 2.0 - 0.075mm

SILT 0.075 – 0.002mm

IT IS INTENDED FOR USE IN HIGHWAY
CONSTTRUCTION AND RATES SOIL CLAY <.002mm
ACCORDING TO THEIR SUITABILITY FOR
SUPPORT OF ROADWAY PAVEMENTS.
ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND
TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS

A−1 " BEST SOIL" A−8 "WORST SOIL"

ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND
TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS
GROUP INDEX:
𝑮𝑰 = 𝑭 − 𝟑𝟓 𝟎. 𝟐 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟓 𝑳𝑳 − 𝟒𝟎 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏(𝑭 − 𝟏𝟓)(𝑷𝑰 − 𝟏𝟎)

For A-1-a, A-1-b, A-2-4 , A-2-5 and A-3: 𝑮𝑰 = 𝟎

For A-2-6 and A-2-7: 𝑮𝑰 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏(𝑭 − 𝟏𝟓)(𝑷𝑰 − 𝟏𝟎)

NOTES: 1. IF THE EQUATION YIELDS A NEGATIVE VALUE FOR GI, IT IS TAKEN AS 0.

2. THE CALCULATED GROUP INDEX IS ROUNDED OFF TO THE NEAREST WHOLE NUMBER.
3. THERE IS NO UPPER LIMIT FOR THE GROUP INDEX.
PROBLEM 02
DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION OF EACH SOIL SAMPLE USING AMERICAN
ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS(AASHTO).

Soil Sample 01 02 03 04
Passing No. 10 83 100 90 100
Passing No. 40 48 92 76 82
Passing No. 200 20 86 34 38
LL 20 70 37 42
PI 5 32 12 23
 Soil Sample 01
Passing No. 10 83
Passing No. 40 48
Passing No. 200 20
LL 20
PI 5

SOIL SAMPLE 1: A-1-b (0)

𝑮𝑰 = 𝑭 − 𝟑𝟓 𝟎. 𝟐 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟓 𝑳𝑳 − 𝟒𝟎 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏(𝑭 − 𝟏𝟓)(𝑷𝑰 − 𝟏𝟎)

 Soil Sample 02
Passing No. 10 100
Passing No. 40 92
Passing No. 200 86
LL 70
PI 32

SOIL SAMPLE 2: A-7 -5 (33)

FOR A-7: 𝑃𝐼 = 32
𝐿𝐿 − 30 = 70 − 30 = 40
𝑃𝐼 < 𝐿𝐿 − 30
FOR GI: 𝐺𝐼 = 𝐹 − 35 0.2 + 0.005 𝐿𝐿 − 40 + 0.01(𝐹 − 15)(𝑃𝐼 − 10)
𝐺𝐼 = 86 − 35 0.2 + 0.005 70 − 40 + 0.01(86 − 15)(32 − 10)
𝐺𝐼 = 33.47 ≈ 33 𝑮𝑰 = 𝑭 − 𝟑𝟓 𝟎. 𝟐 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟓 𝑳𝑳 − 𝟒𝟎 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏(𝑭 − 𝟏𝟓)(𝑷𝑰 − 𝟏𝟎)
 Soil Sample 03
Passing No. 10 90
Passing No. 40 76
Passing No. 200 34
LL 37
PI 12

SOIL SAMPLE 3: A-2-6 (0)

FOR GI: 𝐺𝐼 = 0.01(𝐹 − 15)(𝑃𝐼 − 10)

𝐺𝐼 = 0.01(34 − 15)(12 − 10)
𝐺𝐼 = 0.38 ≈ 0

𝑮𝑰 = 𝑭 − 𝟑𝟓 𝟎. 𝟐 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟓 𝑳𝑳 − 𝟒𝟎 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏(𝑭 − 𝟏𝟓)(𝑷𝑰 − 𝟏𝟎)

 Soil Sample 04
Passing No. 10 100
Passing No. 40 82
Passing No. 200 38
LL 42
PI 23

SOIL SAMPLE 4: A-7 -6 (4)

