Shri Mata Vaishno Devi

University

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
lab presentation

By
Ranveer singh
23bce022
Index

1. WATER CONTENT DETERMINATION

2. SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOLIDS DETERMINATION
3. CONSISTENCY OF CLAYS (LIQUID LIMIT)
4. GRAIN SIZE DETERMINATION
5. IN SITU UNIT WEIGHT DETERMINATION
6. CONSISTENCY OF CLAYS (PLASTIC LIMIT)
• 7. PROCTER TEST (COMPACTION OF SOIL)
Experiment no 1

• Objective: Determine the moisture content in soil sample

• Importance:
• 1. Affects soil compaction and shrinkage properties.
• 2. Crucial for determining soil strength and bearing capacity.
• 3. Impacts construction processes like concreting and foundation laying.
• 4. Indicates water retention capacity.
Equipment:
1. Oven (105°C)
2. Weighing balance
3. Container
4. Soil sample
•
• Procedure:
• 1. Weigh empty container (W1).
• 2. Add moist soil in container, weigh (W2).
• 3. Oven dry soil for 24 hours and weigh (W3).
• 4. Calculate moisture content using the formula.
• Formula:
W=(w2-w3)/(w3-w1) *100

• Application
• 1.Designing foundations and pavements.
• 2. Studying soil consolidation.
• 3. Classifying soil for agricultural purposes.
• 4. Evaluating soil’s compaction potential.

• Result: The moisture content of soil sample is 23.6%

Experiment no2
Objective: To determination of specific gravity test by pycnometer.
Reference: IS270(Part2)-1964

Importance:
1.Soil particle density relative to water.
2. Soil type (sand, silt, clay).
3. Strength and compaction characteristics.
4. Estimation of void ratio and porosity.

Equipment:
1.Pycnometer
2. Weighing balance
3. Funnel
4. Distilled water
5. Soil sample
• Procedure:
1.Weigh the Empty Pycnometer (W1):Clean and dry the pycnometer, then weigh
it.
2. Add Dry Soil (W2):Fill the pycnometer with a known weight of oven-dried soil,
and weigh again.
3. Fill with Water (W3):Add distilled water to fill the pycnometer with the soil.
Ensure there are no air bubbles. Weigh it.
4. Determine Weight of Water Alone (W4):Empty the pycnometer, clean it, and
fill it with water only. Weigh the pycnometer.
5. Perform Calculations : Use the formula for specific gravity.

Formula:
• Gs= (W2-W1) / [(W4-W1)-(W3-W2)]

1. W1- weight of empty pycnometer

2. W2-weight of pycnometer with soil
3. Weight of pycnometer with soil and water
4. Weight of pycnometer with water only
• Applications
• 1. Foundation design for buildings and bridges.
• 2. Pavement design in highways.
• 3. Stability analysis of embankments and slopes.
• 4. Assessing soil suitability for earthen dams.
• 5. Predicting settlement behavior under loads

• Result :specific gravity of the soil sample is 2.71

Experiment no.3
• Aim –To determine the liquid limit of a given soil sample
• Apparatus:
1. Grooving tool( Casagrande , American Society of test and material
2. Mechanical liquid limit test
3. Balance
4. Oven
5. Evaporating dish
6. Spatual

Procedure
1.Prepare Soil Sample:
2. Add Water:
3. Fill the Liquid Limit Cup:
4. Groove the Soil:
5. Operate the Device:
6. Repeat the Procedure:
7. Determine the Liquid Limit:
Importance
1. Characterizes Soil Behavior
2. Determines Soil Strength
3. Influences Foundation Design
4.Soil Classification

Applications
1. Pavement and Road Design: For
understanding soil behavior under heavy traffic
loads.
2. Foundation Design: Essential for designing
structures on fine-grained soils.
3. Embankment Construction: Used for
selecting appropriate soil types for
embankments.
4. Slope Stability: Helps predict the flow
behavior of soil under varying moisture
conditions.
5. Geotechnical Engineering: Helps in assessing
the suitability of soils for construction projects.
Experiment no.4
• Aim - Grain size distributions of soil particles by sieve

Apparatus Required
1. Sieve (with different mesh sizes: typically 4.75 mm, 2.0 mm, 1.0 mm, 0.425 mm, 0.075 mm)
2.Tray to collect soil
3. Balance for weighing
4. Oven
5. Brush for cleaning sieves
6. Soil sample

