Soil Testing

In the field of civil engineering, nearly all projects are built onto, or into, the ground. Unlike other materials, which are subjected to strict controls during manufacture or processing, soil is usually used in the natural condition. Whether the project is a structure, a roadway, a tunnel, or a bridge, the properties of the soil at that location are of great importance to the civil engineer.

Here at ACS Testing we have the facility and expertise to determine a range of physical properties to classify the soil and determine its engineering properties, both in-situ and in the laboratory.

Type of test / Properties measured / Range of measurement	Standard Specifications
SOILS for civil engineering purposes
Moisture content - oven drying method	BS 1377-2
Liquid limit - cone penetrometer	BS 1377-2
Liquid limit - cone penetrometer - one point	BS 1377-2
Plastic limit	BS 1377-2
Plasticity index and liquidity index	BS 1377-2
Particle density - gas jar	BS 1377-2
Particle density - small pyknometer	BS 1377-2
Particle size distribution - wet sieving	BS 1377-2
Particle size distribution - dry sieving	BS 1377-2
Particle size distribution - sedimentation by the hydrometer method	BS 1377-2
Dry density/moisture content relationship (2.5 kg rammer)	BS 1377-4
Dry density/moisture content relationship (4.5 kg rammer)	BS 1377-4
Dry density/moisture content relationship (vibrating hammer)	BS 1377-4
Moisture condition value (MCV)	BS 1377-4
MCV - natural moisture content	BS 1377-4
MCV/moisture content relation	BS 1377-4
California Bearing Ratio (CBR) (loads from 0.2 to 19.5 kN)	BS 1377-4
Oedomoter	BS 1377-5
Constant head permeability	BS 1377-5
Large shear box	BS 1377-5
Hand shear vane	BS 1377-5
Undrained shear strength in triaxial compression without measurement of pore pressure (definitive method) (loads from 0.2 to 19.5 kN)	BS 1377-7
In-situ density sand replacement method large pouring cylinder)	BS 1377-9
In-situ density - core cutter method	BS 1377-9
In-situ bulk density - nuclear method - comparative tests	BS 1377-9
In-situ bulk density - nuclear method - absolute tests	BS 1377-9
In-situ bulk density nuclear method compliance tests	BS 1377-9
In-situ moisture density - nuclear method - comparative tests	BS 1377-9
In-situ California Bearing Ratio (CBR) (loads from 0.2 to 20 kN)	BS 1377-9
Uniformity coefficient (221 2217)	BS 6100-2.2.1
Undrained shear strength of remoulded cohesive material (loads from 0.2 to 19.5 kN)	Specification for Highway Works, HMSO March 1998 Clause 633