5.

Soil Classification
(Das, chapter 5)

1
Purpose
• Classifying soils into groups or sub-groups with similar engineering
behavior.
• Classification systems were developed in terms of simple indices (GSD and
plasticity).
• These classifications can provide geotechnical engineers with general
guidance about engineering properties of the soils through the
accumulated experience.

Communicate
between
engineers
Classification Estimate Achieve
Simple indices
system engineering engineering
GSD, LL, PI (Language) properties purposes
Use the
accumulated
experience 2
Classification Systems

Two commonly classification system used are:

1. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) (preferred by

geotechnical engineers).

2. American Association of State Highway and Transportation

Officials (AASHTO) System (preferred by Transportation
engineers).

3
 1. Unified Soil Classification System
(USCS)
i. Definition of Grain Size No specific
grain size-use
Atterberg limits

Silt and
Boulders Cobbles Gravel Sand Clay
Coarse Fine Coarse Medium Fine

300 mm 75 mm No.4 No.200

4.75 mm 0.075
19 mm No.10 No.40 mm
2.0 mm 0.425 mm

4
1. Unified Soil Classification System
(USCS)
% Passing sieve No. 200 (0.075 mm)

< 50% > 50%

Coarse-grained soils Fine-grained soils
Silt (M)
Clay (C)

•Grain size distribution •Use Plasticity chart

•LL, PL

Required tests: Sieve analysis

Atterberg limit 5
 1. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
Used for Fine grained soils to determine whether silt (M)
or clay (C)

Below A-line is silt – use symbol M LL > 50  High plasticity

Above A-line is clay – use symbol C LL< 50  low plasticity
6
1. Unified Soil Classification System
(USCS)
% Passing sieve No. 200 (0.075 mm)

< 50% > 50%

Coarse-grained soils Fine-grained soils
Silt (M)
Clay (C)

•Grain size distribution •Use Plasticity chart

ML, MH, CL, CH

Required tests: Sieve analysis

Atterberg limit 7
 1. Unified Soil Classification System
(USCS)
% Passing sieve No. 200 (0.075 mm)

< 50% > 50%

Coarse-grained soils Fine-grained soils
Silt (M)
% Coarse soil (Co) = 100 - % Passing # 200 Clay (C)
% Gravel (G) = 100 - % Passing # 4

G > 1/2 Co G < 1/2 Co

•Use Plasticity chart
Gravel (G) Sand (S) •LL, PL

% Passing sieve No. 200

< 5% GW, GP, SW or SP Use  Cu, Cc W : well graded P: poorly graded

5% -12 % GW-GM, GW-GC, GP-GM, GP-GC, SW-SM, SW-SC, SP-SM, SP-SC
> 12% GM, GC, SM, SC Use  plasticity charts 8
 1. Unified Soil Classification System
(USCS)
To determine if well graded (W) or poorly graded (P), calculate Cu and
Cc
D60
Coefficient of uniformity Cu 
D10

D302
Coefficient of gradation C c 
( D60  D10 )

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 1. Unified Soil Classification System
(USCS)

D60
Coefficient of uniformity Cu 
D10

D302
Coefficient of gradation Cc 
( D60  D10 )

Conditions for Well-graded soils

For gravels  Cu > 4 and Cc is between 1 and 3
For Sand  W if Cu > 6 and Cc is between 1 and 3

10
1. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

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12
1. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

13
Organic Soils
• Highly organic soils- Peat (Group symbol PT)
 A sample composed primarily of vegetable tissue in various
stages of decomposition and has a fibrous to amorphous
texture, a dark-brown to black color, and an organic odor
should be designated as a highly organic soil and shall be
classified as peat, PT.

• Organic clay or silt (group symbol OL or OH):

 “The soil’s liquid limit (LL) after oven drying is less than 75 % of
its liquid limit before oven drying.” If the above statement is
true, then the first symbol is O.
 The second symbol is obtained by locating the values of PI and
LL (not oven dried) in the plasticity chart.

