TITLE: MOISTURE CONTENT

AIM OF THIS EXPERIMENT

This procedure is used to determine the moisture content (w) of a soil sample as a percentage of
its dry mass.

APPARATUS
1. Balances, one of approximate capacity 1- 500g accurate to 0.50g and one of approximate
capacity 200g accurate to 10mg.
2. A dry oven capable of maintaining a constant temperature of 105 oC to 110 oC .
3. Sample containers of various sizes.
4. A desiccator containing a self-indicating agent for cooling samples for the determination of
constants.

1. Balance
3. Sample
container

4. Desiccator

PROCEDURE
1. Record the tare number
2. Mass of the empty tare was measured using a balance and recorded in table A.
3. Wet soil was added to the tare and the mass of tare and soil was recorded.
4. Wet soil was added to a pan and placed in an oven set at 105C to 110C for 24 hours to dry.
5. Highly plastic clays may require a longer drying time to obtain a constant mass.
6. The final constant mass of tare plus dry soil was measured and recorded.

RESULTS
Tare number 19 10
Tare mass (m1) /g 286 280
Tare mass + wet sample (m2) /g 686 680
Tare mass + dry sample (m3) /g 616 612
Mass of water /g 70 68
Mass of dry sample /g 330 332
Moisture content 20.8% 20.1%

CALCULATIONS
Calculate the moisture content of the soil as a percentage of the dry soil from the formula.
Where m1 is the mass of the container (g),
m2 is the mass of the container and contents before drying (g)
m3 is the mass of the container and contents after drying (g) .
= (2 3 )
For tare number 19 mass of water = 686616
= 70g
For tare number 10 mass of water = 680 612
= 68g
= (3 1 )
For tare number 19 mass of dry sample = 616286
=330g
For tare number 10 mass of dry sample =612280
=332g
(2 3 )
= 100%
(3 1 )
 70
For tare number 19 % moisture content 100%
330

= 21.2%

68
For tare number 17 % moisture content =332 100%

= 20.5%
21.2% + 20.5%
Average moisture content = 2

= 20.8%
The moisture content of the sample was 20.8% showing that it was mostly sand

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
Report of the moisture content of the soil is to the nearest 0.1%.

POSSIBLE SOURCE OF ERROR

1. If dry soil is not weighed immediately after being removed from oven , moisture from air can
quickly affect the soil
2. Faulty Balance
3. Spilling of sample due to mishandling

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Zero the balance
2. Be careful when handling the sample
3. Cover the wet soil to avoid loss of moisture

CONCLUSION
The moisture content of the sample was 20.8% showing that soil is mainly sand.

REFFERENCES
1. Engineer Shumba, Material Science and Engineering Soils notes, pg 40
2. www.cegyan.com/blog/determination-of-moisture-content-of-aggregates
3. http://www.uta.edu/ce/geotech/lab/Main/SmpLbRprt.pdf