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Meaning of coefficients and index of MCT soil classification for tropical soils
La signification des coefficients et des indices de la classification des sols MCT pour les sols tropicaux

J.S.NOGAMI, Escola Politécnica, Universidadede Sáo Paulo, Brazil

V.M.N.COZZOLINO, Escola Politécnica, Universidade de Sáo Paulo, Brazil
D.F.VILLIBOR, Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem do Estado de Sáo Paulo, Escola de Engenharia de Sáo Carlos,
Universidade de Sáo Paulo, Brazil

SYNOPSIS: T h is pap e r d is c u s s e s the m eaning o f the th re e c o e f f i c i e n t s and one in de x used in a new

g e o te o h n ic a l s o i l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n known as MCT (fro m M in ia t u r e , Com pacted, T r o p ic a l ) , proposed by
Nogami and V i l l i b o r , in 1981. T h is c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i s based on the c o n s id e r a t io n o f the s o i l
p r o p e r t ie s o b t a in e d from specim ens com pacted in s m a ll s iz e m olds (50 mm and 26 mm in d ia m e te r ) w hich
s e p a r a te s the t r o p i c a l s o i l s in l a t e r i t i c and n o n - 1 a t e r it ic b e h a v io r s o i l s . These c o e f f i c i e n t s and
index are c o r r e la t e d w it h some t r a d i t i o n a l s o i l in d e x e s and w ith the r e s u l t s o f t r o p i c a l w e a th e r in g
and p e d o lo g ic a l p r o c e s s e s , w hich le a d to the de v elop m e nt o f l a t e r i t i c and s a p r o l i t i c s o i l s .

1 INTRODUCTION

One o f the d i f f i c u l t i e s in u s in g s u i t a b l y the

s o i l s o f t r o p i c a l r e g io n s f o r highw ay and
pavement c o n s t r u c t io n p u rp o s e s , i s the
l i m i t a t i o n o f the use o f t r a d i t i o n a l s o i l
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and the in d e x e s in v o lv e d in RA MM E R
these c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s ( l i q u i d l i m i t , p l a s t i c RANK ER
1 00 0 g
index and the g r a in s iz e d i s t r i b u t i o n ) f o r the 2270 g
p r e lim in a r y a p p r a is a l o f t h e i r b e h a v io r .
Owing to th e se d i f f i c u l t i e s , an e n t i r e l y
new c l a s s i f i c a t i o n has been d e v e lo p e d ,
s p e c i f i c f o r com pacted f in e g r a in e d ( p a s s in g a
2 mm s ie v e ) t r o p i c a l s o i l s . T hat c l a s s i f i c a t i o n ,
owing to i t s many a d v a n ta g e s r e l a t i v e l y to the
t r a d i t i o n a l o n e s, is b e in g used by many
B r a z i l i a n highw ay o r g a n iz a t i o n s .

