INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

‫م وا‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ا و‬ ‫ا‬

CIVIL ENGINEERING AND

Lecture ENVIRONMENTAL DEPARTMENT
303322 - Soil Mechanics
2
4
Classification of Soils

Dr. Abdulmannan Orabi

 References

Das, B., M. (2014), “ Principles of geotechnical

Engineering ” Eighth Edition, CENGAGE
Learning, ISBN-13: 978-0-495-41130-7.
Knappett, J. A. and Craig R. F. (2012), “ Craig’s Soil
Mechanics” Eighth Edition, Spon Press, ISBN: 978-
0-415-56125-9.

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 Introduction
A soil classification system-
It is the arrangement of different soils with
similar properties into groups & subgroups
based on their application or to their probable
engineering behavior.
A classification for engineering purposes
should be based mainly on mechanical
properties: permeability, stiffness, strength.

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 Introduction
The aim of a classification system is to
establish a set of conditions which will allow
useful comparisons to be made between
different soils.
Most of the soils classification systems that
have been developed for engineering purposes
are based on simple index properties such as
particle size distribution & plasticity.

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 Classification System

SOIL CLASSIFICATION BASICS

Commonly based on grain size and soil
consistency. Several classification systems
exist:
1. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
(ASTM D2487-11).
2. American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) (ASTM
D3282-09).

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

According to the USCS, the soils are divided into

two major categories:
1. Coarse-grained soil that are gravelly and sandy in
nature with less than 50 % passing through the No
200 sieve ( that is F200 < 50%).
2. Fine-grained soils with 50% or more passing
through the No. 200 sieve ( that is F 200 > 50%).

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

•The soil is classified into 15 groups.

• Each group is designated a symbol consisting
of two capital letters.
•The first letter is based on main soil type.
•The second letter is based on gradation and
plasticity .

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

The following Symbols are used in this system:

1. Coarse-grained
G – Gravel P – Poorly graded M – Silty
S – Sand W– Well graded C – Clayey
2. Fine-grained soil
M – Silt, C – Clay, O – Organic First Letter

L – Low Plastic H – High Plastic Second Letter

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

1. Coarse-grained
Group Symbol Typical Name
Sw or Gw Well graded soil (sand or gravel )
SP or GP Poorly graded soil ( sand or gravel )
GM Silty gravel or Silty gravel with sand
GC Clayey gravel or Clayey gravel with sand
SM Silty sand or Silty sand with gravel
SC Clayey sand or Clayey sand with gravel

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

2. Fine-grained soil
Group Symbol Typical Name
CL Inorganic clays of low plasticity.
ML Inorganic silts with slight plasticity.
OL Organic soil of low plasticity.
CH Inorganic clays of high plasticity.
MH Inorganic silts with high plasticity.
OH Organic soil of high plasticity.
Pt Peat.

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

The classification is based on material passing a

75mm sieve:

grained Coarse – grained Soil

Gravel
R4
4.75 mm Sieve No. 4
F4
R 200 > 50
Sand

R200
0.075 mm Sieve No. 200

F200 > 50
Fine –

F200
Soil

Silt & Clay

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

F 200 = percent passing No. 200 sieve

( % of fines )
R4 = percent retained above No.4 sieve.
( % of Gravel )
R200 = percent retained above No.200 sieve.
F4 = percent passing No. 4 sieve

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 Worked Example

F200 = 14%
R4 = 18 % Gravel
R4
Gravel = 18 % 4.75 mm Sieve No. 4
F4
Sand = 68 % Sand
Silt and Clay= 14%
R200 0.075 mm Sieve No. 200
R200 = 86% F200
Silt & Clay
F4 = 82%
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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

1. Coarse-grained soil
If R4/ R200 > 0.5, the soil is a gravel ( G )
Symbol Criteria
GW F200<5 % Cu > 4 , 1< Cc < 3
GP F200<5 % Not meeting the GW criteria of Cu & Cc
GM F200>12 % PI < 4, or plots below A-Line ( Plasticity Chart )
GC F200>12 % PI > 7, and plots on or above A-Line
GW-GM 5<F200<12 Satisfies Cu & Cc crit. of GW, meets PI for GM

GW-GC 5<F200<12 Satisfies Cu & Cc crit. of GW, meets PI for GC

GP-GM 5<F200<12 Doesn't satisfy Cu & Cc crit, of GP, meets PI,GM
GP-GC 5<F200<12 Doesn't satisfy Cu & Cc crit, of GP, meets PI,GM
GM-GC F200>12 % PI plots in the hatched area ( Plasticity Chart )

