Technical College of Engineering

Highway & Bridges Engineering Dept.

Third Year (2019–2020)

HE1301

Laboratory Report # 2

Standard Test Method for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water

Pycnometer (Flask) (ASTM D854 - 10)

Lab Instructor: Nazeer M. Ali

Group Number: A2-2

Team Members:

1- Srosh 7- Zarry
2- Khwaja 8- Parween
3- Shajih 9- Sara
4- Rawan
5- Saman

Lab Performed on 24/9/2019 and Submitted on 1/10/2019

Geotechnical Lab #2: ` Prepared by: Srosh Abdulkarem Taha 1

INTRODUCTION
The pycnometer (from the Greek puns, meaning "density", also called
pycnometer or specific gravity bottle), is a flask with a close-fitting ground
glass stopper with a fine hole through it, so that a given volume can be
accurately obtained. This enables the density of a fluid to be measured
accurately, by reference to an appropriate working fluid such as water or
mercury, using an analytical balance
The specific gravity of a given material is defined as the ratio of the weight
of a given volume of the material to the weight of an equal volume of
distilled water. In soil mechanics, the specific gravity of soil solids (which is
often referred to as the specific gravity of soil) is an important parameter for
calculation of the weight-volume relationship. Thus specific gravity, G" is
defined as
Gs=
Or

Gs=
Where:

W = mass of soil solids (g) .

V = volume of soil solids (cm3)

Pw = density of water (glcm3).

The general ranges of the values of G, for various soils are given in Table 3-1. The
procedure for determination of specific gravity, G" described here is applicable for soils
composed of particles smaller than 4.75 mm (No.4 U.S. sieve) in size.

Geotechnical Lab #2: ` Prepared by: Srosh Abdulkarem Taha 2

TEST EQUIPMENTS

flask thermometer balance

Geotechnical Lab #2: ` Prepared by: Srosh Abdulkarem Taha 3

TEST PROCEDURE
1. Clean the volumetric flask well and dry it,and then Carefully fill the flask
with de-aired, distilled water up to the 500 ml mark (bottom of the meniscus
should be at the 500 ml mark), And then Determine the mass of the flask and
the water filled to the 500 ml mark (Wi)' ,and then Insert the thermometer
into the flask with the water and determine the temperature of the water
T= Ti DC, and then Put approximately 100 grams of air dry soil into an
evaporating dish, and then If the soil is cohesive, add water (de-aired and
distilled) to the soil and mix it to the form of a smooth paste. Keep it soaked
for about one-half to one hour in the evaporating dish. (Note: This step is not
necessary for granular, i.e., non-cohesive, soils.) , and then Transfer the soil
(if granular) or the soil paste (if cohesive) into the volumetric flask, and then
Add distilled water to the volumetric flask containing the soil (or the soil
paste) to make it about two-thirds full, and then Remove the air from the
soil-water mixture. This can be done by: a. gently boiling the flask
containing the soil-water mixture for about 15 to 20 minutes. Accompany the
boiling with continuous agitation of the flask. (If too much heat is applied,
the soil may boil over.) Or b. Apply vacuum by a vacuum pump or aspirator
until all of the entrapped air is out. This is an extremely important step. Most
of the errors in the results of this test are due to entrapped air which is not
removed, and then bring the temperature of the soil-water mixture in the
volumetric flask down to room temperature, i.e., Ti DC-see Step 4. (This
temperature of the water is at room temperature.) , and then Add de-aired,
distilled water to the volumetric flask until the bottom of the meniscus
touches the 500 m1 mark. Also dry the outside of the flask and the inside of
the neck above. the meniscus, and then Determine the combined mass of the
bottle plus soil plus water (W2), and then Just as a precaution, check the
temperature of the soil and water in the flask to see if itis Ti D.± 1 DC or not,
and then Pour the soil and water into an evaporating dish. Use a plastic
squeeze bottle and wash the inside of the flask. Make sure that no soil is left
inside, and then Put the evaporating dish in a oven to dry to a constant
weight, and then Determine the mass of the dry soil in the evaporating dish
(W,).

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Laboratory data & Table
Calculate Specific Gravity of Soil Solids as follows:

No Item Unit Test Number

Flask(Pycnometer)NO./Group number # A2-1 A2-2 B2-1 B2-2
1 WF=Mass of empty , clean Flask or (M p) = Grams 157.16 156.96 157.15 155.63
2 W1=Mass of Flask + Distilled Water Grams 654.68 653.53 659.53 653.60
or(MFW)
3 Ws=Mass of dry Soil or (M DS)= Grams 75 75 60 60
4 W2=Mass of Flask+Soil+ Water or (M FSW)= Grams 702.9 701.03 691.39 690
5 T1=Test temperature for (M FSW) C 26 27 24.5 26
6 A=Temperature coefficient, (Table 3- --------- 0.9985 0.9983 0.9989 0.9985
2pg.12) 8 1 7 8
7 WW=Mass of equal volume of water the soil Grams 26.78 27.5 28.16 23.6
solids, or (MW)=(W1+Ws)-W2
8 Gs(T1 C)=Ws/Ww -------- 2.80 2.72 2.13 2.54
9 Gs(20 C)=Gs(T1 C)*A -------- 2.79 2.71 2.12 2.53
Average Specific Gravity, Gs, = 2.5375 g/cm3

WW or M w=(W1+Ws)-W2 …….

WW=653.53+75-701.03=27.5

Gs (T1 C) = Ws/Ww……..75/27.5=2.72

Gs(20 C)=Gs(T1 C)*A…….. 2.72*0.99831=2.71

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Results and discussion
Specific Gravity (Gs) is the second most important parameter in soil
mechanics. It is the ratio of the unit weight (or density) of soil solids to the
unit weight (or density) of water. Vacuum was use in this while determining
the specific gravity of soils to remove the entrapped air. Water
Temperature may have a significant effect on performance of the gas
pycnometer. Therefore, testing should be conducted within the specified
operating tempera
true range of the apparatus. The specific gravity is required in calculation of
various soil properties such as:

i. Void ratio.
ii. Degree of saturation
iii. Weight-volume relationships
The specific gravity of most common minerals found in soils fall within
arrange of 2.6 to 2.9. The specific gravity of sandy soil, which is mostly
made of quartz, may be estimated to be about 2.65, whereas for clayey and
salty soils, it may vary from 2.6 to 2.9. Soils containing organic matter and
porous particles may have specific gravity values below 2.0, while soils
having heavy substances may have values above 3.0. All four groups ended
up with specific gravity values very close to 2.65. These values fall into
the average specific value range for most soils.
The final result got some error because when we take out the flask from the heater
and directly putted into the water so that the flask goes to be broke slowly because
of changing temperature, we had to decrease the temperature of the flask before
putting into the water.

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