‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬

Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie

Faculty of Engineering and Technology

Building Engineering Department

Soil Mechanics Lab

Experiment 2: Specific Gravity of Soil Solids

Instructors: Eng. Waleed zaid

Course No. : 12310349

Student name or group: Thanaa' Marabeh

Date: 11 October 2021

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  Introduction :

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 the calculation of the
weight-volume relationship.

Thus specific gravity, G is defined as:

 Theory:

The specific gravity of soil solids is determined by either (a) density bottle or (b)
specific gravity flask or (c) pycnometer. The density bottle is suitable for all types
of soil and it is the accurate method. Whereas the specific gravity flask or
pycnometer methods are only suitable for coarse grained soils.
w1
G.S = w 1+w 2−w 3

Where: W1: Weight of dry soil.

W2: Weight of flask and water.
W3: Weight of flask and water and soil.

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  Standard:

Sand 2.63-2.67
Silt 2.65-2.7
Clay 2.67-2.9
Organic soil <2

 Objective:

Determine the specific gravity of soil at a certain temperature and compare it

with standard values, which used for:

1. Determination of soil type.

2. Determination of void ratio.
3. Determination of degree of saturation.
4. Determination of unit wight.
5. Determination of Porosity.
6. It is used in hydrometer test.

 Equipment used:

Oven Balance Can Sample of soil

(sensitive up to 0.01 g)

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 Flask Vacuum Pump

 Procedures:
1. Determine the mass (g) of the empty can plus its cap.
2. Place the dry soil (100 gm) in the can (Put the sample of soil in the oven at
105-110 Co for 24 hr then weight the dry soil) .
3. Determine the mass of the can and soil (W1).
4. Clean the flask well and dry it, then determine its mass (g).
5. Fill the flask with water up to 500ml.
6. Weight the flask and water (W2).
7. Take the sample of soil and put it in the flask.
8. Remove air from the soil by using:
- Vacuum pump (sand 15-20 minutes & clay 1-4 hours).
- Boling (hot plate stirrer for 15-30 minutes).
9. Weight the flask and water and soil (W3).

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  Result :

W1 W2 W3
Mass of soil (kg) Mass of flask and water Mass of flask and water & soil
(kg) (kg)
0.1 0. 867 0. 929

w1
G.S = w 1+w 2−w 3
0.1
= 0.1+0. 867−0.929 = 2.63

 Discussion and comment:

In this experiment, we calculate the specific gravity of a sample of sand. After doing the
required calculations, we found that the amount of specific gravity equal to 2.63 then
the soil is solid

 Source of error:
1. Human errors.
2. Errors in the device.
3. Errors in the calculation.

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