Volume Expansion

1
Department of Sustainable Natural Resources
SOIL SURVEY STANDARD TEST METHOD
VOLUME EXPANSION
ABBREVIATED NAME VE
TEST NUMBER P5
TEST METHOD TYPE A
VERSION NUMBER 1
SCOPE
This method outlines the procedure for the determination of the free swell of a disturbed soil
on wetting. Soils that shrink or fail to saturate are usually dispersible. This might mask the
extent of volume expansion and a linear shrinkage test is recommended to indicate the
likelihood of shrink-swell behaviour. This test is only performed for dispersive soil.
PRINCIPLE
This test measures the free swelling of a disturbed soil (i.e. ground and sieved finer than
0.425 mm) on wetting from air-dry to saturation. The swell is calculated on a volumetric basis
using a modification of the Keen-Raczowski test.
Volume Expansion
2
SPECIAL APPARATUS
! Numbered circular boxes with perforated base, internal diameter 56 mm, internal depth
16 mm, 20 gauge brass, fitted with brass circlip. (See Note 1.)
! 50 mm No 1 filter papers.
! Spatula with steel blade approximately 100 mm long and 20 mm wide.
! Numbered aluminium weighing tins with tight-fitting lids.
! Two shallow trays (large plastic developing trays) approximately 300 x 250 x 40 mm.
! Balance readable and accurate to 0.1 g.
PROCEDURE
1. Obtain, by riffling or quartering, a representative sample of at least 150 g of the material
passing a no 36 BS sieve (0.425 mm) prepared according to the procedure for the
preparation of disturbed soil samples for testing.
2. Fit a filter paper to the volume expansion box and clamp it in place over the perforated
base using the circlip. Weigh the box with filter paper to 0.1 g (W
1
).
3. Add about 10 g of soil to the box and carefully pack the soil to a uniform density by tapping
the box on a flat surface. Turn the box frequently while tapping to ensure that the depth of
soil is uniform around the edges. Adequate packing is indicated by migration of coarser
particles to the perimeter. Add additional soil until the box is full to the sides. At this stage,
the soil will form a mound in the centre.
4. Carefully level the soil to the sides of the box by drawing the spatula, with the blade on
edge, across the top of the box. Return surplus soil to the container.
5. Place the full box in the shallow tray containing about 12 mm depth of deionised water,
cover the tray using the second tray in an inverted position and allow to stand overnight or
until completely saturated. (See Note 2.) Saturation is indicated by the glisten of water on
the surface of the sample. (See Note 3.)
6. Remove the box from the tray and trim off the expanded portion of soil by drawing the flat
spatula blade across the top of the box. Transfer the wet soil to a weighing tin of known
weight (W
2
) by scraping the spatula blade across the edge of the tin. Trim off any further
expanded soil not collected on the first pass and transfer to the tin. Repeat if necessary.
Cover the tin with the lid and weigh immediately to 0.1 g (W
3
).
7. Dry the outside of the box and weigh to 0.1 g (W
4
).
8. Perform another test and compare the results.
Volume Expansion
3
CALCULATIONS
Calculate the percentage volume expansion (VE):
Where:
W
1
= Weight of volume expansion box (g)
W
2
= Weight of weighing tin (g)
W
3
= Weight of wet expanded soil + tin (g)
W
4
= Weight of wet residual soil + box (g)
REPORTING THE RESULTS
Report the volume expansion to the nearest whole number. Report the shrinkage of the
sample in the box if this occurs. (See Note 4.)
PRECISION OF TEST
The test is based on the assumption that the apparent specific gravity of the expanded portion
is the same as that of the residual portion. This assumption is erroneous but the error is well
within the large variation often encountered between duplicate determinations.
REFERENCES
Keen, BA & Raczowski, H 1921, The relation between the clay content and certain
physical properties of a soil, Journal of Agricultural Science, 11: 441-449.
Wickham, HG & Tregenza, GA 1973, Modified computation procedure: Keen-Raczowski
Volume Expansion Test, Journal of the Soil Conservation Service NSW, 29:170-176.
100 (%)
1 4
2 3
x
W W
W W
VE
"
"
#
Volume Expansion
4
NOTES
1. These boxes are only available undrilled. A drilling jig is available from the Gunnedah
Research Centre.
2. Some soils will wet up and swell so rapidly that dry surface soil falls out of the box.
This might be prevented by wetting the soil around the perimeter with a few drops of
deionised water.
3. The time for saturation varies according to the permeability of the sample. Some
dispersible soils will never wet to saturation. If a soil is not saturated after 48 hours
then the test is not appropriate. If the sample fails to saturate or dispersion percentage
>50% (Dispersion Percentage P8A/2), report this fact and use Linear Shrinkage
(P6A/1).
4. Shrinkage on saturation might occur in certain dispersible or silty soils. The
occurrence of shrinkage on saturation might be relevant to the problem of saturation
settlement in earthworks. If so, it should be reported and Linear Shrinkage (P6A/1)
should be used instead.