University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines
Civil Engineering Department
Geotechnical Engineering
(Soil Mechanics)
SOIL
CLASSIFICATION:
USCS
By: CE Faculty
Unified Soil Classification System
The original form of this system was proposed by Casagrande in
1942 for use in the airfield construction works undertaken by
the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. In
cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, this system
was revised in 1952. At present, it is used widely by engineers
(ASTM Test Designation D-2487). This system classifies soils
into two broad categories
Coarse-Grained Soils Fine-Grained Soils
< 50% passing through #200 sieve ≥ 50% passing through #200 sieve
(i.e. >50% retained on #200 sieve)
Group symbols
Group symbols - Inorganic Silt (M)
- Gravel or Gravelly soil (G) - Inorganic Clay (C)
- Sand or Sandy soil (S) - Organic Silt and Clay (O)
- Peat, muck and highly organic soil (Pt)
Unified Soil Classification System
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
Unified Soil Classification System
Example of 2 Group Symbol:
SM
Secondary Description (M = Silty)
Primary Component (Sand = S)
Primary Component Secondary Descriptions
(The first letter is based on (The second letter is based on
main soil type) gradation and plasticity)
G = Gravel Coarse-Grained Fine-Grained
S = Sand M = Silty L = Low Plasticity
M = Silt C = Clayey (Lean for Clay)
C = Clay P = Poorly Graded H = High Plasticity
O = Organic (same relative grain size) (Fat for Clay,
W = Well Graded Elastic for Silt)
(different grain sizes)
Unified Soil Classification System
Coarse-grained soil
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
Unified Soil Classification System
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
Unified Soil Classification System
Unified Soil Classification System
Unified Soil Classification System
Unified Soil Classification System
USCS – COARSE GRAINED SOILS
(>50% RETAINED ON #200 SIEVE)
Unified Soil Classification System
USCS – FINE-GRAINED SOILS
(<50% RETAINED ON #200 SIEVE)
Unified Soil Classification System
USCS – FINE-GRAINED SOILS
(>50% RETAINED ON #200 SIEVE)
Unified Soil Classification System
Unified Soil Classification System
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1:
Determine the USCS Soil Classification based on the provided soil index testing.
Sieve No. Diameter (mm) % Passing
½ in 12.7 100
3% Gravel
#4 4.75 97
#10 2.00 94
#20 0.85 84
#40 0.425 57 88% Sand
#60 0.25 32
#140 0.106 15
#200 0.075 9
LL = 60%
PL = 40%
SOLUTION 1:
SOLUTION 1:
SOLUTION 1:
SOLUTION 1: USCS – COARSE GRAINED SOILS
(>50% RETAINED ON #200 SIEVE)
Unified Soil Classification System
SAMPLE PROBLEM 2:
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 of the minus No. 40
fraction of the soil are 30 and 10, respectively. Classify the
soil by the Unified Soil Classification System.
SOLUTION 2:
SOLUTION 2:
%Passed No. 200 = 58%
University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines
Civil Engineering Department
QUESTIONS?
By: CE Faculty
University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines
Civil Engineering Department
THANK YOU!
By: CE Faculty
