civil engineering testing Method

TEN PERCENT FINES VALUE. ( BS : 812 – PART – 111 ) INTRODUCTION: The ‘Ten percent fines’ value is a measure of resistance of the aggregates to the crushing. Object : To determine the ten percent value of aggregates by crushing machine apparatus. Apparatus : a) Steel cylinder with open ends, and internal diameter 152mm, square base plate, plunger having a piston of diameter 150mm, with a hole provided across the stem of the plunger so that a rod could be inserted for lifting or placing the plunger in the cylinder. b) Cylindrical measure having internal diameter of 115mm and height 180mm. c) Steel tamping rod with one rounded end, having a diameter of 16mm and length 450 to 600mm. d) Balance of capacity 3 kg with accuracy up to 1gm. e) Compressive testing machine capable of applying load of 40 tonnes, at a uniform rate of loading of 4 tonnes per minute. Procedure : The aggregate passing 14mm IS sieve and retained on 10mm IS sieve is ...

STRIPPING VALUE OF AGGREGATES. (IS: 6241 – 1959) INTRODUCTION: Bitumen and tar adhere well to all normal types of aggregates provided they are dry and are not exceptionally dusty. Largely the viscosity of the binder controls the process of binding. When the viscosity of the binder is high, coating of aggregates by the binder is slower. In the absence of water there is practically no adhesion problem in bituminous road construction. Two problems are observed due to the presence of water. First, if aggregate is wet and cool it is normally not possible to coat with a bituminous binder. This problem can be dealt with by removing the water film on aggregate by drying, and by increasing the mixing temperature. Second problem is stripping of coated binder from the aggregate due to the presence of water. This problem of stripping is experienced only with bituminous mixtures, which are permeable to water. Object : To determine the stripping value of aggregates by static i...

SPECIFIC GRAVITY TEST. ( IS : 1202 – 1978 ) Object : To determine the specific gravity of the bitumen by specific gravity bottle. Apparatus : a) Pycnometer / specific gravity bottle – 50 ml capacity. b) Balance – sensitivity 0.1mg. Procedure : The specific gravity bottle is cleaned, dried and weighed along with the stopper. It is filled with fresh distilled water, stopper placed and the same is kept in water container for at least half an hour at temperature 27 0 C +/- 1 0 C. The bottle is then removed and cleaned from outside. The specific gravity bottle containing distilled water is now weighed. The bituminous material is heated to a pouring temperature and is poured in the above empty bottle taking all the precautions that it is clean and dry before filling sample materials. The material is filled up to the half taking care to prevent entry of air bubbles. To permit an escape of air bubbles, the sample bottle is allowed to stand for half an hou...

SPECIFIC GRAVITY TEST FOR SOILS.   ( IS : 2720 – PART – 3 ) Object : To determine the specific gravity of soil fraction passing 4.75 mm sieve by density bottle.   Apparatus : 1) Density bottle of 50ml / 100ml capacity. 2) Balance sensitive to 0.01g. 3) Wash bottle with deaired distilled water 4) Vacuum source Procedure : To clean and dry the density bottle, wash it thoroughly with distilled water and allow it to drain. Weigh the empty cleaned bottle (W1) accurate to 0.01g with its stopper. Take about 10 to 20 grams of oven dried soil sample; find the weight (W2) of the bottle and the soil, with the stopper. Put about 10ml of deaired distilled water in the bottle, so that the soil is fully soaked. Leave it for a period of 2 to 10 hours. Add more distilled water so that the bottle is about half full. Remove the entrapped air by subjecting the contents to a partial vacuum, then find out the weight (W3). Clean the bottle thoroughly and fill it ...

DETERMINATION OF SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF CEMENT. ( IS : 2720 – Part – 3 ) Object : To determine the specific gravity of cement using Le Chatelier Flask or Spcefic Gravity Bottle. Apparatus : a) Le Chatelier Flask or Specific Gravity Bottle – 100 ml capacity. b) Balance capable of weighing accurately upto 0.1gm. Procedure : Weigh a clean and dry Le Chatelier Flask or Specific Gravity Bottle with its stopper (W1). Place a sample of cement upto half of the flask (about 50 gm) and weight with its stopper (W2). Add kerosene (polar liquid) to cement in flask till it is about half full. Mix thoroughly with glass rod to remove entrapped air. Continue stirring and add more kerosene till it is flush with the graduated mark. Dry the outside and weigh (W3). Entrapped air may be removed by vacuum pump, if available. Empty the flask, clean it refills with clean kerosene flush with the graduated mark wipe dry the outside and weigh (W4). Calculations :    ...

