EXPERIMENT NO.
1
DETERMINATION OF WATER CONTENT
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
CE161P-2/ A4
SUBMITTED BY:
GONIDA-LEAÑO-LESACA-NALOS
SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. VALERIE IRA BALMORIS
SCORE
INSTRUMENT
P I C T U R E S W / D E S C R I P T I O N
Containers /
Moisture Cans
this is where the soil
samples were stored
Balance
an instrument designed
to accurately measure
mass/weight
Soil Sample
a part of the whole lot
from which it was taken
Drying Oven
designed to remove
moisture from
the oven chamber or dry
samples as quickly as
possible
Desiccating Agent
and Desiccator
Desiccator is a sealable
enclosure containing
desiccating agent used
for drying wet materials
SAMPLE
COMPUTATIONS
FINAL DATA SHEET
DETERMINATION OF WATER CONTENT
PROCEDURE
1. Weight each metal container on the balance and record
2. Rumble the specimen, gently with fingers and place it loosely on the container,
close the lid and weigh. Record data
3. Place the container (without lid) inside an oven (110 degrees Celsius) for 24 hours.
PROCEDURE
4. Remove the container from the oven, cover with the lid and weigh again, and record
5. Solve for mass of moisture, mass of dry soil and moisture content using the given
formulas. Repeat the same procedure for test nos. 2 and 3.
Youtube link used for the experiment : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2J-tvEeI4c
RESEARCH & DISCUSSION
RESEARCH RELATED TOPICS
The experiment was done in accordance with ASTM
D2216 or the Dry Oven Method in determining the water
content of a soil. As defined by this standard, the water
content of a soil pertains to the ratio of the mass of “pore” or
“free” water of a given mass of material to the mass of the
solid material. The water content of a soil is one of the most
essential index properties of the soil often utilized in
determining the correlation between soil behavior and its
other properties. Table 1.1 Typical Values of Water Content in a Saturated State
Testing and determining the water content is essential as
The table above exhibits the common values of water
it can affect the moisture of the soil sample. The amount of
content of different types of soil in their saturated. State.
moisture or water content in a soil particle can vary. The
Sandy and gravelly soils may contain water for about 15 to
water content is usually in percentage and it is defined by (in
20%. Natural fine-grained soil on the other hand such as silty
Eqn. 1):
or clayey soils may have up to 50 to 80%. As the soil
becomes more finer, its surface area increases hence its
ability to contain moisture also increases. Therefore, since
There are 2 common procedures to determine the water the calculated average moisture content of the soil in the
content of a soil. experiment was 21.69%, the soil samples can be classified as
1. Oven Dry Method (ASTM D2216) – the use of oven to sandy or gravelly soils or as based on the given table, it can
determine the mass (g) of a can and a cap (W1) , can and be either Loose angular-grained silty sand or Loose uniform
moist soil (W2) , and dry soil, can, and cap (W3) . Water sand but not Stiff clay since clay will solidify when put under
content is then calculated using Eqn. 2: high temperature from its moist state. Based from the more
specific values for water content of soils that were given, the
soil samples are classified as sandy loam soils.
2. Pycnometer Method (ASTM D854) – the use of
Error Computation
Pycnometer apparatus and in order to determine the water
The precision of the fiven data can be computed using
content, specific gravity (G) should be determined first. In
eqn. 4 and eqn. 5 below:
order to determine the moisture content, a dry pycnometer
mass (M1) , mass of wet soil (M2) , mass of pycnometer (M3),
and pycnometer and water mass (M4) . Water content is
then calculated using Eqn. 3:
RESEARCH & DISCUSSION
RESEARCH RELATED TOPICS
Research Related Topics:
3. A modified soil water content measurement
1. Investigation of aggregate moisture content
technique using actively heated fiber optic sensor.
variation and its impact on pavement
The use of modernized soil water content
performance of WMA. (Warm Mix Asphalt)
measurement as an additional measurement of
Studies the factors that affects the moisture
water content of soils.
contents of aggregates.
Measuring the water content in a soil using
Analyzing the different moisture contents
heat and sensor to measure accurately.
interaction in the asphalt-aggregate mixture.
