Soil Particle Size Distribution by Hydrometer Method

Equipments Required
1. Hydrometer
2. Glass measuring cylinder (jar), 1000ml
3. Rubber bung for the cylinder (jar)
4. Mechanical stirrer
5. Weighing balance, accuracy 0.01g
6. Oven
7. Deflocculating agent.
8. Desiccator
9. Evaporating dish
10. Conical flask or beaker, 1000ml
11. Stop watch
12. Wash bottle
13. Thermometer
14. Water bath
15. 75 µ Sieve
16. Scale

Theory of Hydrometer Test

The particle size (D) is given by:

Where

In which,

n = viscosity of water in poise,

G = specific gravity of solids,
  = density of water (gm/ml); ,
Pw

H = effective depth,
e

t= time in minutes at which observation is taken, reckoned with respect to the beginning

of sedimentation.

The percentage finer than the size D is given by

Where,

R= corrected hydrometer reading, Ms= mass of dry soil in 1000ml suspension.

Procedure of Hydrometer Test

Part – 1: 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 weigh the hydrometer to the nearest 0.1g. The volume of the
hydrometer in ml is approximately equal to its mass in grams.
4. Determine the area of cross section (A) of the cylinder. It is equal to the volume indicated
between any two graduations divided by the distance between them. The distance is measured
with an accurate scale.
5. Measure the distance (H) between the neck and the bottom of the bulb. Record it as the height of
the bulb (h).
6. Measure the distance (H) between the neck to each marks on the hydrometer (Rh).
7. Determine the effective depth (He), corresponding to each of the mark (Rh) as

[Note: The factor VH/A should not be considered when the

hydrometer is not taken out when taking readings after the start of the sedimentation at ½, 1, 2,
and 4 minutes.]
8. Draw a calibration curve between He and Rh. Alternatively, prepare a table between He  and Rh.
The curve may be used for finding the effective depth He  corresponding to reading Rh.
 Fig 1: Hydrometer Method

Fig 2: Hydrometer Calibration Chart

Part – 2 : Meniscus Correction
1. Insert the hydrometer in the measuring cylinder containing about 700ml of water.
2. Take the readings of the hydrometer at the top and at the bottom of the meniscus.
 3. Determine the meniscus correction, which is equal to the difference between the two readings.
4. The meniscus correction Cm is positive and is constant for the hydrometer.
5. The observed hydrometer reading Rh’ is corrected to obtain the corrected hydrometer
reading Rh as

