EXPERIMENT NO.

1 WATER CONTENT DETERMINATION

Purpose This test is performed to determine the water or moisture content of soils. The water content is the ratio of the weight of water to the weight of the dry soil grain is a soil mass. Present of water in the soils give the good strength of clay soils.

Significance Most of the soils, the water content may be an important index used for establishing the relationship between the way a soil behaves and its properties. The consistency of a fine-grained soil largely depends on its water content. That why the water content is also used to show the phase relationships of air, water and solids in a given volume.

Apparatus Thermostatically controlled oven 2 Sample tins Balance readable and accurate to 0.001g Spatula

Test procedure 1. Record the moisture tins and numbering. Determine and record the mass of empty, clean and dry moisture sample tins. 2. Place the moist soil loosely in the moisture sample tins. Determine and record the mass of the moisture sample tin (now containing the moist soil) 3. Place the moisture sample tins in the drying oven that is set at 105C. Leave it in the oven overnight.

4. Remove the moisture sample tins. Carefully but securely, allow it to cool to room temperature. Determine and record the mass of the moisture sample tin (containing the dry soil) 5. Empty the moisture sample tins and clean the tins.

Calculation The moisture content of the soil (m) had been calculate as a percentage of the dry soil weight, using formula m = m2 m3 m3 m1 x 100%