FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN AWAM

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

PASIR GUDANG LABORATORY MANUAL

COURSE BASIC SOIL MECHANICS

COURSE CODE ECG303

LEVEL OF OPENNESS 3

CATEGORY FULLY OPEN

DEGREE OF OPEN-ENDED (%) 100

PERIOD OF ACTIVITY 3WEEKS (week 9-11)

TITLE Road Construction Project for New Expressway in Pasir Gudang

Introduction
The need for an open-ended laboratory activity is emphasized in enhancing
independent learning activities and inculcating creativity and innovation of
students.
Objectives
This open-ended laboratory activity is created to provide a platform for students
(as a group) to determine the objectives and scopes of the laboratory assignment,
PREAMBLE identify the necessary apparatus and prepare step by step methodology to carry
out the task to address the given task. The group will be required to analyse all the
technical data obtained and present them in a technical format.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the laboratory activities, students would be able to:
1. Determine the THREE (3) suitable laboratory tests to be conducted.
2. Work in a group to produce the relevant technical report.
3. Analyse test data and present the solution to the open-ended problem.
Many civil engineering projects require the use of soils as “fill” material.
Whenever soil is placed as an engineering fill, it is nearly always necessary to
compact it to a dense state, so as to obtain satisfactory engineering properties
which not be achieved with loosely placed material.

In this fully open laboratory activities, the students are required to carry out tests
for the purpose of ‘Road Construction Project for New Expressway in Pasir
Gudang’. One part of the project area was proposed to be constructed on an
embankment that has undergone compaction procedures. For the construction of
PROBLEM STATEMENT
the project, few things need to be tested:

1. Determine the compaction parameters of the soil in the laboratory

2. Determine the field density test of the soil and find out the relative
compaction of the site
3. Conduct an empirical test for estimating the bearing value of the road-
bases.

Each group has to identify a compacted site and take soil samples from the site
FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN AWAM
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA
PASIR GUDANG LABORATORY MANUAL

and brought to the laboratory for further testing. The group is required to design
and conduct suitable and related laboratory test to obtain the relevant soil
parameters as mentioned above.

As a technical assistant you are required to carry out proper tests to identify the
soil. The test must be carried out within three consecutive weeks.
The group is required to identify the appropriate equipment and related
procedures to carry out the laboratory tests.The laboratory tests will be
WAYS & MEANS
conducted in 3 consecutive weeks. The procedures carried out must be clearly
outlined in the report.
The group will be required to prepare technical report of the laboratory results
highlighting the procedures of testing adopted, data acquisition process, analysis
carried out with detail discussion and conclusion.
Each group will be given 30 minutes to present the findings in class during the 4th
RESULTS week after the commencement of the task.

In the presentation each group must present solutions to the problems that may
arise in the road construction based on the data obtained from the laboratory and
field tests.