A) By oven dry method

Theory: The water content (w) of a soil sample is equal to the mass of water divided by the mass
of solids.

Where M1=mass of empty container with lid,

M2= mass of the container with wet soil and lid

M3= mass of the container with dry soil and lid.

Equipment:

1. Thermostatically controlled oven, maintained at a temperature of 1100 ± 50C.

2. Weighing balance with accuracy of 0.04% of the mass of the soil taken

3. Desiccator, with any suitable desiccating agent

4. Airtight container made of non-corrodible material with lid

5. Tongs

Soil Specimen:

The soil specimen should be representative of the soil mass. The quantity of the specimen taken
would depend upon the gradation and the maximum size of the particles. For more than 90% of
the particles passing through 425 micron IS sieve, the minimum quantity is 25g.

Procedure:

1. Clean the container, dry it and weight it with lid (M1).

2. Take the required quantity of the wet specimen in the container and close it with lid. Take the
mass (M2)

3. Place the container with its lid removed in the oven till mass becomes constant (normally for
24 hours).

4. When the soil has dried, remove the container from the oven using tongs. Replace the lid on
the container. Cool it in a desiccator.

5. Find the mass (M3) of the container with lid and dry soil sample.
Observations and Calculations:

Data sheet for water content by oven-drying method

Sl. Observations an Calculations Determination No.

No.

1 2 3

Observation

1 Container No.
2 Mass of empty container (M1)
3 Mass of container + soil (M2)
4 Mass of container + dry soil (M3)
Calculations

5 Mass of water Mw= M2 – M3

6 Mass of solids, Ms= M3 – M1

7 Water content= (5)/(6)x100

Results:

Water content of the sample = ______%.