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Soil Mech Soil Classification Uscs

The document summarizes the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS), which provides a method for classifying soils based on their engineering properties. The USCS classifies soils into two broad categories - coarse-grained soils containing less than 50% fines and fine-grained soils with 50% or more fines. Classification is based on soil particle sizes, plasticity characteristics, and test data such as the liquid limit and plasticity index. Group symbols consisting of letters indicate the soil type.

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Zach Garcia
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368 views18 pages

Soil Mech Soil Classification Uscs

The document summarizes the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS), which provides a method for classifying soils based on their engineering properties. The USCS classifies soils into two broad categories - coarse-grained soils containing less than 50% fines and fine-grained soils with 50% or more fines. Classification is based on soil particle sizes, plasticity characteristics, and test data such as the liquid limit and plasticity index. Group symbols consisting of letters indicate the soil type.

Uploaded by

Zach Garcia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unified Soil

Classification
System(USCS)
Provides a method of classifying and grouping
unconsolidated earth materials according to their
engineering properties.
Unified Soil Classification
System(USCS)
• The Unified soil classification system was first introduced
by Casagrande in 1942 and was revised in 1952.
• Used by geotechnical engineers for selecting appropriate soils
in non−highway projects.
• A unified classification of soils is the most commonly
adopted classification system of soil for engineering purposes.
• In this classification system, the soil is classified based on
both the plasticity characteristics and the particle size of
the soil.
• Each group is identified using a group symbol. The group symbol
consists of primary and secondary descriptive letters.
Unified Soil Classification
System(USCS)
This system classifies soils into two broad categories:
1. Coarse-grained soils that are gravelly and sandy in nature with
less than 50% passing through the No. 200 sieve. The group symbols
start with a prefix of G or S. G stands for gravel or gravelly
soil, and S for sand or sandy soil.
2. Fine-grained soils are with 50% or more passing through the No.
200 sieve. The group symbols start with prefixes of M, which stands
for inorganic silt, C for inorganic clay, or O for organic silts
and clays. The symbol Pt is used for peat, muck, and other highly
organic soils.
Other symbols used for the classification are:
• W—well graded
• P—poorly graded
• L—low plasticity (liquid limit less than 50)
• H—high plasticity (liquid limit more than 50)
Unified Soil Classification System(USCS)
For proper classification according to this system, some or all of the
following information must be known:
1. Percent of gravel—that is, the fraction passing the 76.2-mm sieve and
retained on the No. 4 sieve (4.75-mm opening).
2. 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).
3. Percent of silt and clay—that is, the fraction finer than the No. 200
sieve (0.075-mm opening).
4. Uniformity coefficient (Cu) and the coefficient of gradation (Cc)
5. Liquid limit and plasticity index of the portion of soil passing the No.
40 sieve
The group symbols for coarse-grained gravelly soils are GW, GP, GM, GC, GC-
GM, GW-GM, GW-GC, GP-GM, and GP-GC. Similarly, the group symbols for fine-
grained soils are CL, ML, OL, CH, MH, OH, CL-ML, and Pt.
Unified Soil Classification
System(USCS)
More recently, ASTM designation D-2487 created an
elaborate system to assign group names to soils. These
names are summarized in Figures 5.4, 5.5, and 5.6. In
using these figures, one needs to remember that, in a
given soil,
• Fine fraction = percent passing No. 200 sieve
• Coarse fraction = percent retained on No. 200 sieve
• Gravel fraction = percent retained on No. 4 sieve
• Sand fraction = (percent retained on No. 200 sieve)
-(percent retained on No. 4 sieve)= Coarse Fraction-
Gravel Fraction
Unified Soil Classification
System(USCS)
1. Fine Fraction= 𝐹200
2. Coarse Fraction= 100 − 𝐹200 = 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝐹𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 + 𝑆𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
3. Gravel Fraction = 100 − 𝐹4
4. Sand Fraction= 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝐹𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 − 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝐹𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
USCS Classification Procedure
Step 1: Determine 𝐹200 % 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 #200 𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒
If 𝐹200 < 50, 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 2.
If 𝐹200 ≥ 50, 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 3.
Step 2 (COARSE-GRAINED SOILS):
2.1: Determine the coarse fraction retained on no.4 sieve. If it is
more than 50, proceed to step 2.1.a, if it is equal to 50 or less than 50,
proceed to step 2.1.b.
2.1.a (%ret. on #4>50): Check table 5.2 if the soil is under Clean
Gravels ( 𝐹200 < 5), Gravels with Fines ( 𝐹200 > 12 ) or Dual Symbol(Gravels with
5 ≤ 𝐹200 ≤ 12).
2.1.b (%ret. on #4 ≤ 50): Check table 5.2 if the soil is under Clean
Sands ( 𝐹200 < 5) , Sands with Fines ( 𝐹200 > 12 ) or Dual Symbol (Sands with
5 ≤ 𝐹200 ≤ 12.

100 − 𝐹4
𝑁𝑂𝑇𝐸: %𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑜. 4 = × 100%
100 − 𝐹200
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑒 − 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑒 − 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠
USCS Classification Procedure
Step 1: Determine 𝐹200 % 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 #200 𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒
If 𝐹200 < 50, 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 2.
If 𝐹200 ≥ 50, 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 3.
Step 3 (FINE-GRAINED SOILS): Note: We will only classify inorganic soils.
3.1: Determine the value of Liquid Limit.
3.2: Check the value of PI (Plasticity Index) and use the plasticity
chart to identify the group symbol.
3.3: Identify on which group name the soil belongs using figure 5.5

𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝐼𝑓 4 ≤ 𝑃𝐼 ≤ 7 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡 , 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙 𝐶𝐿 − 𝑀𝐿.
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒 − 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒 − 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠
Plasticity Chart
USCS: SAMPLE PROBLEM
Classify the following soils by using the Unified soil
classification system. Give the group symbols and the
group names.
Soil No.4 No.200 Liquid Plasticity Cu Cc
Limit Index
1 99 57 54 26
2 90 8 39 31 3.9 2.1
3 87 26 38 18
Soil No.4 No.200 Liquid Plasticity Cu Cc 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 5.2
Limit Index
1 99 57 54 26

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑒 − 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠


Soil No.4 No.200 Liquid Plasticity Cu Cc
Limit Index
1 99 57 54 26

Plasticity Chart 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒 − 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠


Soil No.4 No.200 Liquid Plasticity Cu Cc
Limit Index
1 99 57 54 26

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒 − 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠


Soil No.4 No.200 Liquid Plasticity Cu Cc 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 5.2
Limit Index
2 90 8 39 31 3.9 2.1

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑒 − 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠

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