What kinds of foundation soil are there?

The task of foundation soil (rock) classification is to divide it into certain categories according to the purpose of classification and the differences of various properties of soil (rock).

Reasonable classification of soil (rock) has important practical significance. For example, according to the classification name, the engineering characteristics of soil (rock) can be roughly judged, the suitability of soil (rock) as a building material can be evaluated, and the bearing capacity of foundation can be determined by combining other indicators. According to the engineering geological properties of soil, soil can be divided into general soil and special soil.

General soil can be divided into gravel soil, sandy soil, silt soil, cohesive soil and so on. For general soil, cohesionless soil and cohesive soil should be directly distinguished on site. Special soil can be divided into loess, red clay, expansive soil, soft soil, saline soil, frozen soil, fill soil and so on. According to Code for Design of Building Foundations, rock and soil as building foundations can be divided into rock, gravel soil, sand soil, silt soil, cohesive soil and artificial fill.