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15
 Borderline Cases (Dual Symbols)
Coarse-grained soils with 5% - 12% fines.
 About 7 % fines can change the hydraulic conductivity of the coarse-
grained media by orders of magnitude.
 The first symbol indicates whether the coarse fraction is well or poorly
graded. The second symbol describe the contained fines. For example:
SP-SM, poorly graded sand with silt.
Fine-grained soils with limits within the shaded zone. (PI between 4 and 7
and LL between about 12 and 25).
 It is hard to distinguish between the silty and more claylike materials.
 CL-ML: Silty clay, SC-SM: Silty, clayed sand.

Soil contain similar fines and coarse-grained fractions.

 possible dual symbols GM-ML

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17
Summary of the USCS

coarse grain soils fine grain soils

[>50% larger than 0.075 mm] [>50% smaller than 0.075 mm]
% of fines
0 5 12 CoF 50 FP 100

e.g., SM e.g., CH
CoGr
CoGr - CoF
e.g., GP
e.g., GP-GC

Co: Coarse F: Fines Gr: Gradation P: Plasticity

G = Gravel M = Silts W = well graded H = LL > 50

S = Sands C = Clays P = poorly graded L = LL < 50

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Symbols
Soil symbols: Liquid limit symbols:
G: Gravel H: High LL (LL>50)
S: Sand L: Low LL (LL<50)
M: Silt
C: Clay Gradation symbols:
O: Organic W: Well-graded
Pt: Peat P : Poorly-graded

Well  graded soil

Example: SW, Well-graded sand
1  C c  3 and C u 4
SC, Clayey sand (for gravels)
SM, Silty sand, 1  C c  3 and C u 6
MH, Elastic silt (for sands)
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21
2. American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials
system (AASHTO)

22
2. AASHTO
i. Definition of Grain Size No specific
grain size-use
Atterberg limits

Silt and
Boulders Cobbles Sand Clay
Gravel

300 mm 75 mm No.4 No.200

4.75 mm 0.075
19 mm No.10 No.40 mm
2.0 mm 0.425 mm

23
2. AASHTO
ii. General guidance
• 8 major groups: A1~ A7 (with several subgroups) and organic soils A8
• The required tests are sieve analysis and Atterberg limits.
• The group index, an empirical formula, is used to further evaluate soils within a
group (subgroups).

A1 ~ A3 A4 ~ A7

Granular Materials Silt-clay Materials

 35% pass No. 200 sieve  36% pass No. 200 sieve

Using LL and PI separates silty materials Using LL and PI separates silty materials
from clayey materials (only for A2 group) from clayey materials

• The original purpose of this classification system is used for road construction
(subgrade rating).
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2. AASHTO
iii. Classification

Classification starts from left to right 25

2. AASHTO
iii. Classification

Note:
The first group from the left to fit the test data is
the correct AASHTO classification. 26
Group Index
• Used to evaluate the quality of a soil as a highway subgrade
material.
• This index is written in parentheses after the group or subgroup
designation [e.g. A-4(3)]. The first term is determined by the LL

GI (F200  35)0.2  0.005(LL  40)

 0.01(F200  15)(PI  10) (1)
The second term is determined by the PI

For Groups A-2-6 and A-2-7

GI 0.01(F200  15)(PI  10) use the second term only

F200: percentage passing through the No.200 sieve

In general, the rating for a pavement subgrade is inversely proportional

to the group index, GI. 27
Some rules of Group Index GI
1. If Eq. (1) yields a negative value for GI, it is taken as 0.

2. The group index is rounded off to the nearest whole number

(for example, GI 3.4 is rounded off to 3; GI 3.5 is rounded off
to 4).

3. There is no upper limit for the group index.

4. The group index of soils belonging to groups A-1-a, A-1-b, A-2-

4, A-2-5, and A-3 is always 0.

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Example 1

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Example 1 [Soil B]

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 Example 2

• Classify the following soil Using AASHTO System.

• Given:
• % passing No. 10 = 100;
• % passing No. 40 = 80;
• '% passing No.200 = 58
• LL = 30; PI = 10.

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Example 2

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