Erbil polytechnic university

Erbil Engineering college

Highway Engineering Techniques Department

Foundation Engineering
Assignment Name: - Soil Classification System

Prepared by: -
Karzan Omer
Omar Akram

Supervised by: - Mr. Ali

2022 – 2023
Table of Contents
Objectives: .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction: ................................................................................................................................................. 3
The Soil Pedon: ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Soil Taxonomy: .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Soil Classification:.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Classification of soil:...................................................................................................................................... 5
Geological Classification: .............................................................................................................................. 6
Classification by Structure: ........................................................................................................................... 6
Classification based on grain-size: ................................................................................................................ 7
Unified soil classification system: ................................................................................................................. 8
Soil Taxonomy has six categories: ................................................................................................................. 9
Soil Orders:.................................................................................................................................................. 10
1- Gelisols: ................................................................................................................................................... 10
2- Histosols: ................................................................................................................................................. 11
3- Spodosols: ............................................................................................................................................... 11
4- Andisols: .................................................................................................................................................. 12
5- Oxisols: .................................................................................................................................................... 12
6- Vertisols : ................................................................................................................................................ 12
7- Aridisols: ................................................................................................................................................. 13
8- Ultisols: ................................................................................................................................................... 13
9- Mollisols: ................................................................................................................................................. 13
10- Alfisols: .................................................................................................................................................. 13
11- Inceptisols: ............................................................................................................................................ 14
12- Entisols: ................................................................................................................................................. 14
Conclusion: .................................................................................................................................................. 14
References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15

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Objectives:
Minerals, which are generated from parent material that has been weathered or broken up, make
up the majority of a soil. Soils are composed of 25% air, 25% water, 45% minerals, and 5% organic
stuff (humus, tiny living organisms and sometimes plant residue). Similar to how classification
schemes for plants and animals have various categories, so does the categorization scheme for soil.
varying degrees of specificity, from the broadest to the most precise. There are twelve main
categories of soil in the system's largest classification. You will learn the fundamentals of soil
taxonomy and the most common soil orders as a result of your study in this session. across the
world.

Introduction:
Soil is a natural body that exists on the surface of the earth and is composed of solids (minerals
and organic matter), liquids, and gases. Soil fills the empty space. These two "horizons" or "layers"
categorize soil. Due to modifications in energy and matter, such as additions, subtractions,
transfers, and transformations, as well as their ability to sustain rooted plants in a natural
environment, these can be distinguished from the original material. Finding dirt is not always
possible. Different soil qualities are the result of numerous soil formation factors. There are vast
variances in property. There are various kinds of dirt. To classify, understand, and manage soils,
soil scientists have developed a number of taxonomy or classification schemes for soils.

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The Soil Pedon:

It uses the term "pedon" to describe a sample unit. The surface can be used to identify some soil
traits. Determine the type of soil by looking at its horizons, or layers. The soil must be sampled
from the soil's surface to its base using pits or another method, according to the requirements of
this study. A pedon will have the smallest volume for which one should describe and sample the
soil in order to illustrate the kind and arrangement of the soil's horizons as well as the diversity of
qualities that are kept in samples. A pedon and the unit cell of a crystal are comparable in certain
aspects.

Soil Taxonomy:
Soil taxonomy is a fundamental approach of categorizing soils for carrying out and interpreting
soil surveys. This approach assists in classifying soils into several groups. Soil Taxonomy's
taxonomic classifications divide soils into groups based on common characteristics and pedogenic
processes. However, rather than being established based on direct theories of soil formation, the
classes primarily depend on the presence of diagnostic layers and characteristics. These diagnostic
strata and traits show the substantial pedogenic processes (i.e., additions, removals, transfers, and
transformations) that are occurring or have previously occurred to build the kinds of soil profiles
we see today.

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Soil Classification:
It is not always possible to find soil. Numerous soil formation factors result in different soil
properties. Properties can differ greatly. Numerous soil kinds exist. The process of classifying soils
involves dividing them into georeferenced, mappable units based on a variety of related chemical,
physical, and biological characteristics. Compared to air and water, soils are a far more complex
natural resource. Early systems for classifying soils into zonal, azonal, and intrazonal soils
(developed by the Russian and USDA in 1938) focused on the environment and soil-forming
variables. The evolution of the soil profile served as the basis for the distinction between azonal
and intrazonal soils. Adopting a formal system of soil categorization and description is
important.in order to describe the various materials found in ground investigation. Such a system
must be meaningful and concise in an engineering context.

Classification of soil:
The division of soil into classes or groups with each having comparable properties and maybe
similar behavior is known as classification. For engineering reasons, a categorization should be
based mostly on mechanical characteristics, such as permeability, stiffness, and strength. It is
possible to describe a soil using the class to which it belongs. Different classification schemes have
developed to group different soil types. The International Union of Soil Sciences has recognized
the World Reference Base (WRB) as the global standard for soil categorization.

