UiTM Pahang

Faculty of Civil
Engineering

ECG303 BASIC SOIL MECHANICS (LABORATORY)

LAB
: 2
LAB
: Particle Density Test
DATE : 22nd Dec 2015
NO.
TITLE
LEVEL OF OPENNESS
: Level 1
CLASS
: EC110 4J
GROUP LEADER: Nurin Adlina Binti Mohd Roslan
STUDENT NO: 2014686014
GROUP MEMBERS
NO.
NAME
STUDENT NO. SIGNATURE REMARK
1.
Nurin Adlina Binti Mohd Roslan
2014686014
2.
Nur Alya Khairina Bt Shaiffullail
2014880742
3.
Mohamad Hasyraf Bin Mohamad Rafi
2014820444
4.
Muhammad Syafwan Hafiz Bin Noor Shiam
2014672364
5.
Nur Amelia Syarina Binti Amidin
2014224262
ASSESSMENT OF THE LAB ACTIVITIES
NO. ELEMENT TO ASSESS
STUDENT
1
2
3
4
5
INDIVIDUAL IN-LAB ACTIVITIES
1
PUNCTUALITIY
2
DISCIPLINE
(DRESS
CODE,SAFETY
SHOES,SAFETY
REGULATIONS)
3
KNOWLEDGE ON OPEN ENDED LABORATORY
GROUP IN-LAB ACTIVITIES
4
LEADERSHIP SKILL
5
COMMUNICATION
6
ORGANISATION/TEAMWORK
LAB REPORT
7
INTRODUCTION
8
BASIC CONCEPTS
9
SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES/ METHODS
10
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
11
DISCUSSION OF RESULT
12
CONCLUSION
LECTURERS
SIGNATURE:

REMARKS:

THE REPORT MUST BE SUBMITTED 1 WEEK AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE LAB.

1.1 TITLE
PARTILE DENSITY TEST

1.2 OBJECTIVES
The objective of the test is:

To determine the specific gravity of soil using density bottle.

1.3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

There are three tests for the measurement of particle density. These have different
applications, which may be summarized as follows:
1

Density bottle method for fine-grained soils

Gas jar method for most soils including those containing gravel-sized particles

Pycnometer method for use in a ste laboratory on medium and coarse grained soils

The first two are the usual laboratory methods. The third is useful as a simple on-site
procedure where full laboratory facilities are not available and when a result of lower
accuracy is acceptable.

2.0 APPARATUS

Density bottle with stopper having capillary hole at its center

Wash bottle

De-aired distilled water

Alcohol

Ether balance

Vacuum sets

Constant temperature water bath

2.1 PROCEDURES
1. The density bottle and stopper was cleaned and dried properly.
2. The dried bottle was weighed with stopper and the mass was recorded (m1).
3. About 10-20 gm of oven-dried soil was taken and cooled on dessicator. It was poured
carefully into the density bottle. The bottle was weighed with soil and stopper. The
mass was recorded (m2).
4. About 10 ml de-aired distilled water was poured in the bottle to soak the soil. Is was
left for a period of 2 to 10 hours.
5. Some more distilled water was poured to make the bottle half full. The entrapped air
was removed by applying partial vacuum.
6. Some more distilled water was poured into the bottle and it was filled completely
without any entrapped bubble. The stopper was put on.
7. The bottle was kept in the stand in constant temperature water bath for one hour.
8. The bottle was taken out from the water bath. It was wiped clean and dried from
outside. The capillary of the stopper was filled with drops of distilled water if it was
not full. The bottle and the stopper was ensured clean and dry.
9. The bottle was filled with water and soil samples with stopper was weighed. The mass
was recorded (m3).
10. The bottle was emptied and cleaned properly. The bottle was entirely filled with
distilled water. It was make sure that there were no entrapped air bubbles or otherwise
the partial vacuum had to be used.
11. The stopper was put on and the bottle was wiped dry from outside. The mass was
weighed and recorded (m4). The bottle was again emptied and dried properly.
12. The steps 2 to 11 was repeated for two observations to obtain an average G s of the
sample.

3.0 RESULTS
The specific gravity G of the soil, G = (W2 W1) / [(W4-1)-(W3-W2)]
The specific gravity should be calculated at a temperature of 27oC and reported to the nearest
0.01. If the room temperature is different from 27oC, the following correction should be
done:G = kG
where,
G = Corrected specific gravity at 27oC
k = [Relative density of water at room temperature]/ [Relative density of water at 27oC].
A sample proforma for the record of the test results is given below. Relative density of water
at various temperatures is taken from table here.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY DATA SHEET

S. No. Description
1

Temperature in oC

Determination No
I
II
III
27.0
27.0
27.065

Weight of bottle (W1) in g

34.27

34.84

30.42

Weight of bottle + Dry soil (W2) in g

47.75

46.80

43.23

Weight of bottle + Soil + Water (W3) in g

144.07

144.09

139.28

Weight of bottle + Water (W4) in g

136.28

136.93

132.23

Specific Gravity, G

2.369

2.492

2.224

Average Specific Gravity

2.362

CALCULATIONS
2
w3 w

(w 4w1 )
w w
G 1= 2 1

47.7534.27
( 136.2834.27 ) (144.0747.75 )

13.48
5.69

2.369

Average specific gravity

2.369+2.492+2.224
3

2.362

Particle density

s =G w
2.362 1. 00 106
2.362 M g /m

4.0 DISCUSSION
After this experiment, we have achieved the values of specific gravity. The average of
specific gravity for the three values is 2.362. The density of water is 1.00 Mg/m 3. By
calculating the particle density using the equation

s =G w

, we have obtain the value

which is 2.362 Mg/m3. There were some errors that affected this experiment which are when
we weigh the bottle, the weighing scale values fluctuated. There were also some air bubble
that trapped inside the bottle which caused some errors. To avoid this keep happening, we
should take the average value after weighing and make sure the number of air bubble is
minimum as possible.

5.0 CONCLUSION
Based on the experiment, data have been collected and being calculated to obtain the value
of particle density of the soil tested. The experiment also being repeated thus the agreeable
value gained from the average of the three final data. Thus the particle density of the soil
tested is 2.362 Mg/m3 hence satisfying the objective of the experiment which is to determine
the particle density by using density bottle.

6.0 REFERENCES
1. https://www.scribd.com/doc/50590138/Lab-1-Particle-Density-Test
2. http://www.agronomy.lsu.edu/courses/agro2051/density.pdf
3. http://www.academia.edu/2400937/Laboratory_soil_testing_report_by_Arvind_Kumar_Jha