‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING CIVIL

ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Soil
Mechanics I
Ahmed Alhaj Abdualgader
Soil classification:
Soils with similar properties may be classified into groups and subgroups

according to their engineering behavior.

Classification systems provide a common language to concisely express the

general characteristics of soils.

Most of the soil classification systems that have been developed for

1. Engineering purposes

2. Particle-size distribution

3. Plasticity.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) textural
classification systems.

 texture of soil refers to its surface appearance.

 Soil texture is influenced by the size of the individual
particles present in it. Table below divided soils into
gravel, sand, silt, and clay categories on the basis of
particle size.
 In the textural classification system, the soils are named
after their principal components, such as sandy clay, silty
clay, and so forth.
Utilization of figure
The use of this chart can best be demonstrated by an
example.
Soil type Percent %
Sand 30%
Silt 40%
Clay 30%
its textural classification can be determined by proceeding in the
manner indicated by the arrows in the above figure.
This soil falls into the zone of clay loam
Note that this chart is based on only the fraction of soil that passes through
the No. 10 sieve.

If the particle-size distribution of a soil is such that a certain percentage of the

soil particles is larger than 2 mm in diameter, a correction will be necessary.
Classification by Engineering Behavior

Two classification systems are commonly used by soils engineers .

Both systems take into consideration the particle-size distribution and

Atterberg limits.

1. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

(AASHTO) classification system

2. Unified Soil Classification System.

The AASHTO classification system is used mostly by state and county highway
departments. Geotechnical engineers generally prefer the Unified system.
American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
The AASHTO system of soil classification was developed in 1929 as the
Public Road Administration classification system.
• AASHTO is used mainly for classifying materials in road construction.
• Based on:
1. Percentages of grain sizes (No.10, No.40, No.200).
2. Consistency limits (Plasticity index & liquid limit)
• AASHTO ranks soils from 1 to 7 (7 groups) to indicate their
suitability as a subgrade for pavements.
To classify a soil according to the above table, one must apply the test data
from left to right. By process of elimination
 This classification system is based on the following criteria
Grain size
a. Gravel: fraction passing the 75-mm sieve and retained on the
No. 10 (2-mm) U.S. sieve
b. Sand: fraction passing the No. 10 (2-mm) U.S. sieve and
retained on the No. 200 (0.075-mm) U.S. sieve
c. Silt and clay: fraction passing the No. 200 U.S. sieve
Plasticity
The term silty is applied when the fine fractions of the soil have
a plasticity index of 10 or less. The term clayey is applied when
the 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
classification is made. However, the percentage of such material
is recorded.
This figure shows a plot of the range of the liquid limit and the plasticity
index for soils that fall into groups A-2, A-4, A-5, A-6, and A-7
Group index:
 To evaluate the quality of a soil as a highway subgrade material, we
use a number called the group index (GI) with the groups and
subgroups of the soil.

 This index is written in parentheses after the group or subgroup

designation. The group index is given by the equation

LL PI
 Rules for determining the group index

If the equation is negative value for GI, it is taken as 0.

The group index is rounded off to the nearest whole number

There is no upper limit for the group index.

The group index of soils belonging to groups A-1-a, A-1-b, A-2-4, A-2-5,
and A-3 is always 0.

When calculating the group index for soils that belong to groups A-2-6
and A-2-7, use the partial group index for PI.
In general, the quality of performance of a soil as a
subgrade material is inversely proportional to the
group index.
Unified Soil Classification System
The original form of this system was proposed by Casagrande in 1942.

This system classifies soils into two broad categories:

Other symbols used for the
coarse-grained soils classification are:
Fine-grained soils
that are gravelly
are with 50% or
• W—well graded
and sandy in nature
with less than 50%
more passing • P—poorly graded
through the No. • L—low plasticity (liquid
passing through the
200 sieve
No. 200 sieve limit less than 50)
•H—high plasticity (liquid
limit more than 50)
G or S M, C,O or Pt
 For proper classification according to this system, some
or all of the following information must be known
Percent of gravel—that is, the fraction passing the 76.2-mm sieve and
retained on the No. 4 sieve (4.75-mm opening)

Percent of sand—that is, the fraction passing the No. 4 sieve (4.75-mm
opening) and retained on the No. 200 sieve (0.075-mm opening)

Percent of silt and clay—that is, the fraction finer than the No. 200 sieve
(0.075-mm opening)

Uniformity coefficient (Cu) and the coefficient of gradation (Cc)

Liquid limit and plasticity index of the portion of soil passing the No. 40
sieve
Comparison between the AASHTO and
Unified Systems
Both soil classification systems, AASHTO and Unified, 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.

According to the AASHTO system, a soil is considered fine grained when more

than 35% passes through the No. 200 sieve. According to the Unified system, a

soil is considered fine grained when more than 50% passes through the No. 200

sieve.
In the Unified system, the gravelly and sandy soils clearly are separated; in the
AASHTO system, they are not.

The A-2 group, in particular, contains a large variety of soils. Symbols like GW, SM,
CH, and others that are used in the Unified system are more descriptive of the soil
properties than the A symbols used in the AASHTO system.

The classification of organic soils, such as OL, OH, and Pt, is provided in the Unified
system. Under the AASHTO system, there is no place for organic soils. Peats usually
have a high moisture content, low specific gravity of soil solids, and low unit weight.