The more common classification systems are enlisted below:

a) Geological Classification

b) Classification by Structure

c) Classification based on Grain-size

d) Unified Soil Classification System

e) Preliminary Classification by soil types.

Standard Class. Systems:

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The International Committee on Anthropogenic Soils (ICOMANTH), the Canadian System of Soil
Classification, the French Soil Classification, the FAO Soil Classification (1974-1998), and the
Unified Soil Classification System are all examples of soil classification systems. Indian Standard
Classification and the USDA Soil Taxonomy (IS: 1498-1970).

Geological Classification:
On the basis of their geological origin, soil types can be categorized. The genesis of a soil can refer
to either its components or the organizations in charge of determining its current state. Soil can be
divided into two categories based on its components: inorganic soil and organic soil. Soils may be
categorized as one of the following sorts depending on the organizations in charge of their current
condition: Remaining Soils. Alluvial or sedimentary soils, aeolian soils, glacial soils, and
deposited soils, such as lacustrine and marine soils, are examples of transported soils.

Classification by Structure:
On the basis of their structural characteristics, soils can be divided into the following types
according to the average grain size and the circumstances in which they are formed and deposited
in their natural state: soil types with a single grain, a honeycomb structure, or a flocculent structure.

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Classification based on grain-size:
The designation of soils based on grain or particle size is known as the grain-size classification.
Specific grain-size ranges are denoted by words like gravel, sand, silt, and clay. It is preferred to
refer to these fractions as sand size, silt size, etc. because natural soils contain combinations of all
particle sizes. From boulders with dimensions of over 300 mm down to clay particles that are less
than 0.002 mm, the range of particle sizes found in soils is remarkably broad. Some clays have
particles with a size of less than 0.001 mm that act like colloids and don't settle in water. According
to size, soils are categorized into categories under the Indian Standard Soil Classification System
(ISSCS), and the groupings are further separated into coarse, medium and fine sub-groups. The
grain-size range is used as the basis for grouping soil particles into boulder, cobble, gravel, sand,
silt or clay.

Very coarse soils Boulder size >300mm

Gobble size 80-300mm

Coarse soils Gravel size (G) Coarse 20-80mm

fine 4.75-20mm
Sand size (S) coarse 2-4.75mm
medium 0.425-2mm
fine 0.075-0.425mm
Fine soils Silt size (M) 0.002-0.075mm

Clay size (C) <0.002mm

Gravel, sand, silt, and clay are represented by group symbols G, S, M, and C respectively.

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Unified soil classification system:
The airfield classification system, which Casagrande first created in 1948, is today known as the
unified soil classification system. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Corps of Engineers
adopted it with certain modifications. This technique is based on the fluidity and grain size of the
soil. A soil is considered coarse grained if more than 50% of the particles are larger than 0.075mm.
Gravels (G) and sands (S) are additional categories for coarse-grained soils (S). In addition, the
gravels and sands are broken down into four groups based on their gradation, silt content, or clay
content. More than 50% of the soil in a fine-grained soil has a sieve size smaller than 0.075 mm.
They are separated into three categories: organic salts and clays (S), silt (M), and clay (C) (O).
They are supplemented with the letters L, M, and H to denote low plastic, medium plastic, and
high plastic, respectively, depending on their degree of plasticity.

The examples below include their notations:

GW – well graded gravel GP – poorly graded gravel

GM – silty gravel SP – poorly graded sand
SW – well graded sand SC – clayey sand
SM – silty sand OH – organic silt and clays of high plastic.
CL – clay of low plastic CI – clay of medium plastic
CH – clay of higher plastic ML – silt of medium plastic
MI – silt of medium plastic MH – silt of higher plastic
OL – organic silt and clays of low plastic OI – organic silt and clays of medium plastic

Fine grained soils have been sub-divided into three subdivisions of low, medium and high
compressibility instead of two sub-divisions of the original Unified Soil Classification System.

Preliminary Classification by soil types:

Familiarity with common soil types is necessary for an understanding of the fundamentals of soil
behavior. In this approach, soils are described by designation such as Boulders, Gravel, Sand, Silt,
Clay, Rock flour, Peat, China Clay, Fill, Bentonite, Black Cotton soil, Boulder Clay, Caliche,
Hardpan, Laterite, Loam, Loess, Marl, Moorum, Topsoil and Varved Clay.

