What is hydrometer?

A hydrometer is an instrument which is used to measure the relative density of a liquid.

Hydrometer is made of glass and primarily consists of two parts:
A cylindrical stem with graduation marks
A bulb at bottom weighted with mercury
The lower the density of the liquid the more the hydrometer will sink. Consider water and
petrol for example. The density of petrol is lower than that of water. Therefore the depth of
immersion of a hydrometer will be more in case of petrol than water.

Why is hydrometer used for particle size analysis?

In case of fine grained soil, sieve analysis test does not give reliable test result. This because a
fine grained soil consist of different sizes of particles starting from 0.075 mm to 0.0002 mm and
it is not practicable to design sieve having such small screen size. Also there is a chance of loss
of sample during sieving. Therefore hydrometer analysis is done for grain size analysis of fine
grained soils (i.e.) soil passing through 75 sieve.
The hydrometer measures the SG of suspension at a point indicated by the centre of the
immersed volume. If stem volume is neglected, the value it measures is the SG of the
suspension at the centre of the bulb.

Calibration of hydrometer
1. Take about 800ml of water in one measuring cylinder. Place the cylinder on a table and
observe the initial reading.
2. Immerse the hydrometer in the cylinder. Take the reading after the immersion.
3. Determine the volume of the hydrometer (VH) which is equal to the difference between the
final and initial readings.
Alternatively, we can also weigh the hydrometer and calculate its volume. The volume of the
hydrometer in ml is approximately equal to its mass in grams, assuming that the specific gravity
of it is 1.
The depth of any layer A-A from the free surface B-B is the effective depth at which the SG is
measured by the hydrometer (Fib (b)). As the hydrometer is inserted in the jar, A-A rises to A-
A and level B-B rises to B-B. The effective depth He is:

Where, H= depth from the free surface B-B to the lowest mark on the stem,
h= height of the bulb,
VH= volume of the hydrometer,
A= cross-sectional area of the jar.
The hydrometer readings are recorded after subtracting unity from the value of the SG and
multiplying the remaining digit by 1000. Thus a reading of 1.015 is represented by a hydrometer
reading Rh of (1.015-1) x 1000 = 15.
The graduations on the right side of the stem give Rh reading. Since He depends on Rh a
calibration chart can be obtained using the above equation.
As the sedimentation progresses, the specific gravity of the suspension decreases, the
hydrometer goes deeper and deeper, and the effective depth increases. The hydrometer
reading Rh thus decreases.

Procedure:
1. Exactly 1000mL of suspension is prepared. After stirring, the suspension is washed into a
1000mL jar and water is added to it to bring the level to 1000mL mark.
2. Place the rubber bung on the open end of the measuring cylinder containing the soil
suspension. Shake it vigorously end-over-end to mix the suspension thoroughly.
3. Remove the bung after the shaking is complete. Place the measuring cylinder on the table
and start the stop watch.
4. Immerse the hydrometer gently to a depth slightly below the floating depth, and then allow
it to float freely. Take hydrometer reading (Rh) after 1/2, 1, 2 and 4 minutes without
removing the hydrometer from the cylinder.
5. Take out the hydrometer from the cylinder, rinse it with distilled water.
6. Float the hydrometer in another cylinder containing distilled water with the dispersing
agent added to the same concentration as in the soil suspension.
7. Further readings are taken after 8, 15 and 30 minutes and 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 hours reckoned
from the beginning of sedimentation. About 20 seconds should be taken while taking the
reading. Remove the hydrometer, rinse it and place it in the distilled water after reading.