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University Of Benghazi
Faculty of engineering
Civil engineering department

Soil mechanics
CE331

Lab report
GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS OF SOILS
ASTM D 422

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi
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Index:

1. Introduction & definitions

2. Purpose of the experiment
3. Equipment
4. Test procedure
5. Calculations
6. Conclusion
7. References

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi
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definitions & Introduction:

Grain size analysis:
Grain size analysis for soils is performed in order to determine the
percentage of different grain sizes contained within a dry soil sample.
In which this lap report is going to focus on. In this report we are going to
determine the gain size of a dry soil sample that have been collected from
Benghazi by our supervisor in the lap. I am going to define and explain
the prosses of the experiment and then follow it up with the calculation,
then I am going end this report with the group discussion and the
conclusion reached from the experiment

Sieve analysis:
Sieve analysis determines the grain size distribution of soil sample by
passing them through a stack of sieves of decreasing mesh opening sizes
and by measuring the weight retained on each sieve. Samples that is larger
than the No. 4 Sieves (4.75mm) is used in the analysis, shaking for
minutes with different sizes of mesh. Note that, as the sieve number
increases the size of the openings decreases. the soil fraction larger than
75 μm (retaining on the No. 200 Sieve)

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi
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Purpose:
To determine the grain size of the soil that have been collected and to
draw the distribution curve of a soil sample by which soil can be
classified and their engineering properties assessed.

Equipment:

1. Sieve shaker.

2. Sieve cleaning brush.

3. ASTM sieve pans.

4. Digital balance machine.

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi
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Test procedure:
First step is weighting the soil sample on the balance machine take the
amount you want to study, we have weighted the soil sample that was
already collected by our lap supervisor, we took 500g of the soil sample to
study, then stack the sieves you want to use over each other as they
supposed to be, in this experiment we used sieve no. (4 , 10 , 20 , 40 , 100
, 200).

After stacking the sieve in a proper way, we poured the soil from above
from sieve no 4, then close the led, and take the stack of sieves carefully to
the sieve shaker to shake the sieves for 5 minutes. (If you don’t have a
sieve shaker you can shake the sieve carefully manually for 15 minutes).

Thenceforth, you take an empty pan so you can balance each remaining soil from
each sieve by pouring the remainings into the empty pan (note very important to get
more accurate calculations to double chick if we poured everything with the sieve
brush by brushing the sieve) so you can collect the data to fill and draw the
(Percentage Passing % vs Particle size (mm) Graph), to find ( D10), (D30), (D60) to
calculate Cu and Cc.

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi
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Calculations:
After collecting the data and plotting the (Percentage Passing % vs Particle size (mm)
Graph)

Finding the soil retained by subtracting the wight of the (sieve + soil) and the wight of (empty
sieve).
After that we calculate the percent retained by dividing the soil retained by the total wight and
multiplying it with 100 for each sieve as shown on the schedule above.
Afterwards we add the cumulative retained and the percent passing for each one.

0.089 0.14 0.23

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi
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𝐷60 = 0.23
𝐷30 = 0.14
𝐷10 = 0.089
𝐷60
𝐶𝑢 =
𝐷10

𝑜. 23
𝐶𝑢 =
0.089

𝐶𝑢 = 2.6

𝐷30!
𝐶𝑐 =
𝐷60 × 𝐷10

0.14!
𝐶𝑐 =
0.23 × 0.14

𝐶𝑐 = 0.95

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi
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Conclusion:

According to this explanatory graph and based to our graph from the data
collected, We are concluding that the soil collected is not well graded neither it
is kind a close to become poor graded that means that a soil that does not have a
good representation of all sizes of particles.
I also conclude that from the Unified classification, the soil is poorly graded
soil, and with ASHITO classification is A-3 from the schedules.

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi
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Reference:

• Sieve Analysis, Particle Size Analysis.” Sieve Analysis, Particle Size Analysis, 26 Feb.
2016, www.aboutcivil.org/Sieve-analysis-and-soil-classification.html.

• MD Sahadat Hossain, P. E. Ph. D., et al. “Sieve Analysis – Properties and Behavior of Soil
– Online Lab Manual.” Sieve Analysis – Properties and Behavior of Soil – Online Lab
Manual, uta.pressbooks.pub/soilmechanics/chapter/sieve-analysis. Accessed 11 Nov.
2022.

• Das, Braja M. Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual. 2012.

• “Sieve Analysis - Wikipedia.” Sieve Analysis - Wikipedia, 1 May 2018,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis.

Student name: Zakaria Ziad Student Number: 28268 Supervising: Ms.Eng. Fathia
Elhinaid ELsawi