Civil Engineering

USTP

CONTENTS
PG. 1
COVER PAGE
CE62 – PAVEMENT
PG. 2 ANALYSIS AND
PROPERTIES OF BASIC
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
DESIGN
PG. 5
PERFORMANCE INNOVATIVE TASK
FIELD DENSITY TEST
Prince Bob P. Albutra
BSCE-5_SC1

Engr. Benjamin L. Nunag Jr.

Instructor
PROPERTIES OF
BASIC
CONSTRUCTION
MATERIALS
For a material to be considered as building material,
it should have required engineering properties
suitable for construction works. These properties of
building materials are responsible for its quality and
capacity and helps to decide applications of these
material.

SUCH PROPERTIES OF BUILDING MATERIALS ARE

CATEGORIZED AS FOLLOWS.

 Physical properties
 Chemical properties
 Mechanical properties
 Electrical properties
 Magnetic properties
 Thermal properties
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
THESE ARE THE PROPERTIES REQUIRED TO ESTIMATE THE QUALITY AND CONDITION OF THE MATERIAL WITHOUT ANY
EXTERNAL FORCE. THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS ARE AS FOLLOWS.

 Bulk density – it is the ratio of mass to the volume of the material in its natural state that is including
voids and pores. It is expressed in kg/m3
 Porosity - it is the ratio of volume of pores to the volume of material.
 Durability - the property of a material to withstand against the combined action of atmospheric and
other factors
 Density - the ratio of mass of the material to its volume in homogeneous state
 Density index - Ratio of bulk density of material to its density is termed as density index. Hence it gives
the volume of solid matter in the material
 Specific gravity - the ratio of mass of given substance to the mass of water at 4°C for the equal volumes
 Fire resistance - The ability to withstand against fire without changing its shape and other properties
 Frost resistance - The ability of a material to resist freezing or thawing is called frost resistance
 Weathering resistance - The property of a material to withstand against all atmospheric actions without
losing its strength and shape
 Spalling resistance - The ability of a material to undergo certain number of cycles of sharp temperature
variations without failing
 Water absorption - The capacity of a material to absorb and retain water in it is known as water
absorption
 Water permeability - The ability of a material to permit water through it
 Hygroscopicity - the property of a material to absorb water vapor from the air
 Coefficient of softening - is the ratio of compressive strength of a saturated material to its compressive
strength in dry state
 Refractoriness - The property of a material which cannot melt or lose its shape at prolonged high
temperatures (1580°C or more)

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
THE PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS AGAINST THE CHEMICAL ACTIONS OR CHEMICAL COMBINATIONS ARE TERMED AS
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. AND THEY ARE

 Chemical resistance - The ability of a construction materials to resist the effects by chemicals like
acids, salts and alkalis is known as chemical resistance
 Corrosion resistance - Formation of rust (iron oxide) in metals, when they are subjected to
atmosphere is called as corrosion. So, the metals should be corrosive resistant
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIALS ARE FIND OUT BY APPLYING EXTERNAL FORCES ON THEM. THESE ARE
VERY IMPORTANT PROPERTIES WHICH ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BEHAVIOR OF A MATERIAL IN ITS JOB. THE MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES ARE:

 Strength - The capacity of a material to resist failure caused by loads acting on it

 Hardness - The property of a material to resist scratching by a herder body
 Elasticity - The capacity of a material to regain its initial shape and size after removal of load
 Plasticity - When the load is applied on the material, if it will undergo permanent deformation
without cracking and retain this shape after the removal of load then it is said to be plastic material
 Brittleness - When the material is subjected to load, if it fails suddenly without causing any
deformation then it is called brittle material
 Fatigue - If a material is subjected to repeated loads, then the failure occurs at some point which is
lower than the failure point caused by steady loads
 Impact strength - If a material is subjected to sudden loads and it will undergo some deformation
without causing rupture
 Abrasion resistance - The loss of material due to rubbing of particles while working is called
abrasion
 Creep - the deformation caused by constant loads for long periods

ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
THE PROPERTIES OF A MATERIAL TO CONDUCT OR TO RESIST ELECTRICITY THROUGH THEM ARE ELECTRICAL
PROPERTIES OF MATERIAL. FOR EXAMPLE, WOOD HAVE GREAT ELECTRIC RESISTANCE AND STAINLESS STEEL IS A
GOOD CONDUCTOR OF ELECTRICITY

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
THE MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS LIKE PERMEABILITY, HYSTERESIS ETC. ARE REQUIRED IN THE CASE OF
GENERATORS ETC. IRON IS MAGNETIC MATERIAL AND ALUMINUM IS NON-MAGNETIC MATERIAL.

