Soil Identification and its Classification (4 hrs)

3.1 Purpose of Soil Classification

3.2 Field Identification of Soil
3.3 Soil Classification Systems – Particle size, Textural, ISCS, USCS and AASHTO Soil Classification
System

Soil Classification
It is the arrangement of soils into different groups such that soils in a particular group shows similar
behavior.

Purpose of Soil Classification

• When a soil is classified as per some standard classification system, its behavior and
properties can be estimated based on the experience gained from similar soils elsewhere.
• It provides a common language between engineers dealing with soils.
• It is useful in exchange of information and experience between the geotechnical engineers.
Eg: If a soil has been classified as SW according to Unified Soil Classification System, the
geotechnical engineer anywhere would know that the soil is well graded sand.

Basic Requirements of Soil Classification

• It should have limited number of groups.
• It should be based on engineering properties and should fit purpose for which classification
is done.
• It should be simple and should use easy terms.

Field Identification of Soils

According to consistency
Consistency Field Inspection
Very Stiff Brittle or very hard
Stiff Can not be moulded in fingers
Firm Can be moulded in fingers by strong pressure
Soft Easily moulded in fingers
Very Soft Excludes between the fingers when squeezed
in the fist.

Gravel Vs. Sand

Gravel (4.75 – 75 mm)
Sand (0.075mm – 4.75mm)
If percentage of gravel is more than the percentage of sand, then the soil is known as gravel,
otherwise sand.
If more than 50% of particles retain on 4.75mm sieve, soil is gravel else sand.

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Sand Vs. Silt
• It is difficult to distinguish between fine sand and silt. Both look like dust but silt looks
slightly darker than sand.
• They can be distinguished by dispersion test.
Dispersion Test:
This test is used for making rough estimation of sand and silt. Small quantity of soil is taken in a
glass cylinder and then particles are allowed to settle and time required for settling of particles is
noted down.
• Sand particles settle within 30 secs for 10cm depth of water column.
• Silt particles take longer time of about 30 secs to 240 min.
• Clay particles or smaller may remain in suspension for hours-day.

Silt Vs. Clay

It is difficult to distinguish silt and clay by visual examination, so a microscopic examination is
required. Some simple tests which can fairly distinguish them are:
1) Visual examination
2) Wet and manipulated strength test
3) Thread test
4) Dilatancy test
5) Dry Strength test
6) Toughness test
Visual Examination
It should be carried out with respect to size, angularity and grading characteristics. (Difficult to
distinguish by visual examination only).
Wet and manipulated strength test
Small quantity of moistened soil is taken in hand and work it with fingers and feel it.
• If moisture comes out after squeezing between fingers and soapy touch – silty soil.
• If feeling of roughness occurs – sandy soil.
• If sticks to fingers and dries slowly – clay.
• If sticks to fingers and dries quickly and can dust off fingers leaving a stain – silt.
This test helps to distinguish predominant soil characteristics i.e. sandy, silty or clayey.
Thread Test
1 cm2 of specimen of soil is taken and moistened if necessary and is rolled on a smooth glass plate
to about 3mm diameter (plastic limit test). If crumbling does not occur, fold the thread, knead and
roll again until the moisture of the soil reduces by drying during manipulation to plastic limit,
which is indicated by crumbling that occurs during rolling. Characteristics of thread approaching

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plastic limit offers means of identification of soil. Plastic clays can be easily rolled and its plasticity
can be easily found but if soil contains much silt, it can’t be rolled or becomes difficult to roll.
Dilatancy Test (Shaking Test)
The test assists in identifying fineness characteristics of soils. Particles retained on IS Sieve 40 are
removed and a pat of soil of size 2cm3 is prepared. Enough water is added to make soil soft but
not sticky. Pat is placed in the palm of one hand and shaking vigorously against other hand several
times. Glossy appearance or appearance of water on surface of pat implies positive reaction. Then
the sample is squeezed between the fingers, the water or gloss disappears from the surface and pat
stiffens and then finally cracks.
Quickest and most distinct reaction – Sand
Moderate reaction – Inorganic Silt
No reaction – Plastic Clay
Dry Strength Test
Dry strength can be estimated by crumbling of a 3mm sized dried fragment between thumb and
fore fingers. Dry strength is an indication of cohesion and hence nature of soil. Clay fragment can
be broken with a great effort, but silt fragments crushes easily. Sand and silts can be distinguished
by feeling of powdered specimen. Fine sand feels gritty, whereas typical silt has a smooth feel.
Toughness Test
After crumbling of soil at 3mm diameter (at plastic limit), the pieces of soil are again taken,
remoulded and kneaded to form the lump of soil. If the soil can be easily lumped at water content
below plastic limit it implies that the toughness of soil is higher. Such soils contain much amount
of clay or colloidal matters otherwise they contain much silt.
Soil Classification System
1. Particle Size Classification
The size of individual particles has an important influence on the behavior of soils. Any system of
classification based only on particle size may be misleading for fine-grained soils. The behavior
of such soils depends on the plasticity characteristics and not on the particle size. However,
classification based on particle size is of immense value in the case of coarse-grained soils, since
the behavior of such soils depends mainly on the particle size.

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a) MIT Classification System

b) International Classification System (Swedish)

c) US Bureau of Soil Classification

2. Textural Classification of Soil

a. Triangular system of classification suggested by U.S. Bureau of Public Roads.

b. Texture refers to visual appearance of soil which refers to particle size, shape and
gradation of particles. But in this classification system we only look at particle size.
c. First the given soil sample is sieved and the % of sand, silt and clay are determined.
d. Then % of sand, silt and clay are plotted along 3 sides of an equilateral triangle
which is divided into 10 zones.
e. The soil is classified according to zone in which it lies.
f. This classification system is much suitable for describing coarse grained soil than
clay which properties are less dependent on particle size distribution.

