Lab report soil mechanics

Lebanese American University Byblos Campus School of Engineering Department of Civil Engineering

CIE 445 Soil Mechanics Lab Lab Report 2 Sieve Analysis & Atterberg Limits Supervised By: Eng. Omar El Masri

Elena Abboud - 201102974 Jennifer Hanna - 201101545 Stephanie Kehdy - 201104635 Joe Karam - 201102480 Nader Halabi - 201101471 Roy Fares - 201100567

Date of submission: 24/10/2013

CIE 445

Lab Report 2

Table of contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 3 List of Equipment ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Theory of the experiment ............................................................................................................................ 5 Experimental Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 6 Data Collected ........................................................................................................................................... 10 Liquid Limit .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Plastic Limit .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Sieve Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 13 Discussion and Interpretation ................................................................................................................... 14 Question 2 ............................................................................................................................................. 14 Question 4 ............................................................................................................................................. 15 Question 5 ............................................................................................................................................. 16 Question 6 ............................................................................................................................................. 17 Question 7 ............................................................................................................................................. 18 Error Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 18 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 20 References ................................................................................................................................................. 20

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CIE 445

Lab Report 2

List of figures and tables

Figure 1: Sieve Analysis Curve .................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Figure 2: Plot of Water content (%) vs. Number of blows (log) .............................................................. 14 Figure 3: Water content (%) vs. Number of blows ................................................................................... 14 Figure 4: Cumulative particle size distribution plot on a semi log graph ................................................. 16

Table 1: Liquid Limit Data ....................................................................................................................... 10 Table 2: Plastic Limit Data ....................................................................................................................... 11 Table 3: Sieve Analysis Data .................................................................................................................... 13

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CIE 445

Lab Report 2

Introduction Soil consistence provides a means of describing the degree and kind of cohesion and adhesion between the soil particles as related to the resistance of the soil to deform or rupture. In other words, it is defined as the ease to which a soil can be deformed. Hence, consistency largely depends on soil minerals and water content. The smaller the size particle with high water content, the more the consistency (fine soils are more consistent). The consistency of soils is evaluated according to Atterberg limits that represent the limits of water content that are used to define soil behavior. Based on astm D4318, atterberg limits include three different tests: 1. Liquid Limit (LL) is defined as the moisture content at which soil begins to behave as a liquid material and begins to flow. ( 15