Sie sind auf Seite 1von 45

BFC 21702

GEOTECHNICS I
Chapter 1:
Soil Classification

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.1 Soil Texture, Grain Shape, Fabric and
Mineralogy
1.2 Grain Size Distribution
1.3 Atterberg's Limits and Indices
1.4 Soil Classification Systems Such as
USCS, BS and AASHTO

Origin & Formation of Soils and


Soil Categories
Rocks are the parent material from which the
soils are formed
When a rock surface gets exposed to the
atmosphere for an appreciable time,
considerable changes take place in its structure,
which is known as weathering of rocks
Weathering can be broadly divided into two
types which are physical and chemical
weathering

Origin & Formation of Soils and


Soil Categories (continued)
Besides these complex factors that go to form
the soils, rocks are also of three major types
Igneous,
Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic
Nature of weathering and rate of weathering
depend upon the rock
Harder minerals will naturally be more resistant
to weathering action
Also more chemically stable minerals will retain
their identity when chemical changes tend to
occur

Origin & Formation of Soils and


Soil Categories (continued)
The soils formed by weathering may
remain in position on the parent rock, in
which case they are termed as residual
soils
Or they may get transported by the various
transporting agencies such as wind, water,
ice or even gravity, etc. when they are
termed as transported soils.
soils.

Origin & Formation of Soils and


Soil Categories (continued)
The transported materials can be further
divided into many types
Nomenclature for these types is presented
in Table below, depending upon their
transporting medium and the place of
deposition

Origin & Formation of Soils and


Soil Categories (continued)
Table 1.1: Nomenclature for soils (Source: Sehgal, S.B., 1984)

Bil.
Bil. Transporting medium & deposit
location
1. Transported by running water, e.g.
rivers and streams
2. Transported by wind
3. Transported by Glaciers
4. Deposited in Lakes
5. Deposited in sea

Name
Alluvial
Aeoline
Glacial
Lacustrine
Marine

Origin & Formation of Soils and


Soil Categories (continued)
The broad classifications given above are
important to understand the general nature
of soils in a geological region
For a Geotechnical Engineer, however,
the soils can be classified into two broad
but distinct classes:
1. Coarse grained soils
2. Fine grained soils

Soil Types (continued)


Coarse-Grained Soils
These include sands, gravels and larger particles.
For these soils the grains are well defined and may be seen by the
naked eye.
The individual particles may vary from perfectly round to highly angular
reflecting their geological origins.
The engineering properties of coarse-grained soils depend mainly on the
grain size and the structural arrangement of the particles
Fine-Grained Soils
These include the silts and clays.
The particle sizes are generally smaller than 63m.
The engineering properties of fine-grained soils depend mainly on
mineralogical factors
A thin layer of water is bonded to the mineral surfaces of soils and has
significant influences on the physical and mechanical characteristics of
fine-grained soils
Fine-grained soils have much larger surface areas than coarse-grained
soils and are responsible for the major physical and mechanical
differences between coarse-grained and fine-grained soils

Soil Types (continued)


Silts:
These can be visually differentiated from clays because they exhibit
the property of dilatancy.
If a moist sample is placed and shaken on the palm of ones hand,
water will appear on its surface.
If the sample is then squeezed between the fingers, the water will
disappear.
Their gritty feel can also identify silts.
Clays:
Clays exhibit plasticity, they may be readily remoulded when moist,
and if left to dry can attain high strengths.
Clays are composed of three main types of minerals kaolinite, illite
and montmorillonite
The bonds between the layers play a very important role in the
mechanical behaviour of clays. The bond between the layers in
montmorillonite is very weak compared with kaolinite and illite.
Water can easily enter between the layers in Montmorillonite
causing swelling

Soil Types (continued)


Organic:
These may be of either clay or silt sized particles.
They contain significant amounts of vegetable matter.
The soils containing organic matter are usually dark grey
or black and have a noticeable odour from decaying
matter.
Generally, the organic matters are found on the ground
surface.
Peat layer may be found at few meters depth.
The organic soil can be classified as very poor soils for
most engineering purposes.