Procedure
1.Prepare Soil Sample:
2. Arrange Sieve
3. Sieve the Soil
4. Weigh the Soil in Each Sieve
5. Calculate the Percentage
6. Plot the Grain Size Distribution
Importance
1.Helps in classifying soils according to the
Unified Soil Classification System .
2. Construction Design like in foundations.
3. Grain size affects soil compaction and
permeability, influencing soil compaction
efforts in construction.
4. Coarse-grained soils have different water
retention and permeability compared to fine-
grained soils, affecting drainage.
5. Soil Treatment and Improvement

Applications
1. Pavement and Road Design.
2. The type of soil for foundation design, aiding
in load-bearing capacity analysis
3. Grain size distribution influences soil
behaviour under loads, affecting slope stability.
4. Geotechnical Engineering: Provides vital
information for understanding soil structure
Experiment 5
• Aim –Determination of In-Situ Density of Soil by Sand Replacement Method

• Apparatus Required
• 1. Sand pouring cylinder
• 2. Calibration container
• 3. Dry, uniform sand
• 4. Metal tray with a central hole
• 5. Weighing balance
• 6. Digging tools (small pick, spade)
7. Measuring jar
• Procedure
• 1. Calibrate the Sand: Measure the unit weight of sand by filling a calibration container
with sand from the sand pouring cylinder.
• 2. Excavate Soil: Cut a small hole in the ground using a metal tray and collect the
excavated soil for weighing.
• 3. Fill the Hole: Pour sand into the hole from the cylinder and measure the amount of
sand used.
4. Determine the hole’s volume using the weight of sand and its unit weight, then
calculate the in-situ density using the weight of excavated soil

• Importance
• 1. Determines soil compaction at a site.
• 2. Assesses the strength and stability of soil.
• 3. Helps ensure compliance with construction standards.
4. Aids in quality control for embankments and foundations.
• Applications
• Road Construction: To verify compaction levels of subgrades.
• 2. Foundations: Ensures soil density meets design requirements.
• 3. Earthworks: For embankments and retaining walls.
• 4. Dams: Ensures compacted soil in earthen dams is stable.
1. 5. Landfills: Evaluates compaction of soil layers.

Formulas:
In situ density=weight of excavated soil/volume of the hole

Volume of the hole= weight of sand/unit weight of sand

Experiment 6
• Aim –Determination of plastic limit of soil sample

Apparatus Required
1. Soil sample
2. Spatula
3. Evaporating dish
4. Glass plate
5. Balance
6. Oven
• Procedure
• 1.Take about 20g of air-dried soil passing
through a 425µm sieve.
• 2. Mix the soil with water until it becomes
plastic enough to be rolled.
• 3. Roll a small portion of the soil into
threads of 3mm diameter on a glass plate.
• 4. Stop rolling when the threads start to
crumble at 3mm thickness.
• 5. Collect the crumbled soil, weigh it, and
oven-dry it at 105°C.
6. Calculate the water content of the soil to
find the plastic limit.

• Formula:
Plastic limit=(weight of water/Weight of dry
soil)*100
• Importance
• 1. Indicates soil consistency.
• 2. Helps classify soil in Atterberg limits.
• 3. Aids in understanding soil behavior under
load.

• Applications
1. Foundation Design: Determines soil strength.
2. Soil Classification: Differentiates fine-grained
soils
3. Pavement Construction: Assesses soil stability.
4. Slope Stability: Predicts deformation in
cohesive soils.5. Compaction Analysis: Identifies
soil moisture limits for compaction.
 Experiment 7
• Aim –To determine optimum moisture content of soil sample at maximum dry unit weight of
standard proctor test

• Apparatus Required
1. Proctor mold and rammer
2. Oven
3. Weighing balance
4. Mixing tools (tray and spatula)
5. Sieve (4.75 mm)
6. Graduated cylinder
7. Soil sample

• Importance
• 1. Determines compaction characteristics of soil.
2. Helps identify the best moisture content for achieving maximum soil strength.
• Procedure
• Sieve the soil and mix it with varying
amounts of water.
• 2. Compact the soil in a Proctor mold in 3
layers, applying 25 blows per layer using
the rammer.
• 3. Remove and weigh the compacted soil
to calculate its bulk density.
• 4. Determine the moisture content by
oven-drying a sample.
• 5. Repeat the process for different
moisture contents.
1. 6. Plot dry unit weight against moisture
content to find the OMC and maximum
dry unit weight.

• Result :- maximum dry density is 18.3 g/

Cm³ at water content of 14%.
• Applications
1. Ensures proper subgrade compaction
2. Determines soil stability under loads.
3. Ensures embankments are compacted effectively.
4. Helps achieve maximum soil density for stability.
5. Landfills: Improves compaction to prevent settlement.
Thank you