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

1. Coarse-grained soil
If R4/ R200 > 0.5, the soil is a gravel ( G )
Symbol Criteria
SW F200<5 % Cu > 6 , 1< Cc < 3
SP F200<5 % Not meeting the GW criteria of Cu & Cc
SM F200>12 % PI < 4, or plots below A-Line ( Plasticity Chart )
SC F200>12 % PI > 7, and plots on or above A-Line
SW-SM 5<F200<12 Satisfies Cu & Cc crit. of SW, meets PI for SM

SW-SC 5<F200<12 Satisfies Cu & Cc crit. of SW, meets PI for SC

SP-SM 5<F200<12 Doesn't satisfy Cu & Cc crit, of SP, meets PI,SM

SP-SC 5<F200<12 Doesn't satisfy Cu & Cc crit, of SP, meets PI,SM

SM-SC F200>12 % PI plots in the hatched area ( Plasticity Chart )

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

2. Fine – Grained Soil

Silts and Clays: LL < 50 %

ML PI < 4 or plots below A- Line

CL PI > 7 and plots on or above A –Line
CL- ML PI plots in the hatched area
OL PI plots in the OL area

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

2. Fine – Grained Soil

Silts and Clays: LL > 50 %

MH PI plots above A- Line

CH PI plots on or above A –Line
OH plots in the OH area
Pt High organic matter (Peat)

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Plasticity Chart
70
PI
60
CH or OH
50
Plasticity Index

40

30

CL or MH
20
CL - ML OL or
10 OH
ML or
OL LL
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Liquid Limit ( % )
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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Plasticity Chart

Note:
If the results of your soil tests fall above
the U – line on the plasticity chart, you
should be suspicious of your results and
repeat your tests.

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
Example 1
Using the grain-size distribution curve shown below,
determine the uniformity coefficient Cu and classify the
soil 100
#10 #60 #200

90
80
70
Percent finer

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
10 1 D60 D30 D10 0.01

Particle diameter (mm)

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
Solution
From the grain distribution curve, D60 = 0.60 mm, D30 =
0.20 mm and D10 = 0.09 mm,
F200= 0, R4= 3 therefore the coefficients are,
0.6
= = = 6.67 = = 0.74
0.09 ∗

A well-graded soil has a uniformity coefficient greater than

4 for gravels and 6 for sands.
Therefore, this soil is classified as uniform sand. (According
USCS, the soil is SP ).

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
Example 2
Laboratory tests were performed on a light-brown
sandy soil, which visually has several pieces of gravel
larger than 6 mm, indicated that PL = 22.6 % and
LL = 33.2 %. Classify this soil using USCS.

Sieve No. % Passing

4 98.0
40 36.5
200 28.5

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 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Solution
F200 = 28.5% < 50% , the soil is coarse grained. R4 =
2%, R4/R200 < 0.5, the soil is sand
F200 = 28.5% > 12% The soil group is SM or SC
PI = 33.2 – 22.6 = 10.6%
Atterberg limits above A-Line
Therefore, this soil can be classified as SC

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 AASHTO Classification System

The classification system is based on the following

criteria
1. Grain size
a. Gravel: fraction passing the 75 mm sieve and
retained on the No. 10 ( 2mm ) sieve
b. Sand: fraction passing the No. 10 sieve and
retained on the No. 200 U.S. sieve.
c. Silt and clay: fraction passing No.200sieve.

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 AASHTO Classification System

2. Plasticity : the term silty is applied when the fine

frictions of the soil have a plasticity index of 10
or less.
The term clayey is applied when the fine frictions
have a plasticity index of 11or more.
3. If cobbles and boulders are encountered, they are
excluded form the portion of the soil sample which
classification is made.

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 AASHTO Classification System

According to the present form of this

system, soils can be classified according to
eight major groups, A-1 through A-8, based
on their grain size distribution, liquid limit,
and plasticity indices.

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 AASHTO Classification System

Soils listed in groups A-1, A-2, and A-3 are

coarse-grained materials, and those in groups
A-4, A-5, A-6, and A-7 are fine-grained
materials.
Peat, muck, and other highly organic soils are
classified under A-8.
They are identified by visual inspection.

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 AASHTO Classification System

According to the AASHTO, the soils are divided into

two major categories:
1. Coarse-grained soil that are gravelly and sandy
in nature with less than 35 % passing through
the No 200 sieve ( that is F200 < 35%).
2. Fine-grained soils with 35% or more passing
through the No. 200 sieve ( that is F 200 >
35%).

