‫بسم اهلل الرحمن الرحيم‬

Bahri University
College of Engineering
Civil Department
Soil Mechanics
Assignment

Field identification of soil

By: Mohammed Abd Alrahman Abbaker Sharaf Aldeen

Importance of Field Identification:-
Field identification of soil is of great importance for civil engineering. Sometimes the lack of time and facilities
makes laboratory soil testing impossible in military construction. Even when laboratory tests are to follow,
field identification tests must be made during the soil exploration. Soil types need to be identified so that
duplicate samples for laboratory testing are held to a minimum. Each test may be performed with a minimum
of time and equipment. However, the classification derived from these tests should be considered an
approximation. The number of tests used depends on the type of soil and the experience of the individual
using them. Experience is the greatest asset in field identification; learning the technique from an experienced
technician is the best method of acquiring the skill. If assistance is not available, you can gain experience by
getting the “feel” of the soil during laboratory testing.
Visual Examination:-
1) Color of soil:-
Visual examination should establish the color, grain size, grain shapes (of the coarse-grained portion), some
idea of the gradation, and some properties of the undisturbed soil. It helps in Unified classification of soil.
Color is often helpful in distinguishing between soil types, and with experience, one may find it useful in
identifying the particular soil type. Color may also indicate the presence of certain chemicals. Color often
varies with moisture content of a soil. For this reason, the moisture content at the time of color identification
should be included. Some of the more familiar color properties are listed below. Generally, colors become
darker as the moisture content increases and lighter as the soil dries. Some fine-grained soils (OL, OH) with
dark drab shades of brown or gray, including almost black, contain organic colloidal matter. In contrast, clean,
bright looking shades of gray,

 
Olive green, brown, red, yellow, and white are associated with inorganic soils. Gray-blue or gray- and yellow-
mottled colors frequently result from poor drainage. Red, yellow, and yellowish brown result from the
presence of iron oxides. White to pink may indicate considerable silica, calcium carbonate, or aluminum
compounds
Importance of Field Identification:-
Field identification of soil is of great importance for civil engineering. Sometimes the lack of time and facilities
makes laboratory soil testing impossible in military construction. Even when laboratory tests are to follow,
field identification tests must be made during the soil exploration. Soil types need to be identified so that
duplicate samples for laboratory testing are held to a minimum. Each test may be performed with a minimum
of time and equipment. However, the classification derived from these tests should be considered an
approximation. The number of tests used depends on the type of soil and the experience of the individual
using them. Experience is the greatest asset in field identification; learning the technique from an experienced
technician is the best method of acquiring the skill. If assistance is not available, you can gain experience by
getting the “feel” of the soil during laboratory testing.
Visual Examination:-
1) Color of soil:-
Visual examination should establish the color, grain size, grain shapes (of the coarse-grained portion), some
idea of the gradation, and some properties of the undisturbed soil. It helps in Unified classification of soil.
Color is often helpful in distinguishing between soil types, and with experience, one may find it useful in
identifying the particular soil type. Color may also indicate the presence of certain chemicals. Color often
varies with moisture content of a soil. For this reason, the moisture content at the time of color identification
should be included. Some of the more familiar color properties are listed below. Generally, colors become
darker as the moisture content increases and lighter as the soil dries. Some fine-grained soils (OL, OH) with
dark drab shades of brown or gray, including almost black, contain organic colloidal matter. In contrast, clean,
bright looking shades of gray,

 
Olive green, brown, red, yellow, and white are associated with inorganic soils. Gray-blue or gray- and yellow-
mottled colors frequently result from poor drainage. Red, yellow, and yellowish brown result from the
presence of iron oxides. White to pink may indicate considerable silica, calcium carbonate, or aluminum
compounds.
2) Compressive strength:-
Knowing the consistency index (consistency) of the soil we can have the value of compressive strength by field
determination. However, this value is an approximate value and can be used as a guideline. It can be tabulated
as follows:-

Consistency Field Identification Unconfined Compressive strength

(KN/M2)
Hard Can be Indented with difficulty by thumb nail >400
Medium Hard Can be readily Indented with thumb nail 200 to 400
Stiff The thumb can be pressed in with light pressure 100 to 200
Deformable thumb can be pressed in with light pressure 50 to 100
Soft thumb can be pressed easily 25 to 50
Very Soft The first can be pressed easily <25
 