Activity of clay
Clay absorbs water to its surface
The water absorbed by a soil provides
some estimate of the amount of clay
present in that soil
Skempton proposed a relationship
between the plasticity index and the
percentage (by weight) of clay sizes finer
than 2m
2mm , which is known as activity of
clay, A

Activity of clay (continued)


A=

Ip
% finer than 2 mm

Activity, A

Classification

A<0.7

Inactive clay

0.7<A<1.20

Normal clay

A>1.2

Active clay

Activity of clay (continued)


Relative level of activity expected low for
kaolinite,
kaolinite, and thus stable
Medium for illite,
illite, and thus normal stability
High for montmorillonite and subject to
large volume changes

10

11

Sub Chapter 1.2 & 1.3:


Simple Physical
Properties of Soil and
Classification tests

12

Simple Physical Properties of Soil


& Classification test
To physically identify the soils in the field as also
in the laboratory and to determine their simple
physical properties such as water content,
specific gravity, void ratio, plasticity index and
particle size distribution, etc., some procedures
have been developed
These procedures are not based upon any
complicated theories but involve very simple
calculations
Many agencies such as the ASTM, BSI and MS
have laid down set procedures standardized to
ensure uniformity in practice

Simple Physical Properties of Soil


& Classification test (continued)
Some of the wide accepted standard of
test in Malaysia are
(i) MS1056:Part 1 to Part 9: 2005
(http://msonline.sirim.my/msonline/registrationAction.do?actionname=Default)

(ii) BS1377: Part 1 to Part 9:1990


(http://www.bsi-global.com/en/My-BSI/),
(iii) Vol. 04.08 & Vol. 04.09 ASTM
standards (http://www.astm.org)

13

Simple Physical Properties of Soil


& Classification test (continued)
Method of classifying the soils after laboratory
testing is called classification of the soils
Numerical results, which are obtained from such
tests are called the Index Properties of the soils
Index properties of a soil can be studied under
two distinct headings properties concerning
the individual grains studied from disturbed soil
samples and the ones concerning the soil as an
aggregate, studied from the mode, history of
deposition and the structure of the soil

Sub Chapter 1.2:


Particles size and grain
size distribution

14

Particle Size and Grain Size


Distribution
The first analysis carried out in the
laboratory for soil classification is the
grain-size analysis
Grain size analysis of a soil is carried out
in two stages:
(a) Sieve analysis for the coarse grained
particles,
(b) Hydrometer analysis for the finegrained soils

15

16

Effective Size
The diameter D10 is called the effective size of
the soil
Established by Allen Hazen (1893) in connection
with his work on soil filters
Is the diameter of an artificial sphere that will
approximately produce the same effect of an
irregular shaped particle
The higher the D10 value, the coarser the soil
and the better the drainage characteristics

Uniformity coefficient (UC)


Soil that has UC<4 contains particles of uniform
size (approximately one size)
Minimum value of UC is 1 and corresponds to an
assemblage of particles of the same size
Higher values of UC (>4) indicate a wider
assortment of particle sizes
Soil that has a UC >4 is described as a wellwellgraded soil and is indicated by a flat curve

17

Coefficient of Curvature (CC)


Also known as coefficient of gradation and the
coefficient of concavity
The CC is between 1 and 3 for wellwell-graded soils
The absence of certain grain sizes, termed gapgapgraded, is diagnosed by a CC outside the range
1 to 3 and a sudden change of slope in the
particle size distribution curve

18

In Short
Real soils consist of a mixture of particle sizes
The selection of a soil for a particular use may
depend on the assortment of particles it contains
Two coefficients have been defined to provide
guidance on distinguishing soils based on the
distribution of the particles
That are UC and CC

Fine Grained soils


The screening process cannot be used for finefinegrained soils (silts and clays) because of their
extremely small size.
The common laboratory method to determine
the size distribution of finefine-grained soils is a
hydrometer test.
test.
The hydrometer test involves mixing a small
amount of soil into a suspension and observing
how the suspension settles in time.
Larger particles will quickly settle followed by
smaller particles.

19

Fine Grained soils (continued)


When the hydrometer is lowered into the
suspension, it will sink into the suspension until
the buoyancy force is sufficient to balance the
weight of the hydrometer.
The length of the hydrometer projecting above
the suspension is a function of the density,
density, so it
is possible to calibrate the hydrometer to read
the density of the suspension at different times.
The calibration of the hydrometer is affected by
temperature and the specific gravity of the
suspended solids.
Hence, must apply a correction factor to
hydrometer reading based on the test
temperatures.