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Soil Taxonomy has six categories:
Six categories make up the soil taxonomy. These are order, suborder, great group, subgroup,
family, and series, in that order. The order level has ten classes. The highly generic criteria used
to distinguish orders are mostly dependent on the types and intensities of soil-forming processes.
Most frequently, these criteria include characteristics that highlight significant variations in the
origins of soils.

A suborder category is a split of an order that places emphasis on genetic uniformity. Each order
has different soil traits that are utilized to identify its suborders. A suborder is a subdivision of the
great group category. By the type and arrangement of soil horizons, they can be identified from
one another. There will be more horizons in all soils that fall under one of the suborders.

Soils with these extra horizons are organized into distinct major groups. Three different subgroup
types exist inside great group categories: typic, intergrade, and extra grade. A typic subgroup
embodies the core idea of the larger group it is descended from. A subgroup known as an intergrade
has soils from one great group that share some characteristics with soils from another great group
or class. The soils within the large group toward which they grade are not included by these
properties because they have not been developed or expressed well enough. The abnormal
characteristics of extra grade subgroup soils do not intergrade to any other known soil.

A group of soils within a subgroup that share physical and chemical characteristics that influence
how they react to management and manipulation are referred to as a "soil family category."
Texture, mineralogy, and temperature are the main factors that are utilized to distinguish between
distinct soil groups. In general, family textural classes discriminate between sandy, loamy, and
clayey soils. The criteria for some soils also specify the quantity of sand, silt, and coarse fragments
like gravel, cobbles, and rocks. The soil series is the most specific subset of the soil taxonomy.

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Soil Orders:
Soil scientists have created a taxonomy or classification scheme for soils in order to identify,
comprehend, and manage them. The soil classification system has multiple degrees of information,
from the most basic to the most intricate, just as the classification systems for plants and animals.
The soil order is the United States system's broadest level of classification. The U.S. Department
of Agriculture divides soils into 12 orders. Each order is founded on one or two physical, chemical,
or biological characteristics that set it apart from the others. Each order is founded on one or two
physical, chemical, or biological characteristics that set it apart from the others. The 12 classes of
soil all finish in "sol," which is a translation of the Latin word "solum," which means ground or
soil. The majority of the orders also contain roots that provide information about the specific soil.
Molisol, for instance, derives from the Latin word "mollis," which means soft.

1- Gelisols:
The term "permafrost" refers to soils that are either permanently frozen or show signs of permafrost
near the soil surface. Gelisols are such soils. In addition to being present at very high altitudes,
gelisols are also present in the Arctic and Antarctic. Through its impact on water's downward
motion and freeze-thaw activity (cryoturbation), such as frost heaves, permafrost affects how land
is used. The depth at which plants can root may also be limited by permafrost. About 9% of the
earth's land surface is made up of glisols.

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2- Histosols:
The upper portion of histosols, which are named after the Greek word for tissue (histos), is
primarily made up of organic material. The majority of the soils in the Histosol order are referred
to as bogs, moors, peat lands, muskegs, fens, or peats and mucks. These soils develop when
microbial decomposition rates slow down, causing organic matter, such as leaves, mosses, or
grasses, to disintegrate more slowly than it accumulates. The majority of these soils are saturated
all year round because this most frequently happens in severely rainy places or underwater. When
drained, histosols can be extremely productive farmland, but they can also decompose quickly and
subside dramatically. They may also be very acidic and are unsuitable for use as road or foundation
foundations. About 1% of the land area on the planet devoid of glaciers is covered by histosols.

3- Spodosols:
One of the most appealing soils is called a spodosol, which comes from the Greek word for wood
ash. They frequently have a dark surface that is covered in an ashy gray layer that is then covered
in a reddish, rusty, coffee-colored, or black subterranean horizon. These soils are created when
rainfall reacts with acidic vegetative litter, like the pine needles, to create organic acids. Iron,
aluminum, and organic material in the topsoil and ashy gray (eluvial) strata are all dissolved by
these acids. After then, the dispersed elements migrate (illuviate) to the vivid subsoil horizons. In
humid areas of the world, spodosols typically grow in soils with a coarse texture (sands and loamy
sands) beneath coniferous forest. They have a propensity for acidity, poor fertility, and little clay.
About 4% of the total area of the the surface of the earth without glaciers.

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4- Andisols:
Andisols, which are derived from the Japanese ando, or "black soil," are often created by the
weathering of volcanic elements like ash, which causes the soil's minerals to have a weak crystal
structure. These soils are extremely productive and fruitful because of the unusually high capacity
of these minerals to hold both nutrients and water. Both more strongly weathered soils and poorly
weathered soils with significant volcanic glass make up andisols. They frequently occur in regions
with chilly temperatures and moderate to heavy rainfall. When on slopes, they frequently exhibit
a high rate of erosion. About 1% of the land surface free of glaciers is made up of these soils.

