Module 1

Soil Grain-Size Analysis

Soil grain-size analysis, also known as particle-size distribution, is a laboratory procedure used to determine
the distribution of different-sized particles within a soil sample. This analysis helps in classifying soils and
understanding their properties, which is essential for various geotechnical and civil engineering applications.

Purpose of Grain-Size Analysis:

1. Soil Classification: Helps in categorizing soils into different groups based on particle sizes (e.g., sand,
silt, clay).
2. Engineering Properties: Provides insights into soil behavior, such as permeability, compaction, and
strength.
3. Design and Construction: Informs decisions for foundation design, earthwork, and other construction
activities.

Methods of Grain-Size Analysis:

1. Sieve Analysis (for coarse-grained soils):
• Procedure: Soil is dried and passed through a series of sieves with different mesh sizes. The
amount of soil retained on each sieve is weighed.
• Output: The percentage of soil retained on each sieve is plotted against the sieve size to
create a grain-size distribution curve.
2. Hydrometer Analysis (for fine-grained soils):
• Procedure: Soil is dispersed in a liquid, and a hydrometer is used to measure the density of
the suspension at various time intervals. This helps in determining the sizes of finer particles
(silt and clay) based on their settling velocity.
• Output: The results are used to plot a grain-size distribution curve for finer particles.

Steps for Sieve Analysis:

1. Sample Preparation: Soil sample is dried and weighed.
2. Sieving: The sample is placed on the top sieve of a nested stack of sieves, each with a progressively
smaller mesh size, and the stack is shaken.
3. Weighing: The soil retained on each sieve is weighed.

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 4. Data Calculation: The weight of soil retained on each sieve is used to calculate the cumulative
percentage of soil passing through each sieve.
5. Plotting: A grain-size distribution curve is plotted, with sieve size (log scale) on the x-axis and
cumulative percentage passing on the y-axis.

Steps for Hydrometer Analysis:

1. Sample Preparation: Soil sample is mixed with a dispersing agent and water to create a suspension.
2. Measurement: A hydrometer is placed in the suspension, and readings are taken at specific time
intervals.
3. Data Calculation: The hydrometer readings are converted to particle sizes using Stoke's Law and
other correction factors.
4. Plotting: The results are plotted on a grain-size distribution curve for fine particles.

Interpretation of Grain-Size Distribution Curve:

• Well-Graded Soil: Contains a wide range of particle sizes and has a smooth, continuous curve.
Indicates good compaction and stability characteristics.
• Poorly Graded Soil: Contains a narrow range of particle sizes, with a steep or flat curve. May be either
uniform (single particle size predominant) or gap-graded (missing certain sizes).
• Coefficient of Uniformity (Cu): Indicates the range of particle sizes.
• Coefficient of Gradation (Cc): Indicates the curvature of the distribution curve.

Applications:
• Foundation Design: Determines the suitability of soil for supporting structures.
• Road Construction: Helps in selecting appropriate materials for subgrade and base layers.
• Drainage Systems: Assesses soil permeability and filtration properties.
• Earthworks: Informs compaction and stability requirements for embankments and slopes.

Grain-size analysis is a fundamental test in geotechnical engineering, providing essential data for soil
classification and the assessment of its engineering properties.

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Soil - Particle Size
The sizes of particles that make up soil vary over a wide range. To describe soils by their particle sizes,
several organizations have developed particle-size classifications.

Table 1.1 Particle-Size Classifications

Grain size (mm)
Name of organization Gravel Sand Silt Clay
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) >2 2 to 0.06 0.06 to 0.002 <0.002
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) >2 2 to 0.05 0.05 to 0.002 <0.002
American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) 76.2 to 2 2 to 0.075 0.075 to 0.002 <0.002
Unified Soil Classification System 76.2 to 4.75 4.75 to 0.075 Fines (i.e., silts and clays)
(U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. <0.075
Bureau of Reclamation, and American
Society for Testing and Materials)

Specific Gravity, GS
Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the unit weight of a given material to the unit weight of water. The
specific gravity of soil solids is often needed for various calculations in soil mechanics.