 Instrumentation:- 
The instruments and tools used while soil testing are:-
1) Pioneer tools:-
Use a pick and shovel or a set of entrenching tools for collecting samples. A hand auger is useful if samples are
desired from depths of more than a few feet below the surface.
2) Stirrer:-
The spoon issued as part of the mess equipment serves in mixing materials with water to the desired
consistency. It also can aid in collecting samples.
3) Knife: Use a combat knife or pocket knife for collecting samples and trimming them to the desired size.
4) Mixing bowl: - Use a small bowl with a rubber-faced pestle to pulverize the fine-grained portion of the soil.
Both may be improvised. You could use canteen cup and wood pestle.
5) Paper:-Several sheets of heavy paper are needed for rolling samples.
6) Pan and heating element:-
 Use a pan and heating element to dry samples.
7) Scales: - Use balances or scales to weigh samples of soil.
8) Soil testing kit: - Consists of pH papers, pH meters, test tubes, chemical capsules and various other
accessories.
 
Course Grained Soil:-
Coarse grained soils are easily identified by visual inspection on the basis of particle size. Rounded to angular,
bulky, hard rock fragments of average diameter more than 20 cm are described as boulders. Stones of sizes
between 20 cm and 6 cm are termed as cobbles. Soil fraction between the sizes of 60 mm and 2 mm is known
as the gravel fraction. Soil with particle size visible to the naked eye but less than 2 mm is classified as sand.
Sand is further divided into coarse, medium and fine fractions for which sieve analysis is usually required.
Mixtures of gravel and sand are given in dual designations in the following table:-

