Designed to encourage the quantitative investigation of soil properties, as well as to give a 'feel' for what soils are and how they behave. The manual provides opportunities to see, touch and manipulate soil to better understand pedological, biological, chemical, and physical aspects of one of nature's most complex ecosystems.

Manual of Geotechnical Laboratory Soil Testing covers the physical, index, and engineering properties of soils, including compaction characteristics (optimum moisture content), permeability (coefficient of hydraulic conductivity), compressibility characteristics, and shear strength (cohesion intercept and angle of internal friction). Further, this manual covers data collection, analysis, computations, additional considerations, sources of error, precautionary measures, and the presentation results along with well-defined illustrations for each of the listed tests. Each test is based on relevant standards with pertinent references, broadly aimed at geotechnical design applications. FEATURES Provides fundamental coverage of elementary-level laboratory characterization of soils Describes objectives, basic concepts, general understanding, and appreciation of the geotechnical principles for determination of physical, index, and engineering properties of soil materials Presents the step-by-step procedures for various tests based on relevant standards Interprets soil analytical data and illustrates empirical relationship between various soil properties Includes observation data sheet and analysis, results and discussions, and applications of test results This manual is aimed at undergraduates, senior undergraduates, and researchers in geotechnical and civil engineering. Prof. (Dr.) Bashir Ahmed Mir is among the senior faculty of the Civil Engineering Department of the National Institute of Technology Srinagar and has more than two decades of teaching experience. Prof. Mir has published more than 100 research papers in international journals and conferences; chaired technical sessions in international conferences in India and throughout the world; and provided consultancy services to more than 150 projects of national importance to various government and private agencies.

This lab manual provides a hands-on introduction to basic principles of soil science -- with a focus on the natural properties and processes that govern soil. Contemporary and practical in perspective, it emphasizes factor analysis throughout and makes extensive use of the World Wide Web for gathering the most up-to-date data. Laboratories cover: Minerals, Rocks and Weathering; Soil Texture, Structure and Water Relations; Routine Soil Particle size Analysis; Bulk Density, Particle Density and Porosity of Soil; Field Study of Local Soils; Soil Organic Matter, Humus and Microbial Activity; Soil Testing and Fertilizers; Soil Survey Reports; Soils and the Environment; and Salt Affected Soils. Keys laboratories to discussions of associated topics in Soils in Our Environment, 8/E by Miller and Gardiner (Prentice Hall, 1997). For anyone wanting a hands-on introduction to the basic principles of soil science.

Triaxial Testing of Soils explains how to carry out triaxial tests to demonstrate the effects of soil behaviour on engineering designs. An authoritative and comprehensive manual, it reflects current best practice and instrumentation.References are made throughout to easily accessible articles in the literature and the books focus is on how to obtain high quality experimental results.

The exercises in this manual are designed to encourage the quantitative investigation of soil properties, as well as to give you a "feel" for what soils are and how they behave. You will have opportunities to see, touch and manipulate soil in the lab and in the field. This should help you develop a more in-depth understanding of the soil system than could be conveyed by lectures and readings alone. Some of these exercises are really demonstrations of important soil science concepts. Experimental conditions are set up to study the effect of various factors on certain soil properties. It is hoped that "seeing is believing" and that these exercises will reinforce principles learned in lecture. A unifying thread throughout the lab manual is the repeated use of your own soil which you should sample carefully and thoughtfully at the start of the course. By the end of the course you will have built up a substantial body of information about the soil you sampled. The lab work will therefore be most meaningful to you if you make an effort in the beginning to obtain your soil sample from a place with which you interact and in which you have a real interest - e.g. your home garden, your uncle's farm, your research site, or your parent's back yard. Wherever it's from, be sure that you sample a natural, mineral soil- not an artificial soil mix. Another feature that will help your lab experience have meaning is the "Comments" column that is adjacent to the "Procedural step" in each exercise. This format is intended to explain the "why" of what you are doing, as you are doing it. In their haste to complete a lab activity, students often fall into the trap of carrying out the procedural steps in cookbook fashion without stopping to consider whythey are doing each step and what it means.You will be amazed at how much more meaningful each exercise can become if you constantly ask yourself (or better, yet, ask your lab partner) why am I doing this stepand what does it mean? In addition, many of the techniques and approaches employed throughout these exercises will introduce you to some of the basics of scientific instrumentation and the scientific method of investigation. The skills you will learn include: Acquisition and use of online soil survey information; performance of chemical titrations; use and calibration of electronic measuring instruments, e.g. pH meter and spectrophotometer; creation and use of standard curves; ability to estimate soil texture by "feel"; recognition and description of soil properties in the field. Enjoy "

