HOMEWORK NO.

1
SOIL PROPERTIES AND LABORATORY TESTING

Year and Section: 4CE-E Date Started: January 27, 2017

Group Number: 4 Date Finished: February 2, 2017
Group Member: Pineda, John Eric M. Date Submitted: February 3, 2017

1. INTRODUCTION
Soils have many different properties, including texture, structure or architecture, water holding
capacity and pH (whether the soils are acid or alkaline). These properties combine to make soils
useful for a wide range of purposes. Soil properties are determined by field examination and by
laboratory index testing of some benchmark soils. Established standard procedures are followed.
During the survey, many shallow borings are made and examined to identify and classify the soils and
to delineate them on the soil maps. Samples are taken from some typical profiles and tested in the
laboratory to determine grain-size distribution, plasticity, and compaction characteristics.

2. OBJECTIVE
This homework aims to familiarize the students with the different laboratory testing apparatus
and equipment used in the determination of soil properties.

3. SOIL PROPERTIES AND LABORATORY TESTING

Table 1.1 Soil Properties and Laboratory Testing Equipment/Apparatus and Accessories
No. Soil Property
1 Moisture Content - The
ratio, expressed as a
percentage, of the mass of
pore or free water in a
given mass of soil to the
mass of the dry soil solids. It
helps collect data about
bearing capacity and
frictional resistance of soil.
2 Air Content - The volume
of air present in a concrete
or mortar mix, expressed as Air Content Meter
a percentage of the total
volume.
3 Liquid Limit - defined as
the moisture content at
which soil begins to behave Liquid Limit Device
as a liquid material and
begins to flow.
4
Shear Strength the
compressive stress at
which an unconfined
cylindrical specimen of soil
will fail in a simple
compression test.
Equipment/Apparatus and
Importance
Accessories
Internationally recognized
as a standard field test to
Cone Penetrometer collect data about bearing
capacity and frictional
resistance of soil.
Air entrainment is a
necessary component of
concrete mixtures exposed
to freezing and thawing
environments.
It is the minimum water
content at which the soil is
still in the liquid state, but
has a small shearing
strength against flow.
To determine the force that
tends to produce a sliding
Load and Deformation
failure on a material along a
Dial Gauge
plane that is parallel to the
direction of the force.
5 Relative Density - the ratio
of the density (mass of a
unit volume) of a substance
to the density of a given
reference material. Specific
gravity usually means
relative density with respect
to water.
6 Incremental loading frames
Consolidation - the
magnitude and rate of
volume decrease that a
laterally confined soil
specimen undergoes when
subjected to different
vertical pressures.
7 Hydraulic Conductivity -
property of vascular plants,
soils and rocks, that
describes the ease with
which a fluid (usually water)
can move through pore
spaces or fractures.
8 A high erodability implies
Erodibility - the inherent
yielding or nonresistance of
soils and rocks to erosion.
9 It is the percentage moisture
Plastic Limit - the water
content, in percent, at which
a soil can no longer be
deformed by rolling into 3.2
mm (1/8 in.) diameter
threads without crumbling.
10 Sand Equivalent -
quantifies the relative
abundance of sand versus
clay in soil.
11 Moisture - density
Relationship the moisture
content and the dry density
of a soil for a specified
compactive effort.
12 Grain Size Distribution -
the distribution of the
coarser, larger-sized
particles and the
hydrometer method is used
to determine the distribution
Relative density can also
help to quantify the
buoyancy of a substance in
Cohesionless Soil
a fluid, or determine the
Apparatus
density of an unknown
substance from the known
density of another.
are designed to simulate the
one-dimensional
deformation and drainage
conditions that soils
Con-Matic Consolidation
experience in the field. To
Machine
simulate these conditions,
rigid confining rings are
used to prevent lateral
displacement of the soil
sample.
Ratio of velocity to hydraulic
gradient indicating
Permeameter
permeability of porous
media.
that the same amount of
Pin Hole Dispersion work exerted by the erosion
processes leads to a larger
removal of material.
content at which a soil
changes with decreasing
wetness from the plastic to
Plastic Limit Test Set the semi- solid consistency
or with increasing wetness
from the semi-solid to the
plastic consistency. To
classify soil.
To qualify aggregates for
applications where sand is
Sand Equivalent Shaker
desirable but fines and dust
are not.
To get the moisture content
at which a given soil type
Bench Ovens will become most dense and
achieve its maximum dry
density.
Sieve Set To classify soils for
engineering and agricultural
purposes, since particle size
influences how fast or slow
water or other fluid moves
through a soil.
 of the finer particles.
13 Specific Gravity - the ratio
of the mass of unit volume
of soil at a stated
temperature to the mass of
the same volume of gas
free distilled water at a
stated temperature.
14
Permeability - refers to the
movement of air and water
within the soil.
15 Soil Fertility - Soil fertility is
the ability of the soil to
supply nutrients required by
plants in adequate
quantities and correct
proportions.
4. EQUIPMENT/APPARATUS AND ACCESSORIES
Cone Petrometer
Device
Load and Deformation Dial Gauge
Consolidation Machine
Knowing the specific gravity
will allow determination of a
fluid's characteristics
Pycnometer
compared to a standard,
usually water, at a specified
temperature.
Permeability rate is the rate
at which a saturated soil
Constant Head Apparatus
transmits water, usually
Permeameter
expressed in inches per
hour.
To provide plant habitat and
result in sustained and
Soil Fertility Sensor
consistent yields of high
quality.
Air Content Meter Liquid Limit
Cohesionless Soil Apparatus Con-Matic
 Permeameter Pin Hole Dispersion Plastic Limit Test
Set

Sand Equivalent Shaker Bench Ovens

Sieve Set
 Pycnometer Constant Head Apparatus Permeameter Soil
Fertility Sensor

5. REFERENCES
http://www.astm.org/
http://www.mltest.com/index.php/soil/
https://en.wikipedia.org/