Main content Descriptive term Subsidiary constituent

Gravel Gravel and Sand about 50%

Gravel with some sand or sandy gravel 25-40%
Gravel with little sand10 -25%
Gravel with a trace of sand Up to 1%
If sand is the main constituent, gravel and sand will interchange in the above descriptive terms, for example,
sand with some gravel or gravelly sand will represent sand having 25 to 40 percent of gravel. Very fine uniform
sand is difficult to be distinguished visually from silt. However, when dry, it does not hold together (no
cohesion) and feel gritty in contrast to the very slight cohesion and smooth feel of the dried silt. The
description of coarse grained soils should give grading, grain-shape, color, in-situ strength and
structural features, and presence of fines if any.
Grading:-
The grading or particle size distribution as judged by visual inspection is expression by the terms well-graded,
poorly graded or uniformly graded.
Grain size:-
The terms used to describe the grain shape are angular, sub-angular and rounded. Angular particles have
sharp edges and relatively plane sides with unpolished surfaces. Sub-angular particles are similar to angular
but have rounded edges. Rounded particles have smoothly curve sides and no edges.
Color:-The color of the soil is expressed as brown, white, yellow, red- brown etc.
Strength and Structure:-
The in-situ strength of a deposit of coarse-grained soil is expressed as compact or loose. If a pick is required
for excavation, it is compact and if it can be done with a spade, it is loose. The arrangement and state of
aggregation of soil particles in a soil mass is known as soil structure. The structure of coarse-grained which
may be recognized in the field is described as honmogeneous.If it is composed of arranged in strata or layers,
e.g. stratified alluvium, it is said to have stratified structure.
Pressure of Fines:-
 If the soil contains some fines (particle size not individually visible to the naked eye), but not sufficient to
cause cohesion. This should be noted. Presence of any organic matter, if any, should also be indicated.
Fine Grained Soil:-
Fine grained are identified by performing the following simple tests on the minus 425 micron IS sieve size
particles. In the field, use Of the sieve is not intended. The coarser particles that interfere with the tests may
be simply removed by hand.
1) Militancy or Shaking test:-
When a wet pat of soil is shaken vigorously in the palm of one hand which may also be struck several times
with the other hand, the surface may become glossy and show free water. If the part of the soil is then
squeezed between fingers, the free water disappears and the surface becomes dull i.e. dilates. With silt and
sands, a rapid or good reaction of appearance of water during shaking and of its disappearance during
squeezing will be exhibited, but this phenomenon will not be noticeable with clays. Take a small sample of
your soil (approximately 1 cubic inch) and mix it with about 1 tablespoon of water. Form the sample into a
cube or ball and place it in the palm of your hand face up. With you other hand, hit the side of your hand that
is holding the soil sample. This will impart a vibration to the soil sample. If the vibrations causes the water to
come to the surface of the soil (soil surface starts to shine), the soil has a permeability indicative of a silty soil
and likely has allow plasticity. If the water appears quickly and the cube of soil starts to slump down, the soil is
likely a silt. If water appears slowly and the cube generally retains its shape, it is likely a low plastic clay. The
water does not appear and the ball holds its shape very well, you likely have a highly plastic clay.
2) Dry Strength Test:-
If a small piece of dry fine grained soil is broken or crushed with fingers, the breaking strength is an indication
of the relative amounts of silt or clay. If the soil can be powdered easily with the fingers, it is said to have slight
dry strength and indicates silt or sandy silt. If considerable strength is required, but the soil can still be broken
into small pieces without great difficulty, it is said to have medium dry strength, and is indicative of silty clays
and clays of low plasticity. When the pat of dry soil cannot be broken with fingers, ithas high dry strength and
represents a highly plastic clay. The presence of high strength, water soluble cementing materials, such as
calcium carbonate or iron oxides, may also cause high dry strength. Soil with high strength is treated with a
little dilute hydrochloric acid. A strong reaction indicates that the strength may be due to calcium carbonate as
cementing agent, rather than colloidal. If you can find a dry sample of soil, try to break it. Soil with very high
dry strength is typically highly plastic. A soil that is very easy to crumble is likely a low plastic silt. A soil that
takes some effort but is still easy to break is likely a low to moderately plastic clay.
3) Toughness test:-
The consistency or the resistance to molding at the plastic limit is called the toughness. The water content of a
wet soil sample is gradually reduced by working and molding until it reaches the plastic limit when soil threads
should crumble at about 3mm diameter. The time required to dry the pat is an indication of its plasticity. After
the treads crumble, the pieces are lumped together and slight kneading action continued until the lump also
crumbles. If the lump can still be molded slightly drier than the plastic limit and the threads can still be rolled
with considerable pressure, the soil is of high toughness which represents clays of high plasticity or fat clays.
Medium toughness represents soils of medium plasticity whose threads are medium tough and a lump formed
of the threads slightly below the plastic limit crumbles. Weak threads that break easily cannot be lumped
together, when drier than the plastic limit indicate slight toughness representing soils of low plasticity. The
number of times the procedures can be repeated is an indication of the plasticity index of the soil. Non- plastic
soils cannot be rolled into 3 mm diameter threads at any water content.
4) Other identification tests:-
If a dry or slightly moist lump of soil when cut or rubbed with considerable pressure with a knife
blade produces a shiny surface, high plasticity is indicated. A dull surface indicates silt or clay of low plasticity.
Wet clay sticks to the fingers, gives a greasy feel and does not wash off readily, whereas, silt will wash away
easily or brush off, if dry. In a soil suspension of water of about 10 cm depth, sand will settle within half a
minute, most of the silt in about 5 to 60 minutes, whereas, clay-size particles will remain in suspension for at
least several hours or may even remain for several days.
5) Organic silt or clay:-
Finely divided organic matter present in combination with mineral soil materials is not easily
recognized, particularly if the amount of organic matter is small. However, if the soil has a dark-brown, dark-
gray, or black color, presence of organic matter may be suspected. Organic soils usually have a distinctive
organic odor, especially when fresh and wet. Sometimes the organic odor can be made more noticeable by
heating the wet sample. Highly organic clays have a very weak and strong feel at the plastic limit. Fibrous
organic soils, such as peat or muck, are usually dark brown to black in color, have organic matter in various
stages of decomposition and possess a characteristic odor.
Other tests conducted:-
Some more tests
Are conducted on the site using various handy tools and apparatus. These tests are conducted only when we
require detailed study of soil properties. They are:-
1.Compaction test:-
 It determines the stability of soil after densification.