Soil Mechanics: Size Gradation and Soil Classification

Important links:

• Soil Mechanics (the complete course)
• Soil Classification (slide presentation)
• Helpful Hints for Class:
  • Breaking Down Sieve Data for both Lab and Textbook Problems
  • Sorting Out the Coarse Fraction Using Pie Charts, and a Unified Classification Example
  • DD-1207 (for gradation charts)
  • Unified Soil Classification, from NAVFAC DM 7
  • Ohio DOT’s Rendition of the AASHTO Classification System
  • Spears Laboratory Spreadsheet. A multipurpose spreadsheet for many basic lab tests (sieve, hydrometer, Atterberg limits, Proctor tests, etc.) but it takes some practice to get it right. It’s really easy to mess things up if you don’t know what you’re doing, so be careful.
• Blessed are the Merciful: I keep getting requests to “go light” on the grading. This is how I did it myself.