PREFACE

Unfortunately, soils are made by nature and not by

man, and the products of nature are always complex…
As soon as we pass from steel and concrete to earth,
the omnipotence of theory ceases to exist. Natural soil
is never uniform. Its properties change from point to
point while our knowledge of its properties is limited to
those few spots at which the samples have been
collected. In soil mechanics the accuracy of computed
results never exceeds that of a crude estimate, and the
principal function of theory consists in teaching us what
and how to observe in the field

2018-CIV-181

LAB MANUAL
Dr.Jahanzaib Israr
2018-CIV-181

UNIVERSITY OF ENGG. AND TECHNOLOGY LAHORE

Lab Manual:
GEOTECH.

Submitted by:
Israr Ahmad
2018-CIV-181

Submitted to:
DR. JAHANZAIB ISRAR
Civil Department

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Department of Civil Engineering

JOB#1

LAYOUT OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING LAB

 Layout:
Layout is sizing , spacing and placement of any object in a particular area. It is the way in which
parts of something are arranged or laid out.

 Objectives:
A properly planned plant layout aims at achieving the following objectives:
 To achieve economies in handling of raw materials, work in- progress and finished goods.
 To reduce the quantum of work-in-progress
 To have most effective and optimum utilization of available floor space.
 Apparatus:
 Measuring Tape
 Paper and Marker for Sketching
 RELATED THEORY:

GEOTECH LAB-1
Components
1) Soil Pulverizer: 9) Mechanical Sieve Shaker
2) Field Density Apparatus 10) Soil Mixer
3) Heating Oven 11) Mechanical Sieve Shaker
4) CBR Apparatus 12) Seepage Measurement Apparatus
5) Compression Machine 13) Extruder
6) Compaction Measuring Apparatus 14) Vibrating Table
7) Rock Cutter 15) Groove apparatus
8) Consolidation Apparatus 16) Atterberg’s Limit Apparatus
Description
 Soil Pulverizer:
It is used to grind the dry soil samples when they are two large.

 Field Density Apparatus:

It is used to carry out FDT (Field Density Test) is a Quality Control test carried out at site for
knowing the increased density or compaction achieved at site on the soil layer.

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 CBR Apparatus:
This apparatus is used to measure CBR (California Bearing Ratio) test that is a measure of the
strength of subgrade soil and highway sub base and subgrade via a penetration test.

 Compression Machine:
It is used to compress a soil sample. During the process, height to diameter ratio is kept 2:1 for
each specimen.

 Compaction Value Measuring Apparatus:

This is used to find compaction value of the soil by allowing soil particles to pass through the
small diameter part that compacts the soil with the effect of force applied on top of it.

 Rock Cutter:
It consists of a sharp cutter that is used to level the surface of the sample so it can be easily place
in the compaction machine.

 Consolidation Apparatus:
It performs an experiment to measure the settlement characteristics of clay layer by removing the
voids with the help of applied load.

 Mechanical Sieve Shaker:

It is used to grade the particles in order of their sizes by shaking a set of sieves (placed in
descending order).

 Soil Mixer:
It is a machine for mixing different types of soils in uniform manner.

 Mechanical Sieve Shaker:

It is used to grade the particles in order of their sizes by shaking a set of sieves (placed in
descending order).

 Seepage Measurement Apparatus:

This apparatus is used to measure the value of soil erosion and water seepage for a soil specimen.

 Extruder:
This machine is used to extract the residual soil sample from a tube that is stuck inside due to the
adhesive properties of soil.

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 Vibrating Table:
This table is used to find out compaction value of soil. It vibrates at a frequency of 60Hz for
about 8 minutes.

 Groove apparatus:
This apparatus gives us the plastic limit and the liquid limit of a soil sample by placing blows on
the specimen.

 Atterberg’s Limit Apparatus:

Atterberg’s Limits testing is a group of tests used to define the properties of cohesive soils at
different moisture contents i.e. its shrinkage limit, plastic limit, and liquid limit.

