INDIAN INSTITUE OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SHIBPUR

EXPERIMENT NO.-01 Date: 23/07/2019

NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT:-

IDENTIFICATION OF SOIL

INTRODUCTION:-

Engineering properties of soil is the main important properties for identification of soil
being a Geotechnical Engineer. There may be different failure phenomena likely shear failure,
differential settlement, excessive settlement, slope failure, liquefaction etc. By visual inspection of soil,
soil denseness, grain size, organic matter present or not or any kind of matter, color etc. based on
experience and researcher’s data , without testing the soil, we can predict the value of different
parameter in some extent.

IDENTIFICATION OF FINE GRAIN SOIL:-

Fine grained soil or fines governs the engineering properties of soil.

The following test are conducted-

1. Shaking test, 2. Dry strength test, 3. Toughness test, 4. Organic content test.

Whereas the following test are conducted to determine the properties of coarse grained soil-
1. Sieve analysis, 2. Grain shape (Flakiness & Elongation ), 3. Color, 4. Structure, 5. Presence
of fines.
Generally soils are mixed with fine and coarse grained soil.

DEPTH OF EXPLORATION :-
We need to know the subsoil profile for any type of foundation. It will lead to accelerate the work
and accuracy and cost minimization.

Type of foundation Depth of Exploration (m)

1. Isolated Spread footing or raft Depth, D=1.5 B, B=width

2. Adjacent footing with clear spacing less than D=1.5 L

twice the width
3. Pile and Well foundation To a depth of 1.5 times width of structure from
bearing level (toe of pile or bottom of well)
 4. Road cuts Bottom width of the cut

5. Road fill 2 m below the ground level or height of the fill,

whichever is greater

6. Adjacent rows of footing D=4.5 B for spacing<2 B

D=3 B for 2 B<spacing< 4 B
D=1.5 B for spacing >4 B

SOIL CLASSIFICATION BASED ON RELATIVE DENSITY:-

For coarse grained soil, degree of compactness is based on relative density (𝐷𝑟 )

𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑒
𝐷𝑟 = 𝑒 × 100 %
𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑛

Relative Density (%) Compactness

0 - 15 Very loose

15-35 Loose

35-65 Medium

65-85 Dense

>85 Very Dense

Fig.-1.1 Plasticity Chart

CONSISTENCY LIMITS OF FINE GRAINED SOIL:-

Generally soft soil contains high percentages of fines, so it has high compressibility .To determine a
soft soil a basic thing to determine consistency limit ,i.e. ,liquid limit, plastic limit, shrinkage limit.
These are also called as Atterbergs limits. The test is carried out on particle size 425micron down.
 Among all indexes, plasticity plays a huge role to describe a soil

Plasticity Index, PI=L.L-P.L

Equation of A-line , P.I=0.73(L.L-20)

COMPRESSIBILITY OF CLAY:-

As liquid limit increases,compressibility increases.

LL >100 indicates soil is volcanic/organic in nature

LL >50 indicates organic soil (montmorillonite)

L.L=400-600 indicates bantonite clay /volcanic ash

Plasticity Index (%) Soil Description

0 Non plastic sand

<7 Low plastic

7-17 Medium plastic

>17 Highly plastic

From SPT, OBTAINED VALUE =N

a) correction for overburden pressure :-

N’=𝐶𝑁 N N’=corrected value , 𝐶𝑁 =correction factor

𝐶𝑁 = 0.77 * log(20/P) , suggested by Peak Hansen theory.

P= effective overburden pressure at the depth where N value is measured.

b) correction for dilatency:-

N” =15+0.5(N’-15) N” =final corrected value to be used.

If N’< 15, N”=N’. N’> 15 indicates dense sand

PENETROMETER TEST:-
There are three penetrometer test in common use.

A) Standard penetration test (SPT).

B) Dynamic cone penetration test (DCPT).

C) Static cone penetration test (SCPT).

The SPT is carried out in bore hole while the others are carried out with put borehole.

N-VALUE OF SPT:-
The use of N-value for cohesive soil is limited, since the compressibility of such soil is not reflected by
N–values. But a number of time tested correlation between N-values and soil parameters are available
STATIC CONE PENETRATION TEST:-

Data from SCPT is often used to estimate the point bearing resistance of pile foundation.

In granular soil correlation have been established between 𝒒𝒄 and N.

Type of soil 𝒒𝒄 /N, ( 𝒒𝒄 in kg/𝒄𝒎𝟐 )

Sandy gravels and Gravels 8-10

Coarse sands 5-6

Clean fine to medium sand and slightly silty sand 3-4

Silts, Sandy silts, Slightly cohesive silt-sand mixture 2

Insensitive clay 1.5

APPROXIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELATIVE DENSITY OF FINE SAND, SPT

VALUE, CONE RESISTANCE AND THE ANGLE OF INTERNAL FRICTION:-

State of Sand 𝑫𝒓 N 𝒒𝒄 Φ

Very Loose <0.2 <4 <2 <30

Loose 0.2-0.4 4-10 2-4 30-35

Medium Dense 0.4-0.6 10-30 4-12 35-40

Dense 0.6-0.8 30-50 12-20 40-45

Very Dense 0.8-1 >50 >20 45

N Compactness Relative Density Φ

0-4 Very Loose 10-15 <28

4-10 Loose 15-35 28-30

10-30 Medium 35-65 30-36

30-50 Dense 65-85 36-41

>50 Very Dense >85 >41

Consistency N 𝒒𝒖 (kpa)
 Very soft 0-2 <25

Soft 2-4 25-50

Medium 4-8 50-100

Stiff 8-15 100-200

Very Stiff 15-30 200-400

Hard >30 >400

RESULTS:-

COARSE GRAINED SOIL

SL no. Grain Shape Grading Color Structure Presence of Remarks

Fines
1 Angular Fine Yellow Loose Yes Inorganic

2 Angular Medium Yellow Loose Yes Inorganic

3 Angular Coarse Brown Loose No Inorganic

4 Angular Fine Silver Loose Yes Black

particle, mica

FINE GRAINED SOIL

SL no. Dilatancy or Dry strength Toughness Organic Color Remarks

Shaking test
5 - No(can be Yes No Greyish -
crushed) Yellow
6 - No Yes No Yellow Bentonite

7 - Yes - Yes Grey Pond ash,

silty sand

8 - Yes Yes No White High clay,

low silt

9 - Yes Yes No Reddish -

(morrum)
10 - Yes - - Brown Silty sand

11 - Yes (high) Yes Yes Blackish High clay,

high plastic

12 - Yes(high) Yes(high) Yes Black High clay,

high plastic