Civil Engineer Notebook

STANDARD CONSISTENCY TEST OF CEMENT  AIM: To determine the quantity of water required to produce a cement paste of standard consistency. APPARATUS REQUIRED:  Vicat apparatus and plunger  Measuring jar Metal tray  Weigh balance STANDARD CONSISTENCY:  The standard consistency of the cement paste is defined that consistency, which will permit the Vicat plunger to penetrate to a point 5 to 7mm from the bottom of the Vicat mould when the cement paste is tested. SAMPLE: The cement taken should be finely ground material which of addition of requisite quantity of water is capable of hardening both under water and in air by the chemical interaction of its constituents with water and capable of binding together the appropriate materials. (Reference IS: 3535 - 1986) PROCEDURE:  Take 500g of cement and prepare a paste with water (24% by weight of the cement) for first trial. The paste must be filled in to Vicat mould within 3 to 5 minutes of mixing them The gaugi...

FINENESS TEST OF CEMENT   AIM:           To determine the fineness of cement. APPARATUS REQUIRED: IS: 90 micron sieve  Weighing balance  Brush  Tray & Trowel Stopper jar SAMPLE: The cement taken should be finely ground material which of addition of requisite quantity of water is capable of hardening both under water and in air by the chemical interaction of its constituents with water and capable of binding together the appropriate materials. (Reference IS: 3535 - 1986) PROCEDURE:  Agitate the sample of cement to be tested by shaking for 2minutes in a stopper jar Stir the resulting powder gently by using a clean rod in order to distribute the fineness throughout the cement. Weigh approximately 10g of cement to the nearest 0.01g and place it on the sieve (W1) Agitate the sieve by swirling, planetary and linear movement until no fine material passes through it. Remove and weigh the residue (R1)  Repeat the procedure using a...

  pH VALUE OF WATER AIM: To find out the pH value of water. APPARATUS REQUIRED: 1. Glass beaker of 250 ml capacity 2. One or two electrode pH meter. 3. Known pH solution buffer of standard strength. 4. A glass stirred rod 5. A thermometer SAMPLE Analysis of the sample will be carried out as soon as possible and preferably in the field test during the sampling. The pure water and water that are not in contact with the atmosphere will be collected in the container and stored capped before analysis. (Reference IS: 3025 (Part XI) - 1983) PROCEDURE: 1. A glass beaker is collected and washed. 2. The water sample to be tested is added to the glass beaker with the addition of the buffer solution and mixed vigorously. 3. Allow a minimum of one hour to allow the sample to stabilize its temperature by stirring occasionally as it waits. 4. Calibrate the pH meter temperature controller to the temperature of the sample. 5. Calibrate the pH-value using the standard solution. 6. Dip the el...

 PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION TEST - SIEVE ANALYSIS AIM: To determine the Particle Size Distribution of the Aggregate by Sieve Analysis. APPARATUS REQUIRED: 1. Set of IS Sieve           2. Weighing Balance PROCEDURE: 1. The test sample is dried to a constant weight at a temperature of 110 ± 5oC and weighed. 2. The sample is sieved by using a set of IS Sieves for 5 minutes. 3. On completion of sieving, the material on each sieve is weighed. 4. Cumulative weight passing through each sieve is calculated as a percentage of the total sample weight. 5. Fineness modulus is obtained by adding cumulative percentage of aggregates retained on each sieve and dividing the sum by 100. OBSERVATION: Tabulation for Coarse Aggregate: SI.No Sieve Size Weight Retained Cumulative Weight Retained Cumulative % Retained Cumulative % Passing 1 80     ...