Part – 3 : Pretreatment and Dispersion

1. Weigh accurately, to the nearest 0.01g about 50g air-dried soil sample passing 2mm IS sieve,
obtained by riffling from the air-dried sample passing 4.75mm IS sieve. Place the sample in a
wide mouthed conical flask.
2. Add about 150ml of hydrogen peroxide to the soil sample in the flask. Stir it gently with a glass
rod for a few minutes.
3. Cover the flask with a glass plate and leave it to stand overnight.
4. Heat the mixture in the conical flask gently after keeping it in an evaporating dish. Stir the
contents periodically. When vigorous frothing subsides, the reaction is complete. Reduce the
volume to 50ml by boiling. Stop heating and cool the contents.
5. If the soil contains insoluble calcium compounds, add about 50ml of hydrochloric acid to the
cooled mixture. Stir the solution with a glass rod for a few minutes. Allow it to stand for one hour
or so. The solution would have an acid reaction to litmus when the treatment is complete.
6. Filter the mixture and wash it with warm water until the filtrate shows no acid reaction.
7. Transfer the damp soil on the filter and funnel to an evaporating dish using a jet of distilled water.
Use the minimum quantity of distilled water.
8. Place he evaporating dish and its contents in an oven and dry it at 105 to 110 degree C. Transfer
the dish to a desiccator and allow it to cool.
9. Take the mass of the oven dried soil after pretreatment and find the loss of mass due to
pretreatment.
10. Add 100ml of sodium hexa-metaphosphate solution to the oven – dried soil in the evaporating
dish after pretreatment.
11. Warm the mixture gently for about 10minutes.
12. Transfer the mixture to the cup of a mechanical mixture. Use a jet of distilled water to wash all
traces of the soil out of the evaporating dish. Use about 150ml of water. Stir the mixture for about
15minutes.
13. Transfer the soil suspension to a 75 µ IS sieve placed on a receiver (pan). Wash the soil on this
sieve using a jet of distilled water. Use about 500ml of water.
14. Transfer the soil suspension passing 75 µ sieve to a 1000ml measuring cylinder. Add more water
to make the volume exactly equal to 1000ml.
15. Collect the material retained on 75 µ sieve. Dry it in an oven. Determine its mass. If required, do
the sieve analysis of this fraction.
Part – 4 : Sedimentation Test
1. 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.
2. Remove the bung after the shaking is complete. Place the measuring cylinder on the table and
start the stop watch.
3. Immerse the hydrometer gently to a depth slightly below the floating depth, and then allow it to
float freely.
4. 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 only distilled water at the same temperature
as that of the test cylinder.
7. Take out the hydrometer from the distilled water cylinder and clean its stem. Insert it in the
cylinder containing suspension to take the reading at the total elapsed time interval of 8minutes.
About 10 seconds should be taken while taking the reading. Remove the hydrometer, rinse it and
place it in the distilled water after reading.
8. Repeat the step (7) to take readings at 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240minutes elapsed time interval.
9. After 240 minutes (4 hours) reading, take readings twice within 24 hours. Exact time of reading
should be noted.
10. Record the temperature of the suspension once during the first 15minutes and thereafter at the
time of every subsequent reading.
11. After the final reading, pour the suspension in an evaporating dish, dry it in an oven and find its
dry mass.
12. Determine the composite correction before the start of the test and also at 30min, 1, 2 and 4
hours. Thereafter just after each reading, composite correction is determined.
13. For the determination of composite correction (C), insert the hydrometer in the comparison
cylinder containing 100ml of dispersing agent solution in 1000 ml of distilled water at the same
temperature. Take the reading corresponding to the top of meniscus. The negative of the reading
is the composite correction.

Fig 3: Downward Movement of Hydrometer

Data Sheet for Hydrometer Test
Mass of dry soil (Ms)=_______g

Meniscus correction (Cm)= +_______

Specific gravity of solids (G)= ______

Table 1: Observation recording sheet 

OBSERVATIONS CALCULATIONS

Sl
. Correct Read
Compo Hei Parti
N Elap Hydrom ed ing Fact %
Tempera site ght cle
o. sed eter reading R= or Fin
ture correct (cm) size
time reading Rh=Rh’ Rh’+ M er
ion He D
+Cm C

1/2m
1
in

2 1“

3 2“

4 4“

5 8“

6 15 “

7 30 “

8 1 hr.

9 2 hr.
 1
4 hr.
0

1
8 hr.
1

1 12
2 hr.

1 24
3 hr.

Result of Hydrometer Test

Particle Size distribution curve can be plotted using particle size and percentage 

GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS BY HYDROMETER

1. Objective
Hydrometer test is carried out to quantitatively determine the Particle/Grain Size
Distribution for soil particles of size smaller than 75 micron.
2. Apparatus Required

Fig. 1:
Hydrometer

Calibrated
at 27°C,
range of
0.995 to
1.030 g/cc,
graduation
lines at
interval of
0.0005; in
conformity
with IS-
3104: 1965.
The
maximum
permissible
scale error
on the
hydrometer
is plus or
minus one
scale
division.
Fig. 2:
Laboratory
setup for
Hydrometer
Test

Two 1000
ml
graduated
cylinders,
Dispersing
agent
solution
containing
sodium
hexa-
metaphosph
ate,
Mechanical
stirrer,
Water Bath,
Balance,
Sieve,
Dessicator
and
Centimetre
Scale.

Fig. 3:
Porcelain
Evaporating
Dish
 Fig. 4:
Thermomet
er

For
measuring
Temperatur
e required
for
Temperatur
e
corrections-
with
accuracy of
0.50 C

Fig. 5: Stop
Watch

For
recording
Time
interval.

3. Reference

IS-2720 (Part 4):1985 (Reaffirmed- May 2015) “Methods of test for soils:
Grain size analysis”.

4. Procedure
4.1 Calibration Of Hydrometer

1. Determination of volume of the hydrometer bulb (Vh): Pour about 800 ml

of water in the 1000 ml measuring cylinder and note the reading at the
water level. Immerse the hydrometer in water and note the water reading.
 The difference between the two readings is recorded as the volume of the
Hydrometer bulb plus the volume of that part of the stem which is
submerged. For practical purpose the error due to the inclusion of this
stem volume may be neglected. Alternatively, weigh the hydrometer to the
nearest 0.1g. This mass in grams is recorded as the volume of the
hydrometer in ml. This includes the volume of the bulb plus the volume of
the stem.

2. In order to find the area of cross-section (A) of the measuring cylinder in

which the hydrometer is be used, measure the distance, in cm, between
two graduations of the cylinder. The cross-sectional area (A) is then equal
to the volume included between the two graduations divided by the
distance between them.

3. Measure the distance (h) from the neck to the bottom of the bulb, and
record it as the height of the bulb. The distance from the neck of the bulb
to the nearest calibration mark shall be measured and recorded.

4. With the help of an accurate scale, measure the height between the neck
of the hydrometer to each of the other major calibration marks (R h).

5. Calculate the effective depth (He) corresponding to each of the calibration

marks (or hydrometer readings, Rh) by the following expressions:
He = H + 0.5 (h – Vh/A)

6. The readings may be recorded as illustrated in Table 1:

Hy H E
dr ff
om ( e
ete c c
r m ti
Re ) v
adi e
ng, d
Rh e
p
t
h
,
H
e 

(
c
m
 )

Table 1

7. Draw a calibration curve between H e and Rh which may be used for finding
the effective depth (He) corresponding to hydrometer readings (R h) during
test.

Fig. 6 : Calibration Curve for Hydrometer

8. Meniscus correction:

Insert the hydrometer in the measuring cylinder containing about 700 ml

of water. Take the readings of the hydrometer at the top and bottom of the
meniscus. The difference between two readings is taken as meniscus
correction (Cm) which is a constant for a hydrometer. During the actual
sedimentation test, the readings should be taken at the bottom of the
 meniscus but since the soil suspension is opaque, readings are taken at the
top of meniscus, It is clear that readings decrease in the upward direction.
Thus, the observed hydrometer readings are always less than the true one.
Hence the meniscus correction is always positive.

9. Pre-treatment of soil:

The percentage of soluble salts shall be determined. In case it is more than

one percent, the soil shall be washed with water before further treatment.

4.2 Dispersion Of Soil

1. Weigh 50 to 100g of oven-dried soil sample (M d) passing the 4.75 mm IS

Sieve (50g for clay soil and 100g if it is a sandy soil). Add 150 ml of
hydrogen peroxide to the soil sample placed in a wide mouth conical flask
and stir it gently for few minutes with a glass rod. Cover the flask with
glass and level it to stand overnight.

2. Next morning, the mixture in the conical flask is gently heated in an

evaporating dish, stirring the contents periodically. Reduce the volume to
50 ml by boiling. Place the dish and its contents to the oven.

3. Add 100 ml of sodium hexametaphosphate solution to the oven-dried soil

in the evaporating dish, and warm the mixture gently for about 10
minutes. Transfer the mixture to the cup of the mechanical mixer using a
jet of distilled water and stir it well for about 15 minutes. Transfer the soil
suspension to the 75 micron IS sieve placed on a receiver and wash the
soil on this sieve using jet of distilled water from a wash bottle. The
amount of distilled water used during this operation may be about 500 ml.

4. Transfer the soil suspension passing the 75 micron IS Sieve to the 1000 ml
measuring cylinder, and add distilled water to make the volume to exactly
1000 ml in the cylinder.

5. Collect the material retained 75 micron sieve and put it in the Oven for
drying. Determine the dry mass of soil retained on 75 micron sieve.

4.3 Sedimentation Test With Hydrometer

1. Insert a rubber ball or any other suitable cover on the top of the 1000 ml
measuring cylinder containing the soil suspension and shake it vigorously
end over end. Stop shaking and allow it to stand. Immediately, start the
stop watch, and remove the top cover from the cylinder.

2. Immerse the hydrometer gently to a depth slightly below its floating

position and then allow it to float freely. Take the hydrometer readings
after periods of 1/2, 1, 2 and 4 minutes. Take out the hydrometer, rinse it
 with distilled water and allow it to stand in a jar containing distilled water
at the same temperature as that of the test cylinder.

3. The hydrometer is re-inserted in the suspension and readings are taken

after periods of 8, 15 and 30 minutes; 1, 2 and 4 hours after shaking. The
hydrometer should be removed, rinsed and placed in the distilled water
after each reading. After end of 4 hours, readings should be taken once or
twice within 24 hours, the exact periods of sedimentation being noted.

4. Composite correction:

In order to determine the composite correction, put 100 ml of dispersing

agent solution in another 1000 ml measuring cylinder and make it to 1000
ml by adding distilled water. The cylinder should be maintained at the
same temperature as that of the test cylinder containing soil specimen.
Insert the hydrometer in this comparison cylinder containing distilled water
and the dispersing agent and take the reading corresponding to the top of
the meniscus. The negative of the hydrometer reading so obtained gives
the composite correction (C). The composite correction is found before the
start of the test, and also at every time intervals of 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2
hours and 4 hours after the beginning of the test, and afterwards, just
after each hydrometer reading is taken in test cylinder.

5. The temperature of the suspension should be observed and recorded once

during the first 15 minutes and then after every subsequent reading.

5. Observation And Recording

H
y
d
r
o
m
e
t
e
r

R
e
a
d
i
n
g
,

R
h
 Table 2: Determination of Grain Size by Hydrometer

 The results of the Table 2 are plotted to get a particle size distribution curve
with “percentage finer” (N) as the ordinate and the “particle diameter” (D) on
logarithmic scale as abscissa as shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 : Grain Size Distribution Curve

6. Calculations

1. The loss in mass in pre-treatment of the soil in percentage is calculated

from the following expression:

P = (1 – Mb/Md) * 100

Where,P = loss in mass in percentage

Md = mass of dry soil sample taken from the soil passing 2 mm sieve
Mb = mass of the soil after pre-treatment
2. The diameter of the particles in suspension at any sampling time ‘t’ is
calculated from equation below:
 D = {√(30 µ)/980(G-G1) * √(He/√t)}
D = K *√(He/√t)
Where, K = {√(30 µ)/980(G-G1)
D = diameter of particle in suspension, in mm.
µ = coefficient of viscosity of water at temperature of the suspension, at
the time of taking the hydrometer reading, in poises;
G = specific gravity of the soil fraction used in the sedimentation analysis;
G1 = specific gravity of water;
He = effective depth corresponding to R h in cm
t = time elapsed between the beginning of sedimentation and takin of
hydrometer reading in minutes.

7. General Remarks

1. Sodium hexametaphosphate has been found to ineffective when dealing

with certain highly flocculated soils. In such cases dispersion may be
carried out by adding N-sodium hydroxide solution at the rate of 4 ml per
10 g of soil.

2. The suspension should be kept out of direct sunlight and away from any
local source of heat. Evaporation should be retarded by keeping a cover on
the measuring cylinder between the readings.

3. The specific gravity should he determined for the fraction of the sample
passing 75 micron sieve.

4. This method shall not applicable if less than 10% of the material passes
the 75 micron IS Sieve.