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ASTM D 2487 : 2017 : EDT 1

Current
Current

The latest, up-to-date edition.

Standard Practice for Classification of Soils for Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System)
Available format(s)

Hardcopy , PDF

Language(s)

English

Published date

04-01-2020

1.1This practice describes a system for classifying mineral and organo-mineral soils for engineering purposes based on laboratory determination of particle-size characteristics, liquid limit, and plasticity index and shall be used when precise classification is required.

Note 1:Use of this standard will result in a single classification group symbol and group name except when a soil contains 5 to 12 % fines or when the plot of the liquid limit and plasticity index values falls into the crosshatched area of the plasticity chart. In these two cases, a dual symbol is used, for example, GP-GM, CL-ML. When the laboratory test results indicate that the soil is close to another soil classification group, the borderline condition can be indicated with two symbols separated by a slash. The first symbol should be the one based on this standard, for example, CL/CH, GM/SM, SC/CL. Borderline symbols are particularly useful when the liquid limit value of clayey soils is close to 50. These soils can have expansive characteristics and the use of a borderline symbol (CL/CH, CH/CL) will alert the user of the assigned classifications of expansive potential.

1.2The group symbol portion of this system is based on laboratory tests performed on the portion of a soil sample passing the 3-in. (75-mm) sieve (see Specification E11).

1.3As a classification system, this standard is limited to naturally occurring soils.

Note 2:The group names and symbols used in this test method may be used as a descriptive system applied to such materials as shale, claystone, shells, crushed rock, etc. See Appendix X2.

1.4This standard is for qualitative application only.

Note 3:When quantitative information is required for detailed designs of important structures, this test method must be supplemented by laboratory tests or other quantitative data to determine performance characteristics under expected field conditions.

1.5This standard is the ASTM version of the Unified Soil Classification System. The basis for the classification scheme is the Airfield Classification System developed by A. Casagrande in the early 1940s.2 It became known as the Unified Soil Classification System when several U.S. Government Agencies adopted a modified version of the Airfield System in 1952.

1.6This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.7This practice offers a set of instructions for performing one or more specific operations. This document cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this practice may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.

1.8This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

Committee
D 18
DocumentType
Standard Practice
Pages
10
ProductNote
ε1 NOTE—Footnote L in Table 1 was editorially corrected in April 20 20.
PublisherName
American Society for Testing and Materials
Status
Current
Supersedes

