CHAPTER ONE: GENERALITIES

1.1 SOIL
1.1.0 Definition
Soil are uncemented or weakly cemented accumulation of mineral particles formed by the
weathering of rocks, void space between the particle containing water and air making of the
upper part of the earth crust.
1.2 Types of soils
Soil are divided into three types which are Residual soils, Transported soils, organic soils.
1.2.1 Transported soil
They are materials that have been move from their place of origin. Transportation may have
resulted from effect of gravity, wind, water, glacier or human activities; either singular or in
combination.
1.2.2 Residual soils
These are soils formed on the same spot by chemical weathering and have little tendency to
move. Residual soils can also occur whenever the rate of decomposition of rocks is more
than the rate of removal. They are mostly found on level rock surfaces. For cases where the
parent rocks are igneous or metamorphic the resultant soil size will vary from silt to gravel.
The formation of lateritic soil occurs mostly in tropical zones as a result of chemical
weathering. Example clay and silt
1.2.3 Organic soil
They are soils that have large quantities of decompose animal and vegetable matter. They
are dark in colour with distinctive odour. they are generally form from river and lake
sediments. Peat soils occur as a result of decomposed vegetable matter leaving behind dark
brown spongy material.
1.3 Formation of soil
The process of formation of soil is either chemical, physical or organically.
1.3.1 Physical process
The physical process occurs as a result of wind action, flow of water, glacier and
disintegration caused by cycle of freezing and thawing cracks in rocks. The shape of this
articles may be angular, rounded, flat, and elongated which are in a wide range of sizes,
varying from bolder through gravel and sand, to fine. The state of this particles can be
described as dense, medium dense or loose, according to how the are packed together
1.3.2 Chemical process
A chemical process is due to changes of the mineral in the parent rocks as a result of water,
oxygen and carbon dioxide actions. Chemical weathering results in the formation of groups
of crystalline particles of colloidal sizes 0.002mm known as clay minerals. Clay minerals
present in soil particles influence the properties of the soil. Soils whose properties are
influence by clay and silt particles because of their high percentage are known as fine grain
soils. While those whose properties are influence mainly by sand and gravel size particle are
refer to as coarse grained or coarse soils.
1.4 Identification, Classification of soil and soil parameters
1.4.1 Identification of Soils
Soil identification is the first and most important step in soil investigation for engineering
works. It involves determining the soil type through visual examination, dilatancy,
toughness, organic content etc. Base on the size of soil particles, soil can be classified as
gravel, sand, silt or clay
1.4.1.1 The purpose of soil identification
Is to Understand the characteristics and properties of soil in order to make informed
decisions in various fields.
 Agriculture: To identify which crops will thrive in a specific soil type, improve soil
fertility, and enhance sustainable farming practices.
 Construction: To assess soil's ability to bear the weight of buildings or structures,
ensuring safety and durability in construction projects.
 Environmental Conservation: To address soil erosion, water management, and
ecosystem restoration, contributing to environmental protection.
 Land Management: To determine the best use for a particular area, whether it's
agriculture, forestry, or urban development.
 Natural Resource Exploration: To locate valuable resources like minerals or
groundwater.
Soil is identified according to;

1.4.1.2 Field test identification

a. Soil consistency
Soil consistency refers to the soil ability to hold together and maintain its shape when
manipulated or stress. It can vary depending on factors like moisture content and the type of
soil. Soil can be classified as fine grain or cohesive base on its consistency.
b. Visual Manual methods: It involved assessing a soil sample by sight and touch to
determine its texture (Coarse grain like sand, gravel or fine grains like clay and silt). Based on
the size of visible particles, colour, consistency allowing for a basic classification without
laboratory analysis. The main key aspects involve checking for particle size, colour, plasticity
and presence of organic matter.
 Particle size
One of the most common methods of identifying the size of particles that can be found in a
sample of soil is the grain size analysis. Two methods are used to find the particle size
distribution of soil. First soil having particle size larger than 0.075mm in diameter are called
sieve analysis while second method is for solids having particle size smaller than o.075mm in
diameter also known s hydrometer analysis.
 Coarse grained: Easily visible like sand or gravel, feel gritty
 Fine grained: particles too small to see individually, feel smooth or sticky silt or clay
 Colour
Soils that are black or deep brown are high in organic content. This soil is very fertile and its
ideal for planting AND FARMING. Yellow, red or orange soil indicates they are rich in iron.
Soil that has a light gray or white tint has a lot of calcium.
 Dark brown/ black: High organic matter content
 Gray/ white: high calcium carbonate content