Table 1.2 Specific Gravity of Common Minerals

Mineral Specific gravity, Gs Halloysite 2.0–2.55 Muscovite 2.76–3.1

Quartz 2.65 Potassium feldspar 2.57 Hornblende 3.0–3.47
Kaolinite 2.6 Sodium and calcium feldspar 2.62–2.76 Limonite 3.6–4.0
Illite 2.8 Chlorite 2.6–2.9 Olivine 3.27–3.7
Montmorillonite 2.65–2.80 Biotite 2.8–3.2

Sieve Analysis
Sieve analysis consists of shaking the soil sample through a set of sieves that have progressively smaller
openings. U.S. standard sieve numbers and the sizes of openings are given in Table 1.3.

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Table 1.3 U.S. Standard Sieve Sizes
Sieve no. Opening (mm) Sieve no. Opening (mm)
4 4.75 35 0.500
5 4.00 40 0.425
6 3.35 50 0.355
7 2.80 60 0.250
8 2.36 70 0.212
10 2.00 80 0.180
12 1.70 100 0.150
14 1.40 120 0.125
16 1.18 140 0.106
18 1.00 170 0.090
20 0.850 200 0.075
25 0.710 270 0.053
30 0.600

Steps in Calculating the Percentage Passing for each sieve:

1. Determine the mass of soil retained on each sieve (i.e., M1, M2 . . . Mn) and in the pan (i.e., Mp)
2. Determine the total mass of the soil: M1+M2+. . .+Mi+. . . +Mn+Mp=M
3. Determine the cumulative mass of soil retained above each sieve. For the ith sieve, itis M1+M2+ . . . +Mi
4. The mass of soil passing the ith sieve is M - (M1 +M2 + . . . +Mi)
5. The percent of soil passing the ith sieve (or percent finer) is
 M − ( M 1 + M 2 + ... + M i )
F= x 100
M

Once the percent finer for each sieve is calculated (step 5), the calculations are plotted on semi-logarithmic
graph paper (Figure 1.1) with percent finer as the ordinate (arithmetic scale) and sieve opening size as the
abscissa (logarithmic scale). This plot is referred to as the particle-size distribution curve.

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 Fig. 1.1 Particle-size distribution curve

Particle-Size Distribution Curve

A particle-size distribution curve can be used to determine the following four parameters for a given soil
(Figure 1.2):

1. Effective size (D10) is the diameter in the particle-size distribution curve corresponding to 10% finer. The
effective size of a granular soil is a good measure to estimate the hydraulic conductivity and drainage through
soil.

2. Uniformity coefficient (Cu) is defined as

D60
Cu =
D10

where: D60= diameter corresponding to 60% finer.

3. Coefficient of gradation (Cc) is defined as

D 230
Cc =
D60 x D10

4. Sorting coefficient (S0) is another measure of uniformity and is generally encountered in geologic works
and expressed as

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 D75
So =
D25

Fig. 1.2 Definition of D75, D60, D30, D25, and D10

The percentages of gravel, sand, silt, and clay-size particles present in a soil can be obtained from the particle-
size distribution curve. As an example, we will use the particle-size distribution curve shown in Figure 1.2 to
determine the gravel, sand, silt, and clay size particles as follows (according to the Unified Soil Classification
System—see Table 1.1):

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 Fig. 1.3 Particle-size distribution curve - sieve analysis and hydrometer analysis

Types of distributions
Curve I represents a type of soil in which most of the soil grains are the same size. This is called poorly graded
soil.
Curve II represents a soil in which the particle sizes are distributed over a wide range, termed well graded soil.
A well-graded soil has a uniformity coefficient greater than about 4 for gravels and 6 for sands, and a
coefficient of gradation between 1 and 3 (for gravels and sands).
Curve III represents a combination of two or more uniformly graded fractions. This type of soil is termed gap
graded soil.

Fig. 1.4 Different types of particle-size distribution curves

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Example 1.1
Following are the results of a sieve analysis. Make the necessary calculations and draw a particle-size
distribution curve and determine the following:
a. D10, D30, and D60
b. Uniformity coefficient, Cu
c. Coefficient of gradation, Cc
d. the percentages of gravel, sand, silt, and clay-size particles present. Use the Unified Soil
Classification System.

