CENG220L

FIELD IDENTIFICATION OF SOILS

 INTRODUCTION
• This lab introduces you to the procedures used in practice for preliminary description and
• identification of soils. Usually geotechnical engineers require a lot of soil testing in the field and in
• the lab in order to identify the soil layers present under a foundation. In this first lab, you will only
• concentrate on the visual and manual procedures that are performed for the preliminary
• identification of the soil. Testing will require your subjective opinion because these procedures
• are based on visual, tactile and olfactory examination. These methods provide the engineer with
• preliminary information that may be used to perform initial planning, to begin the design, and most
• importantly to group similar soils and limit the number of samples to be sent to a lab for further
• classification and testing. Note that for precise classification of soils for engineering purposes,
• additional tests must be performed
 Procedure
• In classifying each soil go by the following procedure:
• Start with the description of the soils (moisture condition, color, odor, presence and % of
• cobbles)
• Estimate % of gravel, sand and fines (see on page 6 how dispersion test can help)
• In the case of coarse-grained soil
• - Estimate sand and gravel particle size
• - Determine the maximum particle size
• - Assess the particle angularity and shape
• - Assess the hardness of the coarser elements
• - Assess reaction to HCl
• In the case of a fine soil
• - Perform the dry strength, toughness, and dilatancy tests, and describe the plasticity
COARSE-GRAINED SOIL
FINE-GRAINED SOIL
 FIELD TESTS
• GRADATION: A RUDEMENTARY TEST DONE BY PLACING THE SOIL
SAMPLE ON A FLAT SUFACE AND COMBING IT WITH A HARD PIECE OF
CARDBOARD (OR ANY STURDY SURFACE) TO DISTINGUISH THE
DIFFERENT SIZES OF SOIL MATERIAL AND COME UP WITH AN IDEA OF
THE PROPORTIONS OF SOIL SIZE DISTRIBUTION
 FIELD TESTS CONT’D
• PLASTICITY:
• THE SHAKING TEST
• Roll into a ball (excluding any large particles) an amount
of fine grained soil in one hand and start adding water
until the sample becomes sticky. Tap with the other
hand, the hand with the sample until (if any) water starts
coming out and/or the sample becomes shiny:
1. If moisture comes out and the sample becomes shiny,
then the sample is sandy/silty
2. If moisture does not come out and the sample does
not become shiny, then the sample suggests that it is
clayey.
• A clayey sample does not protrude water from it
because clay is dissimilar to and silt both
electrically and physically. Clay is composed of
charged particles that attract water particles and
are thus hydrophilic, in addition to having jagged
edged and a relatively large surface area which
further exacerbates the hydrophilic properties of
clay. Sand, on the other hand, does not display
these properties: voids and pores play a more
important role in water dissipation.
 FIELD TESTS CONT’D
• PLASTICITY:
• THE TOUGHNESS TEST
• Using the ball from the shaking test, a piece is taken
and rolled into a “worm” or a thread-like formation.
Two outcomes can come out of this exercise:
1. A thread-like structure is formed: in this case, the
sample suggests its constituents are clay/clayey. This
is because, as aforementioned about the hydrophilic
properties of clay, these properties allow for a degree
of plasticity whereby the water-clay mixture can form
structural soundness and integrity that holds/binds
the constituents together to form the
“worm”/thread-like structure.
2. A thread-like structure is not formed: in this case,
the sample suggests that its constituent are
sand/sandy and/or silt/silty. The fact that the “worm”
cannot be formed means that the water-sand/silt
mixture cannot form a structurally sound bond and
thus the voids, pores and physical/electrical
properties of sand and silt come into play.
 FIELD TESTS CONT’D
• PLASTICITY:
• THE DRY STRENGTH TEST
• This test requires to air-dry a portion of the sample used in the original shaking test and
taking a jagged, pointy fragment of the air-dried portion and trying to crush it between
the thumb and the finger, and again there are two outcomes to this exercise:
1. The fragment is crushed easily: if the fragment is crushed easily and turns into a powder-like
dust then the sample is probably silt/silty. This, again, is due to the fact that silt/sand do not
retain water as much as clay does.
2. The fragment is not crushed: if the fragment is not crushed easily, thus suggesting the
clay/clayey nature of the fragment, this reiterates the hydrophilic nature of clay.
 FIELD TESTS CONT’D
• PLASTICITY:
• THE HAND WASHING TEST
• Handling clay is different than handling sand/silt. Handling sand/silt will make the
handler’s hands and fingers feel dusty. Rubbing them together will clean them almost
immediately and do not require a lot of rinsing/washing to completely remove them.
• Clay, on the other hand, forms a crust on the handler’s fingers/hands. Simply rinsing
them will not remove the clay off. Removing them requires extensive rubbing and
aggetation.
 FIELD TESTS CONT’D
• Dispersion:
• This field test is the more accurate of the
different field tests. It is used to test the
different constituents of the soil sample
in question, in addition to their
approximate relative quantities and
finally, it is used for crediting or
discrediting the results of the gradation
test (see slide 6).
• The idea behind this test is to fill the
bottom one-third (1/3) of a beaker with a
soil sample and filling the remaining
volume of the beaker with water.
Following this, the concoction is stirred
and then left to rest.
 FIELD TESTS CONT’D
• Dispersion (cont’d):
• After settlement, different layers will show up with clear demarcation lines:
1. Sand will settle at the bottom (the bottom layer)
2. Silt will settle in the middle (middle layer)
3. Clay will settle on the top (top layer)
This settlement behavior is due to the fact that sand is heavier/bulkier than silt
which, in turn, is heavier/bulkier than clay. The experimenter will notice a
difference in coloration between the three layers and, finally, the dispersion test
will give insight into whether or not the sample is well or poorly graded. It is not
necessary that three layers form because the sample chosen does not
necessarily have all the different sizes of soil.