 Texture
Refer to the feel of soil and generally refers to the percentage of clay, silt, and sand content.
There is a triangular table for texture that engineers use for characteristics of soil. Less than
0.002mm soil grain size, it is considered clay. If the soil grain size is between 0.002mm and
0.05mm then silt. Sand if between 0.05mm and 2.0mm. grain size are obtained from grain
size analysis test.
 Structure
For granular soils the shape of individual particle is as important as the grain size distribution
in affecting their engineering properties.
Angular soil particles have higher frictional angle as compare to round soil particles
C. Wet and manipulated strength test: Small quantity of moistened soil is taken in hand and
work it with fingers and feel it.
• If moisture comes out after squeezing between fingers and soapy touch – silty soil.
• If feeling of roughness occurs – sandy soil.
• If sticks to fingers and dries slowly – clay.
• If sticks to fingers and dries quickly and can dust off fingers leaving a stain – silt. This test
helps to distinguish predominant soil characteristics i.e. sandy, silty or clayey.
d. Dilatancy Test (Shaking Test): The test assists in identifying fineness characteristics of
soils. This field test also helps to identify the present of silt or very fine sand in soil.
- Small amount of soil is usually mix with water until soft but not sticky
- Soil is place in the palms of hands
- It is then shaken horizontally against other hand several times
- Soil is observed for a shiny film of water on the surface
- Soil is squeeze between fingers
Observation: For the disappearance of water and gloss
Result:
 Shiny surface: salt contain silt or very fine sand
 No glossy surface: soil is clayed
 Slow glisten: soil is predominantly slit with some clay
Also
 Quickest and most distinct reaction – Sand
 Moderate reaction – Inorganic Silt
 No reaction – Plastic Clay

e. Dry Strength Test: This is a simple field method used to identify soil type by assessing how
easily a dried soil sample crumbles between the finger, with highest resistance to crumbling
indicating a high clay content and therefore a high plasticity while easily crumbling soil
suggests a higher sand content and low plasticity. Essentially the stronger the strength the
more clay is present in the soil.
Procedure
A small sample pat of moist soil is formed, then allowed to completely air dry, after which it
is attempted to be broken or powdered between the fingers.
 High dry strength: Soil is likely high plasticity clay as it resists breaking and crumbling
easily
 Low dry strength: Soil is like a sandy soil or silty type with low plasticity as readily
crumble into powder.
f. Toughness Test: Soil toughness refers to how tough a soil is near it plastic limit. It can be
identified by rolling a sample into a thread and observing how much pressure is required to
roll it without crumbling. This indicates the presence and type of clay particles within the
soil. Higher toughness indicates greater clay content.
Procedure
After finding the plastic limit of a soil sample, try to roll it into a thin thread (around 3mm
diameter). If the thread easily crumbles, the soil has low toughness and if it can be rolled
further with added pressure, it has high toughness
Interpretation
 Low toughness: Indicates a low clay content possibly silty soil
 Medium toughness: Moderate clay content potentially a clayed silt.
 High toughness: Indicates a high clay content, likely a highly plastic clay soil

1.4.2 Soil Classification

It is the arrangement of soils into different groups such that soils in a particular group shows
similar behaviour.
1.4.2.1 Purpose of Soil Classification
• When a soil is classified as per some standard classification system, its behaviour and
properties can be estimated based on the experience gained from similar soils elsewhere.
• It provides a common language between engineers dealing with soils.
• It is useful in exchange of information and experience between the geotechnical engineers.
E.g. If a soil has been classified as SW according to Unified Soil Classification System, the
geotechnical engineer anywhere would know that the soil is well graded sand.
1.4.2.2 Basic Requirements of Soil Classification
• It should be based on engineering properties and should fit purpose for which
classification is done.
• It should be simple and should use easy terms.
• It should have limited number of groups.

