Sample Calculations

Moisture Loss = ( W 1 - Wc ) - ( W 2 - W c )
Water Content = [ ( W 1 - Wc ) - ( W 2 - W c ) ] x 100%
( W2 - Wc )
Where:
W1= weight of container plus moist soil (grams)
W2= weight of container plus oven-dry soil (grams)
Wc= weight of container (grams)

Trial 1 – Sieve No. 4

W1= 53.31 grams
W2= 49.53 grams
Wc= 28.44 grams

Moisture Loss = ( W 1 - Wc ) - ( W 2 - W c )
= (53.31g - 28.44g) - (49.44g - 28.44g)
Moisture Loss = 3.78 g

Water Content = [ ( W 1 - Wc ) - ( W 2 - W c ) ] x 100%

( W2 - Wc )
= [ ( 53.31g - 28.44g) - ( 49.44g- 28.44g) ] x 100%
( 49.44g – 28.44g )
Water Content = 17.92%

Trial 1 – Sieve No. 10

W1= 49.96 grams
W2= 46.68 grams
Wc= 25.23 grams
Moisture Loss = ( W 1 - W c ) - ( W 2 - W c )
= (49.96g - 25.23g) - (46.68g - 25.23g)
Moisture Loss = 3.28 g

Water Content = [ ( W 1 - Wc ) - ( W 2 - W c ) ] x 100%

( W2 - Wc )
= [ ( 49.96g - 25.23g) - ( 46.68g- 25.23g) ] x 100%
( 46.68g – 25.23g )
Water Content = 15.79%

Average content in sieve no. 4

= (17.98 + 17.43) / 2
Average water content(sieve no.4) = 17.675 %

Average water content of sieves

= (17.675 + 15.11) / 2
Average water content =16.393%
Answers to Questions

1. Define specific gravity of soil.

The specific gravity of a material is defined as the ratio of the mass of a unit volume of

a material to the mass density of gas-free distilled water at a stated temperature.

2. What are typical values of specific gravity for soils?

Soil Type Range of Gs

Sand 2.63 – 2.67

Silty Sand 2.67 – 2.70

Silts 2.65 – 2.70

Silty Clay 2.67 – 2.80

Clay 2.70 – 2.80

Organic Soil 1+ to 2.60

3. What can you use to measure specific gravity of material lighter than water?

4. Why do we use vacuum while determining the specific gravity of soil?

5. What is the effect of water temperature on the determination of the specific of soils?

Introduction
This experiment is about water content in soil. A test is conducted to determine the

amount of water particles present in soil having different sizes passing through different

number of sieve.

Principles of the Experiment

The method used in this experiment is oven-drying. The soil samples were placed in the

oven for two hours allowing the hygroscopic water content of soils to be extracted but the

time may vary depending on the moisture content and grading of the sample. Soils that

passed through sieve number 10 and 4 were used as a sample in this experiment.

Interpretation of Result

After the drying, results were visible. Based on the physical properties of the soil, it was

observed that the color changes from dark brown to light brown. Most importantly, its

weight was reduced. This is where the moisture content can be determined. The water

particles in soil was determined by calculating the difference of weight samples before and

after the drying process.

Application

The oven drying process is not only applicable in soils but also used in different fields. It

is used in the food industry, agriculture, biological materials, and many more. Example of

such is a research by Sindh Agriculture University which conducted on ungrounded,

grounded, long and short rice grains to determine the moisture content for storage. The

rice samples were dried in an oven at 105°C; in this regard, every sample was divided in

6 parts with equal volume. The moisture contents were measured in six different ways,

such as 1st part with 1 h interval, 2nd with 2 h, 3rd with 4 h, 4th with 6 h, 5th with 12 h and

6th part after 24 h. It is observed that an ungrounded grain sample with weight of 28.9 g

showed in 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h moisture release 5.81, 7.82, 9.10, 9.62, 10.48, and
11.11%, respectively. However, long grains weighing 44.86 g released moisture in 1, 2, 4,

6, 12, 24 h as 4.41, 6.87, 8.76, 9.59, 10.63 and 11.39%, respectively. While the short

grains with weight of 45.68 g showed moisture release in the interval of 1, 2, 4, 6, 12 and

24 h as 3.96, 6.17, 7.99, 8.76, 9.68 and 10.29% respectively. It is evident from the study

that ungrounded grains may be stored for long time as the moisture is easily released from

them and they may retain the quality as compared to grounded short grains.

Conclusions

From the conducted experiment, it can be said that the finer the soil, the more

moisture content can be extracted from it. On the other hand, compacted soils take longer

time to remove moistness. The more bonded they are, the more water they hold. Also, the

longer the time of subjection in the oven, the dryer the soil will become.

References

Talpur, M.A. (2011, November). Application of oven drying method on moisture content of

ungrounded and grounded (long and short) rice for storage. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270272783

Smith, M. Moisture Content. Retrieved from http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/Content/

J. F. Connolly and J. O'Shea (1962, October). Irish Journal of Agricultural Research.

Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/25555275?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Ahn J.Y. et al. (2014, November). Comparison of Oven-drying Methods for Determination

of Moisture Content in Feed Ingredients. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles

Dingman, S.L. (2002). "Chapter 6, Water in soils: infiltration and redistribution". Physical

Hydrology (Second ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Lawrence, J. E. & G. M. Hornberger (2007). "Soil moisture variability across climate

zones". Geophys. Res. Lett.

California Test 226 (1999, November) METHOD FOR DETERMINING MOISTURE

CONTENT BY OVEN DRYING. 5900 Folsom Boulevard, Sacramento.

http://www.eng.utoledo.edu/civil/heydinger/soil%20mechanics/labs/SMSpecGrav.pdf