Retrieved from:
Explore and consider moisture content of WMA
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl
in terms of performance.
e/pii/S1674775520300354
Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl
e/pii/S0924224418304898
2. Influence of moisture content on intelligent soil
compaction.
·Investigating the influence of moisture content
that matter in intelligent soil compaction.
·Using an improved IC soil compaction system
to investigate the soil compaction probabilities
in various moisture contents.
Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl
e/abs/pii/S0926580518311300
CONCLUSION
Things I learned
With the given data and video materials, the group
were able to know the concepts and equations involving the
water content of the soil. As the video demonstrated how
the experiment were performed, it had been clear to us the
procedures of the experiment as well as the main reason as
to why it was done that way. Based from the given data
and the group’s computations, the soil sample has an
average water content of 21.69% which can be classified as
Loose uniform sand or Loose angular-grained silty sand
based from the table 1.1.
Sources of error
As there was no theoretical value for water content
of the given soil samples, the group cannot measure the
accuracy of the specimen. However, its precision was
computed to be 8.9137% which was acceptable since it is
below 10%. There was no actual performance of the
experiment in the laboratory hence the group cannot
definitively check for sources of error.
Recommendation
One possible recommendation that the group can give is to
provide for a theoretical value of the soil’s water content
to check for the accuracy of the given data.
Application
Determining the water content of the soil is one of the most
useful way of investigating other important properties of
the soil. The most basic use of this property is the
identification of the type of soil that is being analyzed. The
water content of the soil is often utilized in determining
the correlation between soil behavior and its other
properties. Furthermore, it is used establishing the phase
relationships of air, water and solids in a given volume of
material. Just like cement, the water content of a soil is the
basis of the material’s consistency along with its the liquid
and plastic limits as determined by ASTM D4138.
EXPERIMENT NO. 2
SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOIL SOLIDS
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
CE161P-2/ A4
SUBMITTED BY:
GONIDA-LEAÑO-LESACA-NALOS
SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. VALERIE IRA BALMORIS
SCORE
INSTRUMENT
P I C T U R E S W / D E S C R I P T I O N
Volumetric Flask
500mL
type of laboratory
glassware used to
prepare solutions
Balance
an instrument designed
to accurately measure
mass/weight
Thermometer
used to measure the
boiling point and
freezing point
Distilled Water
distilled water contains
nothing in it, thus,
making the outcome of
the test fair
Plastic Squeeze
Bottle
a container made from
plastic where distilled
water will be stored
Spatula
a stainless steel utensil
used for scraping,
pasting or transferring
chemicals or treatments
Vacuum Pump
To induce or control
solvent evaporation and
provide suction to drive
the aspiration or
filtration of liquid
Evaporating Dishes
used to evaporate
excess water to ensure a
concentrated solution
Drying Oven
designed to remove
moisture from
the oven chamber or dry
samples as quickly as
possible
SAMPLE
COMPUTATIONS
FINAL DATA SHEET
SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOIL SOLIDS
PROCEDURE
1. Clean the volumetric flask, and fill 2. Weigh the volumetric flask with
it with 500 mL of distilled water water on the balance, and record
3. Insert a thermometer and record the 4. Place approximately 100 g of air dry
temperature soil to an evaporating dish
5. Transfer the air dry soil into the volumetric 6. Add water to make the flask 2/3 full
flask (Take note: do this gradually, as the soil
gets clog up in the narrow tube of the flask
PROCEDURE
8. Bring the volumetric flask, soil and water mixture to
7. Use a vacuum pump to extract the
room temperature, then add an additional water until
air from the volumetric flask
the bottom of the meniscus reaches the 500 mL mark
9. Dry the outside and inside neck of 10. Determine the combined mass of the
the volumetric flask volumetric flask, water and dry soil, then record
11. Soil and water from the volumetric 12. Use the squeeze bottle to clean
flask onto an evaporating dish the flask, make sure there are no soil
and water left on the flask
PROCEDURE
13. Place the evaporating dish inside 14. Remove from oven, weigh the
the oven, to reach constant weight evaporating dish then record
16. Solve for the specific gravity of soil
using the given formula
Youtube link of experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqxfwpUtEoQ
RESEARCH & DISCUSSION
RESEARCH RELATED TOPICS
The specific gravity is a property of many materials which The calculation of Specific gravity is most commonly at the
is defined mathematically as the weight of a given volume value of density of water at The formula then is given by:
of the material to the weight of a reference substance
usually liquid in the form of water. In soil mechanics, the
specific gravity of soil equals to the weight of the soil solids
where:
to the weight of water of equal volume. This property of soil
is essential in investigating the weight-volume relationship
and phase relationship of soils.
