Cohesive Soil

Published: June 4, 2017 | Last updated: July 5, 2023

What Does Cohesive Soil Mean?

Cohesive soil is soil that contains elements that cling together. They present more spoil in boring and moling and slow the boring/drilling process. Analysis of the soil is part of the geotechnical preparations for any trenchless construction project. The soil analysis will not only show the presence of cohesive soils along the design pathway, but the extent of that cohesiveness.

Trenchlesspedia Explains Cohesive Soil

Cohesive soils can affect the bore in directional drilling. In samples taken along the drill path, cohesive soil has 20 percent of its sample weight left when subjected to analysis using a #200 wire sieve wash and after 24 hours of drying.

The process for determining whether a soil sample consists of cohesive soil requires you to:

  1. Dry the soil for 24 hours.
  2. Weigh the dried sample.
  3. Wash the soil sample through a sieve with #200 wire.
  4. Weigh the soil remaining and multiply the weight by 0.20 (twenty percent).

The result indicates the presence of cohesive soil at the point along the drill path where the sample was taken.

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