Water content determination generally takes 16 to 24 hours by oven drying method. To quickly determine the water content at site, use of Rapid Moisture Meter is very advantageous. In this method, water content is determined from the gas pressure developed by the reaction of calcium carbide (Absorbent) with free water of the soil sample. From the calibrated scale of the pressure gauge, the percentage of water on total (wet) mass of soil sample is obtained and the same is converted to water content on dry mass of soil.
Setup for Rapid Moisture content Determination
A. Metallic pressure vessel, with a clamp for sealing the cup, along with a Pressure gauge calibrated in percentage water content as per IS-12175:1987.
B. Counterpoised balance, for weighing the sample.
C. 3 steel balls of about 12.5mm diameter and 1 steel ball of 25mm diameter
D. Cleaning Brush
E. Calcium Carbide Powder (Absorbent)
F. Standard Scoop - for measuring absorbent