Now in its sixth edition, Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual is designed for the junior-level soil mechanics/geotechnical engineering laboratory course in civil engineering programs. It includes eighteen laboratory procedures that cover the essential properties of soils and their behavior under stress and strain, as well as explanations, procedures, sample calculations, and completed and blank data sheets. Written by Braja M. Das, respected author of market-leading texts in geotechnical and foundation engineering, this unique manual provides a detailed discussion of standard soil classification systems used by engineers: the AASHTO Classification System and the Unified Soil Classification System, which both conform to recent ASTM specifications.To improve ease and accessibility of use, this new edition includes not only the stand-alone version of the Soil Mechanics Laboratory Test software but also ready-made Microsoft ExcelRG templates designed to perform the same calculations. With the convenience of point and click data entry, these interactive programs can be used to collect, organize, and evaluate data for each of the book's eighteen labs. The resulting tables can be printed with their corresponding graphs, creating easily generated reports that display and analyze data obtained from the manual's laboratory tests.FeaturesBL Includes sample calculations and graphs relevant to each laboratory testBL Supplies blank tables (that accompany each test) for laboratory use and report preparationBL Contains a complete chapter on soil classification (Chapter 9)BL Provides references and three useful appendices:Appendix A: Weight-Volume RelationshipsAppendix B: Data Sheets for Laboratory ExperimentsAppendix C: Data Sheets for Preparation of Laboratory Reports

Many people need a better understanding of the formation, classification, properties and fertility of soils - specifically Australian soils. Soil science, once restricted to schools of agricultural science and horticulture, now reaches out to secondary and tertiary students of ecology, geography and environmental science, to people concerned with natural resource management, to farmers - even to the home gardener. This comprehensive, interesting and readable book is not just another textbook. It is an institution. First published in 1948, Professor Leeper's book became, in the course of four editions, the bible in its field. Inevitably it dated - but nothing of comparable quality replaced it. Dr Nick Uren has updated the bible. His revision includes substantive work on the theoretical underpinnings of major soil properties, conversion to standardized units, new and revised illustrations and tables. Most importantly, the book now better encompasses the whole of Australia. As each country has its own soils and usually its own scheme of soil classification, the textbooks of other countries have limited usefulness here. Now, again, we have our own. Its staying qualities are proven. As an introduction to soils, there is simply nothing to match it.

Contains virtually all current laboratory tests for soils, rocks and aggregates in one volume with references to international standards: ASTM, ISRM, BS, and AS.

This textbook is aimed at the majority of students, who need to quickly acquire a concise overview of soil science. Many current soil science textbooks still cater for a traditional student market where students embark on three years study in a narrow discipline. The growth in modular degree schemes has meant that soil science is now often taught as self-standing unit as part of broad based degree program. Students pursuing this type of course are increasingly reluctant to purchase expensive textbooks that are too detailed and often assume a scientific background. For those opting to specialise in soil science there are a variety of good textbooks to choose from. This short informative guide, will be particularly useful for students who do not possess a traditional scientific background, such as those studying geography, environment science, ecology and agriculture. Only textbook to cater for introductory courses in soil science. Provides an affordable concise overview of soil science. Learning exercises and chapter summaries enhance usability. Annotated suggestions for further reading. Based on proven and successful modular course structure. Emphasis on readability and interactive learning. No scientific background assumed.