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    Soil Classification: A. AASHTO Classification System

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    Sheena
    The document summarizes three soil classification systems: 1. The AASHTO classification system categorizes soils based on grain size, plasticity, and group index. It assigns soils to groups like A-1, A-2, A-3. 2. The Unified soil classification system classifies soils as coarse-grained (prefix G or S) or fine-grained (prefix M, C, O or Pt) based on grain size and plastic properties. 3. The USDA textural classification system categorizes soils based on percentages of sand, silt, and clay, placing soils on a textural triangle to identify their textural class.

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    Soil Classification: A. AASHTO Classification System

    Uploaded by

    Sheena
    217 views4 pages
    The document summarizes three soil classification systems: 1. The AASHTO classification system categorizes soils based on grain size, plasticity, and group index. It assigns soils to groups like A-1, A-2, A-3. 2. The Unified soil classification system classifies soils as coarse-grained (prefix G or S) or fine-grained (prefix M, C, O or Pt) based on grain size and plastic properties. 3. The USDA textural classification system categorizes soils based on percentages of sand, silt, and clay, placing soils on a textural triangle to identify their textural class.

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    Classification

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    Soil Classification

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    The document summarizes three soil classification systems: 1. The AASHTO classification system categorizes soils based on grain size, plasticity, and group index. It assigns soils to groups like A-1, A-2, A-3. 2. The Unified soil classification system classifies soils as coarse-grained (prefix G or S) or fine-grained (prefix M, C, O or Pt) based on grain size and plastic properties. 3. The USDA textural classification system categorizes soils based on percentages of sand, silt, and clay, placing soils on a textural triangle to identify their textural class.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    217 views4 pages

    Soil Classification: A. AASHTO Classification System

    Uploaded by

    Sheena
    The document summarizes three soil classification systems: 1. The AASHTO classification system categorizes soils based on grain size, plasticity, and group index. It assigns soils to groups like A-1, A-2, A-3. 2. The Unified soil classification system classifies soils as coarse-grained (prefix G or S) or fine-grained (prefix M, C, O or Pt) based on grain size and plastic properties. 3. The USDA textural classification system categorizes soils based on percentages of sand, silt, and clay, placing soils on a textural triangle to identify their textural class.

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    of 4

    SOIL CLASSIFICATION

    Classification systems provide a common language to express concisely the general characteristics of soils, which are
    infinitely varied, without a detailed description.

    A. AASHTO Classification System

    This system of soil classification was developed in 1929 as the Public Road Administration
    Classification System. It has undergone several revisions, with the present version proposed by the Committee
    on Classification of Materials for Subgrades and Granular Type Roads of the Highway Research Board in 1945
    (ASTM Test Designation D-3282; AASHTO method M145)

     The classification system is based on the following criteria:

    1.Grain size Gravel: fraction passing the 75 mm sieve and retained on the No. 10 (2 mm) U.S. sieve
    Sand: fraction passing the No. 10 (2 mm) U.S. sieve and retained on the No. 200 (0.075 mm) U.S. sieve
    Silt and clay: fraction passing the No. 200 U.S. sieve

    2. Plasticity: The term silty is applied when the fine fractions of the soil have a plasticity index of 10 or less.
    The term clayey is applied when the fine fractions have a plasticity index of 11 or more.

    3. If cobbles and boulders (size larger than 75 mm) are encountered, they are excluded from the portion of
    the soil sample on which classification is made. However, the percentage of such material is recorded.

     For the evaluation of the quality of a soil as a highway subgrade material, a number called the group index
    (GI) is also incorporated with the groups and subgroups of the soil. The group index is given by the equation

    Where:
    F = percent passing the No. 200 sieve
    LL = liquid limit
    PI = plasticity index

    Following are some rules for determining the group index:

    1. If Equation yields a negative value for GI, it is taken as 0.


    2. The group index calculated from Equation 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. 5. When calculating
    the group index for soils that belong to groups A-2-6 and A-2-7, use the partial group index for PI, or

    Example:

    1. Classify the following soils by the AASHTO classification system.


    B. 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 widely used by engineers (ASTM Test Designation D–2487). The Unified
    Classification System is presented in Table 3.5. 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 either G or S. G stands for gravel or gravelly soil, and S for sand or sandy soil.

    2. Fine-grained soils with 50% or more passing through the No. 200 sieve. The group symbols start with a prefix 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 are also used for the classification:

    •W —well graded
    •P —poorly graded
    •L —low plasticity (liquid limit less than 50)
    •H —high plasticity (liquid limit more than 50)
    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
    In using these figures, one needs to remember that in a given soil,
    • Fine fraction = % passing No. 200 sieve
    • Coarse fraction = % retained on No. 200 sieve
    • Gravel fraction = % retained on No. 4 sieve
    • Sand fraction = (% retained on No. 200 sieve) - (% retained on No. 4 sieve)
    Example:
    1. 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 classification system. Give the group symbol and group name.
    C. Textural Classification

    This was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).


    Sand Size: 2.0 to 0.05mm in diameter
    Silt size: 0.05 to 0.002 mm in diameter
    Clay size: smaller than 0.002 mm in diameter

    Example:
    1. A soil has the following particle-size distribution
    Gravel = 20%
    Sand = 10%
    Silt = 30%
    Clay = 40%
    Classify the soil according to USDA Textural classification system

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