Abstract:
Accurately identifying soil texture and understanding soil behaviour in terms of plasticity is a crucial initial step in properly
characterizing a site, which in turn facilitates appropriate sampling and scheduling of laboratory tests. Soil identification
techniques in literature are effective at assessing pure clays and silt–clay mixtures. This paper presents a comparative study
between field tests, soil plasticity classifications, Atterberg limits, mineralogical and chemical data, SEM imagery, and
stereographical microscopy. Natural residual soils comprising varying quantities of clays, silts, and sands were used and
subjected to the same field and laboratory protocols. The findings of this study demonstrate that a series of field tests can
effectively characterize and classify soils ranging from coarse soils to fine soils exhibiting non- to highly plastic indices with
particle sizes less than 2.00 mm. By employing a single list of field tests that only necessitate water and commonly available
stationery materials on-site, the researchers have presented a valuable tool for on-site determination of soil texture and inference
of the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). This approach streamlines the process and provides professionals
with an efficient means of assessing soil properties and determining problem soils at an early stage of the investigation and
during construction of high fills.
Description:
DATA AVAILABILITY : Data will be published in Duan Swart’s PhD thesis, articles published from the work, and the final report published by the
Water Research Commission (www.wrc.org.za).
