Soil Characterisation

Civil engineers need to get familiar with the 'official' terminology used to describe soils.

This is so that they can begin their studies into the realm of Geotechnics/ Geotechnical Engineering (a.k.a. soil engineering).

...and touching some soil is the best way to do it!

Before they learn about soil strength calculations and analysis, students must know how to identify and classify soils in accordance with industry standards.

This lab gets students literally 'hands-on' with a range of soils - touching them is an important part of identifying their engineering properties..... and its also a lot of fun!

Wetting each soil, and moulding it in your hands allows you to distinguish between & classify a range of soils types such as clays, silts, sands and gravels.

Students also have a set of questions at the end to delve into some real-world applications of the soil types.