5- Oxisols:
The soils in tropical and subtropical areas known as oxisols (from the French oxide - oxide) are
characterized by iron oxides, quartz, and extensively worn clay minerals like kaolinite. The
majority of the time, these soils are found on gently sloping, old, stable land surfaces. They are
usually almost featureless soils without distinct layers or horizons. They have low natural fertility
due to their high degree of weathering, but they can be turned productive by using fertilizers and
lime wisely. 8% of the land surface devoid of glaciers is covered with oxisols.

6- Vertisols :
Vertisols are clay-rich soils that feature a "expansive" variety of clay that shrinks and swells
noticeably (from the Latin verto, turn). Therefore, these soils contract as they dry and expand as
they wet. When vertisols are dry, they can create huge cracks that are several centimeters or inches
wide and up to one meter (three feet) deep. These soils can shift, causing roadways to buckle and
building foundations to break. Due to their high clay content, vertisols are quite fruitful;
nevertheless, when they get wet, water tends to collect on their surfaces. Vertisols are found where
the parent materials under the surface permit the growth of expanding clay minerals. They take up
around 2% of the terrestrial surface devoid of glaciers.

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7- Aridisols:
Aridisols are soils that exist in climates that are too dry for "mesophytic" plants to survive (plants
adapted to neither too wet nor too dry settings). The word "aridisol" comes from the Latin word
aridus, which means "dry." Aridisols' arid climate also inhibits soil weathering processes. Aridisols
are found in hot and cold deserts all over the world and frequently have salt, gypsum, or carbonate
buildups. They reside in about 12% of the land on Earth that is not covered by glaciers, including
some of the arid valleys in Antarctica.

8- Ultisols:
Ultisols, which means "last" in Latin, are highly worn soils that have formed in humid climates.
Typically, they have a substantial amount of translocated clay in the subsoil horizon and are
somewhat acidic. The majority of the nutrients in Ultisol soils are concentrated in the top few
centimeters, and while these soils often have low fertility, they can become productive with the
addition of fertilizer and lime. About 8% of the land area devoid of glaciers is composed by
ultisols.

9- Mollisols:
Mollisols are prairie or grassland soils that have a dark colored surface horizon, are extremely
productive, and are rich in chemical "bases" like calcium and magnesium. The word mollisol
comes from the Latin word mollis, which means soft. The annual addition of organic matter to the
soil from prairie plant roots is what causes the surface horizon to be so dark. Mollisols are
frequently observed in regions that experience long dry seasons. They account for about 7% of the
terrestrial surface devoid of glaciers.

10- Alfisols:
Ultisols are related to Alfisols, which are less intensely weathered and less acidic than Ultisols
(from the term Pedalfer in soil science, which stands for aluminum and iron). They are found in
similar climate zones and are often covered in forest flora. They are typically more naturally fertile
than Ultisols. Furthermore, they make up 10% of the territory without glaciers, making them more
prevalent than Ultisols.

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11- Inceptisols:
Inceptisols (from the Latin inceptum, meaning "beginning") show a moderate level of soil
development but little to no subsoil clay accumulation. They can be found in a wide variety of
climatic conditions and parent materials, and as a result, have a wide variety of traits. They cover
a large area, taking up about 17% of the planet's surface that isn't covered in glaciers.

12- Entisols:
The last order in soil taxonomy, entisols (from recent - new), show little to no soil growth aside
from the presence of a recognizable topsoil horizon. These soils are typically found where
sediment deposition is outpacing soil formation in locations where newly deposited sediments are
present. Entisols are typically found in active flood plains, dunes, landslide zones, and behind
retreating glaciers, among other types of landforms. They are prevalent everywhere. After
Inceptisols, Entisols are the second-largest group of soils, covering roughly 16% of the surface of
the Earth.

Conclusion:
In general, classification is crucial to all sciences. It is possible to approach research in a rigorously
systematic way thanks to classification. Additionally, classifications have many useful
applications. For all soil survey programs and the mapping of the soils in any region, soil
classification is a requirement. In order to predict the behavior of soil for various uses,
management, or manipulation, soil surveys apply the concepts and methods of soil science to
agriculture, forestry, and engineering.

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References: -

1. soil - Soil classification

2. Soil Classification System - Soil Mechanics - Civil Engineering
3. https://amzn.to/AXIiK4
4. https://amzn.to/donUyW
5. The International Soil Classification System WRB, Third Edition, 2014
6. https://www.environment.gov.au/resources/soils/testmethods/usc.pdf
7. https://wwweng.uwy.edu/classes/sp2011/ce3600/3_classify/image1094.gif
8. Type Of Soil Classification System: MIT, Textural, USCS, Indian &
AASTHO Soil Classification Systems

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