Soil Mechanics Lab (CVSM307)

Department of Civil Engineering

University of Anbar

Report #1
Report by
Gravimetric [1- Ghaith Asaad Shehadah
2- Omar khamis Hussein
Water Content 3- Jaafar Amjad Abdulqader ]

Test
Experiment Date [9-10-2022]

Submission Due Date [23-10- 2022]

[This report contains the following outlines

1. The title; [This work was supervised by
2. Measurements and calculations;
3. Discussion &
4. References] ----------------------------------- ]

Note for student: please do not write below this line

***********************************************************************************************

Report was marked by

Maximum attainable mark

Report’s mark

Notes for student (if any):

 Soil Mechanics Lab (CVSM307), Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Anbar Gravimetric Water Content Test- Report #1

Name…Ghaith Asaad , Omar Khamis , Jaafar Amjad… Group No.…A1….. Date …2022/10/20 Time…3 hours….

Description of Soil ………Soil moisture content is defined as the amount of moisture (or water)present within the
soil pores and around the surface of the soil particles relative to the completely dry mass of soil .………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
This test is conducted in accordance with ASTM D2216 “Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Water
(Moisture) Content of Soil and Rock by Mass”.

1. Please place in the appropriate place

Trial no. 1 2 3 4 5
Disturbed
Type of test specimen:
Intact

For intact specimens: does test specimen contain more than No

one layer? Yes*
No
Are there any material excluded from the test specimen?
Yes*
1%
Water content of the specimen is measured to the nearest:
0.1 %
Yes
Temperature of drying is 110±5°C:
No*

2. Measurements and calculations

Mass of Mass of container and Mass of container and
Water content
Trial No. container(g) wet specimen (g) oven dry specimen (g)
Mcws Mcs w%
Mc
1 116.2 172.0 166.5 10.9
2 116 178.4 172.4 10.63
3 132.4 186.5 181.6 9.95
4 116.2 181.9 175.3 11.16
5 116.2 149.8 146.6 10.52

Calculations (ASTM D2216):

w=10.9+10.63+9.95+11.16+10.52 /5 = 10.63%

w=11%
* Please give more details in your discussion section below

Copyright © Dr. Muayad A. Al-Sharrad, Email: muayad.alsharrad@uoanbar.edu.iq Last updated on 01/11/2019 22:22
 Soil Mechanics Lab (CVSM307), Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Anbar Gravimetric Water Content Test- Report #1

3. Discussion

The water content of a soil mass is defined as the ratio of the weight of water contained in a
given soil mass to the weight of dry soil.
In this experiment, in order to know the percentage of the water content of the soil, we take
several samples and at different depths from the soil to be examined. We first weigh the
container while it is empty, then put samples of different depths in it and weigh them, then
we dry them in the oven at a temperature of 110 degrees Celsius for 24 hours. (to ensure that
it is completely dried out of the water) Then we weigh the dry samples. Here we notice that
the sample has less weight than the wet weight, then we perform mathematical calculations
according to the equation below W= (Mcws-Mcs)/(Mcs-Mc) *100
Then we take the average water content of the soil. We note that the water content of the
soil is approximately 11% of its weight.
Where the lowest water content in the soil is equal to 0% in the dry soil, but in the clay soil it
reaches 40% as the lowest percentage.
The purpose of conducting this experiment is to determine the water content in the sample. It
is conducted by taking a wet sample from the soil and determining its wet weight, then drying
it and determining its dry weight. It is calculated by the weight of the wet sample minus its dry
weight divided by the dry weight multiplied by 100%.
i.e. water content = (weight of water in soil mass) / (weight of dry soil)
Where it is expressed as a percentage.
From the types of clay soil:
1. Cohesive clay soil.
2. Loose clay soil.
3. Clay soil interspersed with gravel
4. Inflatable clay soil

The study of all these types differs in:

1. Its endurance.
2. The degree of water absorption.
3. Its susceptibility to swelling (volume change)

References

[1] What is clay soil? ', www.reference.com, Retrieved 31-3-2019

[2] Ali Akbar Firuzi, Ali Asghar Firuzi, Mojtaba Bagini (2016), Review of Clay Soils, Malaysia: The Journal
Asian Applied Science, p. 1319 ed

Copyright © Dr. Muayad A. Al-Sharrad, Email: muayad.alsharrad@uoanbar.edu.iq Last updated on 01/11/2019 22:22