2.

12 Mechanical Analysis of Soil 27

4. The mass of soil passing the ith sieve is M

(M1  M2  . . .  Mi).
5. The percent of soil passing the ith sieve (or percent finer) (Figure 2.11d) is

兺M
1M1  M2  p  Mi 2
F 100
兺M

Once the percent finer for each sieve is calculated (step 5), the calculations are
plotted on semilogarithmic graph paper (Figure 2.12) with percent finer as the ordi-
nate (arithmetic scale) and sieve opening size as the abscissa (logarithmic scale).
This plot is referred to as the particle-size distribution curve.

Hydrometer Analysis
Hydrometer analysis is based on the principle of sedimentation of soil grains in water.
When a soil specimen is dispersed in water, the particles settle at different velocities,
depending on their shape, size, and weight. For simplicity, it is assumed that all the
soil particles are spheres, and the velocity of soil particles can be expressed by Stokes’
law, according to which

rs
rw 2
v D (2.1)
18h

where
  velocity
s  density of soil particles
w  density of water

100

80
Percent passing

60

40

20

0
10.0 5.0 1.0 0.5 0.1 0.05
Particle size (mm) — log scale

Figure 2.12 Particle-size distribution curve