Particle size distribution in GeotechOS Lab
Find the grading of a soil in GeotechOS Lab by washing and sieving, and its silt and clay with a hydrometer. The course follows AS 1289.3.6.1, AS 1289.3.6.3 and TfNSW T106.
- For
- Laboratory technicians who do the particle size distribution of soils, and the people who review it
- Time
- About 2 hours
- Lessons
- 9 in 4 modules
- Certificate
- Pass every quiz (75 %)
Methods: AS 1289.3.6.1 · AS 1289.3.6.3 · TfNSW TS 02795.02 (T106)
Course outline
-
Module 1 · The test
- What the grading tells you
- The methods in Lab
- Quiz · 4 questions
-
Module 2 · Wash and sieve
- Book in and prepare
- Coarse sieving and the subsample
- Wash and sieve
- Quiz · 4 questions
-
Module 3 · The hydrometer
- The hydrometer test
- Readings and the result
- Quiz · 4 questions
-
Module 4 · Result and report
- Check the sieve result
- Review and report
- Quiz · 4 questions
This course teaches you to find the particle size distribution of a soil in GeotechOS Lab. You wash the soil on 75 µm and sieve it in three stages: coarse, intermediate and fine. Lab takes each stage back to the whole sample. Where the client also asks for the silt and clay, you do a hydrometer test, and Lab joins it to the sieve curve.
What you learn
- What a grading tells an engineer, and which part each method measures.
- Which method a test uses, and what TfNSW T106 changes.
- How to type the coarse, intermediate and fine sieving, with a subsample at each split.
- How to record the dry mass, by oven drying or from a moisture content.
- How to do a hydrometer test in Lab: the sample, the dispersion, the hydrometer and the readings.
- What Lab checks, how the result is reviewed, and how the report shows it.
Who this course is for
Laboratory technicians who do particle size distributions in GeotechOS Lab, and the reviewers and approvers who check them. Know the tests at the bench before you start. The course teaches Lab, not the methods.
Take this course after the MDD/OMC course. The compaction test uses the grading of the coarse material.
What you need
- A free GeotechOS account.
- Your laboratory's licensed copies of AS 1289.3.6.1 and AS 1289.3.6.3, and of TfNSW T106 if you run it. The course gives clause numbers, never the standards' text, tables or limits.
How it works
Ask to join. Our team checks with you and your laboratory, then enrols you. Each module has short lessons and a quiz of four questions. Pass every quiz and read every lesson to get your certificate.
Questions
Can I sieve a soil dry in Lab?
No. Lab washes the subsample on 75 µm for AS 1289.3.6.1 and T106 (AS 1289.3.6.1 5.5.2). T106 does not use the dry method.
Does the course cover aggregates?
No. The grading of aggregates (AS 1141.11.1), the fines by washing (AS 1141.12) and the fine PSD of TfNSW T107 are for a later course.
Does Lab support the subsidiary method AS 1289.3.6.2?
Not yet. Lab supports the sieve analysis (AS 1289.3.6.1) and the standard hydrometer method (AS 1289.3.6.3) as two tests.