CIVE 311 Lab Reports

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McGill University *

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311

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Civil Engineering

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Jan 9, 2024

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McGill University Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics Geotechnical Mechanics CIVE 311 Laboratory Report 1 Atterberg Limits of a Clay Soil Date Performed: September 26, 2022 Date Submitted: November 16, 2022 I, Olivier Pomerleau, vouch that the following laboratory report is authentic and completed individually. The data used is accurate and a data sheet is included in the appendix. This exercise was completed in person with a group of students. The names of all the group members and the TA’s signature are included i n the appendix. Student’s signature: Olivier Pomerleau (author) 260987328 Maggie Pope 260944792 Ryan Plumer 260948450 Johanna Pollet 260761581 Fritz Rehmus 260954215

Description of the Test: This lab was separated into two parts: the liquid limit test and the plastic limit test. In the liquid limit test, a moist sample of clay, comprised of 250g of dried clay mixed with a small amount of water, is placed into a brass cup, and separated in the center of the soil using a grooving tool. 20 g of this moist mixture is set aside for the plastic limit test. The cup is then subjected to repeated impacts using a cam device until the groove reaches 0.5in closure. The number of impacts needed to attain this closure are recorded. The sample used is then weighed and the rest is returned in the mixing dish. Water is then added into the mixing dish to get a moister sample. This whole process is repeated until four sample weights of samples are taken which took between 30 and 40, 25 and 30, 20 and 25, and 15 and 20 blows to close the groove. The four samples are then placed into an oven for 24 hours, and then weighed again afterwards. For the plastic limit test, the experiment is performed by repeated rolling of a soil sample on a ground glass plate. With the 20g set aside earlier during the liquid limit test, we shape 2 to 5g of the soil into a ball. We then roll the soil into a thread that is 3mm in diameter and fold the soil mass into a ball again if the thread can be maintained at 3mm without crumbling. We repeat this until the thread breaks into pieces when it has a diameter of 3mm. We then weigh the sample and place it into an oven for 24 hours, and weigh it again afterwards. Objectives of the Test: The primary objective of this test is to determine Atterberg limits of a clay soil sample. The two limits that are determined in this test are the Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit which help demonstrate the properties of soils at different moisture contents. The liquid limit is the upper bound of the water content of a specific soil at which it exhibits plastic behaviour while the plastic limit is the lower bound. Hence, this information is very useful to help predict its behavior in civil engineering construction activities. Results: Table 1 : Liquid Limit Test Results Can No. Mass of can, M1 (g) Mass of can + wet soil, M2 (g) Mass of can + dry soil, M3 (g) Moisture content, w(%) Number of blows (impacts) (N) 4 1.36 19.01 14.37 35.66 36 4B 1.01 19.97 14.97 35.82 28 2A 1.02 24.44 18.24 36.00 22 5 1.01 22.08 16.49 36.11 19

Table 2: Plastic Limit Test Results Table 3: Moisture content Graph 1: Line of Best Fit This graph shows the line of the best fit after plotting the moisture content vs. the number of blows. The moisture content at 25 blows, which corresponds to 35.93% moisture content, is the Liquid Limit of the sample. LL = f (25) = -0.0262x+36.586 = -.00262 (25) + 36.586 = 35.93% From the tables, the average Plastic Limit is, PL = (18.64 + 20.30 + 17.92) / 3 = 18.95% We can thus get the Plasticity Index: PI = LL – PL = 35.93 – 18.95 = 16.98% Can No. Mass of can, M1 (g) Mass of can + wet soil, M2 (g) Mass of can + dry soil, M3 (g) PL = 100(M2- M3)/(M3- M1) 3 1.03 3.13 2.8 18.64 7 1.19 3.62 3.21 20.30 14 0.98 3.02 2.71 17.92 Moisture content, w(%) 35.66

Sample Calculations : w(%) = (M2 -M3)/(M3-M1) * 100% = (19.01-14.37)/(14.37-1.36)*100%= 35.66% Conclusions: The experimental values of the moisture content of the soil sample that were found during this lab may vary from the actual moisture content of the soil. This may be due to different causes of error. The first is way the dry clay was mixed with water. Indeed, since this was done by hand, the mixing may be uneven, which could lead to different ranges of moisture contents within the same soil. Additionally, during the plastic limit test, the longer the test took, the more moisture content is lost in the air. The results from the moisture content vs. number of blows however do correspond to what the theory predicts it should look like. Indeed, the line of best fit shows a negative slope which means that as the moisture content increases, the number of blows needed to close the line decrease. We were then able to determine that our soil sample had a liquid limit of 35.93%, a plastic limit of 18.95% and a plasticity index of 16.98%.

McGill University Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics Geotechnical Mechanics CIVE 311 Laboratory Report 2 Particle Size Distribution of Coarse-Grained Soils Date Performed: November 7, 2022 Date Submitted: November 16, 2022 I, Olivier Pomerleau, vouch that the following laboratory report is authentic and completed individually. The data used is accurate and a data sheet is included in the appendix. This exercise was completed in person with a group of students. The names of all the group members and the TA’s signature are included i n the appendix. Student’s signature: Olivier Pomerleau (author) 260987328 Maggie Pope 260944792 Ryan Plumer 260948450 Johanna Pollet 260761581 Fritz Rehmus 260954215

Description of the Test: Using the sieve analysis method, this lab experiment consisted of evaluating the particle size distribution of coarse-grained soil. A stack of sieves no. 4, 8, 18, 30, 50, 100 and 200 is used. We must first weigh all the sieves and the pan individually before placing 500g of the granular soil sample in the uppermost sieve of the stack. The stack is then placed in the sieve shaker and shook around for 15 minutes. Once done, we weigh each individual sieve and the pan again, with the soil retained on them. The difference between the final weight and the initial weight of the sieves corresponds to the mass retained at every level. Objectives of the Test: The objective of this lab is to determine the particle size distribution of a coarse-grained soil. With the results obtained from the sieve analysis, we can then plot the particle size distribution curve which can be used to determine the geometric properties of the soil sample. These properties include the effective diameter (D 10 ), the coefficient of uniformity (C u ) and the coefficient of curvature (C u ). The test also allows us to classify the soil according to any Soil Classification System with the values found. Results: Table 1: Sieve Analysis Results Sieve Number Sieve opening (mm) Mass of sieve (g) Mass of sieve + soil (g) Mass retained on each sieve (g) Percent of mass retained on each sieve (%) Cumulative percent retained (%) Percent finer (%) 4 4.75 472.2 489.6 17.4 3.49 3.49 96.51 8 2.36 487.2 488.2 1 0.20 3.69 96.31 18 1 461.4 695.2 233.8 46.83 50.52 49.48 30 0.59 488.6 674.4 185.8 37.22 87.74 12.26 50 0.3 555.6 588.2 32.6 6.53 94.27 5.73 100 0.15 345.8 357.8 12 2.40 96.67 3.33 200 0.075 505.4 518.6 13.2 2.64 99.32 0.68 pan - 369.8 373.2 3.4 0.68 100.00 0.00 Total - - - 499.2 - - -

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