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g. Eg: 30% sand, 20% silt and 50% clay – Soil is clay.
30% sand, 60% silt and 10% clay – Silty loam.
45% sand, 30% silt and 25% clay – Clay loam.
• If the soil contains significant amount of particles, gravel > 2mm, then a correction
factor is needed since there soil is assumed to have no gravel fraction.

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 3. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

a) USCS was first introduced by Casagrande and was modified in 1952 by ‘Bureau of
Reclamation’ and ‘Corps of Engineers’ USA.
b) It uses both particle sizes and plasticity characteristics, so it is suitable for both coarse- and
fine-grained soils.
c) It uses both primary and secondary symbols.
Primary Symbol (Letter) Secondary Symbol (Letter)
G – Gravel W – Well Graded
S – Sand P – Poorly Graded
M – Silt M – Non-plastic fines
C – Clay C – Plastic Fines
O – Organic L – Low Plasticity
Pe – Peat H – High Plasticity

Soil is first divided into two categories and then into 18 groups.
a) Coarse grained soil (more than 50% retained on 75µ sieve)
b) Fine grained soil (more than 50% passing from 75µ sieve)
Coarse grained soil
a) Gravel (more than 50% retained on 4.75mm sieve)
b) Sand (more than 50% passing from 4.75mm sieve)
Less than 5% fines (Clean gravel or sand)
According to particle size distribution, they are again classified as well graded or poorly
graded.
Well graded gravel (GW) – (Cu > 4, Cc = 1-3)
Poorly graded gravel (GP) – (Not meeting above criteria)
Well graded sand (SW) – (Cu > 6, Cc = 1-3)
Poorly graded sand (SP) – (Not meeting above criteria)
More than 12% fines
They are designated as silty or clayey
Silty Gravel (GM) – PI < 4
Clayey Gravel (GC) – PI > 7
Silty Sand (SM) – PI < 4
Clayey Sand (SC) – PI > 7

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 For 5-12% of fines
They are given dual symbol as:
GM – GC (Between silty gravel and clayey gravel)
SM – SC (Between silty sand and clayey sand)
Fine Grained Soils
They are further divided as:
a) Soil of low plasticity (WL < 50%)
b) Soil of high plasticity (WL > 50%)
They are also classified as clayey and silty (or organic) according to their consistency limits.
Consistency limits above A – line: Clayey
Consistency limits below A – line: Silty or Organic

The distinction between inorganic and organic soil is made by oven-drying. If on oven-drying
liquid limit (WL) decreases by 30% or more soil is organic otherwise silt (organic soils have dark
color, high compressibility and permeability and presence of organic matter).
Highly organic soils: Identified by visual examination (fibrous texture) and termed as Peat (P e).

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 4. Indian Soil Classification System (IS)
This system is adopted by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) and is similar in many respects to
USCS system. The basic difference is in classification of fine-grained soils.
Classification of coarse-grained soil is same as in USCS.
Fine Grained Soils
Fine grained soils are first classified into 3 categories as low, medium and high compressibility,
instead of two categories as low and high in USCS.
So, there are total 18 groups.

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5. AASHTO Soil Classification

a) Federal highway administration developed this classification system mainly for road
construction.
b) System is based on both particle size and plasticity characteristics (WL, WP, IP).
c) Soil is classified into 8 groups. A1 – A7 and A8 for peat or muck.
d) System is based on group index given by: G.I. = 0.2a + 0.005ac + 0.01bd
a = % passing through 75µ sieve between (35-75) expressed as positive whole no. between
(0-40)
b = % passing through 75µ sieve between (15-55) expressed as positive whole no. between
(0-40)
c = Liquid limit value between (40-60) expressed as positive whole no. between (0-20)
d = Plasticity Index value between (10-30) expressed as positive whole no. between (0-20)
e) In G.I. Calculation if any term is found to be negative, it is expressed as zero and G.I. value
is rounded to nearest whole number.
f) Classification is carried out by proceeding from left to right in table and the first soil for
which criteria matches is reported to be soil classified and its GI value is written in brackets.
Eg: A-2-6 (3).
g) Generally, lesser values of GI are desirable for highway construction.
GI = 0 – very useful soil for highway construction.
GI ≥ 20 – unsuitable for highway construction.

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Differences between USCS and AASHTO System
According to AASHTO system, a soil is termed as fine-grained if more than 35% passes No. 200
(0.075mm) sieve, whereas in the USC system, if more than 50% passes that sieve. In this respect,
the AASHTO system is somewhat better because the soil behaves as fine-grained when the
percentage of fines is 35%, and the limit of 50% in USC system is somewhat higher.
In AASHTO system, sieve No. 10 (2.0mm size) is used to divide the soil into gravel and sand,
whereas in USC system, sieve No. 4 (4.75mm size) is used.
In USC system, the gravelly and sandy soils are clearly separated, whereas in AASHTO system,
clear demarcation is not done. The soil A-2 in the latter system contains a large variety of soils.
Symbols used in USC system are more descriptive and are more easily remembered than those in
AASHTO system.
Organic soils are also classified as OL and OH and as peat (P t) if highly organic in USCS. In
AASHTO, there is no place for organic soils.
USCS is more convenient to use than the AASHTO system. In the latter, the process of elimination
is required which is time-consuming.