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About 1,000 soil subgroups are defined in the United States. [6] A soil family category is a group of soils within a subgroup and describes the physical and chemical properties which affect the response of soil to agricultural management and engineering applications. The principal characteristics used to differentiate soil families include ...
The bearing capacity of soil is the maximum average contact pressure between the foundation and the soil which should not produce shear failure in the soil. Ultimate bearing capacity is the theoretical maximum pressure which can be supported without failure; allowable bearing capacity is the ultimate bearing capacity divided by a factor of ...
If the soil particles in a sample are predominantly in a relatively narrow range of sizes, the sample is uniformly graded. If a soil sample has distinct gaps in the gradation curve, e.g., a mixture of gravel and fine sand, with no coarse sand, the sample may be gap graded. Uniformly graded and gap graded soils are both considered to be poorly ...
Soil mineral components belonging to a given textural class may thus share properties linked to their specific surface area (e.g. moisture retention) but not those linked to their chemical composition (e.g. cation exchange capacity). Soil components larger than 2.0 mm (0.079 in) are classed as rock and gravel and are removed before determining ...
The Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) is a soil classification system used in engineering and geology to describe the texture and grain size of a soil. The classification system can be applied to most unconsolidated materials, and is represented by a two-letter symbol. Each letter is described below (with the exception of Pt):
Cation-exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of how many cations can be retained on soil particle surfaces. [1] Negative charges on the surfaces of soil particles bind positively-charged atoms or molecules (cations), but allow these to exchange with other positively charged particles in the surrounding soil water. [ 2 ]
Soil is placed into the metal cup (Casagrande cup) portion of the device and a groove is made down at its center with a standardized tool of 2 millimetres (0.079 in) width. The cup is repeatedly dropped 10 mm onto a hard rubber base at a rate of 120 blows per minute, during which the groove closes up gradually as a result of the impact.
CEC is the amount of exchangeable hydrogen cation (H +) that will combine with 100 grams dry weight of soil and whose measure is one milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil (1 meq/100 g). Hydrogen ions have a single charge and one-thousandth of a gram of hydrogen ions per 100 grams dry soil gives a measure of one milliequivalent of hydrogen ion.