 SOIL AND SOIL AGGREGATES

1.0 DETERMINATION OF MOISTURE CONTENT

 APPARATUS:
1. Balance, 0.1 gr sensitivity 3. Desiccators 5. Caliper
2. Oven with temp control 4. Container with cover

NOTE: The weight of the sample is 25to 1000 gr. The min weight of the sample should be in
accordance to the sieve opening requirement below.

Min Wt.
PASSING
(gr)
#40 0.425mm 25
#10 2.00mm 50
#4 4.75mm 100
½” 12.5mm 300
1” 25mm 500
2” 50mm 1000

 PROCEDURE
1. Weigh the container (with cover), designate as Wc.
2. Prepare soil sample (air dry) of from quartered sample (2x quartering).
3. Sieve the soil sample and determine the “maximum” size of aggregates. (Ex. If the
soil did pass sieve 2” (50mm), then take a representative sample of 1kg from the
original mix).
4. Take a representative sample of soil (in accordance to the above table), place in
the container then cover, designate as W1.
5. Open the container and oven dry the sample to a constant temperature of 110˚C
+/-5, (min of 4 hrs).
6. Remove the container from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature.

 CALCULATION
1. The calculation of Moisture Content in percentage will be

MC (%) = Air Dry Wt. – Oven Dry Wt. x 100 = _W1 - W2_ x 100
Oven Dry W2 - Wc
2.0 ATTERBERG (PL.LL.PI)
 APPARATUS:
1. Evaporating Dish 3. Liquid Limit Device 5. Container
2. Spatula (20mm x 75mm) 4. Grooving Tools 6. Oven with Temp control
7. Balance, 0.1 gr sensitivity

PL Trial = 2 LL Trial = 3

PLASTIC LIMIT LIQUID LIMIT

Trial No. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Dish No. D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-5
No. of Blows Limit Reqd 25 to 35 20 to 30 15 to 25
No. of Blows Reqd 25 20 15
1. Wt. Of dish 6.80 6.80 6.6 6.6 6.6
2. Wt. of dish + wet soil 9.40 8.00 23.39 30.60 22.20
3. Wt. Of dish + dry soil 8.90 7.90 18.80 23.80 17.60
4. Wt. Of water (2-3) 0.50 0.10 4.59 6.80 4.60
5. Wt. Of dry soil 2.10 1.10 12.20 17.20 11.00

6. Moisture Content, % 23.81 9.09 37.62 39.53 41.82

7. Average 16.45 39.66

Use 25 Blows LL= 37.62

PL= 16.45
PI= 21.17

FLOW CURVE
PROCEDURES:
A. LIQUID LIMIT
1. Obtain sample from the field then have it quartered, have it “air-dried” (for 24 hrs) or
on controlled temperature of not exceeding 60˚C (4 hrs).
2. Put ID on each dish (ex. D1) and record each weight (ex. D1 = 6.8 gr
3. Sample took from thoroughly mixed material of min 100gr “passing” No. 40 (0.425mm)
sieve.
4. Mix the sample with 15 to 20 ml of distilled water. Mix it thoroughly by alternately
stirring and kneeding with spatula. Further addition of water shall be made by 1 to 3 ml
increment if the mixed material is still not sticky.
5. Place a portion of the paste in the brass cup of the liquid limit device, level off the
surface with a spatula to a maximum depth of 10mm and divide the soil putty into two
segments by means of the standard grooving tool.

6. Mount the brass cup to the carriage such that it can be raised and allowed to drop
sharply on the base through a height of 10mm by rotating the cramp at approx rate of
“two rotations per second ” until the closure of the groove about 13mm from the
bottom. Take note that the “closure” is caused by soil’s flow to the center and not by
slipping of the cup.
7. Take a slice of approx width of the spatula extending from edge-to-edge of the soil
cake at right angles to the groove. Place the sample in a drying can, have it oven-dry for
24 hrs to determine the “moisture content”.
8. Repeat Steps (4) to (7) with using number of trials below:
TRIAL NO. 1 2 3
Blows Limit 15-25 20-30 25-35
MC obtained

Amount of water = 15 to 20 ml