DETERMINATION OF GRAIN SIZE OF SOIL (HYDROMETER METHOD)

REF: IS 2720-(PART- 4) -1985

1. APPARATUS REQUIRED
 Hydrometer

 Glass measuring cylinder- Two of 1000 ml capacity with ground glass or rubber stoppers about 7 cm diameter
and 33 cm high marked at 1000 ml volume.
 Water bath
 Stirring apparatus
 Sieves
 Balance
 Oven – Thermostatically controlled to maintain a temperature of 105°C to 110°C
 Stopwatch
 Desiccator
 Centimeter scale
 Porcelain evaporating dish
 Wide mouth conical flask or conical beaker of 1000 ml capacity
 Buchner funnel of about 10 cm in diameter
 Filter flask to take the funnel
 Measuring cylinder of 100 ml capacity
 Wash bottle containing distilled water
 Glass rod about 15 to 20 cm long and 4 to 5 mm in diameter.
 Hydrogen peroxide of 20-volume solution
 Hydrochloric acid N solution - 89 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid. (Specific gravity 1.18 diluted with
distilled water to make one liter of solution.
 Filter papers
 Sodium hexametaphosphate solution
 Balance - accurate to 0.01 gm

2. TEST PROCEDURE:
 Obtain two soil samples with mass, 50-100 g each by riffling an air-dried sample through the 4.75-mm IS sieve.
Determine the moisture content (Wa) of one sample using IS:2720 (Part 2)-1973. For the other sample, add 150 ml
hydrogen peroxide to 100 g sand soil or 50 g clay soil, stir, and let stand overnight.
 Gently heat the mixture in the conical flask and reduce the volume to 50 ml. For calcium-compound soils, add 50 ml
hydrochloric acid and wait 1 hour.
 Filter the mixture and transfer damp soil to the evaporating dish with distilled water. Dry in an oven at 105 - 110°C
and weigh to 0.01 g. Record the mass of soil remaining after pre-treatment (Wb).

Dispersion of soil

 Add 100 ml of sodium hexametaphosphate to the soil in an evaporating dish and heat gently for 10 minutes. Transfer
the mixture to a mechanical mixer cup and wash the dish with 150 ml of distilled water.
 Stir the soil suspension for 15 minutes, then wash it on a 75-micron IS Sieve using 500 ml of distilled water. Transfer
the suspension that passed through the sieve to a 1000 ml measuring cylinder and make it up to 1000 ml with distilled
water. Analyze the material retained on the sieve and calculate cumulative percentages of soil fraction retained on
each sieve.

Sedimentation

 Insert a rubber stopper in the measuring cylinder and shake it vigorously before turning it upside down. After the
shaking stops, leave the cylinder to stand in a constant temperature bath and start the stopwatch.
 Immerse the hydrometer in the liquid and let it float freely. Take readings after half a minute, one minute, two
minutes, and four minutes.
 Remove the hydrometer, rinse it, and store it in distilled water. Re-insert the hydrometer and take readings after 8, 15,
and 30 minutes, and then after one, two, and four hours since shaking.
 After each reading, remove the hydrometer slowly, rinse it, and place it in the distilled water. After four hours, take
one or two more readings within 24 hours, noting the periods of sedimentation.
 Finally, take a reading after 24 hours. Be careful while inserting and withdrawing the hydrometer to avoid
disturbance. Allow ten seconds for each operation and avoid vibration.
 Check and record the suspension temperature after the first 15 minutes. Take hydrometer readings in distilled water at
corresponding temperatures.
 Calculate temperature correction (Mt) and prepare a chart for all temperatures. To find the correction (x) for the
dispersing agent, take 50ml of the solution in a weighed glass bottle. Dry it at 105-110°C to find the mass of
dispersing agent (Wd).
 To correct for dispersing agent, use the formula X = 2Wd or prepare a 1000ml cylinder with the same proportion of
dispersing agent and temperature as the solution being measured.
 Place the hydrometer in this solution and read the corrected zero reading. Remember to adjust for temperature.

3. OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS

W b (100−w)
Loss in mass in pretreatment – P=
Wa

Sieving - The percent of soil sample passing each of the sieve used in the analysis shall be calculated using the mass of the
pre-treated soil and as percentages of the total soil sample taken for analysis.

Sedimentation –
Diameter of the particle - The diameter of the particle in suspension at any sampling time t shall be calculated from the
formula:

D=
√ 30 μ HR
980(G−G1) t √
D = diameter of particle in suspension, in mm
μ = coefficient of viscosity of water at the temperature of the suspension at the time of taking the hydrometer reading, in
Poises
G = specific gravity of the soil fraction used in the sedimentation analysis
G1 = specific gravity of water
HR = effective depth corresponding to Rh
t = time elapsed between the beginning of sedimentation. and taking of hydrometer readings in minutes.
The hydrometer reading corrected for meniscus (Rh) shall be calculated from the following formula:
 1
Rh =R h+ Cm
Percentage finer than D - The percentage by mass ( W) of particles smaller than corresponding equivalent particle
diameters shall be calculated from the formula:
100 Gs
W= ( Rh + M t −x)
W b ( Gs−1 )
Gs, = specific gravity of soil particles,
Wb = weight of soil after pre-treatment;
Rh = hydrometer reading corrected for meniscus
Mt = temperature correction; and x = dispersion agent correction.
The values of W shall be calculated for all the values of D obtained and shall be expressed as percentages of particles finer
than the corresponding value of D. These percentages shall then be expressed as combined percentages of the total soil
sample taken for analysis.

4. REPORTING OF RESULTS
A grain size distribution curve shall be drawn on a semi-logarithmic chart, plotting particle size on the log scale against
percentage finer than the corresponding size on the ordinary scale.