Soil Tests for Building Construction

Types of Soil tests for building construction works depend on properties of soil. Design of foundation is based on soil test report of construction site.
Soil tests for construction of buildings or any structure is the first step in construction planning to understand the suitability of soil for proposed construction work.
Soil which is responsible for allowing the stresses coming from the structure should be well tested to give excellent performance. If soil shouldn’t tested correctly then the whole building or structure is damaged or collapsed or leaned like leaning tower of Pisa. So, soil inspection or testing is the first step to proceed any construction.
Types of Soil Tests for Building Construction
Table of Contents [show]

Types of Soil Tests for Building Construction

Various tests on soil are conducted to decide the quality of soil for building construction. Some tests are conducted in laboratory and some are in the field. Here we will discuss about the importance of various soil tests for building construction. The tests on soil are as follows.
  • Moisture content test
  • Atterberg limits tests
  • Specific gravity of soil
  • Dry density of soil
  • Compaction test (Proctor’s test)

Moisture Content Test on Soil

Moisture content or water content in soil is an important parameter for building construction. It is determined by several methods and they are
  • Oven drying method
  • Calcium carbide method
  • Torsion balance method
  • Pycnometer method
  • Sand bath method
  • Radiation method
  • Alcohol method
Of all the above oven drying method is most common and accurate method. In this method the soil sample is taken and weighed and put it in oven and dried at 110o + 5oC. After 24 hours soil is taken out and weighed. The difference between the two weights is noted as weight of water or moisture content in the soil.
Moisture Content Test on Soil

Specific Gravity Test on Soil

Specific gravity of soil is the ratio of the unit weight of soil solids to that of the water. It is determined by many methods and they are.
  • Density bottle method
  • Pycnometer method
  • Gas jar method
  • Shrinkage limit method
  • Measuring flask method
Density bottle method and Pycnometer method are simple and common methods. In Pycnometer method, Pycnometer is weighed in 4 different cases that is empty weight (M1), empty + dry soil (M2), empty + water + dry soil (M3) and Pycnometer filled with water (M4) at room temperature. From these 4 masses specific gravity is determined by below formula.
Specific Gravity Formula for Soil

Dry Density Test on Soil

The weight of soil particles in a given volume of sample is termed as dry density of soil. Dry density of soil depends upon void ratio and specific gravity of soil. Based on values of dry density soil is classified into dense, medium dense and loose categories.
Dry density of soil is calculated by core cutter method, sand replacement method and water-displacement method.

Core Cutter Method for Soil Dry Density Testing

In this methods a cylindrical core cutter of standard dimensions is used to cut the soil in the ground and lift the cutter up with soil sample. The taken out sample is weighed and noted. Finally water content for that sample is determined and dry density is calculated from the below relation.
Dry Density Calculation Formula for Soil
Dry Density Test on Soil - Core Cutter Method

Sand Replacement Method for Soil Dry Density Testing

In this method also, a hole is created in the ground by excavating soil whose dry density is to be find. The hole is filled with uniform sand of known dry density. So by dividing the mass of sand poured into the hole with dry density of sand gives the volume of hole. So we can calculate the soil dry density from above formula.
Dry Density Test on Soil - Sand Replacement Method

Atterberg Limits Test on Soil

To measure the critical water content of a fine grained soil, Atterberg provided 3 limits which exhibits the properties of fine grained soil at different conditions. The limits are liquid limit, plastic limit and shrinkage limit. These limits are calculated by individual tests as follows.

Liquid Limit Test on Soil

In this test, Casagrande’s liquid limit device is used which consist a cup with moving up and down mechanism. The cup is filled with soil sample and groove is created in the middle of cup with proper tool. When the cup is moved up and down with the help of handle the groove becomes closed at some point.
Note down the number of blows required to close the groove. After that water content of soil is determined. Repeat this procedure 3 times and draw a graph between log N and water content of soil. Water content corresponding to N=25 is the liquid limit of soil.
Liquid Limit Test on Soil - Casagrande's Apparatus

Plastic Limit Test on Soil

Take the soil sample and add some water to make it plastic enough to shape into small ball. Leave it for some time and after that put that ball in the glass plate and rolled it into threads of 3mm diameter.
If the threads do not break when we roll it to below 3mm diameter, then water content is more than the plastic limit. In that case reduce water content and repeat the same procedure until crumbling occurs at 3mm diameter. Finally find out the water content of resultant soil which value is nothing but plastic limit.
Plastic Limit Test on Soil

Shrinkage Limit Test on Soil

In case of shrinkage limit, the water content in the soil is just sufficient to fill the voids of soil. That is degree of saturation is of 100%. So, there is no change in volume of soil if we reduce the shrinkage limit. It is determined by the below formula for the given soil sample.
Shrinkage Limit Formula for Soil
Where M1 = initial mass
V1= initial volume
M2= dry mass
V2= volume after drying
Pw = density of water.

Proctor’s Compaction Test on Soil

Proctor’s test is conducted to determine compaction characteristics of soil. Compaction of soil is nothing but reducing air voids in the soil by densification. The degree of Compaction is measured in terms of dry density of soil.
Proctor's Soil Compaction Test
In Proctor’s Compaction Test, given soil sample sieved through 20mm and 4.75 mm sieves. Percentage passing 4.75mm and percentage retained on 4.75mm are mixed with certain proportions.
Add water to it and leave it in air tight container for 20hrs. Mix the soil and divide it into 6 – 8 parts. Position the mold and pour one part of soil into the mold as 3layers with 25 blows of ramming for each layer.
Remove the base plate and Weight the soil along with mold. Remove the soil from mold and take the small portion of soil sample at different layers and conduct water content test. from the values find out the dry density of soil and water content and draw a graph between them and note down the maximum dry density and optimum water content of the compacted soil sample at highest point on the curve.

Comments

Chris Honrado said…
You have got some great posts in your blog. Keep up with the good work. Visit at - Land Capability Assessment
25 September 2020 at 04:59
Anonymous said…
Nice Blog. Soil testing is important for farmer's crop.
25 November 2020 at 03:18
Sanjeev Kumar said…
Soil Testing is very essential for agriculture and farmers. Nice post!
12 December 2020 at 06:36
CharlesGreen said…
Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up fast! What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my site loaded up as fast as yours lol. alex shcolyar
24 March 2021 at 07:34
Kurt Harper said…
Amazing article. Keep sharing your knowledge about Soil testing with us. Loved it.
22 April 2021 at 05:26
Petronext International said…
Thank you so much for giving us such kind of handy content which will be most useful to me as well. Your blog provided us with valuable information to your post. Also, check out Construction inspection in Dubai.
24 June 2021 at 03:59
Oil tank Services. said…
This blog is really a great source of information for me.Thank you for sharing such a useful content about Soil Testing.
17 August 2021 at 04:39
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

40+ Construction Tools List with Images for Building Construction

Image
Construction tools list for building construction works such as concrete, brick masonry, leveling, wood works, floor works, slab works, brick laying, plastering etc. is provided. Every construction tool is necessary to achieve good results in the whole project. Along with these tools, the workers should also use some safety tools to prevent them from the unexpected accidents. Construction Tools List for Building Construction Some important construction tools and their uses are listed below: Bolster Boning rod Brick hammer Bump cutter/screed Chisel Circular saw Concrete mixer Cordless drill Crowbar Digging bar End frames Float Gloves Hand saw Helmet Hoe Iron pan Jack plane Ladder Line and pins Mason’s square Measuring box Measuring tape Measuring wheel Pick axe Plumb bob Plumb rule Polishers Putty knife Rammer Rubber Boots Safety glasses Safety helmet Sand screen machine Scratchers Sledge hammer Spade Spirit level Straight edge brushes Til
Read more

Building Materials properties and their Importance in Construction

Image
Building materials or construction materials are the major requirement in this modern age of technology. There are many types of building materials used for different construction works. Properties of Building Materials For a material to be considered as building material, it should have required engineering properties suitable for construction works. These properties of building materials are responsible for its quality and capacity and helps to decide applications of these material. Such properties of building materials are categorized as follows. Physical properties Mechanical properties Chemical properties Electrical properties Magnetic properties Thermal properties Physical Properties of Building Materials These are the properties required to estimate the quality and condition of the material without any external force. The physical properties of engineering materials are as follows. Bulk density Porosity Durability Density Density index Specific gravity
Read more

How to Prevent Errors During Setting Out Building Plan on Ground?

Image
Setting out building plan on ground is one of the most significant steps in building constructions and any errors at this stage would cause considerable problems, if it is not tackled immediately. Errors During Setting Out Building Plan on Ground There are different types of errors that might be made when a structure is set out for example gross errors, systematic errors and random errors. These errors should be prevented and there are some measures to tackle these issues. These measures will be discussed in the following sections. Fig.1: Setting Out of Building Plan on Ground Fig.2: Setting Out Building Plan on Ground How to Prevent Errors During Setting Out of Building? Following are the different types of control that should be carried out to prevent any errors during setting out building plan on ground: Good practice in office On site control Equipment and staff Checks Marking the ground Use of grid offset Good Practice in Office To successfully set
Read more

Factors Affecting Selection of Foundation for Buildings?

Image
Factors which affect selection of foundation for a building can be many from the soil conditions to the type of structure and loads from the building. All the factors are considered during selection of foundation for durable building construction. Factors Affecting Selection of Foundation Following are the factors which affect the selection of suitable foundations for building construction: Loads from building Type of soil Type of structures in neighborhood Type of foundations 1. Loads from Building The first factor considered is loads from building on the foundation. This load is a combination of dead load and imposed loads on the buildings. Other loads such as wind loads, earthquake loads, snow loads etc. are also considered based on location. The quantity of loads depends on the type of structure, number of floors and material of construction. As the number of floors increases, the dead load and imposed loads also increase. Choice of material for construction su
Read more

Ceiling types used in Building Construction and their Applications

Image
Various types of ceiling are used in building construction. Applications, aesthetics, advantages and disadvantages of these types of ceilings are discussed in this article. The ceiling of a building form one of the most important structural elements it terms of functionality as well as creativity which in turn bring good aesthetics to the building interior. This document would help you understand ceilings that in turn would help you understand the most suitable options while undertaking either repair or renovation work of our building interior. The ceiling gains a definition, ” A part of a building which encloses and is exposed overhead in a room, protected shaft or circulation space.” It helps us to create an enclosure and separation between spaces. They provide perfect lighting in the room by controlling diffusion of light. It also controls the sound around a room by making the room sound proof. It, therefore, stops the passage of sound between the rooms. Now ceiling also po
Read more

HOW TO DETERMINE DEPTH OF FOUNDATION

Image
Many factors affects the determination of depth of foundation. Calculation for foundation depth is done based on type of soil, ground water table, loads from structure, bearing capacity of soil and other factors. General factors to be considered for determining depth of foundation are: 1. Load applied from structure to the foundation 2. Bearing capacity of soil 3. Depth of water level below the ground surface 4. Types of soil and depth of layers in case of layered soil 5. Depth of adjacent foundation The minimum depth of foundation should be considered to ensure that the soil is having the required safe bearing capacity as assumed in the design. However, it is advised to carry out soil investigation before deciding on depth of foundation. Soil investigation report will suggest the foundation depth based on the type of structure, soil properties, depth of water table, and all other variable that should be considered. Soil investigation report provides bearing capacity of
Read more

WHAT IS VOLUME BATCHING OF CONCRETE AND HOW IT IS DONE IN FIELD?

Image
WHAT IS VOLUME BATCHING OF CONCRETE? Batching of concrete means measuring different ingredients of concrete (i.e. cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water) before mixing it. When this measurement is done on the basis of volume, we call it  Volume Batching . Below are mentioned some of important points to remember before adopting volume batching method in field. Volume batching is not a good method for measuring concrete materials. It is not applicable in case of reinforced concrete structure. This method of concrete batching may not be economical. It can be only used for unimportant concrete or for small concrete works. HOW VOLUME BATCHING IS DONE IN FIELD? Before batching concrete ingredients in terms of volume, we need to know two things. What is the relative proportion of concrete ingredients in terms of volume? What is the water-cement ratio? After knowing these two things you can proceed to batch concrete ingredients in field. The table shown below can be
Read more

Construction Project Management Softwares

Image
Construction PM Software A new wave of web and cloud apps are streamlining communication, simplifying document management, and improving efficiency in construction management.  Here are some of top construction management tools: Smartsheet Smartsheet  is a spreadsheet-inspired work management tool with robust collaboration and communication features. With pre-built construction templates, it’s easy to create a timeline, track progress, manage documents, and organize the details. Gantt charts are automatically created and auto-adjust every time a change is made, so you can share the most up-to-date timeline with team members or stakeholders. You can upload files from your computer, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, Evernote, or add a web URL, creating a central repository for all project documentation and contracts. Team members can have discussions directly in the sheet and set reminders and alerts, so everyone is on the same page. And lastly, Smartsheet integrates with ot
Read more

Methods of underpinning, Procedure and Applications in Foundation Strengthening

Image
Underpinning is a method for repair and strengthening of building foundations. Underpinning methods, procedures and their applications in strengthening of different types of foundations is discussed in this article. There are situations where a failure in foundation or footing happens unexpectedly after the completion of whole structure (both sub and superstructure). Under such emergency situation, a remedial method has to be suggested to regain the structural stability. The  method of underpinning  help to strengthen the foundation of an existing building or any other infrastructure. These involve installation of permanent or temporary support to an already held foundation so that additional depth and bearing capacity is achieved. Selection of Underpinning Methods Underpinning methods are selected based on age of structure and types of works involved. Structure categories based on its age: Ancient Structures :Age greater than 150 years Recent Structures : Age between 5
Read more

Methods for Calculating Cost of Engineering Consultant Services

Image
here are several methods by which calculation of engineering consultant services cost can be carried out in construction. It is possible to employ various charging approach at different phase of the consultant services. The application of each method or combination of methods is dependent on nature, scope and complexity of the required engineering services. In this article, these charging consulting services are discussed. Following are the topics discussed for calculating cost of engineering services or consulting services in construction: What are the factors that affect the engineering service cost? Methods for charging engineering services What are the Factors that affect the Engineering Service Cost in Construction? There are various factors that control the cost of engineering services required for a specific project. These factors are outlined below: The conditions at project site. Degree of danger that may be encountered and exposure possibility. System of pr
Read more