1.4.2.3 Soil Classification System

1. Particle Size Classification

The size of individual particles has an important influence on the behaviour of soils. Any
system of classification based only on particle size may be misleading for fine-grained soils.
The behaviour of such soils depends on the plasticity characteristics and not on the particle
size. However, classification based on particle size is of immense value in the case of coarse-
grained soils, since the behaviour of such soils depends mainly on the particle size.
 2. Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

It is a method used in engineering to categorise soil types based on their particle size
distribution and plasticity characteristics. It essentially describes the texture and
behaviour of a soil for construction purposes, using a two-letter code system where the
first letter indicates the primary soil type (like gravel, sand. Silt or clay) and the second
later describe its gradation (well-graded or poorly graded) or plasticity level (high or low).

Soil is first divided into two categories and then into 18 groups.
 Coarse grained soil (more than 50% retained on 75µ sieve)
 Fine grained soil (more than 50% passing from 75µ sieve

A. Coarse grained soil

- Gravel (more than 50% retained on 4.75mm sieve)
- Sand (more than 50% passing from 4.75mm sieve)
Less than 5% fines (Clean gravel or sand) According to particle size distribution, they are
again classified as well graded or poorly graded.
Well graded gravel (GW) – (Cu > 4, Cc = 1-3)
Poorly graded gravel (GP) – (Not meeting above criteria)
Well graded sand (SW) – (Cu > 6, Cc = 1-3)
Poorly graded sand (SP) – (Not meeting above criteria)
B. Fine Grained Soils
They are further divided as:
 Soil of low plasticity (WL < 50%)
 Soil of high plasticity (WL > 50%)
They are also classified as clayey and silty (or organic) according to their consistency limits.
Consistency limits above A – line: Clayey
Consistency limits below A – line: Silty or Organic
The distinction between inorganic and organic soil is made by oven-drying. If on oven-drying
liquid limit (WL) decreases by 30% or more soil is organic otherwise silt (organic soils have
dark colour, high compressibility and permeability and presence of organic matter). Highly
organic soils: Identified by visual examination (fibrous texture) and termed as Peat.
 3. AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Soil
Classification System)
The AASHTO system classifies soils into seven primary groups, named A-1 through A-7,
based on their relative expected quality for road embankments, subgrades, subbases and
bases. Some of the groups are in turn divided into subgroups, such as A-1-a and A-1-b.
Furthermore, a group index may be calculated to quantify a soil expected performance
within a group. A soil is a granular material if less than 35% of the soil by weight passes the
No. 200 sieve. Granular materials are classified into groups A-1 through A-3. Soils having
more than 35% passing the No. 200 sieve are silt-clay and fall in groups A-4 through A-7.
Soils classified as A-1 are typically well-graded mixtures of gravel, coarse sand, and fine sand.
Soils in subgroup A-1-a contain more gravel whereas those in A-1-b contain more sand. Soils
in group A-3 are typically fine sands that may contain small amounts of nonelastic silt. Group
A-2 contains a wide variety of borderline granular materials that do not meet the criteria for
groups A-1 or A-3. Soils in group A-4 are silty soils, whereas those in group A-5 are high-
plasticity elastic silt. Soils in group A-6 are typically lean clays, and those in group A-7 are
typically highly plastic clays.
To classify the soil according to AASHTO use
Sieve Analysis.
Atterberg Limits: Set of water content indicating when a fine grain soil transitions between
solid, semi solid, plastic and liquid state.

1.4.3 Soil parameters

1.4.3.1 Distribution and Identification of soil (Soil classification)
The range of grain size distribution of natural soils is very large (e.g., cobbles can be ~20-80
cm in diameter while the colloidal mineral can be as small as 0.00001 mm = 0.01 micron) =>
the grain size has a range of 6 orders of magnitude.
The particle size analysis is the procedure to determine the gradation curve = grain size
distribution
Coarse grained soils →Sieve analysis
(Size ≥ 0.075mm) Using a stack of sieves with wire mesh cloth
Fine grained soils → Hydrometer analysis
(Size ≤ 0.075mm) Analysis based on Stoke’s Law for falling spheres in a viscous fluid
1.4.3.2 Laboratory grain size distribution test (sieve analysis)