Fine Grained soils (continued)


The diameter, D of the particle at time tD is
calculated from Stoke
Stokes Law as:
D=

18mz
(Gs - 1)g w t D

Where m = viscosity of water


(10.09 millipoises at 20
20c),
z = depth,
gw = unit weight of water,
Gs = specific gravity

20

Fine Grained Soils (continued)

Increasing density

Hydrometer

Soil
suspension

Figure 1.1: Hydrometer test

Typically, is conducted by taking


a small quantity of a dry finefinegrained soil (approximately 10
grams) and thoroughly mixing it
with distilled water to form a
paste
The paste is placed in a 1 liter
glass cylinder and distilled water
is added to bring the level to the
1 liter mark
The glass cylinder is then
repeatedly shaken and inverted
before being placed in a
constantconstant-temperature bath
A hydrometer is placed in the
glass cylinder and a clock is
simultaneously started

Sub Chapter 1.3:


Atterberg limit and Index

21

Table 1.2: Typical Atterberg Limits for Soils


Soil Type

W LL(%)

Sand

WPL(%)

Ip(%)

Non plastic

Silt

30 40

20 25

10 15

Clay

40 150

25 50

15 - 100

22

Table 1.3: Plasticity Indices and Corresponding


States of Plasticity according to Burmister
(Source: Sehgal, S. B, 1984)

S. No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Plasticity Index
0
1-5
5-10
1010-20
2020-40
Greater than 40

State of Plastic
NonNon-plastic
Slight
Low
Medium
High
Very high

Liquid Limit (LL)


Liquid limit is referred to the moisture
content which marks the boundary of the
liquid and plastic states of the soil
At this moisture content, the soil has a
very small value of shear strength
There are two methods of determining the
liquid limit, LL of a soil, one is known as
the Casagrande Method and the other
one is Cone Penetrometer method

23

Casagrande Method (ASTM D4318-93


and BS1377: Part 2: 1990:4.5)(Continued)

Casagrande Method (ASTM D4318-93


and BS1377: Part 2: 1990:4.5)(Continued)

24

Casagrande
Method (ASTM
D4318-93
and BS1377:
Part 2:
1990:4.5)
(Continued)

Casagrande Method (ASTM D4318-93 and BS1377: Part 2: 1990:4.5)

25

Cone Penetrometer Method


(BS 1377: Part 2: 1990: 4.3)
Based on the measurement of penetration
into the soil of a standardised cone of
specified mass
At the liquid limit the cone penetration is
20mm
The penetration is measured after 5s
release the cone by pressing the button

Cone Penetrometer Method


(BS 1377: Part 2: 1990: 4.3) (continued
(continued)

26

Cone Penetrometer Method


(BS 1377: Part 2: 1990: 4.3) (continued
(continued)

Typical plot of Liquid Limit

27

Plastic Limit
After removing particles larger than the 0.4 mm (No 40
sieve size), a specimen of soil about 10 cm3 in size is
moulded to the consistency of putty.
If too dry, water must be added and if sticky, the
specimen should be spread out in a thin layer and
allowed to lose some moisture by evaporation.
Then the specimen is rolled out by hand on a smooth
surface or between the palms into a thread about 3 mm
in diameter.
The thread is then folded and re-rolled repeatedly.
During this manipulation, the moisture content is
gradually reduced and the specimen stiffens, finally
loses its plasticity and crumbles when the plastic limit is
reached.

28

Example 2:
The results of limit tests on soil A are:
Liquid limit:
Cone
Penetration

15.5

18.0

19.4

22.2

24.9

Water
content (%)

39.3

40.8

42.1

44.6

45.6

Determine the liquid limit of the given soil.

Example 2 (continued):

29

Example 2 (continued):
For soil A, the liquid limit is obtained by plotting
cone penetration against water content.
Answer: The percentage water content, to the
nearest integer, corresponding to a penetration of
20mm is the liquid limit and is 42

Example 3:
Based on the results of limit test on soil A from
Example 2, given that:
Plastic limit:

Water
content (%)

23.9

24.3

Determine the Plasticity index of the given soil.


Answer: The plastic limit is the average of the two
percentage water contents, to the nearest integer,
i.e. 24. Hence, the plasticity index is the difference
between the liquid and plastic limits, i.e. 18.

