Soil Mechanics Laboratory: Moisture Content, Unit Weight, Specific Gravity and Phase Relationships

Soil Mechanics Laboratory
Introduction
Moisture Content, Unit Weight, Specific Gravity
and Phase Relationships
Dr. Khalid R. Mahmood

Sources:
Soil Mechanics – Laboratory Manual, B.M. DAS (Chapters 2 - 3)
Civil Engineering - Texas Tech University

Civil Engineering Department- Al-Anbar University 1
Class Outlines
 Handouts: Syllabus, Report Format
 Significance of the Class
 Lab No.1: Moisture Content, Specific gravity
and Unit Weight of soil
 Background: Phase Relationship
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
Engineering Al-Anbar
- Texas Tech University
University
2
Syllabus
 Text books:
 Soil Mechanics: Laboratory Manual
by Braja M. Das
 Lecture Notes
 ASTM Standards 2005
 Class organization
 1 hour class
 2 hours lab
 Class Schedule
 Attendance
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
3
Report Format
 Each group will submit one report per lab
 Reports are due one day before the class at 9am
(Ex: for Wed. class, submit report on Tuesday at 9am)
 All reports should follow the report format
 Title and Table of Contents
 Purpose & Objective
 Apparatus & Procedures
 Deviation from ASTM Standards
 Table of results
 Figures
 Sample Calculations
 Discussion and Conclusion
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
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4
Report Format - Conclusion
 Report your results (use a table)
 Do the results fall within the expected range
or not?
(Check tables and match your results)
 If not, Explain why (what went wrong?)
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
5
Significance of this Class
 Why do you need to learn about soils?
Almost all structures are either constructed
of soil, supported on soil, or both.
 Who must be concerned with soils?

Civil engineers (structural, environmental and
geotechnical) must have basic understanding
of the soil properties in order to use them
effectively in construction.
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
6
Transcosna Grain Elevator, Canada
Oct. 18, 1913
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
West side of foundation sank 24-ft 7
Settlement
Palacio de las Bellas, Artes,

Mexico City
Leaning Tower, Pisa
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
8
Shear Failure – Slope Stability
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
9
Organization of the Lab Tests
Soil Properties
Physical Mechanical
(Soil Characteristics)
Moisture Specific Atterberg Strength

Gradation Permeability Compressibility
Content Gravity Limits (Shear)
Unit Weight
(Soil Classification)
Geotechnical engineering Geotechnical engineering

Structural engineering Structural engineering
Pavement engineering Pavement engineering
Environmental engineering
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
10
Today’s Lab
 Determination of unit weight (density)
 Determination of moisture content
 Determination of specific gravity
 Establishing the phase (weight-volume)
relationship diagram
 Calculation of:
 Dry unit weight
 Void ratio
 Porosity
 Degree of saturation
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
11
1- Unit Weight, g
 Take several measurements for diameter and height
 Take the average for H, D
 Calculate g
D
M
g 
V H
where
 D2
V H 
4
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
12
2- Moisture Content, w
 Definition: Moisture content is an indicator of the
amount of the water present in soil.
 Moisture content, w(%)
w %  
Mw Mw
100 but not
Ms MT
 ASTM 2216 (Conventional Oven Method)
 ASTM D 4643 (Microwave Oven Method)
 3 minutes at 50% Power (mass ≈ 50 g)
Mw – Mass of waters
Ms – Mass of solids
MT – Total mass
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
13
2- Moisture Content – Sample Size
 Minimum mass of moist material selected to be
representative of the total samples:
Maximum Particle Size Standard Sieve Recommended Min. Mass
(95-100% Passing) Size of moist specimen
2 mm or less # 10 20 g
4.75 mm #4 100 g
9.5 mm 3/8-in 50 g
19.0 mm ¾-in 250 g
37.5 mm 11/2 -in 1000 g
75.0 mm 3-in 5000 g
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
14
2- Moisture Content - Procedure
1 2 3
5 6
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
2- Moisture Content – Sample Calculation
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
16
3- Specific Gravity, Gs
 Definition; specific gravity, Gs, of soil solids is the
ratio of the density of the aggregate soil solids to
the density of water. Ms
 Mathematically, G  g s  Vs  = 1 g/cm at 4 C w
3 0
w
s or w = 62.4 lb/ft3
Mw
Vw
Ms
but Vs  Vw ; hence Gs 
Mw
 ASTM D 854
 This method is applicable for soils composed of
“Particles smaller than 4.75mm in size”.
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
17
3- Specific Gravity – Sample Size
 The procedure employs Archimedes’s principle
“A body submerged in water will displace a volume of water equal to its own
volume.”
 The key to successful application of this procedure is the
removal of entrapped air
 Recommended mass for test specimen
Specimen Dry Mass (g) Specimen Dry Mass (g)

Soil Type
250 mL Pycnometer 500 mL Pycnometer
SP, SP-SM 60 ± 10 100 ± 10
SP-SC, SM, SC 45 ± 10 75 ± 10
Silt or Clay 35 ± 5 45 ± 10
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
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18
3- Specific Gravity - Apparatus
 See Example in Table 3-3 Pg 13

Video Demos
Report Gs in terms of GS (200C) = GS (Ti0C) x A
A – From Table 3-2 Pg 12
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
19
3- Specific Gravity – Expected Values
 Expected Values for Gs
Type of Soil Gs
Sand 2.65 - 2.67

Silty sand 2.67 – 2.70
Inorganic clay 2.70 – 2.80
Soils with mica or iron 2.75 – 3.00
Organic soils < 2.00
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
20
Phase Relationships
 Phase Relationships
 Three phase diagram
 Weight relationships
 Volumetric relationships
 Weight – Volume relationship
 Examples
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
21
Phase Relationships: A 3-Phase Material
Air
Water
Solid
Civil Engineering Department- Al-Anbar University

22
The Mineral Skeleton
Solid Particles
Volume
Voids (air or water)
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
23
Three Phase Soil
(Partially Saturated)
Air
Water
Solids
Mineral Skeleton Idealization:

Three Phase Diagram
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
24
Two Phase Soil
(1) Fully Saturated Soils
Water
Solids
Mineral Skeleton Fully Saturated
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
25
Two Phase Soil
(2) Dry Soils [Oven Dried]
Air
Solids
Mineral Skeleton Dry Soil
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
26
Weight-Volume Relationships
Va Air Wa~0
Vv
Vw
Water Ww
VT WT
Vs Solids Ws
Volume Weight
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27
Weight Relationships (weight -ratios)
 Weight ratios
 Moisture Content, w Air Wa~ 0
 Specific Gravity, Gs
Water Ww
 Weight Components: WT
 Weight of Solids = Ws
Solids Ws
 Weight of Water = Ww
 Weight of Air, Wa ~ 0
Ww
Water Content, w(%)  100%
Ws
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
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28
Specific Gravity (weight ratio)
Weight of a Subs tan ce
Specific Gravity 
Weight of an Equal Volume of Water
Unit Weight of a Subs tan ce

Specific Gravity 
Unit Weight of Water
Ws
Vs Ws
Specific Gravity, Gs   100%
gw Vs g w
Unit weight of Water, gw or w

 gw = 1.0 g/cm3 (strictly accurate at 4° C)
 gw = 62.4 pcf
 gw = 9.81 kN/m3
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
29
Typical Values for Specific Gravity, Gs
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
30
Volumetric Relationships (Vol. ratios)
 Volumetric ratios
 Void ratio, e
 Porosity, n(%) Va Air
 Degree of Saturation, S (%) Vv
Vw
VT Water
 Volume Components:
 Volume of Solids = Vs
 Volume of Water = Vw Vs Solid
 Volume of Air = Va
 Volume of Voids = Va + Vw = Vv
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
31
Volumetric Relationships
Vv
Void Ratio , e 
Vs
Vv
Porosity , n(%)  100%
VT
Vw
Degree of Saturation, S (%)  100%
VV
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
32
Weight-Volume Relationships
 Steps to develop the weight-volume relationship
 Separate the three phases
 The total volume of a soil
V  Vs  Vv  Vs  Vw  Va
 Assuming the weight of air (Wa) to be negligible, the
total weight is then given as
WT  Ws  Ww
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
33
Example:
 Determine moisture content, void

ratio, porosity and degree of
saturation of a soil core sample.
Also determine the dry unit
weight, gd
Data:
 Weight of soil sample, MT = 1013g
 Vol. of soil sample, VT = 585.0cm3
 Specific Gravity, Gs = 2.65
 Moisture Content, w = 12.1%
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
34
M T  M w  M s  (1)
Mw
Ws W but w  Ws W   wM
w M w 109
904 ( gs))  (2)
G gvwVw

Vas V
M  
V (
V
M
w

VV 

VV 
)
M 
109
M 
585 
 (341
134
1013 
. .
9 1 109
904 243  109
3 )109

3.9134
g .cm
341
g
3
1cm3 3
9.cm
Vs g wV w Gsg wg w 2.651.0(1g.0/( gcm
T w s
s T aw w s s
/ cm) )
Sample Calc. substitute (2) in (1)
M T  w M s  M s (1  w) M s
MT 1013
 Ms    904 g
1  w 1  0.121
134.9cm3 Ma~0
Air
gw = 1.0 g/cm3
243.9cm3
109.0cm3 Water 109.0g
585.0cm3 w =12.1% 1013.0g
Gs =2.65
341.1cm3 Solid 904.0g
Volumes Weights
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Civil Department-
University
35
Sample Calculation (cont.)
M T  M w  M s  (1)
Mw
but w  M w  w M s  ( 2)
Ms 5 Va  VT  (Vs  Vw )  585  (341.1  109)  134.9cm3
1 substitute (2) in (1)
M T  w M s  M s (1  w) M s
 Ms 
MT

1013
 904 g 6 Vv  Vw  Va  109  134.9  243.9 g
1  w 1  0.121
2 M w  M T  M s  1013  904  109 g
Ww W 109( g )
gw   Vw  w   109cm3
3 Vw g w 1.0( g / cm3 )
Ws Ws 904 ( g )
4 Gs   Vs    341.1cm3
Vs g w Gsg w 2.65 1.0( g / cm3 )
Civil Engineering
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36
Weight-Volume Relationships (cont.)
 From the previous figure we can find:
Ww 109 ( g )
 Moisture content, w w  100  12.1%
Ws 904 ( g )
Vv 243.9cm3
 Void ratio, e e   0.715
Vs 341.1cm3
Vv 243.9 (cm3 )
 Porosity, n n  100  41.7%
VT 585.0 (cm3 )
Vw 109
 Degree of saturation, S S   100  44.7%
Vv 243.9
Ws 904 g
 Dry unit weight, gd gd  
VT 585
 1.55 3
cm
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
37
Weight-Volume Relationships (cont.)
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
38
Typical Unit weights
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
39
Civil Engineering
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40
This Report Should Include
1. Unit Weight of Soil, g

2. Water Content, w
3. Specific Gravity, Gs
4. Three Phase Diagram
5. Void ratio, e
6. Porosity, n
7. Degree of Saturation, S
8. Dry Unit Weight, gd
Civil Engineering
Civil Department-
University
41

Soil Mechanics Laboratory: Moisture Content, Unit Weight, Specific Gravity and Phase Relationships

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Soil Mechanics Laboratory

Dr. Khalid R. Mahmood

Civil Engineering - Texas Tech University

 If not, Explain why (what went wrong?)

 Who must be concerned with soils?

Palacio de las Bellas, Artes,

Moisture Specific Atterberg Strength

Geotechnical engineering Geotechnical engineering

19.0 mm ¾-in 250 g

37.5 mm 11/2 -in 1000 g

75.0 mm 3-in 5000 g

Specimen Dry Mass (g) Specimen Dry Mass (g)

 See Example in Table 3-3 Pg 13

 Expected Values for Gs

Sand 2.65 - 2.67

Civil Engineering Department- Al-Anbar University

Voids (air or water)

Mineral Skeleton Idealization:

Mineral Skeleton Fully Saturated

Mineral Skeleton Dry Soil

Unit Weight of a Subs tan ce

Unit weight of Water, gw or w

 Determine moisture content, void

2 M w  M T  M s  1013  904  109 g

 From the previous figure we can find:

1. Unit Weight of Soil, g

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