U. S. sieve no. Mass of soil retained Cumulative Mass (g) Mass Passing % Finer
on each sieve (g)

4 0 0 729 100
10 40 40 689 94.513
20 60 100 629 86.283
40 89 189 540 74.074
60 140 329 400 54.87
80 122 451 278 38.134
100 210 661 68 9.328
200 56 717 12 1.646
Pan 12 729 0 0

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Hydrometer Analysis

Stokes' Law
Stokes (1856), an English physicist, proposed an equation for determining the terminal velocity of a falling
sphere in a liquid. If a single sphere is allowed to fall through a liquid of indefinite extent, the terminal velocity,
v can be expressed as,

 s − w 2
v= D
18 

where:
distance L
v =terminal velocity of fall of a sphere through a liquid = =
time t
s = unit weight of solid sphere
w = unit weight of liquid
 = absolute viscosity of liquid
D = diameter of sphere.

After substituting for v, we have

18  L
D=
( G s − 1)  w t

If L is in cm, t is in min, w in g/cm3,  in (g – sec)/cm2 and D in mm, the above equation may be written as

D ( mm ) 18  L
=
10 ( G s − 1)  w t x 60

30  L
D=
( G s − 1)  w t
or
L
D=K
t
10
 30 
where, K =
( G s − 1)

Table 1.4 gives the values of K for the various values of Gs at different temperatures T

Table 1.5 Properties of distilled water

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 ASTM 152H Hydrometer Definition of L in hydrometer test
Fig. 1.5

The value of L (cm) for the ASTM 152H hydrometer can be given by the expression
1 VB 
L = L1 +  L2 − 
2 A 

where:
L1= distance along the stem of the hydrometer from the top of the bulb to the mark for a hydrometer
reading (cm)
L2= length of the hydrometer bulb = 14 cm
VB = volume of the hydrometer bulb = 67 cm3
A= cross-sectional area of the sedimentation cylinder = 27.8 cm2

The value of L1 is 10.5 cm for a reading of R= 0 and 2.3 cm for a reading of R= 50. Hence, for any reading R,
(10.5 − 2.3 )
L1 = 10.5 − R = 10.5 − 0.164 R ( cm )
50
Thus,
1 67 
L = 10.5 − 0.164 R +  14 −  = 16.29 − 0.164 R
2 27.8 

where R = hydrometer reading corrected for the meniscus

The variations of L with the hydrometer readings R are given in Table 1.6.

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Table 1.6 Variation of L with Hydrometer Reading — ASTM 152H Hydrometer

Temperature Correction
The readings of the hydrometer are affected by the rise in temperature during the test. The temperature
correction is a constant. If the temperature during the test is quite high, the density of water will be equally less
and hydrometer will sink too deep.

Zero Correction
The use of a dispersing agent also affects the hydrometer reading. Correction for this can be obtained by using
a sedimentation cylinder of water from the same source and with the same quantity of dispersing agent as that
used in the soil-water suspension to obtain a zero correction.

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The actual hydrometer reading Ra has to be corrected as follows:

1. Correction for meniscus Cm.

2. Zero correction Co and temperature correction CT for obtaining percent finer.
R = Ra + Cm (reading for obtaining D)
Rc = Ra – Co + CT (reading for obtaining percent finer)

Table 1.7 Temperature correction factors, CT

Determination of percent finer

The 152 H hydrometer is calibrated for a suspension with a specific gravity of solids Gs = 2.65. If the specific
gravity of solids used in the suspension is different from 2.65, the percent finer has to be corrected by the
factor Csg expressed as

1.65 G s
C sg =
2.65 ( G s − 1)

Typical values of Csg are given in Table 1.8.

The percent finer with correction factor Csg may be expressed as

C sg Rc
% Finer, = x 100
Ms

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where: Rc = grams of soil in suspension at some elapsed time t
Ms = mass of soil used in suspension in grams (not more than 60 g for 152 H hydrometer)

Table 1.8 Temperature correction factors, Csg for specific gravity of solids

Example 1.2
In a hydrometer test, the results are as follows: Gs= 2.60, temperature of water = 24 °C, and R = 43 at 60 min
after the start of sedimentation. What is the diameter, D, of the smallest-size particles that have settled beyond
the zone of measurement at that time (that is, t = 60 min)?

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