FOR A-7: 𝑃𝐼 = 23
𝐿𝐿 − 30 = 42 − 30 = 12
𝑃𝐼 > 𝐿𝐿 − 30
FOR GI: 𝐺𝐼 = 𝐹 − 35 0.2 + 0.005 𝐿𝐿 − 40 + 0.01(𝐹 − 15)(𝑃𝐼 − 10)
𝐺𝐼 = 38 − 35 0.2 + 0.005 42 − 40 + 0.01(38 − 15)(23 − 10)
𝐺𝐼 = 3.62 ≈ 4 𝑮𝑰 = 𝑭 − 𝟑𝟓 𝟎. 𝟐 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟓 𝑳𝑳 − 𝟒𝟎 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏(𝑭 − 𝟏𝟓)(𝑷𝑰 − 𝟏𝟎)
UNIFIED SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
THE ORIGINAL FORM OF THIS SYSTEM
WAS PROPOSED BY CASAGRANDE IN
1942 FOR USE IN THE AIRFIELD GRAVEL 76.2 - 4.75mm
CONSTRUCTION WORKS UNDERTAKEN
SAND 4.75 – 0.075mm
BY THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
DURING WORLD WAR II. SILT
Fines
CLAY
THE USCS IS NOT LIMITED TO ANY
PARTICULAR PROJECT. IT IS AN ALL-
PURPOSE SYSTEM.
UNIFIED SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
THE CLASSIFICATION IS CONSISTED ONLY TWO OR FOUR LETTER GROUP SYMBOL.

GROUP SYMBOL: EXAMPLE: SM GROUP NAME:

FIRST LETTER: SECOND LETTER: SILTY SAND with GRAVEL
G W or P
PRIMARY COMPONENT
S M or C
SECONDARY COMPONENT
M
H or L TERTIARY COMPONENT
C
UNIFIED SOIL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
 IF: (Cu > 4)
W
& (1 < Cc < 3)
IF: GRADE

< 5% NOT MEETING THE

P
IF: G PASSING NO. 200 CRITERIA FOR “W”
< 50% IF:
IF: CGS PASSING NO. 4 > 12% PI < 4 M
< 50%
NOTE! FINES
PASSING NO. 200 WHEN 5 < PASSING NO. 200 < 12,
≥ 50% THE SOIL IS DUAL SYMBOL. PI > 7 C

≥ 50%

IF: (Cu > 6)

W
& (1 < Cc < 3)
IF: GRADE

< 5% NOT MEETING THE

P
S PASSING NO. 200 CRITERIA FOR “W”
IF:
> 12% PI < 4 M
NOTE! FINES
WHEN 5 < PASSING NO. 200 < 12,
FGS USE PLASTICITY CHART PI > 7 C
THE SOIL IS DUAL SYMBOL.
PROBLEM 03
SOIL SAMPLE 01 02 03 04
DETERMINE THE SOIL PASSING NO. 04 70 100 94 90
CLASSIFICATION PASSING NO.
ACCORDING TO 200
30 77 3 8
UNIFIED SOIL LL 33 63 39
CALSSIFICATION PI 12 25 8
SYSTEM (USCS) 𝐃𝟏𝟎 ---- ---- 0.41 ----
𝐃𝟑𝟎 ---- ---- 0.96 ----
𝐃𝟔𝟎 ---- ---- 1.41 ----
𝐂𝐂 ---- ---- ---- 3.9
𝐂𝐔 ---- ---- ---- 2.1
 <50% - G
SOIL SAMPLE 01
PASSING NO. 04 70 < 50% CGS PASSING NO. 4
PASSING NO. ≥ 50% - S
30
200 PASSING NO. 200
LL 33
PI 12 ≥ 50% FGS USE PLASTICITY CHART
𝐃𝟏𝟎 ----
𝐃𝟑𝟎 ----
(Cu > 6) & (1 < Cc < 3)
𝐃𝟔𝟎 ---- W
< 5% GRADE
𝐂𝐂 ----
𝐂𝐔 ---- NOT MEETING THE
PASSING NO. 200 CRITERIA FOR W - P
SOIL SAMPLE 1: SC
PI < 4 - M
> 12% FINES
PI > 7 - C
 SOIL SAMPLE 02 <50% - G
PASSING NO. 04 100 < 50% CGS PASSING NO. 4
PASSING NO.
77 ≥ 50% - S
200
PASSING NO. 200
LL 63
PI 25
≥ 50% FGS USE PLASTICITY CHART
𝐃𝟏𝟎 ----
𝐃𝟑𝟎 ----
(Cu > 4) & (1 < Cc < 3)
𝐃𝟔𝟎 ---- W
𝐂𝐂 ---- < 5% GRADE
𝐂𝐔 ---- NOT MEETING THE
PASSING NO. 200 CRITERIA FOR W - P