ASTM D 8204 : 2018 Standard Practice for Burial and Retrieval of Samples in a Test Pad to Evaluate Installation Effects on Geosynthetic Clay Liners
ASTM D 7608 : 2018 Standard Test Method for Torsional Ring Shear Test to Measure Drained Fully Softened Shear Strength and Stress Dependent Strength Envelope of Fine-Grained Soils
ASTM B 788/B788M : 2009 : R2014 Standard Practice for Installing Factory-Made Corrugated Aluminum Culverts and Storm Sewer Pipe
ASTM D 4083 : 1989 : R2016 Standard Practice for Description of Frozen Soils (Visual-Manual Procedure)
ASTM D 5101 : 2012 : R2017 Standard Test Method for Measuring the Filtration Compatibility of Soil-Geotextile Systems
ASTM D 6088 : 2006 : R2016 Standard Practice for Installation of Geocomposite Pavement Drains
ASTM E 2392/E2392M : 2010 : R2016 Standard Guide for Design of Earthen Wall Building Systems
ASTM E 2583 : 2007 : R2015 Standard Test Method for Measuring Deflections with a Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD)
ASTM F 2787 : 2013 : R2018 Standard Practice for Structural Design of Thermoplastic Corrugated Wall Stormwater Collection Chambers
ASTM A 796/A796M : 2017 : REV A Standard Practice for Structural Design of Corrugated Steel Pipe, Pipe-Arches, and Arches for Storm and Sanitary Sewers and Other Buried Applications
ASTM D 1557 : 2012 : EDT 1 Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Modified Effort (56,000 ft-lbf/ft<sup>3</sup> (2,700 kN-m/m<sup>3</sup>))
ASTM D 2488 : 2017 : EDT 1 Standard Practice for Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-Manual Procedures)
ASTM D 4186/D4186M : 2012 : EDT 1 Standard Test Method for One-Dimensional Consolidation Properties of Saturated Cohesive Soils Using Controlled-Strain Loading
ASTM D 4318 : 2017 : EDT 1 Standard Test Methods for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils
ASTM D 4546 : 2014 : EDT 1 Standard Test Methods for One-Dimensional Swell or Collapse of Soils
ASTM D 6467 : 2013 : EDT 1 Standard Test Method for Torsional Ring Shear Test to Determine Drained Residual Shear Strength of Cohesive Soils
ASTM D 6938 : 2017 : REV A Standard Test Methods for In-Place Density and Water Content of Soil and Soil-Aggregate by Nuclear Methods (Shallow Depth)
ASTM D 698 : 2012 : EDT 2 Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Standard Effort (12 400 ft-lbf/ft<sup>3</sup> (600 kN-m/m<sup>3</sup>))
ASTM E 3163 : 2018 Standard Guide for Selection and Application of Analytical Methods and Procedures Used during Sediment Corrective Action
ASTM A 746 : 2018 Standard Specification for Ductile Iron Gravity Sewer Pipe
ASTM D 8167/D8167M : 2018 : REV A Standard Test Method for In-Place Bulk Density of Soil and Soil-Aggregate by a Low-Activity Nuclear Method (Shallow Depth)
ASTM D 5299/D5299M : 2018 Standard Guide for Decommissioning of Groundwater Wells, Vadose Zone Monitoring Devices, Boreholes, and Other Devices for Environmental Activities
ASTM D 1586/D1586M : 2018 Standard Test Method for Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Split-Barrel Sampling of Soils
ASTM C 1675 : 2019 Standard Practice for Installation of Precast Reinforced Concrete Monolithic Box Sections for Culverts, Storm Drains, and Sewers
ASTM D 4972 : 2019 Standard Test Methods for pH of Soils
ASTM D 3839 : 2014 : R2019 Standard Guide for Underground Installation of “Fiberglass” (Glass-Fiber Reinforced Thermosetting-Resin) Pipe
ASTM A 807/A807M : 2019 Standard Practice for Installing Corrugated Steel Structural Plate Pipe for Sewers and Other Applications
ASTM D 6780/D6780M : 2019 Standard Test Methods for Water Content and Density of Soil In situ by Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)
ASTM D 4253 : 2016 : EDT 1 Standard Test Methods for Maximum Index Density and Unit Weight of Soils Using a Vibratory Table
ASTM F 3016/F3016M : 2019 Standard Test Method for Surrogate Testing of Vehicle Impact Protective Devices at Low Speeds
ASTM D 4647/D4647M : 2013:R2020 Standard Test Methods for Identification and Classification of Dispersive Clay Soils by the Pinhole Test
ASTM D 5321/D5321M : 2020 Standard Test Method for Determining the Shear Strength of Soil-Geosynthetic and Geosynthetic-Geosynthetic Interfaces by Direct Shear
ASTM D 7181 : 2020 Standard Test Method for Consolidated Drained Triaxial Compression Test for Soils
ASTM D 6572 : 2020 Standard Test Methods for Determining Dispersive Characteristics of Clayey Soils by the Crumb Test
ASTM D 1140 : 2017 Standard Test Methods for Determining the Amount of Material Finer than 75-μm (No. 200) Sieve in Soils by Washing
ASTM B 789/B789M : 2016 Standard Practice for Installing Corrugated Aluminum Structural Plate Pipe for Culverts and Sewers
ASTM D 1883 : 2016 Standard Test Method for California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of Laboratory-Compacted Soils
ASTM D 2774 : 2012 Standard Practice for Underground Installation of Thermoplastic Pressure Piping
ASTM D 2850 : 2015 Standard Test Method for Unconsolidated-Undrained Triaxial Compression Test on Cohesive Soils
ASTM F 1668 : 2016 Standard Guide for Construction Procedures for Buried Plastic Pipe
ASTM D 4221 : 2018 Standard Test Method for Dispersive Characteristics of Clay Soil by Double Hydrometer
ASTM D 4254 : 2016 Standard Test Methods for Minimum Index Density and Unit Weight of Soils and Calculation of Relative Density
ASTM D 420 : 2018 Standard Guide for Site Characterization for Engineering Design and Construction Purposes
ASTM D 425 : 2017 Standard Test Method for Centrifuge Moisture Equivalent of Soils
ASTM D 653 : 2014 Standard Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
ASTM D 854 : 2014 Standard Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water Pycnometer (Withdrawn 2023)
ASTM C 12 : 2017 Standard Practice for Installing Vitrified Clay Pipe Lines
ASTM D 6528 : 2017 Standard Test Method for Consolidated Undrained Direct Simple Shear Testing of Fine Grain Soils
ASTM D 7277 : 2016 Standard Test Method for Performance Testing of Articulating Concrete Block (ACB) Revetment Systems for Hydraulic Stability in Open Channel Flow
ASTM C 1479 : 2016 Standard Practice for Installation of Precast Concrete Sewer, Storm Drain, and Culvert Pipe Using Standard Installations
ASTM B 790/B790M : 2016 Standard Practice for Structural Design of Corrugated Aluminum Pipe, Pipe-Arches, and Arches for Culverts, Storm Sewers, and Other Buried Conduits
ASTM C 1479M : 2016 Standard Practice for Installation of Precast Concrete Sewer, Storm Drain, and Culvert Pipe Using Standard Installations (Metric)
ASTM D 2435/D2435M : 2011 Standard Test Methods for One-Dimensional Consolidation Properties of Soils Using Incremental Loading
ASTM D 3080/D3080M : 2011 Standard Test Method for Direct Shear Test of Soils Under Consolidated Drained Conditions (Withdrawn 2020)
ASTM D 7758 : 2017 Standard Practice for Passive Soil Gas Sampling in the Vadose Zone for Source Identification, Spatial Variability Assessment, Monitoring, and Vapor Intrusion Evaluations
ASTM D 3999/D3999M : 2011 : EDT 1 Standard Test Methods for the Determination of the Modulus and Damping Properties of Soils Using the Cyclic Triaxial Apparatus (Withdrawn 2020)
ASTM C 1821/C1821M : 2016 Standard Practice for Installation of Underground Circular Precast Concrete Manhole Structures
ASTM E 2993 : 2016 Standard Guide for Evaluating Potential Hazard as a Result of Methane in the Vadose Zone
ASTM D 7928 : 2017 Standard Test Method for Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Fine-Grained Soils Using the Sedimentation (Hydrometer) Analysis
ASTM D 1452/D1452M : 2016 Standard Practice for Soil Exploration and Sampling by Auger Borings
ASTM D 5092/D5092M : 2016 Standard Practice for Design and Installation of Groundwater Monitoring Wells
ASTM D 3550/D3550M : 2017 Standard Practice for Thick Wall, Ring-Lined, Split Barrel, Drive Sampling of Soils
ASTM D 6913/D6913M : 2017 Standard Test Methods for Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Soils Using Sieve Analysis
ASTM A 798/A798M : 2017 Standard Practice for Installing Factory-Made Corrugated Steel Pipe for Sewers and Other Applications

