6 Soil Classification
6 Soil Classification
Soil Classification
•Different Soils with similar properties may be
classified into groups and sub-groups according to their engineering behavior.
•Texture of soil refers to its surface appearance. Soil texture is influenced by the size of
the individual particles present in it.
•Table 2.3 divided soils into gravel, sand, silt, and clay categories on the basis of particle
size. In most cases, natural soils are mixtures of particles from several size groups.
Textural Classification
•Soils classified under groups A-1, A-2, and A-3 are granular materials of which
35% or less of the particles pass through the No. 200 sieve.
•Soils of which more than 35% pass through the No. 200 sieve are classified
under groups A-4, A-5, A-6, and A-7 .These soils are mostly silt and clay-type
materials.
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Unified Soil Classification System
•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.
•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