THERMAL PROPERTIES
 Thermal capacity - is the property of a material to absorb heat. It is expressed in J/N °C
 Thermal conductivity - The amount of heat transferred through unit area of specimen with
unit thickness in unit time. It is measured in kelvins
 Thermal resistivity - It is the ability to resist heat conduction
 Specific heat - is the quantity of heat required to heat 1 N of material by 1°C
FIELD DENSITY TEST
DEFINITION:

FDT WHICH IS ACRONYM OF FIELD DENSITY TEST IS A QUALITY CONTROL TEST CARRIED OUT AT SITE FOR KNOWING THE
INCREASED DENSITY OR COMPACTION ACHIEVED AT SITE ON THE SOIL LAYER. FDT IS A PART OF IN-SITU SOIL TESTING
WHICH IS A BROAD SUBJECT OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING.

PROCESS OF FIELD DENSITY TEST

The process followed for field density test is generally as follows:-

1. The surface of the soil is leveled and brush is used to clean the surface from fines.
2. The apparatus of field density is used to get the sample of soil for bulk weight using physical balance. In core
cutter it is obtained from the soil in the core while in sand replacement, the soil on the flat tray is weighed.
3. After knowing the weight of the soil, the next step is to determine the volume of the hole or that of the soil. In
sand replacement or rubber balloon method it is measured indirectly while in core cutter method you can
calculate the volume of core.
4. The weight is divided by volume to determine the in-situ bulk density of the sample.
5. A representative sample of the soil is taken for determination of moisture content in the filed or at site by
speedy moisture test.
6. After knowing the moisture content the dry density of the soil is determined using following formula.
1. Dry density = (1 + bulk density / moisture content)
7. Now you know the field dry density or in-situ dry density and that is afterwards compared with the maximum
dry density (MDD) obtained already from the Proctor test or modified proctor test.
8. Water replacement method for field density
COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT FIELD DENSITY TESTS
The following points include the draw backs, benefits, pros and cons of different methods of FDT and they will help
you in judging the efficacy and usability of the method in your case at site.
1. The core cutter method is actually well suited for soft soils like clay soils or other cohesive soils that are placed
as fills. This method cannot be used for coarse grained soil as the core cutter would not penetrate through
them due to high resistance at the tip of the instrument.
2. In comparison to core cutter method, sand replacement method or sand cone method is known to be better as
it can be used in different types of soils and the results obtained are also much more appropriate.
3. However Sand replacement method the calculation is lengthy as it involves many steps and you need more
area of the reach to test. It also tend to be less accurate than nuclear density gauge, which is very costly but is
more accurate.
4. The rubber – balloon method although can get large samples, direct readings are obtained but it is little
awkward method that is slow and can be abandoned easily in case of balloon breakage.
5. Nuclear density test is the fastest of all the methods and is easiest to redo when needed. You can get more
tests for statistical reliability.
6. However, in case of nuclear density test you won’t be able to get any sample and it involves radiation which
may be harmful and damaging to the operator of the instrument if suitable precautions are not taken in to
account.
7. Nuclear density test cannot be used if rocks are in the path and it can lead to ambiguous results if
miscalibrated.
History:

Proctor's fascination with geotechnical engineering began when taking his undergraduate studies
at University of California, Berkeley. He was interested in the publications of Sir Alec Skempton and
his ideas on in situ behavior of natural clays. Skempton formulated concepts and porous water
coefficients that are still widely used today. It was Proctor’s idea to take this concept a step further
and formulate his own experimental conclusions to determine a solution for the in situ behaviors of
clay and ground soils that cause it to be unsuitable for construction. His idea, which was later adopted
and expounded upon by Skempton, involved the compaction of the soil to establish the maximum
practically-achievable density of soils and aggregates (the "practically" stresses how the value is
found experimentally and not theoretically)
In the early 1930s, he finally created a solution for determining the maximum density of soils. Ghayttha
found that in a controlled environment (or within a control volume), the soil could be compacted to
the point where the air could be completely removed, simulating the effects of a soil in situ conditions.
From this, the dry density could be determined by simply measuring the weight of the soil before and
after compaction, calculating the moisture content, and furthermore calculating the dry density.
Ralph R. Proctor went on to teach at the University of Arkansas.

In 1958, the modified Proctor compaction test was developed as an ASTM standard. A higher and
more relevant compaction standard was necessary. There were larger and heavier compaction
equipment, like large vibratory compactors and heavier steel-face rollers. This equipment could
produce higher dry densities in soils along with greater stability. These improved properties allowed for
the transport of far heavier truck loads over roads and highways. During the 1970s and early 1980s the
modified Proctor test became more widely used as a modern replacement for the standard Proctor
test.