GEO-TECHNICAL

2009-10
COLLEGE OF
ENGINEERING, PUNE.
ENGINEERING
ENROLL. NO:

ASSIGNME
NT NO. 1
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) Colour 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 >400
by thumb nail.
Medium hard Can be readily indented with 200 to 400
thumb nail.
Stiff The thumb can be pressed in 100 to 200
with light pressure.
Deformable Thumb can be pressed in with 50 to 100
light pressure.
Soft Thumb can be pressed easily. 25 to 50
Very soft The fist 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 a
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.
Coarse 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 san About 50%
Gravel with some sand or 25-40%
sandy gravel
Gravel with little sand 10-25%
Gravel with a trace of sand Upto 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 unifom 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, colour, 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.
Colour:- The colour 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.
 Specimens to be analysed

Sample analysis:-

Specimen 1:- It shows gravels with varying sizes. It has a sub-angular

structure. The clean bright shade of gravels indicate its association with
inorganic soils. Also it indicates it has less moisture content as compared to
specimen 2.

Specimen 2:- It shows gravels of uniform size. They may have more moisture
content as compared to specimen 1 due to their dark appearance. The presence
of red, yellow and yellowish-brown gravels show presence of compounds like
iron oxides and small amounts of silicates. They basically have sub-angular or
rounded structures.

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) Dilatancy 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 pat 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 a
low 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, it
has 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 moulding at

the plastic limit is called the toughness. The water content of a wet
soil sample is gradually reduced by working and moulding until it
reaches the plastic limit when soil threads should crumble at about 3
mm diameter. The time required to dry the pat is an indication of its
plasticity. After the treads crumble, the pieces are lumped together and
a slight kneading action continued until the lump also crumbles. If the
lump can still be moulded 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 colour, presence of organic
matter may be suspected. Organic soils usually have a distinctive
organic odour, specially when fresh and wet. Sometimes the organic
odour 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 colour, have organic matter in various stages of decomposition
and possess a characteristic odour.

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.
2. Percolation test:-
Vertical and lateral movement of water through the soil by gravity is
percolation. It is necessary on sites related with water like dams,
purification houses, etc.

3. Erosion test:-
Useful in the area of flowing waters.

4. Radiation test:-
 This actually is not feasible to do on site. It is used for calculating
water content in the soil using radio isotopes.

Advantages of field identification:-

• It is very economical.
• It can be carried out in short duration of time.
• No pre-setting is required

Disadvantages of field identification:-

• It is just an approximation.
• You cannot completely rely on it.
• Experienced people are required.

Conclusion:-
• It is a must do procedure.
• It helps in Unified soil classification which makes it more easy to
understand the physical properties and thus derive its chemical
properties.
• It aids us to determine approximate compressive strength of soil and
thus helps us in constructive measures.