De La Salle University

Civil Engineering Department

LBYCVC1

Experiment No. 1
Moisture Content of Aggregate by Drying

January 17,2010
Monday

Uy, Angelynne Grace

10811257
 I. Individual Findings

For this experiment two samples of different soil types were used, sand and gravel. Gravel
can be described as the having particle sizes that are retained in the 3 in sieve, while sand
particles that are retained in the #4 sieve, but do not pass the #200 sieve. Sand can be further
classified as coarse sand, having particles sizes of 4.75mm-19mm, and fine sand has particle
sizes of 2mm-4.75mm. The main focus of this experiment was the determination of the
moisture content of each soil sample, and by testing these two types of soil, types of soil it will
help the student point out the factors that affect the moisture content. Moisture content is
simply the quantity of water found in the soil sample, the computation of which is shown under
the Computations part of this report. Referring to the data found in Table1.1, it can be observed
that sand has a greater moisture content compared to the gravel sample, 7.85% and 1.40%,
respectively. The reason for this is that sand particles are smaller, therefore, more of the
surface area of each particle is coated with water as compared to the gravel particles in which
only the outer layer of the particle is coated with water.

II. Conclusion

The results from the experiment show that the moisture content of an aggregate is affected
by several factors, namely, the type of the aggregate used and the particle size of the
aggregate. The aggregate type affects the moisture content because different types have
different rates of permeability, which is the rate that the aggregate absorbs water. Thus, the
lower the permeability of the aggregate, the less moisture it will allow to seep through each
particle. Also related to the type of soil is the particle size of each aggregate (aggregates can be
classified by particle size). Smaller particles generally hold more water because of the more of
the surface area of each particle is coated with water as compared to larger particles in which
only the outer surface is coated with water.
 III. Things Learned

Since aggregates occupy three-fourths of the volume of concrete, it greatly affects the
strength of the concrete, which is why testing these aggregates is crucial. The moisture content
of the aggregate is one of the parameters being determined because it is important when
batching concrete or when compacting unbound materials to achieve a specified density. And
when testing these aggregates for moisture content, the minimum amount of sample needed is
dependent on the particle size of the aggregate, 0.5 kg for a nominal maximum size of
aggregate of #4 sieve and 3kg for three-fourths inch.