[Shrinkage Limit]

PROJECT REPORT

Prepared by:
M Ilyas Ashraf 067 Sameer Saleh 284 Kamran Bhutto 2010-CV2010-CVSHRINKAGE LIMIT 2010-CV1

Introduction

Objective
To discuss descriptively the goals & purposes of Shrinkage Limit in Civil Engineering. To perform an experiment on a soil sample for calculating its S.L.

Outcome
Shrinkage Limit of a soil sample has been calculated through dry process & which is 11.9%

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Shrinkage Limit & Its Civil Engineerings Purposes

Shrinkage Limit (S.L) is the maximum water content at which a reduction in water content does not cause an appreciable reduction in volume of the soil mass

Graph between moisture content & volume of soil

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The core aim to determine the shrinkage limit is to check whether the considered soil can be beneficent in construction or may cause sufficient shrinkage & become worse for roads, structures after going a large change in volume due to reduction in soil moisture.

The factors on which the shrinkage of soil is dependent are the losing of moisture content of soil through various process such as: 1. Evaporation from the soil surface in dry climates. 2. Lowering of the groundwater table. 3. Desiccation of soil by trees during temporary dry spells in otherwise humid climates.

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More shrinkage can cause bumps in roads & causes shrinkage cracks in soils which are enormously dangerous for the structure as these can cause cracks in structures & may increases the cautions for collapsing.

Bumps in road due to shrinkage of soil

Large cracks in soil due to shrinkage in soil

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Jones and Holtz (1973) estimated that shrinking and swelling soils cause about $2.3 billion of damage annually in the U.S. alone. Formula for shrinkage limit:
S.L = [ Wo - [ (Vdish - Vdry) Wd

w ] ] x 100 Where: Wo = Water Content Vdish = Volume of Dish Vdry = Volume of Dry Soil Cake Wd = Weight of Dry Soil w = Density of Water (which is 1 gm/cm)

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Apparatus

Shrinkage Dish Glass Prong Plate Mercury Metal China Dish Glass Cup Glass Cylinder 25ml

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Task Working
a) Water Content of wet soil pat: 1. Weight of shrinkage dish 2. Weight of dish + wet soil 3. Weight of dish + dry soil 4. Weight of dry soil 5. Weight of water 6. Water content (Wo = Ww / Wd) b) Volume of wet soil pat: 1. Weight of empty dish 2. Weight of dish + mercury 3. Weight of mercury 4. Volume of dish Vdish = Weight of Hg / 13.53 cm c) Volume of dry soil pat: 189 gms 452 gms 263 gms 19. 4 cm 93 gms 136 gms 131 gms 38 gms 5 gms 13.15 %

1. Weight of glass cup full with mercury

2. Weight of glass cup + Hg + submerged soil cake 3. Weight of Hg displaced by soil cake 4. Volume of dry soil cake Vdry = Wt. of Hg displaced by soil / 13.53 d) Calculations: 1. Shrinkage Limit

1246 gms
1063 gms 256 gms 18.92 cm

11.9
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Discussions & Results

By performing the practical work on given soil sample we get a shrinkage limit of 11.9 % Shrinkage limit varies from 11% to 13%, shows that soil is moderate shrinkable & very near to the borderline of the high shrinkable soil. Therefore, shrinkage cracks may appear on drying.

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The End

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