soils consisting mainly of silts and clays with very small particle sizes are known as fine-textured soils,

whereas soils consisting mainly of sands and gravel with much larger particles are known as coarse-textured soils. The individual particles of fine-textured soils are usually invisible to the naked eye, whereas those of coarse-textured soils are visible to the naked eye.

.It will be seen later in this chapter that the engineering properties of a soil are related to its texture. For example, the presence of water in fine-textured soils results in significant reduction in their strength, whereas this does not happen with coarsetextured soils.

Atterberg Limits
The water content levels at which the soil changes from one state to the otherare the Atterberg limits. They are the shrinkage limit !"#, plastic limit $"#, and li%uid limit ""#,

&oarse-grained soils, such as gravel and sands, have high permeability, which allows for water to flow easily in them. !oils with high permeability are therefore generally stable, both in the dry and saturated states. Thus, coarse-grained soils make excellent subgrade materials

'lthough the moisture can move in any direction, the upward movement usually causes the most serious problems, since this may cause weakness or lead to frost heave.

In fine-grained soils such as clays, the cohesion component is the ma(or contributor to the shear strength. In fact, it usually is assumed that the angle of internal friction of saturated clays is zero, which makes the shearing resistance on any plane of these soils e%ual to the cohesion C. Factors that affect the shear strength of cohesive soils include the geologic deposit, moisture content, drainage conditions, and density. In coarse-grained soils such as sands, the shear strength is achieved mainly through the internal resistance to sliding as the particles roll over each other. The angle of internal friction is therefore important. The value of the angle of internal friction depends on the density of the soil mass, the shape of individual soil particles, and the surface texture. In general, the angle of internal friction is high when the density is high. !imilarly, soils with rough particles such as angular sand grains will have a high angle of internal friction.

!)*'+ !T+*,-T)

The shear strength of a soil is maximum resistance to shear stresses (ust before failure.

Shear strength or ability to resist sliding along internal surfaces within a mass.
It governs the bearing capacity of soil ,the stability of slopes, the earth
pressure against retaining structure and many other problems. It Is complex engineering properties of soil.