Civil Eng.

date:
Third year (class C) 2024/10/9

Group
1

Diyar Mohammed
Mahmoud Ali

Dema Hussein
Basim Aziz

Mowj Haidar
baraa Majd
 - Obtaining the approximate grain-size distribution of soils where
appreciable quantities of the soil pass No.200 sieve or No.10.
and classification by it.

- The principal value of the hydrometer analysis appears to be

obtained the percent clay (percent finer than 0.002 mm),since grain size
distribution curve when more than 12 percent is (-) No.200 is not used
in any soil classification system and there is no particular soil behavior
depending on any intrinsic curve shape. Soil behavior for the cohesive
soil fraction depends principally on the type and percent of clay
mineral, geologic history and water content rather than on the
distribution of particle sizes. The hydrometer analysis may also have
particular value in identifying grain sizes<0.020 mm in forst
susceptibility for pavement sub grades.
The hydrometer analysis utilizes the relationship among velocity of fall
of spheres in a fluid (𝜈𝜈)(cm/s), the diameter of the sphere (D)(cm),
specific weights of the spheres (γs)(g/cm3)and of the fluid(γf)(g/cm3),
and the viscosity of the fluid (dyn.s/cm3) as expressed by physicist G.G.
Stokes (ca.1850) in the equation termed Stokes’ law:

Solving equation above using γ’w instead of γf:

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The range of soil particle diameters D for this equation to be valid is
approximately:

0.0002 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚≤𝐷𝐷≤0.2 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

- Lambe, (1951) “Soil testing for engineers” page (29)

ASTM D421, D422, D7928-17
AASHTO T87 and T-88

1. Sedimentation cylinder (1000 cm3 cylinder), also termed a

hydrometer Jar.
2. Hydrometer (152H model preferably).
3. Soil-dispersion device (malt mixer).
4. Dispersion agent [sodium hexa-metaphosphate (NaPO3), trade
name Calgon, or sodium silicate (Na2SiO3), also called water glass].
5. Hydrometer jar bath (optional).
6. Thermometer.
[Link] No.200
[Link](0.01)

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- Analysis The sediment to be analyzed is thoroughly dispersed in
1000ml solution of distilled water and dispersing agent. The dispersing
agent, such as sodium hexametaphosphate (or Calgon), is needed to
neutralize the particle charges on fine clay particles and prevent
flocculation. The hydrometer is inserted at varying time intervals and
the depth to which it sinks is recorded. These data are used to calculate
settling velocity (V) according to the formula;

Where; V = settling velocity (cm/ s), L = distance (cm), particles fall in

time t = time interval

Why correction
The hydrometer used is an ASTM Type 152H (Figure 1), which reads
grams of sediment in 1000ml of suspension. The percent finer is read
directly from the hydrometer when the particle density is 2.65 g/cm3
and fluid density is 1.00 g/ cm3 (at 4o C)(see Table 1 for water density
and viscosity at different temperatures). These conditions, however, are
rarely met and corrections must be made for deviation
from the standard conditions. The correction factors are available in the
tables attached to this laboratory exercise.

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Method A
Use the following procedure where 80 to 90 percent of the material
passes the No.200 sieve. Where the lesser amount passes the No. 200
and/ or(+) No.10 material is percent, consider using method B:
1. Take exactly 50 g of oven-dry, well pulverized soil (as used in the
sieve analysis, if specified) and mix with 125ml of 4% NaPO3
solution. A 4% sodium metaphosphate solution can be made by
mixing 40 g of dry material with enough water to make 1000 ml.
the solution should be freshly mixed and in any case not over 1
month old.
2. Allow the soil mixture to stand about 1 h (ASTM suggests 16 h for
clayey soils, but this is generally not necessary). Transfer the
mixture to a malt-mixer cup and add tap water until the cup is
two-thirds full. Mix for 1 min if soaked for 10 to 16 h, otherwise
mix for 3 to 5 min.
3. Transfer all the contents of the mixer cup to the sedimentation
cylinder, being very careful not to lose any material. Add tap water
to fill the cylinder to the 1000-ml mark. Prepare the control jar
with tap water and 125 ml of the 4% solution (or same as used in
step 1). Be sure the tap water temperature adjusted so that the
sedimentation and control cylinders are at the same temperature.
4. Cap the cylinder of soil suspension with a No.12 rubber stopper
(use the palm of your hand if stopper is not available), and
carefully agitate for about 1 min. Set the jar down and remove the
stopper. About 20 s before the reading time, insert the
hydrometer and take a reading at elapsed times of 2 and 4 min.
Also, take thermometer reading.

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 Place the hydrometer and thermometer in the control jar (which
should be within 1oC of soil water suspension). Take a meniscus
reading in the control jar on the hydrometer.

