11/21/2022

Soil Mechanics Practical

Sand Cone Test
Field compaction

Ahmad Omar Ahmad

GROUP : B-A2
Table of Content
TABLE OF CONTENT 1

INTRODUCTION 2

FIELD COMPACTION METHODS 3

• NUCLEAR TEST: 3
• SAND CONE TEST: 3
• BALLOON DENSOMETER: 3

APPARATUS REQUIRED 4

PROCEDURE FOR SAND CONE TEST 5

CALCULATIONS AND RECORDINGS 6

CONCLUSION 8

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Introduction
Field Tests are performed on-site and are necessary to determine
if the compaction density is being reached.

There are several different types of field tests, each with

advantages and disadvantages. New methods are also being
developed to increase accuracy and limit the chance of errors. Sand
cone test is performed to test the field density in highway or road
construction, actually it is the simplest way to check the
compaction of the different layers below the surface of the ground.

Its principle is to replace the excavated site soil with the help of
the known value of soil to calculate the volume of the dug hole.
After that the field density of soil is calculated by dividing mass to
the volume of in-situ soil.

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Field compaction methods
• Nuclear Test:
A Nuclear Test is a quick and fairly accurate way to measure the
density and moisture content of the compacted soil. This test
utilizes a radioactive isotope source at either the surface of the soil
or from a probe placed in the soil (called direct transmission).
Water content can also be measured with the nuclear test by
emitting neutron radiation into the soil.
• Sand Cone Test:
A Sand Cone Test is an inexpensive method of Soil Compaction
Testing and is fairly accurate if conducted correctly. The most
important variable to consider is that the sand is consistently dry
throughout the testing. Any change in moisture content will skew
the results.
To begin, a small hole is dug in the compacted soil. This soil is
removed and weighed, then dried and weighed again to determine
the moisture content. The hole’s specific volume is measured by
filling it with a pre-calculated amount of dry sand from a jar and
cone device.
The dry weight of the soil removed is divided by the volume of dry
sand needed to fill the hole, which gives us the density of the
compacted soil in lbs. per cubic ft. This can be compared to the
maximum Proctor density determined earlier to get the relative
density of the compacted soil.
• Balloon Densometer:
A Balloon Densometer is similar to a Sand Cone Test; the difference
is the volume of the sample hole is measured by forcing a liquid-
filled balloon into the test hole.
The rubber membrane allows fluid to go into all the space. The
volume of the fluid is measured and used to determine the soil’s
density and water content.

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Apparatus Required
1. Sand Pouring Cylinder
2. Funnel
3. The sand of Known density(D1)
4. Standard base plate with a hole
5. excavating rod
6. field soil container
7. Weighing Machine

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Procedure for Sand Cone Test
1. Take an empty sand cone and weight it (W1).
2. Again, fill it with known value of sand and reweigh it to get
exact weight of test sand(W2)
3. Sand cone test Method- For Field Density of Soil with Formula
4. Now, go to field and place the hole plate where you want to
test the density of soil.
5. Sand cone test Method- For Field Density of Soil with Formula
6. After that dig the soil gently deep about 4 to 5 inches with the
help of hole base plate.
7. Take out the dogged soil from hole making the whole inner
surface smooth and uniform.
8. After that, take weight of previously excavated soil from
hole(W4).
9. After that place the sand cone on the hole of plate exactly
covering whole around.
10. Now, let the sand from the cone fill the excavated area by
opening the control valve and close the funnel valve once the
area filled.
11. The, again take the weight of the remaining test sand in the
funnel.
12. Let, the remaining weight of sand be (W3).
13. After calculating the weight of remaining test soil, we can
calculate the weight of test soil reached to the excavated area
(W2-W3).
14. Now the volume of that excavated portion can be calculated
by Volume of Excavation(V) = (Weight of test sand(W2-
W3)/density of test sand(D1))
15. and now you can be able to calculate the field density of soil
by formula (Weight of field soil(W4)/ Volume of field Soil(V))

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Calculations and Recordings
Determination of Sand Unit Weight
Weight of proctor mold + base W1 3900 g
Weight of proctor mold + base +sand W2 5300 g
Volume of mold V1 944 𝑐𝑚3
Dry unit weight 𝜸𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 1.483 g/𝑐𝑚3

𝑊2 − 𝑊1
Dry unit weight 𝛾𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 =
𝑉1
5300−3900
𝐷𝑟𝑦 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝛾𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 = = 1.483 g/𝑐𝑚3
944

Determination of Weight of sand to fill jar, cone and base

Weight of plastic gallon+cone+sand before use W3 8200 g
Weight of plastic gallon+cone+sand after use W4 6850 g
Weight of sand to fill the cone Ws 1350 g

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑊𝑠 = 𝑊3 − 𝑊4

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑊𝑠 = 8200 − 6850 = 1350 𝑔

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 Results from field tests
Weight of plastic gallon+cone+sand before use W5 8150 g
Weight of plastic gallon+cone+sand after use W6 5125 g
Volume of the hole V2 1129.5 𝑐𝑚3
Weight of evaporating dish W7 900 g
Weight of evaporating dish+wet soil from the field W8 2600 g
Weight of evaporating dish+dry soil after 24hr W9 2589.69 g
Moist unit weight of the soil in the field 𝜸𝒕 (𝒊𝒏−𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍) 1.505 g/𝑐𝑚3
Water content in the field w% 0.61 %
Dry unit weight in the field 𝜸𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 (𝒊𝒏−𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍) 93.4 g/𝑐𝑚3
Relative compaction (R.C.) % 63.02 %
𝑊5 − 𝑊6 − 𝑊𝑠
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑉2 = = 1129.5 𝑐𝑚3
𝜸𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅
𝑊8 − 𝑊7
𝑀𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝛾𝑡 (𝑖𝑛−𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑢 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙) = = 1.505 𝑔/𝑐𝑚3
𝑉2
𝑊8 − 𝑊9
𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑤% = × 100 = 0.61%
𝑊9 − 𝑊7
𝛾_(𝑡 (𝑖𝑛 − 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑢 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙))
𝐷𝑟𝑦 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝛾𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 (𝑖𝑛−𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑢 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙) = = 93.4 𝑔/𝑐𝑚3
1 + 𝑊%ൗ
100
𝛾𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑅. 𝐶. )% = = 63.02 %
𝛾𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑙𝑎𝑏

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Conclusion
In conclusion the dry unit weight in lab and field were calculated
and the moisture content in field and along with relative
compaction, due to standards relative compaction shall be more
than 95%, in the tests and according to the work done the
relative compaction is 63.02%, which indicates that more
compaction is required for the site selected, my report ends here
thanks for reading.

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