Consolidation Test - Soil Properties: Testing, Measurement, and Evaluation - page 290

Note 3 —If, at any stage of the test, the specimen swells beyond
its initial height, the requirement of lateral restraint of the
soil dictates the use of a recessed specimen or the use of a spec-
imen ring equipped with an extension collar of the same inner
diameter as the specimen ring. At no time should the specimen
extend beyond the specimen ring or extension collar.

(7) Determine the initial wet mass of the specimen, M To , in the con-
solidation ring by measuring the mass of the ring with specimen
and subtracting the tare mass of the ring.

(8) Determine the initial height, H o , of the specimen to the nearest
0.025 mm (0.001 in.) by taking the average of at least four evenly
spaced measurements over the top and bottom surfaces of the spec-
imen using a dial comparator or other suitable measuring device.

(9) Compute the initial volume, V o , of the specimen to the nearest
0.25 cm 3 (0.015 in. 3 ) from the diameter of the ring and the initial
specimen height.

(10) Obtain two or three natural water content determinations of
the soil in accordance with ASTM Method D 2216 (Chapter 4) from
material trimmed adjacent to the test specimen if sufficient mate-
rial is available.

(11) When index properties are specified by the requesting agency,
store the remaining trimmings taken from around the specimen
and determined to be similar material in a sealed container for
determination as described in the next section.

(1) The determination of index properties is an important
adjunct to but not a requirement of the consolidation test. These
determinations when specified by the requesting agency shall
be made on the most representative material possible. When
testing uniform materials, all index tests may be performed on
adjacent trimmings collected in (11) of the “Specimen Prepara-
tion” section. When samples are heterogeneous or trimmings are
in short supply, index tests should be performed on material
from the test specimen as obtained in (6) of the “Procedure”
section, plus representative trimmings collected in (11) of the
“Specimen Preparation” section.

SOIL INDEX
PROPERTY
DETERMINATIONS
[1]

(2) Specific Gravity —The specific gravity shall be determined in
accordance with ASTM Test Method D 854 (Chapter 6) on material
from the sample as specified in (1). The specific gravity from another
sample judged to be similar to that of the test specimen may be used
for calculation of volume of solid whenever an accurate void ratio is
not needed.

(3) Atterberg Limits —The liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity
index shall be determined in accordance with ASTM Test Method