Easy Way To Calculate Current Moisture Content And Optimum Moisture Content of Soils And Sand

EASY WAY TO CALCULATE CURRENT MOISTURE CONTENT AND OPTIMUM MOISTURE CONTENT OF SOILS AND SAND

Tools to calculate in-situ soil moisture content

EQUIPMENT
Accurate small scale such as a kitchen scale, small amount of water,
round-bottomed mixing bowl, spoon, calculator and note pad PREMISE:
The basic premise of this simple method to calculate OMC, optimum moisture content, is based on:
·    One (1) cubic meter (m3) of soil/sand weighs about 1,800 kg.
·    200 grams of soil/sand is 1/9000th of one cubic meter of the soil/sand.
(200grm x 9000 = 1,800kg)
·    ALL IS DONE BY WEIGHT and not by a percent of moisture.

EASY WAY TO CALCULATE CURRENT MOISTURE CONTENT AND OPTIMUM MOISTURE CONTENT OF SOILS AND SAND

PROCEDURES:
1.    Place an empty small bowl or container on the scale and note the weight.  Or, zero out the weight.  (Recommended is to note the weight and then zero out scale.)
2.    Put  200 grams of the soil/sand into the bowl. (For your sample, dig out an amount of soil/sand that is equal to the depth of the job, i.e. 150mm.  Mix, homogenize it, and then place 200grms of the soil/sand in the bowl.  You have now established an averaged sample of the existing moisture content.  [The top surface is typically dryer and the deeper you go the more moist will be the soil/sand.])
3.    Add water slowly and mix this into the soil/sand in the bowl until the mixture becomes loose and saturated but before it turns to mud.  (Use a small bottle cap from a water bottle or a clean spoon to gradually add the water.  Start by adding 3grms of water by weight.  It can go up to 4, 5 or 6 depending on how dry the soil is.  [For moist soils we need to get a minimum of 20 ltrs of liquid into a m3, based on a 4:1 dilution at 4ltrs of AggreBind/m3.  If this turns the soil to mud then the soil is too wet to work with.]  It is preferable to use a metal spoon for mixing.  After it is well mixed, take the back of the spoon and press the mixture down into the bowl.  You will see if this compacts nicely.  If there is a lot of wet soil sticking to the back of the spoon you may be too wet.  If there is just a little bit sticking that is OK, as the extra moisture will be worked out in the onsite mixing and with evaporation.  If nothing is sticking to the back of the spoon then you may be a little too dry.  [A little too wet is better than a little too dry.])
4.    Weigh the mixed sample of soil/sand and added water and note the weight.  (This would be 203grm, 204grm, 205grm, etc.)
5.    The amount of water that was added is the weight in #4 minus the weight in #2.  (For example, 204grm – 200grm = 4grm)
6.    To calculate the amount of liquid required per m3 to achieve OMC, multiply the answer in #5 (4grm) by 9000. Or, simply by a factor of 9.  (4grm x 9 = 36ltr of liquid) This will give you the total amount liquid liters (36ltr) to achieve OMC.
7.    Base on using 4ltr of AggreBind/m3, you will take the total amount liquid liters (36ltr) subtract the specified 4ltr of AggreBind/m3 and know that the correct combination.  (4ltrs of AggreBind:32ltr of water)

AggreBind soil stabilization and dust control

EASY WAY TO CALCULATE CURRENT MOISTURE CONTENT AND OPTIMUM MOISTURE CONTENT OF SOILS AND SAND
On-site assessment of in-situ soil moisture content

On-site assessment of in-situ soil moisture content

More information on soil stabilization AggreBind, click on the links below:

Home    About    Roads    Bricks    Research    Illustrated    Agricultural    Mining    Technical    Environment    Community Development    FAQs    Videos    Downloads    Contact Us    AggreCoat