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 AASHTO Classification System
Granular materials ( F200 < 35% )
A–1
Group A-3
classification A–1–a A–1–b

Sieve analysis No. 10 50 max

(Percentage
No.40 30 max 50 max 51 min
passing )
No.200 15 max 25 max 10 max

Characteristic of Liquid ------

fraction passing Limit
No. 40 Plasticity 6 max NP
index
Usual types of materials Stone fragments, gravel, and Fine sand
sand
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 AASHTO Classification System
Granular materials ( F200 < 35% )
Group A-2
classification A–2–4 A – 2 –5 A–2-6 A–2-7

Sieve analysis No. 10

(Percentage
No.40
passing )
No.200 35 max 35 max 35 max 35 max

Characteristic Liquid 40 max 41 min 40 max 41 min

of fraction Limit
passing No. 40 Plasticity 10 max 10 max 11 min 11 min
index
Usual types of materials Silty or clayey gravel and sand

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 AASHTO Classification System

Plasticity Chart
70

60
Plasticity Index, PI

50
PI>LL – 30
40
A-6 A-7-6 PI< LL – 30
30
A-7-5
20
A-2-6
A-2-7
10
A-2-4 A-4 A-5 A-2-5
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Liquid Limit, LL
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 AASHTO Classification System

Group Index ( GI )
To evaluate the quality of a soil as a highway
subgrade material, one must also incorporate a
number called the group index (GI) with the
groups and subgroups of the soil.
Group index of a soil depends on amount of
material passing 75 micron IS sieve, liquid limit ,
and plastic limit.

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 AASHTO Classification System

Group Index ( GI )
1. Used to describe performance of soil when
used for pavement construction.
2. Note used to place a soil in a particular group
3. It means rating the value of soil as a subgrade
material within its own group
4. Higher the value of GI, poorer is the quality
of material. The quality of performance of a
soil as a subgrade material is inversely
proportional to GI.

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 AASHTO Classification System

Group Index ( GI )
The group index is given by the equation:

GI = (F200-35)[0.2+0.005(LL-40)]+0.01(F200-15)(PI-10)

When calculating the group index for soils that

belong to group A – 2 – 6 and A – 2 – 7 , use the
partial group index for PI, or
GI = 0.01(F200 -15) (PI - 10)

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 AASHTO Classification System

Group Index ( GI )
A soil having GI of zero is considered as the best.
If the equation gives negative value for GI,
consider it zero.
Always round off the GI to nearest whole number.
GI=0 for soils of groups A-1-a, A-1-b ,A-2-4,
A-2-5, and A-3.
There is no upper limit for the group index
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 Worked Examples
Example 3
The results of the particle-size analysis of a soil
are as follows:
Percent passing through the No. 10 sieve = 100
Percent passing through the No. 40 sieve = 80
Percent passing through the No. 200 sieve = 58
The liquid limit and plasticity index are 30 and
10, respectively.
Classify the soil by the AASHTO system.

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 Worked Examples
Solution
F200 = 58% > 35%, the soil is fine- grained ( silt
or clay )
Using plasticity chart(slid No. 24), the soil is A-4.
GI = (F200-35)[0.2+0.005(LL-40)]+0.01(F200-15)(PI-10)

GI = (58-35)[0.2+0.005(30-40)]+0 .01(58-15)(10-10)

GI = 3.45

So, the soil will be classified as A-4 (3)

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 Worked Examples
Example 4
Ninety-five percent of a soil passes through the No.
200 sieve and has a liquid limit of 60%and
plasticity index of 40.
Classify the soil by the AASHTO system.
Solution :
F200 = 95% > 35
According to plasticity chart, this soil falls under group
A-7 , 40 > 60 – 30, GI = 42
The soil is A-7 – 6 ( 42 )
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 Worked Examples
Example 5
For an inorganic soil, the following grain-size analysis
is given:
Sieve No. % Passing
4 100
10 90
20 64
40 38
80 18
200 13

For this soil, LL = 23% and PL = 19%. Classify the

soil according to:
a. the AASHTO soil classification
b. the Unified soil classification system
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 Worked Examples
Example 6
Classify the following soils using Unified classification
system
Sieve analysis, Liquid Plasticity
Soil
No.4 No.200 Limit index
A 80 52 30 8
B 79 45 26 4
C 91 80 60 32
D 95 75 41 12
E 82 41 24 2

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 Worked Examples
Example 6
Classify the following soils using USCS and
AASHTO systems and give the GI.
Sieve analysis,

Soil No. No. No. No. No. No. 0.01 0.002 LL PI

No.4
10 20 40 60 100 200 mm mm

A 94 63 21 10 7 5 3 - - - NP
B 98 86 50 28 18 14 10 - - - NP
C 100 100 98 93 88 83 77 65 60 63 25

D 100 100 100 99 95 90 86 42 40 55 28

E 100 100 100 94 82 66 45 26 21 36 22

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 Worked Examples
Curve – soil A Example 6
100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
10 1 0.1 0.01

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 Worked Examples
Example 7
Classify the following soils using the AASHTO system
and give the GI.
Sieve analysis,
Soil LL PI
No. 10 No. 40 No. 200

A 62 30 8 - NP
B 90 67 35 32 8
C 90 76 34 37 12
D 100 78 8 - NP
E 85 68 45 38 9

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