COMMON TYPES OF SOIL – Gravel - Course grained soils that possess little or no cohesion. Distinguished by their relative stability under wheel loads when confined, by their high permeability and by their low shrinkage and expansion in deter mental amount with change in soil moisture content. Size range from 2 mm to 60 mm. Sand: Fine grained soils of low to medium plasticity intermediate in size b\w sand & clay. Generally possess little cohesion, undergo considerable shrinkage and expansion with. Change in moisture content and possess a variable amount of stability under wheel load. Organic soils contain appreciable amount of decomposed organic matter and is generally highly compressible & unstable. Size of sand ranges from 0.06 mm to 2 mm. Silt - The size of silt particles range from 0.002 mm to 0.06 mm. Clay: Fine grain soil of size 0.002 mm or finer. Possess medium to high plasticity, have considerable strength when dry, undergo extreme changes in volume with change in moisture content and practically impervious to flow of water. Loam: Agricultural term, fairly well graded from course to fine that is easily worked & that is the reason of plant life. Sandy loam Silty loam & Clay loam Depending on the size of predominant soil fraction. Loess: Uniform grain size predominantly silts with low density. Muck: Soft silt or clay very high in organic content Found in swampy areas and rivers or lake bottoms.

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Common Types of Soil

By: Haseeb Jamal 

Gravel

·      Course grained soils that possess little or no cohesion.

·      Distinguished by their relative stability under wheel loads when confined, by their high permeability and by their low shrinkage and expansion in deter mental amount with change in soil moisture content.

·       Size range from 2 mm to 60 mm

Sand:

·      Fine grained soils of low to medium plasticity intermediate in size b\w sand & clay.

·      Generally possess little cohesion, undergo considerable shrinkage and expansion with. Change in moisture content and possess a variable amount of stability under wheel load.

·      Organic soils contain appreciable amount of decomposed organic matter and is generally highly compressible & unstable.

·      Size of sand ranges from 0.06 mm to 2 mm

Silt

·      The size of silt particles range from 0.002 mm to 0.06 mm

Clay:

·      Fine grain soil of size 0.002 mm or finer.

·      Possess medium to high plasticity, have considerable strength when dry, undergo extreme changes in volume with change in moisture content and practically impervious to flow of water.

Types:

• Lean clay: Silty clay.
• Flat clay: Finer colloidal clay with high plasticity
• Clay may possess considerable strength in their natural state; this strength is sharply reduced and sometimes completely destroyed when their natural structure is disturbed, that is when they are remolded.

Loam:

Agricultural term, fairly well graded from course to fine that is easily worked & that is the reason of plant life.

·      Sandy loam

·      Silty loam &

·      Clay loam

Depending on the size of predominant soil fraction

Loess:

·      Uniform grain size predominantly silts with low density.

Muck:

·      Soft silt or clay very high in organic content

·      Found in swampy areas and rivers or lake bottoms.

Peat:

·      Composed of practically decomposed vegetable matter

·      Due to high water content, woody natural and high compressibility it is extremely undesirable for use in roads.

Haseeb Jamal. I am a Civil Engineer, graduated from University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan in 2010. I also have a PG-Diploma in Disaster Management and MS in Urban Infrastructure Engineering (In Progress). My expertise include civil related softwares like AutoCAD, SAP2000, MS Project, Primavera, MS Office and GIS. My technical skills include project management, monitoring and evaluation, structural assessment, disaster risk management, Quantity survey, land survey, material testing, site management and technical writing. I am trained in writing project progress reports as well as proposals and concept papers. I have also received advanced training on surveying, proposal writing, Monitoring and Evaluation of projects as well as organizations.

I have worked as Project Engineer at National Research and Development Foundation, Peshawar and CENCON Associates. I also worked with Spectra Engineering Solutions as Senior Civil Engineer in monitoring of World Bank and UNDP funded projects all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. Currently, I am working as Deputy Manager Development at NayaTel, Peshawar.

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