0i=5Omm
2 TESTS FOR DETERMINATION OF CLASSIFICATION
COEFFICIENTS M OL D

2.1 C om paction
The s o i l to be t e s t e d i s a i r d r ie d and passed
th ro u g h a 2 .0 0 mm s ie v e . The c o m p actio n is
pe rfo rm e d a c c o r d in g to a pro ce d u re a d a p te d from
the one pro posed by P arso ns (1 9 7 6 ), f o r the
d e t e r m in a t io n o f m o is tu r e c o n d it io n o f
e a rth w o rk m a t e r i a l . The m ain a d a p t a t io n has
been done to make p o s s ib le the use o f a
c o m p actio n a p p a r a tu s s i m i l a r to the one d e v e l­
oped a t Iowa S t a t e U n iv e r s it y ( L a f l e u r e t a l ,
1960) as i l l u s t r a t e d in F ig u re 1. The pro ce d u re
proposed by P a r s o n s ( 1976) and w hich we a d ap te d
d i f f e r s from the t r a d i t i o n a l P r o c t o r ( o r AASHTO)
p ro c e d u re , m a in ly in the f o llo w in g p o in t s :
i ) I t uses a f ix e d wet s o i l mass o f 200 g ( o r
30 g in s u b - m in ia tu r e a p p a r a t u s ) .
i i ) F o r each m o is tu r e c o n t e n t , an in c r e a s in g
number o f blow s o f rammer i s a p p lie d .
i i i ) A f t e r the a p p l i c a t i o n o f a p r e f ix e d
number o f b lo w s, f o llo w in g the s e r ie s , 1, 2,
3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 1 6 , ............n , . . 4 n , the h e ig h t o f
the specim en H I, H2, H 3 ,............Hn.............H4n is
m easured; such d a ta make p o s s ib le to c a lc u la t e
the dry d e n s it y a f t e r each r e fe r r e d number o f
b lo w s .
■
S0IL.::
VERNIER
'Ì5ÓÒg:
__
I
ORIGINAL - Parsons, 1976 MINIATURE
Modified from Icwa, Nogami é
(not used in MGT methodology) Lafleur et al.1960 1985
F ig u re 1. C om paction a p p a r a tu s used f o r the
d e te r m in a tio n o f MCT c o e f f i c i e n t s .
i v ) I t i s p o s s ib le to draw d e fo r m a b i1i t y
cu rv e s o f specim ens, r e p r e s e n tin g in a y - a x is
the d if f e r e n c e o f h e ig h t hn=Hn-H4n and in a
x - ax is the number o f blow s n o f the rammer, in a
lo g s c a le , as i l l u s t r a t e d in F ig u re 2 . A.
v ) A f t e r the co m paction t e s t and the m o is tu re
c o n te n t d e te r m in a tio n o f the specim ens, i t is
p o s s ib le to draw a s e t o f co m p action cu rv es as
re p re s e n te d in the F ig u re 2 .B .
2 .2 Loss o f mass by w ate r im m ersion t e s t
For t h i s t e s t , t h e specim ens compacted a c c o rd in g
to the procedure o f s e c t io n 2.1 are u sed . The
o b ta in e d specim ens are p a r t i a l l y e x tr a c te d from
t h e i r m old s, so t h a t the upper p a r t o f the

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specim en becomes 10 mm (5 mm in s u b - m in ia tu r e t y p i c a l p r o p e r t ie s were d i s c r im i n a t e d .

specim ens) s a l i e n t from the b o r d e r o f the m old.
Then the mold w it h the specim en i s t o t a l l y
immersed in w a te r w it h i t s a x is in a h o r iz o n t a l 3 .2 C o e f f i c i e n t d*
p o s itio n . The s o i l w hich may be lo o se n e d is
c o l le c t e d to d e te rm in e i t s dry mass. The lo s s
o f mass ( P i) i s c a lc u la t e d as th e dry mass 3 .2 .1 D e te r m in a tio n
p e rc e n t o f t h a t mass r e l a t i v e l y to the dry mass
o f the s a l i e n t p a r t o f the specim en . The c o e f f i c i e n t d* i s the slope o f the s t r a i g h t
The v a lu e o f P i to be used f o r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n p a r t o f the d ry s id e o f co m p a c tio n c u r v e ,
purpo ses i s the one o f the specim en w it h a c o r r e s p o n d in g to 12 blow s o f the rammer, u s in g
p a r t i c u l a r c o n d it io n ( d e t a i l s in Nogami and dry d e n s it y in kg/m 3 and m o is tu r e c o n te n t in
V i l l i b o r , 1 9 8 5 ). p e r c e n ta g e .

3 THE MEANING OF THE COEFFICIENTS AND INDEX 3 . 2 .2 M eaning

A c c o rd in g to many t r a d i t i o n a l p a p e r s , the
3 .1 G en era l s lo p e o f the dry s id e o f co m p a c tio n curv e is
d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to the maximum d e n s it y as
As shown in the F i g . 3 the MCT c l a s s i f i c a t i o n shown in the l i n e s r e p r e s e n te d in F ig u r e 4 ._
uses a c h a r t in w hich the c* i s re p r e s e n te d in But in the t r o p i c a l s o i l s o f th e S t a t e o f Sao
x - a x is and e* is r e p r e s e n te d in y - a x is . The P a u lo , t h a t r e l a t i o n s h i p does n o t o c c u r as shown
in de x e* i s c a lc u la t e d in f u n c t i o n o f P i and in the r e f e r r e d F ig u r e . F u rth e rm o re , the la t e r -
d * . For p r a c t i c a l assessm ent o f t r o p i c a l s o i l s , i t i c c la y s have a d* l a r g e r th a n 20. P r o b a b ly
in F ig u re 3 a t a b le was in c lu d e d in w hich the t h i s h ig h v a lu e is r e l a t e d to p e c u l i a r i t i e s o f