PI < 4 - M
> 12% FINES
PI > 7 - C
 LL 63
PI 25

SOIL SAMPLE 2: MH
 SOIL SAMPLE 03
<50% - G
PASSING NO. 04 94
PASSING NO. 200 3 < 50% CGS PASSING NO. 4
LL ---- ≥ 50% - S
PI ---- PASSING NO. 200
𝐃𝟏𝟎 0.41
𝐃𝟑𝟎 0.96 ≥ 50% FGS USE PLASTICITY CHART
𝐃𝟔𝟎 1.41
𝐂𝐂 ---- (Cu > 6) & (1 < Cc < 3)
𝐂𝐔 ---- W
< 5% GRADE

SOIL SAMPLE 3: SP NOT MEETING THE

PASSING NO. 200 CRITERIA FOR W - P
𝑫𝟔𝟎 𝟏. 𝟒𝟏
𝑪𝒖 = = = 𝟑. 𝟒𝟑𝟗𝟎
𝑫𝟏𝟎 𝟎. 𝟒𝟏 PI < 4 - M
𝑫𝟑𝟎 𝟐 𝟐 > 12% FINES
𝑪𝒄 = 𝟎. 𝟗𝟔
𝑫𝟏𝟎 (𝑫𝟔𝟎 ) = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟏(𝟏. 𝟒𝟏) = 𝟏. 𝟓𝟗𝟒𝟐 PI > 7 - C
 SOIL SAMPLE 04
<50% - G
PASSING NO. 04 90
PASSING NO. 200 8 < 50% CGS PASSING NO. 4
LL 39 ≥ 50% - S
PI 8 PASSING NO. 200
𝐃𝟏𝟎 ----
𝐃𝟑𝟎 ---- ≥ 50% FGS USE PLASTICITY CHART
𝐃𝟔𝟎 ----
𝐂𝐂 3.9 (Cu > 6) & (1 < Cc < 3)
𝐂𝐔 2.1 W
< 5% GRADE

SOIL SAMPLE 4: SP-SC NOT MEETING THE

PASSING NO. 200 THEREFORE CRITERIA FOR W - P
DUAL SYMBOL
PI < 4 - M
>12% FINES
PI > 7 - C
PROBLEM 04
Sieve analysis was a. Classify these
done separately on soil according to
two different soil
samples—Soil A and USCS
Soil B—and the grain b. Classify these
size distribution soil according to
curves are shown in
the figure. The AASHTO
Atterberg limits for
the two soils are:
Soil LL PL
A 26 18
B Non-plastic
PROBLEM 04
Description Soil A Soil B
Gravel (%) 0 16
Sand (%) 12 64
Silt (%) 59 20
Clay (%) 29 0

Sieve no Soil A Soil B

No. 10 (% finer) 100 70
No. 40 (% finer) 100 40
No. 200 (% finer) 88 20
LL (%) 26 18
PI (%) 8 NP
PROBLEM 04
Description Soil A Soil B
Gravel (%) 0 16
Sand (%) 12 64
Silt (%) 59 20
Clay (%) 29 0
 Sieve no Soil A Soil B
No. 10 (% finer) 100 70
No. 40 (% finer) 100 40
No. 200 (% finer) 88 20
LL (%) 26 18
PI (%) 8 NP

Ok!
 Sieve no Soil A Soil B
No. 10 (% finer) 100 70
No. 40 (% finer) 100 40
No. 200 (% finer) 88 20
Ok! LL (%) 26 18
PI (%) 8 NP

Ok!