5. Replace the No.12 stopper, re agitate the suspension, and take

another set of 2 and 4-min. readings. Repeat as necessary until
you obtain two sets of reading that agree within one unit of each
other for both readings. If you do not use jar bath, continue the
test by taking readings as in step [Link] jar bath used, once more
agitate the suspension, and place it in the jar bath along with
control jar.
6. Take a 4-min reading in the jar bath and compare to the earlier 4-
min readings. If there is sufficient agreement, continue; otherwise
re agitate and redo until satisfactory agreement is reached, when
agreement between readings is reached (within 1 unit), take
additional readings at elapsed times of:8, 15, 30, 60 min. and 2, 4,
8, 16, 32, 64, 96 h.
Times beyond the first 2 h are approximate, and any elapsed times
that give a good spread of plotted points will be satisfactory.
Record the temperature of the soil-water suspension to the
nearest 1o C for each hydrometer reading.
The test may be terminate prior to 96 h at the discretion of the
instructor. If no special termination instructions are given, the test
should be continue until the grain size D still in suspension is
about 0.001 mm (make computations).
Between hydrometer readings, store the hydrometer and
thermometer in the control jar (which should be at the same
temperature).
7. Go to computations.

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After the steps above, complete and readings of hydrometer and
temperature recorded Take first elapsed time, min. For equation below:

Entre temperature in table No. 3 to get the CT value temperature

correction

Entre Soil Gs in table No.2 to get a correction factor for Gs entre the (a )
value in equation below to get percent finer

Take Hydrometer corrected reading for meniscus only

Entre original hydrometer reading corrected reading for meniscus only
computed above into table No.5 to get L (effective depth).
Calculate velocity of fall of particles by substituting as (L)(cm) computed
above and first elapsed time (min.) in equation below:

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Find the K [which equal to f(T, Gs, 𝜂𝜂𝜂𝜂) ] by entering temperature and Gs
values into table No.4
Compute D (mm) [particle diameter] offset the percent finer as
equation below:

To simplify calculation see the two examples below:

Data from figure

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 AL-NAHRAIN UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL DEPARTMENT-SOIL LAB
GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS HYDROMETER METHOD DATA
SHEET 5

• Project : Soil test Group No.1 Location of Project: civil engineering lap

Boring No. none

• Sample No. none Description of Soil: none Depth of Sample: none Tested By

Class (C) Group 1 Date of Testing 2024/10/9

• Hydrometer analysis

• Hydrometer no. -152H - Gs of soilds=2.7 a = =0.99 -despising agent--[NaPO3]

• Amount ----[4% in 125 ml] Wt. of soil, Ws =50g

• Zero correction=4 meniscus correction=1

Date time of elapsed temp. actual Corr. % Hyd. L 𝐿𝐿 K D,

o
reading time C hyd. hyd. finer corr. from 𝑡𝑡 from mm
min. reading reading for table table
Ra Rc Meniscus. 5 4
R
--- --- 0 27.8 30 28.5 56.43 31 11.2 --- 0.123 ---
--- --- 2 28.2 27 25.5 50.49 28 11.7 5.85 0.123 0.297
--- --- 4 28.4 26 24.5 48.51 27 11.9 2.975 0.123 0.212
--- --- 6 28.6 25 24.05 47.619 26 12 2 0.123 0.173
--- --- 15 28.6 24 23.05 45.639 25 12.2 0.81 0.123 0.1
𝑅𝑅𝑐𝑐 = 𝑅𝑅𝑎𝑎 − 𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 + 𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇 … … . (3), %𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝑅𝑅𝑐𝑐 (𝑎𝑎)/𝑊𝑊𝑠𝑠 , 𝐷𝐷 = 𝐾𝐾�𝐿𝐿/𝑡𝑡

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 90.00%

80.00%

70.00%

60.00%

50.00%
%Finer

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Diameter(mm

1. The experiment did not yield successful results within the expected
timeframe. It appears that a longer period is required for the
sedimentation of all particles. In certain cases, this process may take a
day or even longer to complete.
Based on these observations, we suggest allocating additional time for
sedimentation in future experiments to ensure complete separation of
particles.

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2. In grain size analysis using the hydrometer method, the data obtained
can be used for several purposes, including:
1. Soil Classification: Hydrometer test data is used to classify soils
based on their particle size distribution. The proportions of sand,
silt, and clay fractions help categorize the soil into various classes
such as clay, silt, sandy clay, or loamy soil, following systems like
the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) or the AASHTO
system.
2. Estimating Soil Permeability: The grain size distribution data
obtained from the hydrometer test can help estimate the
permeability or hydraulic conductivity of the soil. Soils with finer
particles (such as clay and silt) tend to have lower permeability,
while soils with larger particles (such as sand) have higher
permeability.
3. The coefficients of uniformity (Cu) and curvature (Cc) lose
significance when more than 12% of the soil passes through the No. 200
sieve (75 µm) because these coefficients are specifically designed to
describe the gradation of coarse-grained soils (sand and gravel), not
fine-grained soils like silts and clays.

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