SOIL MECHANICS LABORATORY

MANUAL
VERSION 1.1: 10/21/2014

CVNG 2008 SOIL MECHANICS I

CVNG 1013 INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING

By: Dr. Derek Gay & Damian Alexander

The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Trinidad and Tobago

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LAB REPORT OUTLINE ......................................................................................................................... 2
EXPERIMENTAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS................................................................................... 3
DIRECT SHEAR .................................................................................................................................... 3
CALCULATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 3
DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................ 4
ATTERBERG ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................... 5
CALCULATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 5
DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................ 6
COMPACTION ...................................................................................................................................... 7
CALCULATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 7
DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................ 8
PERMEABILITY ................................................................................................................................... 9
CALCULATION .................................................................................................................................... 9
DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................................... 11
GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................... 12
CALCULATIONS ................................................................................................................................ 12
DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................................... 16

LAB REPORT OUTLINE (FOR EACH LAB)

COVE PAGE Includes
-

Name of Experiment

Name of Student

ID #

Group #

Date experiment was performed

Date for lab report submission

Course Code

Year/Semester

TITLE
TABLE OF CONTENT
AIM
OBJECTIVE
APPARARUS USED (A labelled sketch or Picture of all equipment used)
INTRODUCTION (2-3 short paragraphs including equations)
PROCUDURE
RESULTS
ANALYSIS (CALCULATIONS)
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSION
APPENDIX (This includes the data sheets or raw data obtained from the lab for each lab)

EXPERIMENTAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS

DIRECT SHEAR
(Refer to Krishna Reddv Exp. 13 Direct Shear)
CALCULATIONS
(1) Calculate the density of the soil sample from the mass of soil and volume of the shear
box. Find the bulk density, the dry unit weight and air void e of the sand used at each
load. ~ Assume Gs = 2.65 for both wet and dry samples.
(2) Convert the Horizontal dial readings (H) and Load Ring Dial readings. Enter the values
on the data sheet in the correct locations
(3) Compute the sample cross sectional area A, and the vertical (Normal) stress n. Normal
stresses are calculated form the loads applied to each sample. E.g. @ 10kg
= (10 )/A
(4) Calculate shear stress () = Fh/A
Where Fh= (converted horizontal load ring dial readings)
(5) Plot the horizontal shear stress ()/kN/m2 versus horizontal (lateral) displacement H/mm.
(6) Calculate the maximum shear stress for each test.
(7) Plot (USING MATLAB for both Dry and Wet samples for Year 2 Students Only) the
value of the maximum shear stress versus the corresponding vertical stress for each test,
and determine the angle of internal friction () from the slope of the approximated MohrCoulomb failure envelope

DISCUSSION

1- State the importance of finding the internal angle of friction and cohesion in Civil
Engineering.
2- Compare the determined internal angle of friction () for both wet and dry sand
samples to typical values that are usually obtained, giving reasons for any differences
found. (Year 1 Students - Only comment on the dry sand)
3- Explain why the internal angle of friction () is different for both the wet and dry
sample.(If internal stress are a cause determine what this values might be?)
(Question for Year 2 Students Only)
4- If from your plots of maximum shear stress versus the corresponding vertical
(normal) stress a cohesion value may develop, give a reason why?
5- Give 3 sources of error and precautions that may be taken to avoid them.
6- State what can be done to improve the experiment as it may relate to its accuracy and
precision.

ATTERBERG ANALYSIS
(Refer to Krishna Reddv Exp. 7 Atterberg Limits)
CALCULATIONS
A- Liquid Limit, LL

1- Plot the relationship between the water content, w, and the corresponding number of drops,
N, of the cup on a semi-logarithmic graph with water content as the ordinates and
arithmetical scale, and the number of drops on the abscissas on a logarithmic scale. Draw
the best fit straight line through the 3 or more plotted points.
2- Take the water content corresponding to the intersection of the line with the 25 drop
abscissa as the liquid limit, LL, of the soil.

B- Plastic Limit, PL

1- Compute the average of the water contents obtained from the three plastic limit tests. The
plastic limit, PL, is the average of the three water contents.

C- Plasticity Index

1- Calculate the plasticity index as follows:

PI = LL - PL
where:
LL = liquid limit, and PL = plastic limit.
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Figure 1: Plasticity Chart (Budhu, M., Soil Mechanics and Foundations, 3rd Edition. 2010: John Wiley & Sons,
Incorporated)

2- Determine the soil classification of the sample used using Figure 1.

DISCUSSION
1- State the importance of finding the plasticity index in Civil Engineering. Explain the
significance of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of a soil.
2- Give 2 examples in which these values are used in the construction industry.
3- Give 3 sources of error and precautions that may be taken to avoid them.
4- State what can be done to improve the experiment as it may relate to its accuracy and
precision.

COMPACTION
(Refer to Krishna Reddv Exp. 9 Moisture-Density Relation (Compaction) Test)
CALCULATIONS

(1) Calculate the moisture content of each compacted soil specimen by using the average of
the two water contents.
(2) Compute the wet density in grams per cm3 of the compacted soil sample by dividing the
wet mass by the volume of the mould used.
(3) Compute the dry density using the wet density and the water content determined in step
1. Use the following formula:
=

1+

where: = moisture content in percent divided by 100, and = wet density(Bulk Density) in
grams per cm3.
(4) Plot the dry density values on the y-axis and the moisture contents on the x-axis. Draw a
smooth curve connecting the plotted points.
(5) On the same graph draw a curve of complete saturation or zero air voids curve. The
values of dry density and corresponding moisture contents for plotting the curve can be
computed from the following equation

= (

1
)

1
(100 + )

where:
= dry density of soil grams per cm3
Gs = specific gravity of the soil being tested (assume 2.70)
= density of water in grams per cm3 (approximately1 g/cm3)
= moisture content in percent for complete saturation.
(6) Identify and report the optimum moisture content and the maximum dry density.
Make sure that you have recorded the method of compaction used (e.g., Standard
Proctor, Method A) on data sheet.

