Abstract
Soil classification is intended to help geotechnical engineers anticipate soil properties and behavior. However, the review of soil classification systems used worldwide-within the context of 100 years of experimental data-shows that transition boundaries between various soil denominations are often incompatible with observed behavior. The revised soil classification system RSCS considers attainable packing densities in sands and gravels (a function of their coefficient of uniformity and particle shape), and in the fines component (a function of its plasticity). The overall classification is based on a soil-specific triangular texture chart that is built using gravimetric-volumetric analyses adjusted using extensive soil data. Fines require further analysis when they control either the mechanical or fluid-flow characteristics of the soil; in this case, fines classification recognizes both the plasticity of fines and their electrical sensitivity to changes in pore fluid chemistry.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 19th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, ICSMGE 2017 |
| Publisher | 19th ICSMGE Secretariat |
| Pages | 1075-1078 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2017 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-12-30Acknowledgements: Support for this research was provided by the KAUST Endowment at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. G. Abelskamp edited the manuscript. We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their detailed comments and valuable insights.