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Dasmariñas, Cavite
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
CIVIL ENGINEERING
EXPERIMENT 4
DETERMINATION OF WATER CONTENT, UNIT WEIGHT, VOID RATIO AND
DEGREE OF SATURATION OF A SOIL SAMPLE
OBJECTIVE
To determine the water content, unit weight, void ratio and degree of saturation of soil in
preparation for more elaborate tests like compaction and seepage.
PROCEDURE
A. Ware Content
1. Weigh the container without the soil sample (30g).
2. Weigh the container and soil sample.
3. Dry the container with the soil sample at a constant temperature between 105°C to
110°C.
4. The drying time will depend upon the size and type of soil (1-6 hours).
5. Remove the container and let it cool to room temperature.
6. If the sample is to be weighed within one hour, cool it at room temperature. If the
sample is not to be weighed at once, it should be placed in a desiccator for
cooling.
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B. Unit Weight Determination
1. Trim a sample of soil to about 1 ½ inches diameter and 2 to 3 inches long. Surface
should be smooth and rounded.
2. Weigh to 0.1 gram.
3. Compute the unit weight in grams / cu. cm. or pound/cu. feet.
C. Void Ratio and Degree of Saturation Determination
1. Oven dry the sample and find Ww and find Vw.
2. Determine the Vs of the soil by displacement and find Vv (Vv = V – Vs).
3. Solve for the void ratio and degree of saturation.
ILLUSTRATION
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𝒘𝒘 𝟐
𝒘𝟏 = = 𝟐𝟖 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟕𝟏𝟒𝟐𝟗 = 𝟕. 𝟏𝟒𝟐𝟗%
𝒘𝒔
𝒘𝒘 𝟑
𝒘𝟐 = = = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 = 𝟏𝟏. 𝟏𝟏%
𝒘𝒔 𝟐𝟕
𝝅
𝒅 = 𝟕. 𝟔𝟑𝟗 𝒄𝒎(𝟑 𝒊𝒏) ; 𝑨 = (𝟕. 𝟔𝟑𝟗)𝟐
𝟒
𝒉 = 𝟐. 𝟓 𝒊𝒏 = 𝟔. 𝟑𝟓 𝒄𝒎
𝟏𝟗𝟕 𝒈
𝜸= = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟖𝟖 𝒈/𝒄𝒄
𝟐𝟓𝟎 𝒄𝒄
𝟎. 𝟒𝟑𝟒𝟑 𝒍𝒃
𝜸= = 𝟒𝟗. 𝟏𝟗𝟐 𝒍𝒃/𝒇𝒕𝟑
𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟖𝟖𝟐𝟖𝟔𝟕
𝟕. 𝟏𝟒 + 𝟏𝟏. 𝟏𝟏
𝑨𝒗𝒈. 𝒘 = = 𝟗. 𝟏𝟐𝟓
𝟐
(𝟏+𝒘)𝑮𝑺(𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕) (𝟏+𝟎.𝟎𝟕𝟏𝟒)𝑮𝒔(𝟗.𝟖𝟏)
𝑮𝒔 ; 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 = = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟖𝟖 = = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟖𝟏𝟓
𝟏+𝒆 𝟏+𝟎.𝟖𝟕
𝑽𝒗 𝟐𝟎
𝒏= = 𝟐𝟓𝟎 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟖
𝑽𝑻
𝒏 𝟎.𝟎𝟖
𝒆= = = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟖𝟕
𝟏−𝒏 𝟏−𝟎.𝟎𝟖
𝑮𝒔𝑾 (𝟎.𝟎𝟖𝟏𝟓)(𝟎.𝟎𝟕𝟏𝟒)
𝑺= = 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝟔𝟖𝟖𝟔 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝟖𝟖𝟔%
𝒆 𝟎.𝟎𝟖𝟕
The experiment conducted was all about the determination of water content, unit weight
and void ratio which is an important requirement in laboratory tests and is part of the test
included in more elaborate tests. Water content is an important measure in the compaction of
soil. In order that correct water content is obtained from a soil sample, several samples at
different points must be taken. They are then mixed and the water content is then obtained from
this soil sample. Various methodologies have been devised to determine the unit weight of the
soil in the field such as calibrated bucket method, nuclear method to name a few. For
determination of the unit weight in a laboratory setting, paraffin wax can be used in determining
the unit weight. The paraffin coating applied on the soil will allow determination of its volume as
it is submerged in water. The specific gravity of the solid grains of the soil is an engineering
parameter which is dependent on the mineralogy of the soil and the structure of its solid grains.
Upon determination of the specific gravity, the void ratio and degree of saturation of the soil can
then be determined mathematically.