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Have questions about your materials testing equipment? We have the answers to these questions and much more right here! Check back monthly for long-form blog posts, how-to guides and infographics. We’ll address industry insights, the operation and maintenance of specific equipment, and our product line recommendations, all designed to better serve you.
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If you regularly perform asphalt theoretical maximum specific gravity (Rice) tests, the Gilson Rice Shaker is a time-saving tool to have in your lab. Find out why this unit is the key to determining accurate specific gravity determinations for asphalt, aggregates, and soils.
Unconfined compressive strength is a standard geotechnical test performed on cohesive soil samples in construction materials testing laboratories. Straightforward sample preparation and a rapid, uncomplicated procedure makes unconfined compression tests cost-effective when fundamental strength values are adequate for design.
Soil is a natural material and is sometimes employed as a construction material without modification. It is crucial to understand how it performs in its original (in-situ) environment. For this article, we will examine various field tests of soil and the equipment required to perform them.
Proctor tests of soils are simple to perform and easy to understand. A great way to train inexperienced technicians to follow procedures and pay attention to detail, but also repetitive, tedious, and in some variations, highly physical. Mechanical compactors help, but most have their own issues with accuracy and reliability. This blog article takes a close look at Gilson’s innovative solution to these issues. Our new Mechanical Soil Compactor features an innovative design, quality materials, and the latest technology to generate soil accurate and productive soil moisture/density profiles.
Performing geotechnical and engineering tests on soils in the field is a combination of necessity and practicality. In this two-part series, this first post looks at methods, procedures, and equipment needed for field sampling and visual classification of soils.
With a little thought and planning, you can avoid duplicating the equipment needed to perform many sample preparation tasks. Many ASTM and AASHTO soil tests performed follow similar techniques and use the same or similar equipment to set up samples for your soil testing.
This month's blog discusses the triaxial shear test of soil. It focuses on three different test methods, all with variable requirements based on soil types and properties of individual specimens.
In this month's blog post we discuss the equipment and procedures that are used to perform the ASTM and AASHTO test method for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids.
In this blog post we discuss why it is important to perform strength tests of soil subgrades for pavement design, and also review what is needed for each type of test method whether it be in the lab or out in the field including the DCP test.
Measuring the particle size distribution of fine-grained soils like clay and silt is best performed using the soil hydrometer test. In this blog post, we provide some guidance from sample prepping to performing the test procedure by following the ASTM D7928 standard test method.