30

Sub Chapter 1.4:


(a) Unified Soil
Classification System
(USCS) (b) BS and
(c) AASHTO

Engineering Classification of Soil


Different soils with similar properties may be classified into groups
groups
and subsub-groups according to their engineering behaviour
Classification systems provide a common language to concisely
express the general characteristics of soils, which are infinitely
infinitely
varied, without detailed descriptions
Currently, two elaborate classification systems are commonly used
used
by soils engineers
Both systems take into consideration the particleparticle-size distribution
and Atterberg limits
They are the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) classification system and the
Unified Soil Classification System
The AASHTO classification system is used mostly by highway
departments
Geotechnical engineers generally prefer the Unified system

31

Unified Soil
Classification
system
(USCS)

Unified Soil Classification System


The USCS uses symbols for the particle size
groups.
These symbols and their representations are:
G gravel, S sand, M silt, C clay
These are combined with other symbols
expressing gradation characteristics W for well
graded, P for poorly graded, and plasticity
characteristics H for high and L for low, and a
symbol, O, indicating the presence of organic
material.
A typical classification of CL means a clay soil
with low plasticity, while SP means a poorly
graded sand.

32

Unified Soil Classification System (continued


(continued)
In order to use the classification system, the following
points must be keep in mind:
The classification is based on material passing a
75 mm (3 in.) sieve
Coarse fraction = percent retained above No. 200
sieve = 100 F200 = R200
Fine fraction = percent passing No. 200 sieve = F200
Gravel fraction = percent retained above No. 4 sieve
= R4

Unified Soil Classification System (Continued


(Continued)
According to the USCS, the soils are divided into three
major categories:
CoarseCoarse-grained soils that are gravelly and sandy in
nature with less than 50% passing through the
No.200 sieve (that is, F200 < 50). The group symbols
start with prefixes of either G or S. G stands for gravel
or gravelly soil, and S for sand or sandy soil
FineFine-grained soils 50% or more passing through the
No. 200 sieve (that is, F200 > 50). The group symbols
start with prefixes of M, which stands for inorganic silt,
C for inorganic clay, and O for organic silts and clays.
Highly Organic Soils - The symbol Pt is used for peat,
muck and other highly organic soils

33

Unified Soil Classification System


(Continued
(Continued)
A special classification, (Pt), is reserved for the highly
organic soils, such as peat, which have many
undesirable engineering characteristics.
Soil have an organic content greater than 75% are
considered as peat (Pt) (Jarrett, P. M., 1995)
No laboratory criteria are established for these soils,
as they generally can be easily identified in the field
by their distinctive color and odor, spongy feel, and
frequently fibrous texture.
Particles of leaves, grass, branches, or other fibrous
vegetable matter are common components of these
soils.

Unified Soil
Classification
flowchart for
coarsecoarse-grained
soils

34

Unified Soil
Classification
flowchart for
finefine-grained
soils

Yes

The Unified
Classification System
(Reprinted from
Cernica,
Cernica, 1995)

35

The Unified Classification


System (Reprinted from
Cernica,
Cernica, 1995)

Unified
Classification
System
(Based on
ASTMASTM-2487)

36

Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Organic soils
and silts

U-line, defines the upper limit of the correlation between plasticity index and liquid limit

(b) British Standard Classification


System

Please refer to the following notes

37

Extended Malaysian Soil Classification System


(Geoguide 6, IKRAM)

(c)American
Association of State
Highway and
Transportation
Officials (AASHTO)
classification system

38

AASHTO Classification System


The soil is classified into seven major groups: AA-1
through AA-7
A-1, AA-2 & AA-3 are granular materials of which < 35%
of the particles pass through the No. 200 sieve
Soils of which > 35% pass through the No. 200 sieve
are classified under groups AA-4, AA-5, AA-6, & AA-7,
these soils are mostly silt and claytype
materials
clay

AASHTO Classification System (continued


(continued.)
The classification system is based on the following
criteria:
i.
Grain size
Gravel: fraction passing the 7575-mm (3(3-in) sieve but retained on
the No.10 (2(2-mm) U.S. sieve
Sand: fraction passing the No.10 (2(2-mm) U.S. sieve but retained
on the No. 200 (0.075(0.075-mm) U.S. sieve
Silt and clay: fraction passing the No. 200 U.S. sieve

ii.

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

39

AASHTO Classification System (continued


(continued.)
iii.