A specimen of dry soil is shaken mechanically through a series of standard wire square‐mesh
sieves with successively smaller openings. The oversized materials are trapped above the
screen, while undersized materials can pass through the screen.
Determine the mass of soil retained on each sieve (n = number of sieves) and the pan at last
(i.e. M1, M2 , … Mn and Mp ).
I. The sum of the retained mass on each sieve plus the mass in the pan should be
approximately equals to the total mass:
M1+M2+… +Mn+Mp ≈ Mtot
A loss of more than two percent is unsatisfactory.
II. Calculate the percent retained on each sieve by dividing the weight retained on each sieve
by the original sample mass.
% retained at i-esimo sieve = (Mi /Mtot)*100
III. Determine the percent passing (or percent finer) by starting with 100% and subtracting
the percent retained on each sieve as a cumulative procedure.
Pi = % passing at i-esimo sieve = 100 – (M1+M2+….+Mi )/Mtot*100
The results are shown in a cumulative frequency diagram giving the gradation curve.
X-axis → i-esimo sieve opening ≈Grain diameter are plotted in logarithmic scale
Y-axis → Pi = Percentage by mass (or weight) passing (finer than) in arithmetic scale

Generally, Dx represents a grain diameter for which X% of the sample will be finer than it.
For instance, D50 is the mean diameter, because a 50% of sample is composed by smaller
particles and the other 50% of larger particles.
Two coefficients have been defined to characterize soils based on the distribution of the
particles
Cu = D60 /D10 = Uniformity coefficient
Cc = D2 30 /(D60D10 )= Coefficient of curvature
For Well – graded soil: Cu ≥4 and 1< Cc (for gravel) and Cu ≥6 and 1< Cc (for sand)
Hydrometer analysis is the test used to determine the grain size distribution of the fine grained
soils (silts and clays) Analysis based on Stoke’s Law, which relates the terminal velocity of a
free‐falling sphere in a liquid to its diameter not important for us now.
For granular soils the shape of individual particles is as important as the grain size distribution
in affecting their engineering properties:
o Angular soil particle → higher friction
o Round soil particle → lower friction

Keep in mind that clay particles are platy shapes and the presence of water as a result of
negative charges affects their engineering response much more than the grain size or texture
alone.
1.4.3.3 Atterberg limits
If a fine material is mixed with water its state depends from the water amount. The water
content is defines as the ratio between the water mass Mw and the mass of solid fraction Ms.

Atterberg limits are particular water contents, separating the different states of a fine
grained soil (i.e. where the soil behaviour changes).

1.4.3.4 Liquid limit

The Liquid Limit (LL) is the water content corresponding to the change from a viscous-liquid
state to a plastic state.
The liquid limit can be determined by two standard procedures on material passing the No.40
(425 mm) sieve: Casagrande Method and Cone Penetrometer Method

1.4.3.4.1 Casagrande Method

Casagrande defined the LL as the water content at which a standard groove cut in the
remoulded soil sample will close over a distance of 13mm at 25 blows of the LL cup falling
on a hard rubber plastic base. Typical liquid limit results from the Casagrande’s cup method.
1.4.3.4.2 Cone Penetrometer Method

The fall‐cone test is based on the principle of the static penetration. A 80 g metal cone tip is
suspended on the surface of a remoulded soil specimen; the cone is released for 5s and its
penetration into the soil is measured. The cone LL is defined as the water content at 20 mm
penetration.
1.4.3.4.3 Plastic Limit
The plastic limit PL is defined as the water content at which a soil thread with 3.2 mm
diameter just crumbles when it is rolled out on a plate.
1.4.3 .4 .4 Shrinkage Limit
The Shrinkage Limit SL is the water content at which a further reduction in water does not
cause a decrease in the volume of the soil mass. The Shrinkage Limit is determined allowing a
small soil sample to dry slowly and accordingly measuring its volume in relation to water
content
1.4.3.4.5 Plasticity index PI
It measures the amplitude of the range of water content over which a soil is plastic:
PI = LL – PL
Burmister (1949) classified the soil in relation to the plasticity index in a qualitative manner
as follows: