FIELD DENSITY TEST

Determination of Density of Soil In-Place

Density of Soil - weight/mass per unit volume

Adequate Compaction results to:

a. Minimal Future settlement
b. Greater stability
c. Greater resistance to water absorption
 FIELD DENSITY TEST

Sand-Cone Method (AASHTO T191 / ASTM D1556)

Apparatus / Materials:

1. Density Apparatus
2. Sand
3. Balances
4. Drying Equipment
5. Digging tools
6. Calibration bucket
7. Guide plate
8. Soil pans, MC cans, plastic bags, labeling materials
 FIELD DENSITY TEST

Sand-Cone Method (AASHTO T191 / ASTM D1556)

Procedure:
1. Get the density of the sand in the laboratory
- Standard sand or Ottawa sand or
calibrated sand**
2. Test Hole is excavated (approx. 150mm or
200mm)
3. Material is saved in a container, weighed
and water content calculated
4. Hole is filled with sand with known density
and volume is determined
5. In place wet density is determined (wet
weight/volume of hole)
6. By knowing moisture content and wet
density, the in-place dry density is calculated
 FIELD DENSITY TEST

WORK SHEET FOR FIELD DENSITY TEST:

Unit Weight of Air-Dry Sand

1. Container full of water, kg --- 8.267
2. Container, kg --- 5.488
3. Water, kg (1) – (2) --- 2.779
4. Vol. of Container, m3 (3) / 1000kg/m³ --- 0.002779
5. Container filled with air dry sand, kg --- 9.300
6. Air-dry sand, kg (5) – (2) --- 3.812
7. Unit weight of dry sand, kg/ m³ (6) / (4) --- 1372

Mass of Sand to Fill Funnel

8. Mass of Jar + Sand, kg --- 9.321
9. Mass of Jar + Sand, kg (after pouring) --- 7.993
10. Sand in Funnel, kg (8) – (9) --- 1.328
 FIELD DENSITY TEST

WORK SHEET FOR FIELD DENSITY TEST:

Actual Moisture Content I II
11. Container + wet soil, g --- 123.2 140.5
12. Container + dry soil, g --- 118.7 135.3
13. Moisture, g (11) – (12) --- 4.5 5.2
14. Container, g --- 29.1 29.4
15. Dry Soil, g (12) – (14) --- 89.6 105.9
16. Actual Moisture content, % (13) / (15) x 100 - - - 5.0 4.9
17. Average actual moisture content, % - - - - - - - - - 4.95