DISTRIBUTION OF SOIL PARTCLES

PARTICLE SIZE CLASSIFICATIONS

Grain Size (mm)

Name of Organization
Gravel Sand Silt Clay
MIT > 2.00 2.00 to 0.06 0.06 to 0.002 < 0.002
USDA > 2.00 2.00 to 0.05 0.05 to 0.002 < 0.002
AASHTO 76.2 to 2.00 2.00 to 0.075 0.075 to 0.002 < 0.002
USCS/ASTM 76.2 to 4.75 4.75 to 0.075 < 0.075
MECHANICAL ANALYSIS of SOIL
a. SIEVE ANALYSIS
SIEVE NO. 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 14 16
OPENING SIZE 4.75 4.00 3.35 2.80 2.36 2.00 1.70 1.40 1.18
SIEVE NO. 18 20 25 30 35 40 50 60 70
OPENING SIZE 1 0.850 0.710 0.600 0.500 0.425 0.355 0.250 0.212
SIEVE NO. 80 100 120 140 170 200 270
OPENING SIZE 0.180 0.150 0.125 0.106 0.090 0.075 0.053
b. HYDROMETER ANALYSIS
soil water 2
v d
18
18 L 30 L
d d
s 1 water
G t s 1 water
G t

L cm 30
d mm K K
t min Gs 1 water
Values of K
Temperature Gs
(C) 2.45 2.50 2.55 2.60 2.65 2.70 2.75 2.80
16 0.0151 0.01505 0.01481 0.01457 0.01435 0.01414 0.01394 0.01374
17 0.01511 0.01486 0.01462 0.01439 0.01417 0.01396 0.01376 0.01356
18 0.01492 0.01467 0.01443 0.01421 0.01399 0.01378 0.01359 0.01339
19 0.01474 0.01449 0.01425 0.01403 0.01382 0.01361 0.01342 0.01323
20 0.01456 0.01431 0.01408 0.01386 0.01365 0.01344 0.01325 0.01307
21 0.01438 0.01414 0.01391 0.01369 0.01348 0.01328 0.01309 0.01291
22 0.01421 0.01397 0.01374 0.01353 0.01332 0.01312 0.01294 0.01276
23 0.01404 0.01381 0.01358 0.01337 0.01317 0.01297 0.01279 0.01261
24 0.01388 0.01365 0.01342 0.01321 0.01301 0.01282 0.01264 0.01246
25 0.01372 0.01349 0.01327 0.01306 0.01286 0.01267 0.01249 0.01232
26 0.01357 0.01334 0.01312 0.01291 0.01272 0.01253 0.01235 0.01218
27 0.01342 0.01319 0.01297 0.01277 0.01258 0.01239 0.01221 0.01204
28 0.01327 0.01304 0.01283 0.01264 0.01244 0.01225 0.01208 0.01191
29 0.01312 0.0129 0.01269 0.01249 0.0123 0.01212 0.01195 0.01178
30 0.01298 0.01276 0.01256 0.01236 0.01217 0.01199 0.01182 0.01169
 1 V
L L1 L2 B
2 A
Where:
L1 = distance along the stem of the hydrometer from the top of the bulb to the mark for a
hydrometer reading in centimeters
L2 = length of the hydrometer bulb, L2 = 14 cm
VB = volume of hydrometer bulb, VB = 67 cm3
A = cross sectional area of sedimentation cylinder, A = 27.8 cm2

VARIATION of L with Hydrometer Reading ASTM 152 H Hydrometer

Hydrometer Hydrometer Hydrometer Hydrometer
L (cm) L (cm) L (cm) L (cm)
Reading, R Reading, R Reading, R Reading, R
0 16.3 16 13.7 31 11.2 46 8.8
1 16.1 17 13.5 32 11.1 47 8.6
2 16.0 18 13.3 33 10.9 48 8.4
3 15.8 19 13.2 34 10.7 49 8.3
4 15.6 20 13.0 35 10.6 50 8.1
5 15.5 21 12.9 36 10.4 51 7.9
6 15.3 22 12.7 37 10.2 52 7.8
7 15.2 23 12.5 38 10.1 53 7.6
8 15.0 24 12.4 39 9.9 54 7.4
9 14.8 25 12.2 40 9.7 55 7.3
10 14.7 26 12.0 41 9.6 56 7.1
11 14.5 27 11.9 42 9.4 57 7.0
12 14.3 28 11.7 43 9.2 58 6.8
13 14.2 29 11.5 44 9.1 59 6.6
14 14.0 30 11.4 45 8.9 60 6.5
15 13.8

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION

1. Effective Size, D10

2. Average Size, D50

3. Uniformity Coefficient, CU
D60
Cu
D10
4. Coefficient of Gradation, CC
2
D30
CC
D10D60
5. Sorting Coefficient, S0
D75
S0
D25
PROBLEMS
1. The following are the results of a sieve analysis:
U.S. sieve no. Mass of soil retained (g)
4 28
10 42
20 48
40 128
60 221
100 86
200 40
Pan 24

a. Determine the percent finer than each sieve and plot a grain-size distribution curve.
b. Determine D10, D30, and D60 from the grain-size distribution curve.
c. Calculate the uniformity coefficient, Cu.
d. Calculate the coefficient of gradation, Cc.

2. The following are the results of a sieve and hydrometer analysis.

Analysis Sieve number/ Grain Size Mass Retained/ Mass
Acquired (grams)
40 0
SIEVE

80 20
170 55
200 25
0.04 mm 105
0.02 mm 100
HYDROMETER

0.01 mm 65

0.005 mm 55

0.0015 mm 35

> 0.0015 mm 40
a. Draw the grain-size distribution curve.
b. Determine the percentages of gravel, sand, silt, and clay according to the MIT system.
c. Repeat Part b according to the USDA system.
d. Repeat Part b according to the AASHTO system.

3. A hydrometer test has the following result: Gs = 2.7, temperature of water = 24C, and L = 9.2 cm at 60
minutes after the start of sedimentation (see Figure 2.30). What is the diameter D of the smallest-size
particles that have settled beyond the zone of measurement at that time (that is, t = 60 min)?