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Review MODULE – GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING (Soil Properties)

SOIL PARTICLE SIZE CLASSIFICATION SITUATION 2. The following are the data obtained from the sieve analysis of a soil
sample.
Organization Grain size (mm) Sieve No. Diameter Soil Sample
Gravel Sand Silt Clay A B C
USDA >2.00 2.00 – 0.05 0.05 – 0.002 <0.002 Percent Passing
MIT >2.00 2.00 – 0.06 0.06 – 0.002 <0.002 4 4.760 100 90 100
AASHTO 76.2 – 2.00 2.00 – 0.075 0.075 – 0.002 <0.002 6 2.380 97 64 100
USCS/ 76.2 - 4.75 4.75 – 0.075 Fine silts and clays 10 2.000 92 54 98
ASTM < 0.075 20 0.840 87 34 92
40 0.420 53 22 84
USDA - U.S. Department of Agriculture 60 0.250 42 17 79
MIT- Massachusetts Institute of Technology 100 0.149 26 9 70
AASHTO- American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 200 0.074 17 4 63
ASTM – American Society of Testing and Materials For soil B, solve the following:
9. Cc
Particle- Size Distribution Curve (Sieve Analysis) can be used to determine 10. Cu
the following four parameters.
SITUATION 3. Classify the sizes of the soil particles in SITUATION 1 and determine
1. Effective size (D10) – diameter corresponding to 10% finer.
the corresponding percentages using the following methods.
11. AASHTO
2. Uniformity Coefficient (Cu)
10. USCS/ASTM
D60
𝐶𝑢 = 11. USDA
D10
12. MIT
3. Coefficient of Gradation or Coefficient of Curvature (C c)
SITUATION 4. The size characteristics of the soil particles are shown in the table
below.
(𝐷30 )2 Size (mm) Percent finer
𝐶𝑢 =
D60 𝐷10 0.4250 100
0.0330 95
4. Sorting coefficient (So) 0.0180 80
0.0100 72
𝐷75 0.0062 60
𝑆𝑜 = √ 0.0035 48
𝐷25
0.0018 40
. 0.0010 25
Determine the percentages of gravel, sand, silt and clay using:
SITUATION 1. A sample of soil is obtained and sieve analysis is performed to 13. USDA
determine its particle distribution. 14. MIT
Sieve No. Opening Mass CMR CMP % Finer
15. AASHTO
(mm) retained
16. USCS
4 4.75 -
10 2.00 80
20 0.850 150 SITUATION 5. Three different soil samples are obtained. The percentage of
gravel, sand, silt and clay for each soil sample are shown in the table below
40 0.425 96
Soil Particle Particle-size Distribution
60 0.250 123
Soil A Soil B Soil C
80 0.180 135
Gravel 0 20 35
100 0.150 115
Sand 38 15 15
200 0.075 30
Silt 30 30 20
Pan - 12
Clay 32 35 30
CMR – Cumulative Mass Retained 17. Using USDA method, calculate the modified percentages of sand. Silt
CMP – Cumulative Mass Passing and clay for each soil type.
TM – Total Mass 18. Classify each soil using USDA Textural Classification Chart

𝐶𝑀𝑃
%𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑟 % 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝑋100%
𝑇𝑀

Calculate the following:

USDA Textural Classification Chart