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Descriptive Terminology of Soil <br />Based on Standards ASTM D2487/2488 <br />(Unified Soil Classification System) <br />Group <br />Symbol Group NameB <br /> Cu ≥ 4 and 1 ≤ Cc ≤ 3D GW Well-graded gravelE <br /> Cu < 4 and/or (Cc < 1 or Cc > 3)D GP Poorly graded gravelE <br /> Fines classify as ML or MH GM Silty gravelE F G <br /> Fines Classify as CL or CH GC Clayey gravelE F G <br /> Cu ≥ 6 and 1 ≤ Cc ≤ 3D SW Well-graded sandI <br /> Cu < 6 and/or (Cc < 1 or Cc > 3)D SP Poorly graded sandI <br /> Fines classify as ML or MH SM Silty sandF G I <br /> Fines classify as CL or CH SC Clayey sandF G I <br />CL Lean clayK L M <br /> PI < 4 or plots below "A" lineJ ML SiltK L M <br />Organic OL <br />CH Fat clayK L M <br />MH Elastic siltK L M <br />Organic OH <br />PT Peat Highly Organic Soils <br />Silts and Clays <br />(Liquid limit less than <br />50) <br />Silts and Clays <br />(Liquid limit 50 or <br />more) <br />Primarily organic matter, dark in color, and organic odor <br />Inorganic <br />Inorganic <br /> PI > 7 and plots on or above "A" lineJ <br /> PI plots on or above "A" line <br /> PI plots below "A" line <br />Criteria for Assigning Group Symbols and <br />Group Names Using Laboratory TestsA <br />Soil Classification <br />Coarse-grained Soils (more than 50% retained on No. 200 sieve)Fine-grained Soils (50% or more passes the No. 200 sieve) Sands <br />(50% or more coarse <br />fraction passes No. 4 <br />sieve) <br />Clean Gravels <br />(Less than 5% finesC) <br />Gravels with Fines <br />(More than 12% finesC) <br />Clean Sands <br />(Less than 5% finesH) <br />Sands with Fines <br />(More than 12% finesH) <br />Gravels <br /> (More than 50% of <br />coarse fraction <br />retained on No. 4 <br />sieve) <br />Liquid Limit −oven dried <br />Liquid Limit −not dried <0.75 Organic clay K L M N <br />Organic silt K L M O <br />Liquid Limit −oven dried <br />Liquid Limit −not dried <0.75 Organic clay K L M P <br />Organic silt K L M Q <br />Particle Size Identification <br />Boulders.............. over 12" <br />Cobbles................ 3" to 12" <br />Gravel <br />Coarse............. 3/4" to 3" (19.00 mm to 75.00 mm) <br />Fine................. No. 4 to 3/4" (4.75 mm to 19.00 mm) <br />Sand <br />Coarse.............. No. 10 to No. 4 (2.00 mm to 4.75 mm) <br />Medium........... No. 40 to No. 10 (0.425 mm to 2.00 mm) <br />Fine.................. No. 200 to No. 40 (0.075 mm to 0.425 mm) <br />Silt........................ No. 200 (0.075 mm) to .005 mm <br />Clay...................... < .005 mm <br />Relative ProportionsL, M <br />trace............................. 0 to 5% <br />little.............................. 6 to 14% <br />with.............................. ≥ 15% <br />Inclusion Thicknesses <br />lens............................... 0 to 1/8" <br />seam............................. 1/8" to 1" <br />layer.............................. over 1" <br />Apparent Relative Density of Cohesionless Soils <br />Very loose ..................... 0 to 4 BPF <br />Loose ............................ 5 to 10 BPF <br />Medium dense.............. 11 to 30 BPF <br />Dense............................ 31 to 50 BPF <br />Very dense.................... over 50 BPF <br />A.Based on the material passing the 3-inch (75-mm) sieve. <br />B.If field sample contained cobbles or boulders, or both, add "with cobbles or boulders, <br />or both" to group name. <br />C. Gravels with 5 to 12% fines require dual symbols: <br />GW-GM well-graded gravel with silt <br />GW-GC well-graded gravel with clay <br />GP-GM poorly graded gravel with silt <br />GP-GC poorly graded gravel with clay <br />D.Cu = D60 / D10 Cc = 𝐷30 2 / (𝐷10 𝑥𝐷60) <br />E.If soil contains ≥ 15% sand, add "with sand" to group name. <br />F.If fines classify as CL-ML, use dual symbol GC-GM or SC-SM. <br />G. If fines are organic, add "with organic fines" to group name. <br />H. Sands with 5 to 12%fines require dual symbols: <br />SW-SM well-graded sand with silt <br />SW-SC well-graded sand with clay <br />SP-SM poorly graded sand with silt <br />SP-SC poorly graded sand with clay <br />I.If soil contains ≥ 15% gravel, add "with gravel" to group name. <br />J. If Atterberg limits plot in hatched area, soil is CL-ML, silty clay. <br />K.If soil contains 15 to < 30% plus No. 200, add "with sand" or "with gravel", whichever is <br />predominant. <br />L. If soil contains ≥ 30% plus No. 200, predominantly sand, add “sandy” to group name. <br />M. If soil contains ≥ 30% plus No. 200 predominantly gravel, add “gravelly” to group name. <br />N. PI ≥ 4 and plots on or above “A” line. <br />O. PI < 4 or plots below “A” line. <br />P. PI plots on or above “A” line. <br />Q.PI plots below “A” line. <br />Laboratory Tests <br />DD Dry density,pcf OC Organic content, %LL Liquid limit <br />WD Wet density, pcf qp Pocket penetrometer strength, tsf PL Plastic limit <br />P200 % Passing #200 sieve MC Moisture content, %PI Plasticity index <br />qU Unconfined compression test, tsf <br />Consistency of Blows Approximate Unconfined <br />Cohesive Soils Per Foot Compressive Strength <br />Very soft................... 0 to 1 BPF................... < 0.25 tsf <br />Soft........................... 2 to 4 BPF................... 0.25 to 0.5 tsf <br />Medium.................... 5 to 8 BPF .................. 0.5 to 1 tsf <br />Stiff........................... 9 to 15 BPF................. 1 to 2 tsf <br />Very Stiff................... 16 to 30 BPF............... 2 to 4 tsf <br />Hard.......................... over 30 BPF................ > 4 tsf <br />Drilling Notes: <br />Blows/N-value: Blows indicate the driving resistance recorded <br />for each 6-inch interval. The reported N-value is the blows per <br />foot recorded by summing the second and third interval in <br />accordance with the Standard Penetration Test, ASTM D1586. <br />Partial Penetration:If the sampler could not be driven through <br />a full 6-inch interval, the number of blows for that partial <br />penetration is shown as #/x" (i.e. 50/2"). The N-value is <br />reported as "REF" indicating refusal. <br />Recovery: Indicates the inches of sample recovered from the <br />sampled interval. For a standard penetration test, full recovery <br />is 18", and is 24" for a thinwall/shelby tube sample. <br />WOH: Indicates the sampler penetrated soil under weight of <br />hammer and rods alone; driving not required. <br />WOR: Indicates the sampler penetrated soil under weight of <br />rods alone; hammer weight and driving not required. <br />Water Level: Indicates the water level measured by the drillers <br />either while drilling ( ), at the end of drilling ( ), or at <br />some time after drilling ( ). <br />Moisture Content: <br />Dry:Absence of moisture, dusty, dry to the touch. <br />Moist: Damp but no visible water. <br />Wet: Visible free water, usually soil is below water table. <br /> 3/2019