CONCRETE LABORATORY

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

POLYTECHNIC KUCHING SARAWAK

PRACTICAL NO :1

TITLE : SAND SEGREGATION ( FINE AGGREGATE )

OBJECTIVES : TO DETERMINE THE BULKING FACTOR OF WET

SAND.

THEORY :

BS1881 stated that the moisture content in the sand will cause the bulking of
the volume. Moisture forms a film around each particle and this film of moisture
exerts surface tension which keeps the neighbouring particles away from it.
Therefore, when no point contact is possible between the particles, this cause
bulking the sand.

MATERIAL :

I. River Sand ( Fine Aggregate )

APPARATUS :

I. 500ml Measuring Cylinder

II. Stirring Rod
III. Tray
IV. Scoop
V. Clean Water

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MATERIALS & APPARATUS (FIGURES)

500ml Measuring
River Sand Stirring Rod
Cylinder

Tray Scoop Clean Water

WORK PROCEDURES :

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 1) Ensure that the measuring cylinder to be used is dry.
2) Filled up the sand into the cylinder at the 2/3 height. Add in the sand slowly
but do not compact it.
3) Level the surface of the sand using the rod and record the volume of the sand
(V1).
4) Removed the sand and carefully pouring into the tray so that it will not be
wasted.
5) Fill up the measuring cylinder the an amount 250ml with water.
6) Fill in the measuring cylinder with half (250ml) of the sand slowly.
7) Stir using the rod it to release the air content.
8) Next, fill the balance of the remaining sand into the measuring cylinder and
stir.
9) Level the surface of the sand using the rod and measure the volume of the
sand (V2).
10)Repeat the above procedure to get the average of bulking factor ( min
3readings )

ANALYSIS

Calculating the percentage using the following formula:

RESULT :

Volume of bulking sand Reading 1 Reading 2 Reading 3

Volume of 2/3 of bulking sand in the
6,547.55 6,547.55 6,547.55
cylinder (V1)
Volume of the bulking sand in 250ml
4,950.00 4,930.00 4,517.85
water (V2)

Bulking Factor of sand is to determine in percentage as the ratio between the

differences of wet sand volume to dry sand volume. The following formula is used fo
drive bulking factor :

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 (V 1−V 2)
Bulking Factor ¿ x 100 %
V2

(6,547.55−4,799.28)
¿ x 100 %
4,799.28

¿ 36.42 %

PRACTICAL QUESTIONS :

i. Why Sand Segregation the should be carried out?

ii. When the test should be carried out?

i) Why sand segregation test should be carried out?

 The main purpose of adding sand in concrete is to minimize the segregation
of concrete and to fill out the pores between the cement and coarse
aggregate.

ii) When the test should be carried out?

 When the sand is delivered and it is used on the job, quite frequently it
contains moisture which cause films of water to form on the surface of the
particles, fluffing them apart. This is called bulking of sand and for moisture
content of about 5 or 6 percent it may be as much as 20, 30 or even 40
percent depending upon the grading of the sand. Bulking of sand is more in
fine sand than coarse sand. It is ideal to find out bulking of the sand when we
use volumetric batching of concrete to measure the sand and the course
aggregates (concrete ingredients).

DISCUSSION :

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 Bulking of sand is nothing but the looseness of soil without compacting.
Basically, water reduces the pores in the sand and compacts the soil. The difference
between the volume of loose soil to saturated soil is known as bulking of sand. During
concreting process, we continually give vibrate concrete to reduce the pores. This
makes the sand more compact and reduces the pores between soil particles.
However, while measuring we don’t do this because it takes time.

Importance of Sand Bulkage Test

If we need 1 m3 of sand in concrete we need to know the approximate sand

bulkage value. Say, for example, sample sand that we are going to use has 30%
bulkage of sand then we need to take 30% more sand that is 1.3 times of sand while
volume batching in order to get 1 m3 of sand for concrete. If we take 1 m3 sand without
adding bulkage then the sand volume lessen to 70% after adding water this is known
as bulkage of sand.

CONCLUSION :

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 In conclusion, sand segregation is used to determine the density of natural or
compacted soils using sand pouring cylinders. Bulking of sand is depends on the
moisture content in the sand. But when the moisture is increased by adding more
water, the particles of sand gets packed near each other as the firm around the sand
particles breaks and the bulking of sand is reduced. Dry sand completely filled with
water will have the exact volume.

REFERENCES:

www.civilology.com › bulking-of-sand-test
https://theconstructor.org/practical-guide/bulking-sand-cause-tests-
importance/2254/+&cd=17&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=my https://www.manleybros.com ›
sand-handling-segregation