EXPERIIMENT 1

CALCULATION OF MOISTURE CONTENT

BY SPEEDY MOISTURE METER

OBJECTIVE :
The objective of a speedy moisture meter is to quickly and accurately measure the moisture
content of a sample.

APPARATUS :

Speedy moisture meter

Two 1.25 inch steel balls

Scoops for measuring calcium

carbide reagent
Cleaning brush and cloth

Calcium carbide reagent

Weighing balance

RELATED THEORY :

The measurement of moisture content, both in its natural state and under specific test conditions,
offers a highly valuable method for classifying cohesive soils and assessing their engineering
properties.

The swift determination of moisture content becomes essential when working in remote
locations, requiring an estimation of in-situ moisture levels. The Speedy Moisture Meter

offers a rapid means to ascertain moisture content, especially for on-site moisture
determination during field compaction testing. The underlying principle involves the

interaction of free moisture in the soil with a calcium carbide reagent, resulting in the

formation of acetylene gas according to the chemical equation:

CaC2 + H2O → CaO + C2H2
This acetylene gas is channeled within the tester and registers on a pressure dial calibrated

to directly indicate moisture content as a percentage of the wet weight of the soil.

The readings obtained from the Speedy Moisture Meter are adjusted using the following
formula:
W =( Wsp / (1 - WSP)) *100

Where:

W represents moisture content in percentage

 WSP denotes moisture content as determined by the Speedy Moisture Meter, expressed as a

decimal fraction.

PROCEDURE :

Take 26g of moist soil sample from the field and put it in the lid of speedy moisture tester.
Take 24g of calcium carbide and put in the chamber.
Fix the lid in the chamber and turn it in the horizontal position.
Shake it and note that Wsp value of the speedy moisture meter where needle reaches its maximum
postion and stops.
Now with the help of formula i-e W= ,calculate the moisture content.
For an oven dried method take an empty can and weight it as W1 then put some soil in it and then
again weight it as W2
Put in oven for 24 hours in 110 degree temperature. Then weight it as W3.
By using formula W= determine value of moisture content.

SPEEDY MOISTURE METER

CALCULATIONS & OBSERVATIONS :

By Oven Dried method
w1 (weight of empty can) = 11.18g
w2 (weight of can + wet soil) = 33.31g
w3 (weight of can + dry soil) = 31.66g
Moisture Content = ( w2 - w3 ) / (w3 - w1)
By Speedy Moisture Meter
CaC2 = 24 g
Zero error = 0.6
Wsp = 7.6
Wsp - Z.E = 7.6 - 0.6 =7
Wsp(corrected) = Wsp / (1-Wsp) =(0.07/1-0.07) * 100 = 7.526%
 OVEN DRIED METHOD

Group 1 Group 2

weight of empty can w1 4.43g 11.18g

weight of can + wet

w2 27.48g 33.31g
soil

weight of can + dry

w3 26.1g 31.66g
soil

Moisture content  6.37g 8.0g

SPEEDY MOISTURE TESTER

Group 1 Group 2

Error in speedy tester 0.45 0.6

Wsp 7.01 7.2

Wsp(corrected) 6.56 6.6

Moisture content 7.02 7.06

Graph :

Callibration Equation: Wo= 2.8125Wsp (c)- 11.574

 Comments :
From this experiment we calculated moisture content by oven dried method and speedy
moisture tester and found out that speedy moisture method is much more efficient however
oven dried method is much more accurate.