Marie Ann Terese S.

Emano CENBSCE-4B
Group No. 1 October 10, 2017

ACTIVITY NO. 2
Moist Unit Weight Determination of Soil

Einstein M. Opiso, PhD

INSTRUCTOR
 Introduction

Moist unit weight has a relationship to compaction. Compaction increases the soil unit
weight and produces three important effects: (1) an increase in shear strength, (2) a reduction
in permeability, and (3) a reduction in compressibility of the soil. These three changes in soil
characteristics are beneficial for some types of earth construction, such as highways, airfields,
and earth dams. As a general rule, the greater the compaction, the greater the benefits will
be. The amount of compaction is quantified in terms of the dry unit weight of the soil. Usually,
soils can be best compacted if a certain amount of water is present during compaction. It is
commonly believed that the water acts as a softening and lubricating agent, allowing soil
particles to slide over one another more easily. In contrast, the true effect of soil moisture is to
provide internal capillary tension forces that effectively provide attractive forces between soil
grains, thus enabling a denser configuration of soil particles and providing higher degrees of
dry unit weight. However, there is a point at which most of the voids are filled with water and,
because of the relative incompressibility of water, the soil does not show a continued increase
in dry density when compacted. As still more water is added, the dry density of the compacted
soil begins to be reduced. Thus, for a given compactive effort, there is a particular just right
moisture content at which dry unit weight is maximized. This moisture content is known as the
optimum moisture content, and the associated dry unit weight is called the maximum dry unit
weight. If the compactive effort is increased, the maximum dry unit weight will increase and
the associated optimum moisture content will decrease (Newmand,n.d.). The density, , is
defined as the ratio of its mass to its volume and unit weight is the weight per unit volume of
a material.

Objectives

The laboratory activity aims to determine the moist density and unit weight of soil
sample obtained from the site of proposed Human Ecology Integrated Laboratory building
near Mahogany Residence inside Central Mindanao University campus.
 Materials and Methods

I. Acquisition of Materials

Sample soils that were used in the activity were obtained from the proposed Human
Ecology Integrated Laboratory Building near Mahogany Residence inside Central Mindanao
University campus. The materials used during the activity were: core samplers, cling wrap,
bolo, zip lock, extruder, ruler and digital weighing scale. Core samplers were used to store
undisturbed soil sample. Bolo was used to clear vegetation on the chosen sample area. Cling
wrap was used to seal the soil samplers with the undisturbed soil inside. Zip lock was used as
container to preserve the soil sample. Extruder was used to push the soil out of the core
samplers. Ruler was used to measure the height and the radius of the soil sample. Digital
weighing scale was used to weigh the soil sample. And wire saw was used to cut the soil
sample.

II. Experimental Procedure

A. Soil Sampling

Soil samples were obtained from the proposed Human Ecology Integrated
Laboratory near Mahogany Residence inside Central Mindanao University Campus
(Figure 1). The assigned area where cleared first from vegetation as to prevent it from
the inclusion to the soil samples (figure 2). Soil disturbed was then scooped out and
was placed in each zip lock bags and sealed leaving no air (figure 3). Another soil
sample was obtained by making the use of the core samplers of which a hole was
made on the area. Core samplers were pushed carefully and was assured that no
disturbed neither vegetation was included (see figure 4). Core samplers were then
immediately wrapped with cling wrap and were each put on 3 zip lock bags (figure 5).
Figure 1. Soil sampling location Figure 2. Clearing out area

Figure 3. Core samplers buried on Figure 4. Core samplers buried

the ground

Figure 5. Wrapped Core samplers

A. Sample Preparations
 The undisturbed soil samples were pushed out of the core samplers using the
extruder (figure 6). The disturbed soil of the extruded soil was cut using a guitar string.
The diameter, height, and the mass of the cleaned soil were determined using ruler
and digital weighing scale (see figure 7). Then the gathered data was recorded
accordingly.

Figure 6. The extruding of soil Figure 7. Measuring the diameter

B. Moist Unit Weight of Soil Determination

Given the data gathered, density and moist unit weight were determined using the formulas:

Density:

Where:

= Density

M= mass

V= Volume

Unit weight:

Where:

= Density
g = acceleration due to gravity

2
V= 4

Where:

D= Diameter

L= length

III. Results and Discussion

Soil Soil Soil

Sampler Sampler Sample
#1 #2 #3

Mass of extruded soil, M (g) 167.8 143.2 146.6

Diameter of extruded soil, d (cm) 4.8 4.8 4.8

Length of extruded soil, L (cm) 5.1 3.9 4.5

Volume of sample, = (cm3) 92.287 70.573 81.430

Density of soil in core sampler, =
(kg/m3) 1.818 2.029 1.800

Specific weight, = (kN/m3) 17.834 19.904 17.658

Table 1. Summary of data

Average specific weight, = 18.465 kN/m3
Average moist density, = 1.882 kg/m3
 Soil Number Description of soil Unit Weight (kN/m3)
1 Uniform sand, loose 18.5
2 Uniform sand, loose 20.5
3 Mixed-grained sand, loose 19.5
4 Mixed-grained sand, dense 21.2
5 Glacial till, mixed grained 22.7
6 Soft glacial clay 17.3
7 Soft glacial clay 20.3
8 Soft slightly organic clay 15.5
9 Soft highly organic clay 14.0
10 Soft bentonite 12.4
Table 2. Description of Unit Weight
All data is gathered and summarized in Table 1 with the final result, an average
specific weight of 18.465 kN/m3 and the average moist density is 1.882 kg/m3.
.
IV. Conclusion

The average specific weight of our three samples resulted to 18.465 kN/m3 and this

is categorized in Table 2 as loose uniform sand.

V. References

Moisture Density Determination

http://www.eng.mu.edu/newmand/CEEN3160-F10-Lab4-Proctor-SandCone.pdf

Density, Specific Weight and Specific Gravity Retrieved from

www.engineeringtoolbox.com/density-specific-weight-gravity-d_