CE 3121: Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory

Class 2

Grain Size Analysis

Sources:

Soil Mechanics – Laboratory Manual,B.M. DAS (Chapters 4 & 5)

Soil Properties, Testing, Measurement, and Evaluation, C. Liu, J. Evett

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 Organization of the Lab Tests
Soil Properties

Physical Mechanical
(Soil Characteristics)

Moisture Specific Atterberg Strength

Gradation Permeability Compressibility
Content Gravity Limits (Shear)
Unit Weight

(Soil Classification)

Geotechnical engineering Geotechnical engineering

Structural engineering Structural engineering
Pavement engineering Pavement engineering
Environmental engineering

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2
Class Outlines
 Grain size Analysis
 Chapter 4: Mechanical Method (Sieve Analysis)
 Chapter 5: Hydrometer Method

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2- Grain size Analysis

 The knowledge of sizes of solid particles

comprising a certain soil type and their
relative proportion is useful because it is used
in;
 Soils classification
 Soil filter design
 Predictions the behavior of a soil with respect
to shear strength, settlement and permeability

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Grain size Analysis (Continue)
 Two types of grain size analyses are typically
performed
 Mechanical analysis also know as sieve
analysis
 Hydrometer analysis

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Sieve Analysis
 ASTM D 421
 Applicable for soils that are mostly granular
with some or no fines
 The U.S. No. 200 sieve (0.074mm or
0.0029in) is the smallest sieve size typically
used in practice
 Small size is 500g (why?)

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Sieve Analysis (Cont.)

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Sieve Analysis (Cont.)

 3/8”, ¼” sieves is the size

of the opening
 No.10 sieve …. has 10
apertures per linear inch
 Use sieves No. 3/8”,
No.4, No.10, No.40,
No.140 & No.200

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 Grain Size Distribution Curves

D60

D30

D10

0.15 mm
0.8 mm
5.3
0.15 mm
0.4 mm
0.8 mm Civil Engineering - Texas Tech University 0.4
1.33
0.15 0.8
Sieve Analysis (Cont.)
 D60 - the diameter corresponding to 60% finer in the
particle-size distribution curve
 D10 – effective size

D60
cu 
 Cu – coefficient of gradation, D10
cc 
D30 2
 Cc – coefficient of curvature, D60  D10
Note:
If cu is relatively large, it indicates a well graded soil. Cu = 1 indicates
that the soil grains are of approximately equal sizes.

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Hydrometer Analysis
 ASTM D422
 This method is generally used to determine the particle-
size distribution for soils with small grain sizes < 0.075
mm (No. 200)
 The lower limit of the particle size determined by this
procedure is about 0.001mm
 In the lab we will use ASTM 152-H Hydrometer (?)
 This method is based on Stoke’s law “The larger the
grain size, the greater its settling velocity in a fluid”
(   w ) 2
v s D ;  : vis cos ity of water
18
 The sample size is 50g passing #10 (why?)

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Hydrometer Analysis (Cont.)

L =30

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Hydrometer Test (Cont.)
 A Hydrometer reading of 30 means that there
are 30 g of soil solids in suspension per
1000cc of soil-water mixture at a temperature
of 200C
 Take reading at 15, 30, 60 seconds then at 2,
5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes

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Composite Corrections
 Fm – Meniscus Correction

Fm

 Zero Correction, Fz
Accounts for the effect of using a deflocculating agent

 Temperature Correction, FT
FT = - 4.85 + 0.25T (T between 15 – 280C)

 Composite Correction = Fm + Fz + FT
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Hydrometer Test (Procedure)
1. Prepare a deflocculating (dispersing) agent
 Use a 4% solution of Sodium
hexametaphophate (Calgon)
 Add the 40g of Calgon in 1000cc of distilled
water and mix thoroughly
2. Use 45±5g of soil passing #10
3. Take 125cc of the mixture prepared in (1)
and add it to the soil in (2) and let it soak for
about 8 – 12hours
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Hydrometer Test (Calculation - pp 30)

 R – Hydrometer reading (col 2)

 Rcp – corrected hydrometer reading for calculation of
percent finer (col 3)
Rcp = R + FT – Fz
a Rcp a = correction for Gs see
Table 5-3 pp 30
 Percent finer (col 4) = Ws
Assume Gs = 2.65

 RcL - Corrected reading for determination of effective

length (col 5) & Find L from Table 5-1 pp 26
RcL = R + Fm L(cm)
A
 Determine D = t (min)
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 Percent filter by Weight
Sieve Size Sieve Opening (mm)
Sample-1 Sample-2 Sample-3
4 4,76 96 - 100
10 2,0 80 100 90
20 0,850 52 99 80
40 0,425 38 91 75
60 0,250 25 61 60
100 0,150 12 25 50
200 0,075 5 15 40
- 0,0065 - 3 20
- 0,001 - 0,5 10

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