Generally, two types of container or instrument are used These equations also made use of Archimedes principle
in the determination of the specific gravity of soil solids: the of buoyancy. Furthermore, above the specified temperature
Pycnometer and a 50 mL density bottle. Pycnometer is usually of , the volume of water will slightly increase, while below ,
used for coarse-grained soils while the 50 mL density its volume will be slightly less. Ideally, the water should be
bottle is for fine-grained soils. distilled water.
The specific gravity (Gs) is defined in Eqn. 1 and Eqn. 2:
where: The specific gravity of soils generally lies within the
range of 2.6 to 2.9 smaller values indicates a coarser soil.
The values of Gs of different soil types are shown in the table
below.
The pycnometer method made possible to find the void
in soil, degree of saturation, and various properties of soil. In
order to determine the specific gravity, and the mass of flask
and water (W1) , the mass of container, dry soil, and water
(W2) , and the mass of evaporating dish and dry soil (W3) is
Table1.1 General Ranges of Gs for Various Soils
needed to find and calculate. In determining the specific
gravity, the calculation is given in Eqn.3: With the computed average specific gravity for the three
samples being 2.64, the soil samples can be classified as
sands. This can also be checked by using the water content
where: of the soil samples.
So, the combination of formulas is given:
RESEARCH & DISCUSSION
RESEARCH RELATED TOPICS
Research Related Topics:
1. 1. An indirect determination of the specific
gravity of soil solids
The use of different method in dealing with the
limitation of fully saturated ordinary soils only.
·Given the specific gravity and water content,
the use of the method in order to determine the
in-situ unit weight of a saturated disturbed soil
is being utilized particularly with saturated
cohesionless sandy soils.
Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl
e/abs/pii/S001379521830070X
CONCLUSION
Things I learned
As the grouped analyze the given data and make the
laboratory report, we were able to learn about the
concepts and principles involved in the specific gravity of
the soil such as the Archimedes Principle. The main usage
of the specific gravity of the soil is for further exploring
and calculating the phase relationships of the soils
including its void ratio etc and classifying the type of the
soil. Aside from these, through the help of the given
laboratory videos, we were able to know the procedures in
performing the laboratory experiment for determining the
specific gravity of the soils
Sources of error
Since the experiment was not done in a laboratory and
the data were provided by the instructor, the group cannot
identify sources of error in the experiment. Additionally,
there is no theoretical average value for the specific
gravity of the soil samples to be used in determining the
accuracy of the sample data. The computed precision check
for the three samples was 2.57% that is within the
acceptable range of 2-3 % variation as specified in the
given laboratory
manual.
Recommendation
The soil sample was assumed to be a homogenous
material that is – it is only sand. The group cannot verify
the existence of other impurities in the water or in the soil.
It is recommended that distilled water be used in
performing the actual experiment and that extraneous
materials in the soil such as cement or other organic matter
because it may have different specific gravity ,thus,
affecting the outcome of the experiment.
Application
Based from ASTM D854 or the Standard Test Methods for
Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water Pycnometer, the
specific gravity of a soil can be used to calculate the
phase relationships of soils such as its void ratio, degree of
saturation and the density of the soil
solids.
REFERENCES:
·ASTM D854-14, Standard Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water Pycnometer, ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2014, www.astm.org
Das, B. M. (2002). Soil mechanics laboratory manual. New York: Oxford University Press.
Budhu, M. (2000). Soil mechanics and foundations. New York: Wiley.