If cobbles and boulders (size larger than 75mm) are


encountered, they are excluded from the portion of the soil
soil sample
from which classification is made. However, the percentage
percentage of
such material is recorded
To classify a soil according to Table 1.3, one must apply the test
test
data from left to right
By process of elimination, the first group from the left into which
which
the test data fit is the correct classification

AASHTO Classification System (continued


(continued.)
Table 1.3: Classification of Highway Subgrade Materials

40

AASHTO Classification System (continued


(continued.)
Table 1.4: Description of Classification groups
Subgroup AA-1a

Includes those materials consisting predominantly of stone fragments


fragments or
gravel

Subgroup AA-1b

Includes those materials consisting predominantly of coarse sand,


sand, either with
or without a wellwell-graded soil binder

Subgroup AA-3

Fine beach sand or fine desert loess sand without silty or clay fines or with a
very small amount of nonplastic silt

Subgroup AA-2-4 and


A-2-5

Include various granular materials containing 35% or less passing


passing the 0.075
mm sieve and with a minus 0.425 mm in having the characteristics of the AA-4
and AA-5 groups

Subgroup AA-2-6 and


A-2-7

Include material similar to that described under subgrades A-2-4 and AA-2-5,
except that a fine portion contains plastic clay having the characteristics
characteristics of the
A-6 or AA-7 group

Subgroup AA-4

The typical materials of this group are the nonplastic or moderately plastic silty
soils

Subgroup AA-5

Similar to that described under group 22-4, except that it is usually of


diatomaceus or micaceous character

Subgroup AA-6

Usually a plastic clay having 75% or more passing the 0.075 mm sieve
sieve

Subgroup AA-7-5

Includes materials with moderate plasticity indexes in relation to liquid limit

Subgroup AA-7-6

Includes materials with high plasticity indexes in relation to liquid


liquid limit

AASHTO Classification System (continued


(continued.)
Group index (GI)
GI) is used to evaluate the quality of a soil as a
highway subgrade material
The group index is given by:
GI = (F200 -35)[0.2 + 0.005(LL
0.005(LL--40)]+0.01(F200-15)(PI
15)(PI--10) .(Eqn
.(Eqn.. 1.1)
Where: F200 = percentage passing though the No. 200
sieve
LL = liquid limit
PI = plasticity index
(F200 -35)[0.2 + 0.005(LL
0.005(LL--40)] is the partial group index
determined from the liquid limit
0.01(F200-15)(PI
15)(PI--10) is the partial group index determined from
the plasticity index

41

AASHTO Classification System (continued


(continued.)
Some rules for determining the group index:
1.
If eqn.
eqn. 1.1 yields a negative value for GI, it is taken as 0
2.
GI is rounded off to the nearest whole number (for instance, GI
=3.4 is rounded off to 3: GI = 3.5 is rounded off to 4)
3.
No upper limit for the group index
4.
GI for groups AA-1-a, AA-1-b, AA-2-4, AA-2-5, and AA-3 is always 0
5.
Calculating the GI for groups AA-2-6 and AA-2-7, use the partial
group index for PI,
PI, or
GI = 0.01 (F200 -15)(PI
15)(PI -10)
* The quality of performance of a soil as a subgrade material is
inversely proportional to the group index

Summary & Comparison between the


AASHTO & USCS
Similarity:
based on the texture and plasticity of soil
divide the soils into coarsecoarse-grained and fine grained,
as separated by the No. 200 sieve

42

Summary & Comparison between the


AASHTO & USCS (Continued
(Continued.)
Differents:
Differents:
1. AASHTO, soil is considered finefine-grained > 35%
passes through the No. 200 sieve. However, for
USCS, soil is considered finefine-grained > 50% passes
through the No. 200 sieve
* A coarsecoarse-grained soil that has about 35% fine grains
will behave like a finefine-grained material. This is because
enough fine grains exist to fill the voids between the
coarse grains and hold them apart. In this respect, the
AASHTO system appears to be more appropriate.

Summary & Comparison between the


AASHTO & USCS (Continued
(Continued.)
Differents:
Differents:
2. AASHTO, the No. 10 sieve separated gravel from
sand. However, for USCS, the No. 4 sieve is used
* From the viewpoint of soilsoil-separate size limits, the No.
10 sieve is the more accepted upper limit for sand. The
limit is used in concrete and highway basebase-course
technology

43

Summary & Comparison between the


AASHTO & USCS (Continued
(Continued.)
Differents:
Differents:
3. USCS, the gravelly and sandy soils are clearly
separated; in the AASHTO system, they are not.
*

The AA-2 group, in particular, contains a large variety


of soils. Symbols like GW, SM, CH, and others that
are used in the Unified systems are more
descriptive of the soil properties than the A symbols
used in the AASHTO system

Summary & Comparison between the


AASHTO & USCS (Continued
(Continued.)
Differents:
Differents:
4. USCS, classified organic soils as OL, OH, and Pt.
However, 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

44

End of Chapter 1

45

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen