Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual

202 Pages·2017·2.79 MB·English

SOIL MECHANICS LABORATORY MANUAL
0

Engr. Yasser M. S. Almadhoun

Civil Engineering

Engr. Yasser M. S. Almadhoun

SOIL

MECHANICS

LABORATORY MANUAL

Engr. Yasser M. S. Almadhoun

SOIL

MECHANICS

LABORATORY MANUAL

Civil Engineering

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IV

Contents

Page

Contents
IV

Acronyms
V

Preface
VI

Report Preparation
VII

Test No. 01: Measurement of Water Content
1

Test No. 02: Measurement of Specific Gravity
7

Test No. 03: Measurement of Unit Weight
13

Test No. 04: Mechanical Sieve Analysis
21

Test No. 05: Mechanical Hydrometer Analysis
28

Test No. 06: Measurement of Consistency Limits
46

Test No. 07: Modified Proctor Compaction
59

Test No. 08: Field Density by Sand Cone Method
70

Test No. 09: Constant-Head Permeability
78

Test No. 10: Falling-Head Permeability
88

Test No. 11: Consolidation Test
95

Test No. 12: Direct Shear Test on Sand
115

Test No. 13: Unconfined Compression Test
132

References
146

Appendices
147

Appendix A: Weight-Volume Relationships
A-1

Appendix B: Laboratory Data Sheet
B-1

V

Acronyms

ASCE
American society of civil engineers

ASTM
American society for testing and materials

BS
British standards

AASHTO
American association of state highway and transportation officials

WC
Water (Moisture) content

SG
Specific gravity

UW
Unit weight

LL
Liquid limit

PL
Plastic limit

SL
Shrinkage limit

PI
Plasticity index

K
Coefficient of permeability (Hydraulic conductivity)

∅
Angle of internal friction

C
Cohesion

VI

Preface

The importance of a standardized and consistent procedure in soil mechanics in order
to establish quality cannot be over emphasized.

This manual describes the proper procedure for laboratory testing of soil mechanics
to determine their physical properties, which are an integral part in the design and
construction of structural foundations. Therefore, learning to perform laboratory
tests of soils plays an important role in the geotechnical engineering profession. The
tests involved in this manual are performed in accordance with the relevant
standards, i.e. ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) and BS (British
Standard Methods of Test for Soils for Civil Engineering Purposes).

Preparation of this manual has been a personal endeavour under my work as a
teaching assistant at the Islamic University of Gaza in Palestine during the spring
semester of the academic year 2016/2017 to support as a teaching material of soil
mechanics laboratory to the students who are engaged in civil engineering in their
3rd level of studying bachelor of science programme.

For each laboratory test procedure described onto this PDF deck, a worked example
of measurements, computation, results and conclusion is included. Moreover, a
blank laboratory data sheet for each test is provided at the end of the manual for
student use in the laboratory, as well as in reporting. For this manual, Microsoft
Excel templates have been requested to develop and adopted to use for working with
this popular spreadsheet programme.

Engr. Yasser M. S. Almadhoun