Geo Tech Laboratory – I

Soil Pulverizer Field Density Apparatus CBR Apparatus

Compression Machine Compaction Measuring Apparatus Rock Cutter

Consolidation Apparatus Mechanical Sieve Shaker Soil Mixer

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Mechanical Sieve Shaker Seepage Measurement Apparatus Extruder

Vibrating Table Groove Apparatus Atterberg’s Limit Apparatus

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GEOTECH LAB-2
Components
1) Speedy moisture apparatus 6) Digital tri-axial 50 apparatus
2) Vane shear apparatus 7) Direct shear apparatus
3) Hydrometer apparatus 8) Tri-axial compression machine
4) California bearing ratio apparatus 9) Digital direct shear apparatus
5) Tri-axial compression machine 10) Odometer
Description
 Speedy Moisture Test:
It is used to measure the moisture content of the sample in 2-5 minutes.

 Vane Shear Apparatus:

It is used to determine the shear strength of soil sample by producing torque in soil sample.

 Hydrometer Apparatus:
It is used to measure the particle sizes of soil that pass from the sieve number 200. The
large particles will settle down in the soil water mixture. The process is repeated so that the reading
becomes constant.

 CBR Apparatus:
This apparatus is used to measure CBR (California Bearing Ratio) test that is a measure of
the strength of subgrade soil and highway sub base and subgrade via a penetration test.

 Tri-axial Compression Machine:

It performs a test for the compressive strength in all directions of a rock or soil sample, using
a tri-axial cell.

 Direct Shear Apparatus:

Direct shear apparatus is a motorized dead weight testing machine designed for direct and
residual shear testing on undisturbed and remolded soil specimens.

 Odometer:
It is used to determine the value of deformation for a soil by putting load on sample placed
in rings of different diameter.

 Digital Tri-axial Apparatus:

It is a digital version of the tri-axial compression machine that give computerized results.
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 Digital Direct Shear Apparatus:

It can give us the computerized data to find the value of direct shear.

Apparatus

Speedy Moisture Apparatus Vane Shear Apparatus Hydrometer Apparatus

CBR Apparatus Tri-axial Compression Machine Direct Shear Apparatus

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GEOTECH LAB-3
Components
1) Auto compactor
2) Auto Extruder
3) Vane Shear Apparatus
4) Plate load apparatus
5) Variable Head Permeability Apparatus
6) Constant Head Permeability Apparatus

Description
 Auto compactor:
It is a soil compactor that can store the number of blows required to compact the soil sample. It is generally
used for commercial testing.

 Auto Extruder:
It is used to take out the soil from the apparatus in which it is brought from the field for testing and
normally used for tubes of large diameter.

 Vane Shear Apparatus:

It is used to determine the undrained shear strength of soils especially soft clays. This test can be done in
laboratory or in the field directly on the ground.

 Plate load apparatus:

The Plate Load Apparatus is used to determine the bearing capacity of a soil, under field loading conditions
for a specific loading plate and depth of embedment. To add more, it is also used for load tests of soil and
flexible pavement components.

 Variable Head Permeability Apparatus:

It is used to perform Variable head permeability test that is one of several techniques by which
the permeability of soil is determined. It is used to evaluate the permeability of fairly less pervious soil.

 Constant Head Permeability Apparatus:

The constant head permeability test is a common laboratory testing method used to determine
the permeability of granular soils like sands and gravels containing little or no silt.

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Geo Tech Laboratory - III

Auto – Compactor Vane Shear Apparatus Manual Drilling Apparatus

Plate Load Apparatus Variable Head Permeability Apparatus

Constant Head Permeability Apparatus

COMMENTS:
After building up a layout of all the laboratories we all are familiar with the instrument and
space within the laboratory ,it provide optimum space to organize equipment and facilitate movement of
goods and to create safe and comfortable work environment.
Effective layout is helpful for users to find what they are looking for.