Soil Classification Methodology: Critical Analysis

Mbuya Mukombo Jr., Mutonkole Ngomba H., Musimba Kasiya A, Ngoy Biyukaleza B.

Abstract: We know that the soil is a material that has a wide dispersion of characteristics tied, mainly to its granulometry, its mineralogical constitution, and its water percentage. For its identification, several researchers in the field, have proposed different types of classifications for several decades. The objective of the classification is to standardize the naming of soils for their identification. Hence, the relevance of a classification depends directly on the characteristics on which it was made. Many classification methods have been based on granulometric analysis and the Atterberg limits. But the ones compared to the others, present insufficiencies, being able to prove worthless, or even dangerous, if the characteristics on which they rest have not been studied precisely. The purpose of this study is to establish a critical inventory of soil classification methods most commonly used in engineering.

Keywords: Classification method, Inventory, Characteristic, test, critical