EXPERIMENT NO.

1
PREPARATION OF SAMPLES FOR TEST

Miranda, Rochelle Anne A.

CEIT-02/10:30am-1:30pm/S
Engr. Mylfie O. Mezo
Date of experiment: July 16, 2016
Date of submission: August 6, 2016

Group 2
Members:
Altoveros, Dianne Coolen
Roxas, Christian Jade
Maggay, Nica Jane
Federico, Realyn
Rumbaoa, Kevin Ray
Gonzales, May
Fulgueras, Jose Allan
Bautista, Christian Jay
Regaspi, Warren John

INTRODUCTION
To prepare disturbed soil and soil aggregate sample to be in subsequent
experiment for test. This procedure describes the dry preparation of soil and soil
aggregate samples for mechanical analysis, Atterberg limits tests, and compaction test.
APPARATUS
1. Balance, sensitive to 0.1 g]
2. Oven
3. Standard sieves: 4.75 mm(No. 4), 2.00 mm(No.10) and 0.424mm(No.40) openings
4. Mortar and rubber covered pestle
5. Sample Splitter
6. Pans

PROCEDURE
1. Air dry the fields samples or dry in an oven not exceeding 140F. Place your sample
in the pan.
2. Place enough of the sample in the mortar and break up the aggregations with rubbercovered pestle. Care should be taken that the individual particles are not broken.
Repeat the pulverizing process until there is a sufficient quantity of sample for the
desired tests.
3. Obtain the required quantity of sample for each test by the method of quartering or by
sample splitter.
4. Separate the sample for mechanical analysis and limits test into two proportions by
means of a 2.00 mm (No. 10) sieve. Ground the portion retained in the mortar with a
rubber covered pestle to reduce the size of aggregations into individual grains. Separate
the ground soil with the 2.00 mm (No. 10) sieve. Repeat the pulverizing and sieving
operation, if necessary to obtain sufficient quantity of samples passing the 2.00 mm

(No. 10) sieve for mechanical analysis and limits tests. Set aside the portion retained
on 2.00 mm (No. 10) sieve for sieve analysis of coarse material.
5. Mix thoroughly the portion passing the 2.00 mm (No. 10) sieve in step 4 and weigh
the required quantity as specified under the size of the sample for mechanical analysis.
6. Separate the remaining portion of the sample passing into two portions with a 0.425mm (No.40) sieve. Repeat the pulverizing and sieving operation, if necessary, to obtain
a sufficiency quantity of sample passing the 0.425-mm (No. 40) sieve. For the limits
tests.
7. Mix thoroughly the portion passing the 0.425-mm sieve in step 6, and set aside for
the limits tests. Discard the portion retained.
8. Separate the sample for compaction tests with a 0.425-mm (No. 40) sieve. Ground
the portion retained in a mortar with a rubber covered pestle to break up particle
aggregations. Separate the ground soil with a 4.75 mm (No. 40) sieve. Repeat the
pulverizing and sieving operation if necessary, to obtain the required quantity of sample
for the compaction test.
9. Mix thoroughly the portions passing the 4.75-mm sieve in step 8 and set aside for the
compaction test. Discard the portion retained.
10. The set aside samples must be place in the containers or plastic bags. Label the
containers or the plastic bags and store them for future testing.

DISCUSSION OF THE WORK

Begin the experiment by having a sample of a soil. The sample must be dry to be easy
to break up aggregates. If not, use an apparatus such as an oven not exceeding 140F
to make it dry then place the sample in the pan. Then, place enough of the sample in
the mortar and break up the aggregations with rubber-covered pestle to be easy to
pulverize it. Care should be taken during the experiment that the individual particles are
not broken. Repeat the pulverizing process until there is a sufficient quantity of sample
for the desired tests.
After the pulverizing process, separate the sample into two proportions by means
of 2.00mm (No. 10) sieve. Use the mortar with a rubber covered pestle to reduce the
size of aggregations into individual grains. Repeat the pulverizing and sieving operation
and set aside the portion retained for sieve analysis of coarse material. Mixed
thoroughly the portion passing the 2.00 mm sieve and weigh the required quantity for
mechanical analysis. Thee remaining portion should be go through the pulverizing and
sieving operation again to obtained the required quantity of sample for the compaction
test.

CONCLUSION
It was found that during the experiment, the observation about the soil cannot be
used in the experiment if the surface of the soil is wet because it cannot be pulverized
even we use a mortar to break up the aggregations with rubber-covered pestle. The soil
should be dry before doing the experiment or else it will not satisfy the desired result. By
following the procedure correctly, the result will achieve the standard of a good sample
of soil for future testing.
Preparation time is dependent on the material. There is no standard time.Testing
and the reporting of results are addressed in each applicable test procedure. Soils
should be analysed before they are used. This will enable the users to prepare accurate
mix to ensure workability, durability and high strength.

GRAPH

Samples of soil after reducing its particles into sizes