Submitted to: Sir Zahid

Submitted by: Ali Asad

Roll No: FA15-BCV-002
Subject: Geotechnical Engineering 2(Lab)
Session: 2015-19
Section: A
Group: 1
Report: 1
Department: Civil Engineering
Dated: Oct 18 ,2017.
Statement: To find relative density, maximum density and minimum density of
cohesion-less granular soil by using vibrating table.

Objectives:
1. Find the maximum and the minimum density of the soil
2. Find the relative density of granular soil

Standard References:
1. ASTM 4253
2. ASTM 4254

Equipment:
1. Vibrating Table.
2. Mold.
3. Sleeves.
4. Surcharge base-plate.
5. Surcharge weights.
6. Scale.
7. Dial-indicator gage.
8. Dial indicator holder.
9. Balance.
10. Straightedge.

Related Theory:
Compaction:
The process of improving the requisite engineering properties of a soil mass at the site is
known as stabilization. Compaction is a type of mechanical stabilization where the soil mass is
densified with the application of mechanical energy. The mechanical energy may be produced
by dynamic load, static load, vibration or by tamping. During compaction the soil particles are
relocated and the air volume is reduced. It may also involve a modification of the moisture
content.
Coarse-grained soils are easy to compact. With vibration, they can be compacted in thick
layers. They are also the best fill materials with respect to the bearing capacity and are not
susceptible to swelling and frost action. They can be compacted easily in both dry and wet
weather.

Situations for compaction of cohesion-less soil:

It is evident that there exist two situations for maximum density, one corresponding to
full saturation and other to completely dry state. Dry state compaction is applied is applied for
rock fill, crushed rock and sometimes for sand and gravel. Due to the comparatively flat
compaction curve, sand and gravel also be compacted to a comparatively high density at
Natural moisture content, between the dry and saturated state.
Significance:
The maximum index density/unit weight is one of the key components for many cohesion-
less, free-draining soils Moreover ,it has a great importance in evaluating the state of
compactness of a soil mass that is either naturally occurring or placed by man (fill).The
engineering properties, such as strength, compressibility, and permeability greatly depend on
compaction.

Compaction Effort:
The compactive effort is the amount of mechanical energy that is applied to the soil
mass. Both the magnitude of compacting energy and type of compactive effort influence to a
greater extent the compaction of soils. Cohesion-less soils are efficiently compacted by
vibration. In the field, hand operated vibrating plates and motorized vibratory rollers of various
sizes are used for compaction of sand, gravels etc.

Importance of Compaction:
1. It improves the density of the soil thus improving its shear strength and bearing
capacity.
2. It decreases the tendency of the soil mass to settle under repeated load.
3. Due to improved shear strength, the stability of the slopes and excavations increases.
4. It reduces the volume of pores thus reducing the permeability of the soil mass.
5. The weather resistance of a compacted soil mass is improved and its tendency of
swelling shrinkage and frost susceptibility is reduced remarkably.

Relative density:
Relative density is the ratio of the difference between the void ratios of the cohesionless
soil in a loosest state and existing natural state to the difference between its void ratio in the
loosest and densest state.
Relative density is an arbitrary character of sandy deposit. In real sense, relative density
expresses the ratio of actual decrease in volume of voids. For very dense gravelly sand, it is
possible to obtain relative density greater than one. It means we cannot achieve such natural
condition in laboratory.
Experiment Photograph:

Test Procedure:
1. Determine the dimensions of the mold i.e diameter, height
2. Determine the Mass of Mold i.e M1
3. Fill the mold with the soil 1 inch above the top of the mold.
4. Trim off the excess soil with the help of straightedge.
5. Determine the mass of the mold and soil i.e M2.
6. Place the surcharge base plate on the surface of the soil.
7. Remove the surcharge base-plate handle.
8. Attach the mold to the vibrating table.
9. Determine the initial reading by using dial gauge.
10. Firmly attach the guide sleeve to the mold.
11. Place the surcharge weight on the surcharge base plate.
12. Vibrate the assembly for 8 minutes.
13. Determine the final dial gage reading.
14. Remove the surcharge base-plate from the mold.
15. Detach the mold from the vibrating table.
16. Again determine and record the mass of the mold and soil (M2).

17. Calculate the minimum density =

18. Calculate the maximum density=
Volume of tested-dry soil= Volume of mold (Area of mold*Height)
Where Height = (Final height- Initial height) + thickness of plate
19. Calculate the minimum and maximum void ratios.
20. Calculate the relative density.
Observations:
When we perform this experiment we observed that there is a significant decrease in the
height of sample after vibration.

Calculations:
Mass Of empty Mold=M1= 9.25 kg
Diameter of mold=d=14.7 cm
Height of mold=h=15.2 cm
Volume of mold=V=0.01416 m3

Sr Method Vc Dial V max min emax emin e Relative

No (m3) Reading (m3) (g/cc) (g/cc) demsity
(cm) (%)
1 Dry 0.01416 0.128 0.01408 1.54 1.535 0.7587 0.7489 0.7518 71.36
2 Dry 0.01416 3.1 0.01225 2.142 1.74049 0.5836 0.2606 0.2613 99.1
3 Wet 0.01416 4.5 0.01139 2.064 1.5887 0.6005 0.3082 0.3920 78.58

Conclusion:
After performing this experiment I concluded that the compaction of wet soil is more than
the dry soil. So the rate of compaction increases with the increase in the moisture content of
the soil to a certain limit.

Remarks: