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HB
HB 1602006

Soils testing

HB 1602006

Handbook
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Soils testing

First published as HB 1602006.

COPYRIGHT Standards Australia All rights are reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without the written permission of the publisher. Published by Standards Australia, GPO Box 476, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia ISBN 0 7337 7494 6

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PREFACE
GENERAL Since the early 20th century, the testing of soils for engineering purposes has played a very important role in the construction of the infrastructure of Australia. Standards Australia issued the first Methods of testing soils for engineering purposes in 1966 as the AS A89 series. These methods were revised in 1977 to take into account metrication and presented as the AS 1289 A-F series. In the 1990s, the methods were revised to take into account major changes in the soils testing industry and the series was reissued as the AS 1289 series. Since that time, continual revision of the test methods has taken place as technology and the construction industries have changed. The Standards Australia committee responsible for the Methods of Testing Soils for Engineering Purposes (CE-009) decided in 1999 that a handbook was required to
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assist in the education of undergraduate engineers in the use and application of the tests; assist geotechnicians seeking qualifications as soil testers; and provide background material and useful tips to practicing geotechnicians in over 400 Australian laboratories that perform the test.

Subsequently, Standards Australia appointed a subcommittee of soils practitioners involved in both geotechnical engineering design, contract management, engineering education and soils testing to compile the information presented in this Handbook. It is not comprehensive in that all methods are not fully covered due to limited time and resources; however, the subcommittee recommended that it be published in its present form to achieve the initial objectives. It was also considered that, since a limited number of practitioners and experts had been involved in its preparation, there would be a need for the document to be discussed, debated and revised in a few years. This Handbook is intended to be of assistance to users of the 1289 series of tests, Methods of testing soils for engineering purposes. Users are encouraged to participate in any future revisions by offering constructive suggestions and criticism. The terms used in this document are defined in AS 1289.0, Methods of testing soils for engineering purposes, Part 0: General requirements and list of methods. THE NEED FOR TESTING Soils testing is called for in the following documents: AS ISO/IEC 17025General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories AS 1726Geotechnical investigations AS 1726 provides a guide to the samples and tests that are required for a geotechnical engineer to be able to provide adequate information about the soils at a proposed construction site. The nature and location of the sampling will depend on what engineering information is required. AS 2159PilingDesign and installation AS 2870Residential slabs and footingsConstruction AS 2870 Supplement 1Residential slabs and footingsConstructionCommentary HB 28The design of residential slabs and footings(Standards Australia) AS 3798Guidelines on earthworks for commercial and residential developments AS 3798 provides a guide to engineers as to what investigations are to be carried out (Chapter 2) and the type of materials that are required (Chapter 4).

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HB 1602006

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AS 5100Bridge design (all parts) Austroads (2004)Pavement rehabilitationA Guide to the design of rehabilitation treatments for road pavements AP-G78/04 Austroads (1998(a))Guide to stabilisation in roadworks, Austroads, Sydney, 1998 Austroads (2004)Pavement designA Guide to the structural design of road pavements, AP-G17/04 Austroads (2004)Austroads pavement rehabilitationA Guide to the design of rehabilitation treatments for road pavements, AP-G78/04 Austroads (2002)Mix design for pavement materials stabilised in situ (flow charts) AP-T16/02 ISO 17011 (2004)Conformity assessmentGeneral requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies

The following situations should also be noted: Local water and sewage authorities specifications will call for certain properties of soils that will require testing to AS 1289. Specifications for civil engineering works will typically contain requirements that certain tests be performed to provide a measure of assurance that the construction materials and processes meet the design requirements. The geotechnician will need to ascertain what tests are to be performed, other specification requirements and the frequency of sampling and testing prior to commencement of sampling. Specifiers, designers, specification writers and geotechnicians will also need to be aware of a number of tests that are covered in AS 1141, Methods for sampling and testing of aggregates as this Standard may be called up in certain job specifications (see AS 1141.0, List of methods).

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CONTENTS
Page SECTION 1 SOIL SAMPLING AND PREPARATION 1.1 GENERAL.................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 TYPES OF SAMPLES ................................................................................................. 1 1.3 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES .......................................................................................... 2 1.4 FIELD TESTS PERFORMED WHILST SAMPLING ..................................................... 3 1.5 IDENTIFICATION AND EXAMINATION OF SAMPLES ............................................... 4 1.6 SELECTION OF SITES ............................................................................................... 5 1.7 SIZE OF SAMPLES ..................................................................................................... 6 1.8 PREPARATION OF DISTURBED SAMPLES (AS 1289.1.1) ....................................... 7 1.9 STABILISATION ........................................................................................................ 15 SECTION 2 SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT 2.1 GENERAL.................................................................................................................. 16 2.2 MOISTURE CONTENT TESTS (AS 1289.2.1.1 to AS 1289.2.1.6) ............................ 16 2.3 CORRELATION OF TEST RESULTS (AS 1289.2.3.1) .............................................. 17 2.4 TOTAL SOIL SUCTION (AS 1289.2.2.1) ................................................................... 17 SECTION 3 SOIL CLASSIFICATION TESTS 3.1 GENERAL.................................................................................................................. 20 3.2 THE ATTERBERG LIMITS ........................................................................................ 23 3.3 LIQUID LIMIT............................................................................................................. 24 3.4 PLASTIC LIMIT (AS 1289.3.2.1) ................................................................................ 29 3.5 PLASTICITY INDEX (AS 1289.3.3.1)......................................................................... 30 3.6 LINEAR SHRINKAGE (AS 1289.3.4.1) ...................................................................... 31 3.7 SOIL PARTICLE DENSITY (AS 1289.3.5.1 and AS 1289.3.5.2)................................ 32 3.8 PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION .............................................................................. 33 3.9 SAND EQUIVALENT OF A SOIL (AS 1289.3.7.1) ..................................................... 40 3.10 DISPERSION............................................................................................................. 41 SECTION 4 SOIL CHEMICAL TESTS 4.1 GENERAL.................................................................................................................. 43 4.2 ORGANIC MATTER CONTENT OF A SOIL (AS 1289.4.1.1) .................................... 44 4.3 SULFATE CONTENT OF A NATURAL SOIL AND GROUNDWATER (AS 1289.4.2.1).......................................................................................................... 45 4.4 ALKALINITY OF A SOIL ............................................................................................ 46 4.5 SOIL RESISTIVITY .................................................................................................... 49 SECTION 5 SOIL COMPACTION AND DENSITY TESTS 5.1 GENERAL.................................................................................................................. 51 5.2 DEVELOPMENT OF LABORATORY COMPACTION TEST PROCEDURES ............ 52 5.3 BACKGROUND THEORY.......................................................................................... 52 5.4 LABORATORY COMPACTION TESTS ..................................................................... 54 5.5 FIELD DENSITY TESTS............................................................................................ 58 5.6 COMPACTION CONTROL ........................................................................................ 60 SECTION 6 SOIL STRENGTH AND CONSOLIDATION TESTS 6.1 CALIFORNIA BEARING RATIO (CBR) TESTS ......................................................... 66 6.2 VANE SHEAR TESTING (AS 1289.6.2.1).................................................................. 69 6.3 STANDARD PENETRATION TEST (AS 1289.6.3.1) ................................................. 72 6.4 DYNAMIC CONE PENETROMETER (DCP) AND PERTH SAND PENETROMETER (PSP) (AS 1289.6.3.2 and AS 1289.6.3.3) .................................. 75 6.5 TRIAXIAL TEST......................................................................................................... 82 6.6 ONE-DIMENSIONAL CONSOLIDATION TEST (AS 1289.6.6.1) ............................... 90

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HB 1602006

6.7 6.8

Page RESILIENT MODULUS.............................................................................................. 98 CLEGG IMPACT VALUE ........................................................................................... 99

SECTION 7 SOIL REACTIVITY TESTS 7.1 GENERAL................................................................................................................ 103 7.2 METHOD 7.1.1SHRINK SWELL........................................................................... 103 7.3 METHODS 7.1.2 AND 7.1.3CORE SHRINKAGE INDEX ..................................... 104 APPENDICES A APPROXIMATE TIME REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTS ........................................... 107 B BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 109

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HB 1602006 vi

NOTES

HB 1602006

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA Australian Handbook Soils testing

S E CT ION
1.1 GENERAL

1 SO IL SAM PLI N G P RE PAR AT IO N

AN D

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Sampling is one of the most critical aspects of testing of soils and should be carried out by, or under the supervision of, persons who are experienced in the actual sampling techniques and have a considerable knowledge of soils and the applications for which the testing is required. When preparing site condition information, the services of an experienced engineering geologist or geotechnical engineer will be required. In other cases, where routine sampling of construction works are involved, experienced geotechnicians will be able to perform and supervise sampling. Sampling must be carried out with the utmost care and integrity; otherwise the test results may misrepresent the characteristics of the material. Sampling operations should be conducted by means that ensure that the samples obtained represent, as far as possible, the true nature and condition of the soil from which they were drawn. The procedures described in Methods 1.2.1 and 1.3.1 are designed to ensure this. If the circumstances of any specific operation are such that the procedures described are not followed, full details of the procedure adopted should be included in the sampling records and the test report. The reason for sampling should always be borne in mind. The location and number of samples and whether they should be combined or kept separate depends not only on the quantity of material supplied or available but whether the testing is intended as an assessment of the material overall or its variation. 1.2 TYPES OF SAMPLES 1.2.1 Disturbed samples (AS 1289.1.2.1) Disturbed samples are used for moisture content, classification, density and those strength tests for which a disturbed sample is permitted. Sampling of disturbed samples is covered by Method 1.2.1. For sampling from stockpiles and windrows, AS 1141.3.1 is cited. The latter provides a number of photographs of sampling techniques, which are of considerable help to the sampler. Other methods within the AS 1289 series of tests are also cited, e.g., Method 5.4.1 for sampling from pavements and Method 6.3.1 for sampling using an SPT sampler. 1.2.2 Undisturbed samples (AS 1289.1.3.1) Undisturbed samples are generally required for strength, consolidation and reactivity tests, including: Method 2.2.1Soil moisture content testsDetermination of the total suction of a soilStandard method Method 6.1.2Soil strength and consolidation testsDetermination of the California Bearing Ratio of a soilStandard laboratory method for an undisturbed specimen Method 6.2.2Soil strength and consolidation testsDetermination of the shear strength of a soilDirect shear test using a shear box
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HB 1602006

Method 6.4.1Soil strength and consolidation testsDetermination of the compressive strength of a soilCompressive strength of a saturated specimen tested in undrained triaxial compression without measurement of pore water pressure Method 6.4.2Soil strength and consolidation testsDetermination of the compressive strength of a soilCompressive strength of a saturated specimen tested in undrained triaxial compression with measurement of pore water pressure Method 6.6.1Soil strength and consolidation testsDetermination of the onedimensional consolidation properties of a soilStandard method Method 6.7.1Soil strength and consolidation permeability of a soilConstant head method testsDetermination of the

Method 7.1.1Soil reactivity testsDetermination of the shrinkage index of a soil Shrink-swell index Method 7.1.2Soil reactivity testsDetermination of the shrinkage index of a soil Loaded shrinkage index Method 7.1.3Soil reactivity testsDetermination of the shrinkage index of a soil Core shrinkage index Sampling of disturbed samples is covered by Method 1.3.1. 1.3 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES 1.3.1 Disturbed samples Disturbed samples are usually obtained incidental to the drilling and excavation operation (when sampling for design considerations) and consequently the structure of the natural soil is destroyed. This is no disadvantage for general identification and those tests (e.g., particle size distribution or compaction) in which the soil will be broken up in any case. However, to provide any reliable information the disturbed sample must have the same composition as the soil and come from a specific known location and depth; if mixed, this must be deliberate and systematic. 1.3.2 Undisturbed samples No soil sample can be completely undisturbed. An attempt should always be made to assess what disturbance has occurred during the sampling operation and in transit to the laboratory, and what effect this disturbance will have on results of particular laboratory tests. In general, those tests in which the sample suffers gross distortion (e.g., determination of peak strength) are less sensitive to disturbance than those tests where little distortion is caused (e.g., pre-consolidation pressure or permeability). Disturbance during the sampling operations is not limited to gross physical distortion of the sample. The almost inevitable release of in situ stress at some stage is a form of disturbance that will affect the stress/strain properties to some extent, particularly with natural unsaturated soils where irreversible changes may take place. Not only must great care be taken in the actual sampling operation, but particular emphasis should also be placed on the careful handling of the sample on site, during transport and in the laboratory. Undisturbed samples may be classified according to the degree of care taken to minimise disturbance as follows: (a) Simple class (representative samples). Whilst the samples must not be seriously disturbed, primary consideration is given to the use of simple apparatus and to avoiding delay in boring to keep costs as low as possible. Sampling at this level would employ robust open-drive samplers, driving under impact of a sliding hammer.

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HB 160-2006, Soils testing

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