DISCUSSION

1- State the importance of finding the optimum moisture content and the maximum
dry density in Civil Engineering.
2- Give 4 examples in which these values are used in the construction industry.
3- Give 3 sources of error and precautions that may be taken to avoid them.
4- State what can be done to improve the experiment as it may relate to its accuracy and
precision.
5- Question from Dr. Gay.

PERMEABILITY
(Refer to Krishna Reddv Exp. 10 Permeability)

CALCULATION
(1) Calculate the permeability, using the following equation for all trials then find and
average avg:
=
Where:
Q = volume of discharge in cm3 (assume 1 ml = 1 cm3)
= Composite coefficient of permeability at temperature T, cm/sec.
A = cross-sectional area of permeameter (cylindrical mould) (D =Internal diameter of the
permeameter)
i=

= hydraulic gradient

L = length of specimen in centimetres

h = (H) hydraulic head difference equal to the vertical distance between the constant funnel
head level and the chamber overflow level.
t = time for discharge in seconds

Using the avg composite value determine the K of soil where:

avg

=1

=1 /

EXAMPLE:
In this experiment the flow of water passes through a porous stone (L1 , K1) then sand (L2 , K2)
and lastly another porous stone (L3 , K3). The permeability of the sand (K2) can be obtained from
the following equation.

1 + 2 + 3
1 + 2 + 3
1 2 3

NB: K of the porous stones = 9.46 x 10-4 cm/s and its Length (Thickness) L1 = L2 = 6.08mm

(2) The viscosity of the water changes with temperature. As temperature increases viscosity
decreases and the permeability increases. The coefficient of permeability is standardized
at 20C, and the permeability at any temperature T is related to K20 by the following
ratio:
20 =

20

Where:
T and 20 are the viscosities at the temperature T of the test and at 20C, respectively. From
Table 1 obtain the viscosities and compute K20.

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DISCUSSION
1- Explain the differences between the Constant head method and Falling head method
in the determination of the permeability of the material. Give reasons why the
Constant method was used for the sample.
2- State the importance of finding the coefficient of permeability in Civil Engineering.
3- Give 4 examples in which this value is used in the civil engineering.
4- Compare the calculated value K(soil) to the typical values usually found.
5- Give 3 sources of error and precautions that may be taken to avoid them.
6- State what can be done to improve the experiment as it may relate to its accuracy and
precision.

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GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS

(Refer to Krishna Reddv Exp. 6 Grain Size Analysis)
CALCULATIONS
Sieve Analysis

1- Obtain the mass of soil retained on each sieve by subtracting the weight of the empty
sieve from the mass of the sieve + retained soil, and record this mass as the weight
retained on the data sheet. The sum of these retained masses should be approximately
equals the initial mass of the soil sample. A loss of more than two percent is
unsatisfactory.
2- Calculate the percent retained on each sieve by dividing the weight retained on each sieve
by the original sample mass.
3- Calculate the percent passing (or percent finer) by starting with 100 percent and
subtracting the percent retained on each sieve as a cumulative procedure.
4- Make a semi logarithmic plot of grain size vs. percent finer.
5- Compute Cc and Cu for the soil.

Hydrometer Analysis
1- Apply meniscus correction to the actual hydrometer reading.
2- From Table 2, obtain the effective hydrometer depth L in cm (for meniscus corrected
reading).

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Table 2: Values of Effective Depth Based on Hydrometer and Sedimentation Cylinder of

Specific Sizes

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3- Assume Gs of the soil (2.65), obtain the value of K from Table 3.

Table 3: Values of k for Use in Equation for Computing Diameter of Particle in

Hydrometer Analysis

4- Calculate the equivalent particle diameter by using the following formula:

Where t is in minutes, and D is given in mm.

5- Determine the temperature correction CT from Table 4.

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Table 4: Temperature Correction Factors CT

6- Determine correction factor a from Table 5 using Gs.

Table 5: Correction Factors a for Unit Weight of Solids

7- Calculate corrected hydrometer reading as follows:

Rc = RACTUAL - zero correction + CT

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8- Calculate percent finer as follows:

=

100

Where S is the weight of the soil sample in grams

9- Calculate percent finer as follows:

200
100

F200 = % finer of #200 sieve as a percent

10- Plot the grain size curve D versus the adjusted percent finer on the semi logarithmic
sheet.
DISCUSSION
(1) State the importance of
a- Cc and Cu (what do these values indicate?)
b- The grain size vs. percent finer (sieve) graph.
c- The grain size curve D versus the adjusted percent finer (hydrometer).
(2) Using your results to classify the soil using the Unified Soil Classification System
(USCS)
(3) Give 4 uses of these value in the civil engineering.
(4) Give 3 sources of error and precautions that may be taken to avoid them.
(5) State what can be done to improve the experiment as it may relate to its accuracy and
precision.

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