Mona.El Kass - Civil Engineering

  SOIL REPORT Consolidation test Purpose: This test is performed to determine the magnitude and rate of volume decrease that a laterally confined soil specimen undergoes when subjected to different vertical pressures.  From the measured data, the consolidation curve (pressure-void ratio relationship) can be plotted. This data is useful in determining the compression index, the recompression index, and the preconsolidation pressure (or maximum past pressure) of the soil. In addition, the data obtained can also be used to determine the coefficient of consolidation and the coefficient of secondary compression of the soil.   Significance: The consolidation properties determined from the consolidation test are used to estimate the magnitude and the rate of both primary and secondary consolidation settlement of a structure or an earth fill, used in the design of engineered structures and the evaluation of their performance.   Equipment : Consolidation device (including ring

  SOIL REPORT:  Hydrometer test        Abstract:  This blog post is a report of laboratory soil analysis to determine the grain size of fine-grained soils. Apparatus: ·         Hydrometer made of glass and primarily consists of two parts: o    A cylindrical stem with graduation marks o    A bulb at bottom weighted with mercury ·          Dispersion cup with a mechanical stirrer with complete accessories ·          Two glass jars of 1-liter capacity ·          Deflocculating agent (sodium Hexa metaphosphate solution prepared by dissolving 33g of sodium Hexa metaphosphate and 7g of sodium carbonate in distilled water to make one-liter solution) ·          Stopwatch ·          Thermometer ·          Scale Objective: Hydrometers are designed to give the amount of soil, in grams, that is still in suspension. Measure the relative density of a liquid. Hydrometer analysis is done for grain size analysis of fine-grained soils. The lower the density of the liquid th

  SOIL REPORT  Constant head permeability test  Abstract:  This blog post is a report of laboratory soil analysis to d etermine the permeability  of granular soils like sands and gravels containing little or no silt. Apparatus: Constant head apparatus, stopwatch, ruler Procedures: 1.     The constant head permeability test involves the flow of water through a column of cylindrical soil samples under the constant pressure difference.   2.     The test is carried out in the permeability cell, or permeameter, which can vary in size depending on the grain size of the tested material.   3.     The soil sample has a cylindrical form with its diameter being large enough in order to be representative of the tested soil. The usual size of the cell often used for testing common sands is 75 mm diameter and 260 mm height between perforated plates.   4.     The testing apparatus is equipped with an adjustable constant head reservoir and an outlet reservoir which allows mainta