FINE GRAINED TROPICAL SOILS - PASSING 2 mm SIEVE

T E X T U R A L C L A S S I F I C A T I O N C H A R T OF
HISSISSIPI R I V E R C O M M I S S I O N . US A N - N0I\ LATERI IC BEHAVIOR L - LATER ITIC BEHAVIOR
S A NDS S I L T Y S A ND S S I L T S ( M . K ) CLAYS SILTY SANDS CLAY SANDS C L AY S
A = Sand(Arena) TYPICAL S A N D Y SI L T S S A N D Y SI LTS S A N D Y C L A Y S SILTY SANDS SANDY CLAYS
A'= Sandy GRAIN S I_L I S_( Q ,_EJ SILTY CLAYS S I LT Y C L A Y S
S'= Silty Q ="q ÙARTZOSE M = MICACEOUS CL AY SI L T S C LA Y S I L T S
G = Clayey(Ar- SIZE
E = SERICITIC K = KA0LINITIC
gillaceous)
MCT GROUP NA NA' NS' LA LA7 LG'
AASHO A-2, A-4 A-4 A-7-5 A-2
GROUP A-7 A-7-5 A-7-6 A-4
\|Pi t d*
e*= uses SP SM, SC SM, CL MH SP MH, ML
yioo+ 20 GROUP SM ML ML. MH CH SC _QÜ_
55 80
0 . 0 7 5 / 0 . 0 0 2 mm high to
UN- (1) nedium to high
medium to
high high high
SOAKED high high very higP
SOAKED medium to medium to low to
NS NG low high high high
NA (1 ) high high medium
nedium to
SWELL (1) low high
NA high
SHRINKAGE low to medium to low to medium to
1.0 (1 ) medium high medium high
PERMEA­ medium to low to low to low to
low low
LA LA LG BILITY (1 high medium medium medium
( 1 ) 5 0 mm D I A M E T E R S P E C I M E N S , C O M P A C T E D N E A R THE O P T I M U M M O I S T U R E OF S T A N D A R D C 0 M P A C T I V E EFF OR T.
0.5
0.5 2.5 (2)HINIATURE B E A R I N G TEST U S I N G P E N E T R A T I O N P I S T O N W I T H 16 mm IN D I A M E T E R .
COEFFICIENT
Figure 3. MCT soil classification chart and table of typical properties

548
 6/8

---- O H I O S T A T E , U S A ( R OA D R E S E A R C H L A B O R A T O R Y , 1951)
..... NEW Y O R K STA T E , U S A ( P E A K , 19 76 )
• LATERITIC BEHAVIOR SOILS
6 NON L A T E R I T I C BEHAVIOR SOILS S 0 A J L 0 S T A T E - BR AZ I L

4 5 6 8. 10 15 20 30 40 50 70 90
COEFFICIENT d* OR S L OP E OF D R Y S ID E OF S T A N D A R D A A S H O C U R V E
( kg/rrf /%)

Figure 4. Relationship between d* and

corresponding maximum dry density

soil aggregates, associated with a high content

of iron and aluminum hidroxides. Non-lateritic Figure 5. Relationship between mass percent
clays have a d* smaller than 20. The pure sands passing 0.075 mm sieve and coefficient c*
also have small d * , but well graded fine
grained lateritic clay sands have a d*
extremely high ( over 100 ). Silts, kaolin-
coefficients Pi and d * , which depends on the
itic or micaceous, have values of d* extremely
results of tropical weathering, is also the
small. These data justify the importance of d*
index which characterizes the results of later-
for the classification and characterization of
itization and the influence of expansive silts
tropical soils.
(kaolinitic and micaceous) and expansive clays.

