Classification of Engineering Soils Objective: to provide a basis whereby engineers can group soils according to their physical characteristics

and appearance for the purpose of comparing different soils. The granular fraction of a soil deposit is therefore classified according to its particle size distribution, while the clay fraction is classified according to its plasticity characteristics in terms of what are known as its atterberg limits. Sand and gravel fraction- by Sieve Analysis Silt fraction- by Sedimentation Analysis Sieve Analysis A representative sample of the soil of known mass is passed through a series of standard sieves having successively finer aperture size, and the mass of soil retained on each sieve is measured. -the soil retained on each sieve is weighed and the percentage of soil retained on each sieve is calculated. Particle size distribution is represented on a

semilogarithmic plot of % finer versus particle size. Particle size distribution curve/gradation curve % retained on ith sieve = Wi/W x 100 (percent weight retained)

% finer than ith sieve=100- (%retained on ith sieve) *you can use mass instead of weight* Determination of the liquid, Plastic and Shrinkage limit Determination of liquid limit: Casagrande Cup Method Apparatus: consist of semispherical brass cup that is repeatedly dropped onto a hard rubber base from a height of 110mm by a cam-operated mechanism. With standard grooving tool.

Determination of Plastic limit: Method: by rolling a small clay into threads and finding the water content at which threads approximately 3 mm in diameter will just start to crumble.

Poorly graded reverse of well graded. Uniformly graded if a high proportion of the particles lies in a narrow size band. Gap graded if the soil contains large and small particles but exhibits a marked absence of particles in an intermediate size range. Characterization of soils based on particle size: Coefficient of Uniformity: Cv=D60/ D10 Coefficient of curvature: Cc= (D30)2/D10D60 Where: D60 = is the diameter of the soil particles for which 60% of the particles are finer. D10=is the diameter of the soil particles for which 10% of the particles are finer. D30=is the diameter of the soil particles for which 30% of the particles are finer. *water is the agent that is responsible for changing the states of soils.

Determination of Liquid and Plastic Limit: Fall Cone Method Apparatus: A cone with an apex angle of 30 and a total mass of 80 grams is suspended above, but just in contact with the soil sample. The cone is permitted to fall freely for a period of 5 seconds. The water content corresponding to a cone penetration of 20 mm defines the liquid limit.

Description Grading: For A coarse-grained soil: Well graded-if it contains approximately equal proportions of all particle sizes.

*A soil gets weaker if its water content increases. * The soil strength is lowest at the liquid state and highest at the solid state.