Soil texture know the percentages of sand, clay, and silt in your soil sample, the triangle can be used to determine which of the twelve soil types you have. To do this, find your percentage of sand along the bottom of the triangle. Then follow the slanted line up to the left until you reach your percentage of clay. Where that point is will tell you what soil type you have. For example, if your soil is 70 percent sand and 10 percent clay then your soil is classified as a sandy loam. The same method can be used starting on any
Dilatancy (granular material) so coarse and thus may be described as dense to very dense. Vertical excavations below the water table in these soil types exhibit short term stability, similar to many dense sandy soil deposits, in part due to matric suction. However, as shearing of the soil occurs in the active wedge due to gravity forces, strength is lost and the rate of failure accelerates. This can be exacerbated by hydrostatic forces developing at the location(s) where water (drains to and) collects in tension cracks in or near the back of the active wedge. Generally retrogressive spalling manifests, often accompanied by piping