3.3 Coefficient Pi
3.5 Coefficient c*

3.3.1 Laboratory determination

3.5.1 Determination
The determination of Pi has been considered in
The coefficient c* represents the slope,without
section 2.2 .
a minus sign, of the straight part of deforma-
bility curve, whose intersection with straight
line of equation Hn-H4n = 2 , is equal to 10.
3.3.2 Meaning
That curve corresponds approximately to the
moisture content of the optimum of standard
This coefficient is related to many proper­
Proc tor.
ties, such as: strength, swelling, slaking,
dispersivity etc. For classification
purposes, only the Pi corresponding to one
3.5.2 Meaning
compactive effort is considered, but its values
decrease, in lateritic soils, with the increase
of compactive effort (or dry density). The This is a very particular measure of deforma­
opposite happen with non-lateritic soils. tion occurring during compaction, and has no
Generally the lateritic behavior soils have a Pi correspondance to traditionally known indexes
smaller than 100, and frequently equal to zero. or coefficients.
Test results show good general relationship
between c* and the grain size. Thus in a
3.4 Index e* general way, the sands and sandy soils, very
poor in fines, have c* smaller than 1.0 and the
clayey and clay soils, typically above 1.5.
3.4.1 Determination Between 1.0 amd 1.5. there is a large variety of
soils such as silty sands, clayey sands, sandy
This index is determined by the use of the clays, silty clays etc. In the Figure 5, the
formula in the Figure 3. very poor correlation of c* with the percentage
of fines passing a 0.075 mm sieve is shown. The
3.4.2 Meaning results obtained from artificial mixtures,
represented by lines in that Figure, also
The index e*, being directly related to

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Figure 6. Relationship among grain-size names
and MCT groups (typical soils of State of Sao
Paulo, Brazil)
illustrate this aspect. In well graded sands,
the smaller amount of fines gives the same
value of c* as in a one sized sand with much
more fines and after a excess of fines (from
about 40% of fines) that coefficient changes
little with the increase of fines. Such a
property has been used for the design of soil-
aggregate mixtures of fine grained lateritic
soils (Nogami et a l , 1987). If in the y-axis,the
index e* is represented, as in the MCT
classification, the correlation of the grain
size characteristics, expressed in the triangu­
lar graph, has a good correlation as shown in
the Figure 6.
4 CONCLUSIONS
1) No simple and good correlation was found
among the coefficients and indexes used in the
MCT classification and the traditional indexes
used for geotechnical classification purposes.
That lack of correlation is related mainly with
the difference of behavior of lateritic and non-
lateritic tropical soils. Consequently to assess
the behavior of these tropical soils the use of
the coefficients and index of the MCT classifica­
tion is advantageous.
2) The correlation of coefficients and index
used in the MCT classification with the grain
size characteristic is complex, because these
coefficients and index reflect the global
behavior of soils under compaction. But the
relationship between the grain size of tropical
soils and the groups of MCT classification is
sufficiently close to make possible the use of
visual manual methods for preliminary identifi­
cation of these groups.
3) Probably the ability of coefficients and
index considered in the MCT classification to
better assess the behavior of tropical soils is
related to the fact that they take into consider­
a t i o n the change of properties of soils near
the compactive efforts range used in the field.
And most tropical soils are sensible to that
change of properties owing to their peculiar
mineralogy.
550
4) The laboratory procedure to determine the
coefficients and index used in the MCT
classification consume more labor and time but
it provides additional soil data useful for
design and construction of pavements and
highways. In the sub-miniature procedure, the
sample for testing is only a little more than
required for traditional preliminary soil
characterization.
5) The background of the MCT classification
is essentially regional (State of Sao Paulo and
neighboring states of South Central Brazil) and
derived from experience in highway construction.
Researches in progress may extend the use of
that classification in other tropical areas and
promote its use in other types of civil
engineering works.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We acknowledge mainly the University of Sao
Paulo (USP), the Highway Department of State of
Sao Paulo (DER-SP) and the Institute of
Highway Research (IPR) of National Highway
Department (DNER) for the support in the prepa­
ration of this paper and for the development of
related researches.
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