ASTM E 11 : 2020 Standard Specification for Woven Wire Test Sieve Cloth and Test Sieves
ASTM C 117 : 2017 Standard Test Method for Materials Finer than 75-μm (No. 200) Sieve in Mineral Aggregates by Washing
ASTM D 653 : 2007 Standard Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
ASTM D 4427 : 2023 Standard Classification of Peat Samples by Laboratory Testing
ASTM D 3740 : 2023 Standard Practice for Minimum Requirements for Agencies Engaged in Testing and/or Inspection of Soil and Rock as Used in Engineering Design and Construction
ASTM D 3740 : 2019 Standard Practice for Minimum Requirements for Agencies Engaged in Testing and/or Inspection of Soil and Rock as Used in Engineering Design and Construction
ASTM E 11 : 2022 Standard Specification for Woven Wire Test Sieve Cloth and Test Sieves
ASTM D 653 : 2022 Standard Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
ASTM D 653 : 2020 : EDT 1 Standard Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
ASTM C 117 : 2023 Standard Test Method for Materials Finer than 75-μm (No. 200) Sieve in Mineral Aggregates by Washing
ASTM D 653 : 2021 : REV A Standard Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
ASTM D 653 : 2021 Standard Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
ASTM D 653 : 2021 : REV B Standard Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids
ASTM C 136 : 1996 Standard Test Method for Sieve Analysis of Fine and Coarse Aggregates
ASTM D 4427 : 2018 Standard Classification of Peat Samples by Laboratory Testing

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