SPECIFIC GRAVITY AND WATER ABSORPTION TEST. ( IS : 2386 – PART – 3 ) INTRODUCTION: The specific gravity of an aggregate is considered to be a measure of strength or quality of the material. The specific gravity test helps in the identification of stone. Water absorption gives an idea of strength of aggregate. Aggregates having more water absorption are more porous in nature and are generally considered unsuitable unless they are found to be acceptable based on strength, impact and hardness tests. Object : To determine the specific gravity and water absorption of aggregates by perforated basket. Apparatus : a) A wire basket of not more than 6.3mm mesh or a perforated container of convenient size with thin wire hangers for suspending it from the balance. b) A thermostatically controlled oven to maintain temperature of 100 0 to 110 0 C. c) A container for filling water and suspending the basket. d) An airtight container of capacity similar to that of the ba...

DETERMINATION OF SOUNDNESS OF CEMENT BY THE LE CHATELIER METHOD. (IS: 4031 – part – 3) Object : Determination of the Soundness of cement by the Le Ch atelier  method. Apparatus : The apparatus for conducting the test consists of small split cylinder of spring brass or other suitable metal of 0.5 mm thickness, forming a mould 30 mm internal diameter and 30 mm high. On either side of the split mould are attached two indicators with pointed ends, the distance from these ends to the center of the cylinder being 165 mm. The mould shall be kept in good condition with the Jaws not more than 0.50 mm apart. Procedure : Place the mould on a glass sheet and fill it with cement paste formed by gauging cement with 0.78 times the water required to give a paste of standard consistency. The paste shall be gauged in the manner and under the conditions prescribed in determination of consistency of standard cement paste, taking care to keep the edges of the mould gently together ...

SOFTENING POIN TEST ( RING AND BALL TEST ). ( IS : 1205 – 1978 ) INTRODUCTION : Bitumen does not suddenly change from solid to liquid state, but as the temperature increases, it gradually becomes softer until it flows readily. All semi-solid state bitumen grades need sufficient fluidity before they are used for application with the aggregate mix. For this purpose bitumen is sometimes cutback with a solvent like kerosene. The common procedure however is to liquefy the bitumen by heating. The softening point is the temperature at which the substance attains particular degree of softening under specified condition of test. For bitumen, it is usually determined by ‘Ring and Ball’ test.   Object : To determine the softening point of the bitumen by ‘Ring and Ball’ apparatus. Apparatus : a) Ring and Ball apparatus – It consists (i)   Steel Balls – 2 nos.each has a diameter of 9.5mm and weight is 2.5+/-0.05gm. (ii) Brass Rings – 2 nos. each 6.4mm dept...

DETERMINATION OF WORKABILITY OF CONCRETE (SLUMP TEST) (IS: 1199 – 1959) Object : This method of test specifies the procedure to be adopted, either in the laboratory or during the progress of work in the field, for determining, by the slump test, the consistency of concrete. Apparatus : a) Mould: the mould for the test specimen shall be in the form of the frustum of a cone having the following internal dimensions:                                                                  Dimensions                             cm ...

FLAKINESS & ELONGATION INDEX TEST( SHAPE TEST ). ( IS : 2386 – PART – 1 ) INTRODUCTION : The particle shape of aggregates is determined by the percentages of flaky and elongated particles contained in it. For base course and construction of bituminous and cement concrete types, the presence of flaky and elongated particles are considered undesirable as they may cause inherent weakness with possibilities of breaking down under heavy loads. The angularity number i.e., flaky and elongation has considerable importance in the gradation requirements of various types of mixes such as bituminous concrete, cement concrete and soil aggregate mixes. Object : To determine the flakiness and elongation of the aggregates by standard flakiness gauge and elongation gauges. Apparatus : a) Flakiness gauge (Thickness gauge) b) Elongation gauge (Length gauge) Procedure :   a) Flakiness Index: The sample is sieved with the sieves mentioned in above. A minimum of 200 pi...