Suryakanta 
Aim To determine the field density of soil at a given location by sand replacement method Reference IS-2720-Part-28-Determination of dry density of soils in place, by the sand replacement method Apparatus Sand pouring cylinder Calibrating can Metal tray with a central hole Dry sand (passing through 600 micron sieve) Balance Moisture content bins Glass plate … Read more
What is Gap Graded Aggregate? Generally we use well graded aggregate or continuous graded aggregate, which means representation of all the standard particle sizes in certain proportion. Assumption made in well gradation is that voids created by the higher size of aggregate will be filled-up by immediate next lower size of aggregate and again some … Read more
Aim To determine the field density of soil by core cutter method Reference IS-2720-Part-29-Determination of dry density of soil in place by the core-cutter method Apparatus Cylindrical core cutter Steel rammer Steel dolly Balance Steel rule Spade or pickaxe Straight edge Knife Procedure Measure the height (h) and internal diameter (d) of the core cutter … Read more
Field Tests on Cement There are some field tests which gives some basic idea about the quality of the cement without elaborate facility of laboratory in the field. These tests are as given under Date of manufacture should be seen on the bag. It is important because the strength reduces with age. Open the bag … Read more
Absorbed water Water held mechanically (by surface tension) in a soil mass Activity Ratio of the plasticity index to the clay fraction Adhesion Shearing resistance between soil and another material under zero externally applied pressure Adsorbed water Water in a soil mass, held by physio-chemical forces, having physical properties are substantially different from absorbed or … Read more
The principle terms used by civil engineers to describe soils are Gravel (particle size larger than 4.75 mm) Sand (particle size within 4.75 mm to 0.075mm) Silt & Clay (particle size less than 0.075mm) Most natural soils consist of a mixture of two or more of these constituents and may contain an admixture of organic … Read more
The embankments are constructed with locally available soils, provided it fulfils the specified requirements. Procedure of compaction to be adopted will depend on the type of soil being used in construction. General guidelines to deal with compaction of various types of soils for attaining optimum dry density/relative density at minimum effort, have been briefly given … Read more
As civil engineer, we built everything on the surface of earth. So it is important to know the structure of earth. Our planet earth was formed some 4500 million years ago. During this time period it has gone through many changes. Previously it was a ball of molten mass and gradually as the time elapsed, … Read more
Prior to construction of a structure, soil investigation is done in order to get the idea of subsurface condition. The scope of a soils investigation is generally depends on many factor, such as Type, size & importance of the structure The client Engineer’s familiarity with the soils at site Local building code Economy If an … Read more
There are three principle factors to consider before choosing the most appropriate type of foundation for a given structure. These are as follow Function of the structure and loads it must carry The sub surface condition Cost of foundation in comparison with cost of the superstructure Because of these factors, there exist several acceptable solutions … Read more