TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
SAGARMATHA ENGINEERING COLLEGE
SANEPA, LALITPUR

Submitted By:
Prabesh Kaji Katuwal (SEC076/BCE/027)

Submitted To:
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
SAGARMATHA ENGINEERING COLLEGE
SANEPA,LALITPUR, NEPAL

9 July, 2023
California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test on Soil Sample

1. OBJECTIVE

The objective of performing a California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test is to evaluate the load-
bearing capacity and strength characteristics of a soil material. This geotechnical test is
commonly conducted to achieve the following objectives:

• Pavement Design and Construction

• Subgrade Evaluation

• LMaterial Selection

• Quality Control

• Prediction of Soil Behavior

2. APPRATUS REQUIRED

The following apparatus were used for conducting the CBR test:

• CBR machine

• Mold assembly (with a penetration piston)

• Dial gauge or displacement transducer

• Spacer discs

• Loading machine (with a loading yoke)

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3. THEORY

The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test is an essential geotechnical test used to evaluate the
strength and load-bearing capacity of soil materials. It is commonly employed in pavement
design, road construction, and other civil engineering applications. The CBR value is a
measure of the relative strength of the soil, which indicates its ability to support applied
loads.
It is the ratio of force per unit area required to penetrate a soil mass with standard circular
piston at the rate of 1.25 mm/min. to that required for the corresponding penetration of a
standard material. C.B.R. = (Test load/Standard load) X 100

4. Sample Preparation

• Undisturbed specimen
Attach the cutting edge to the mould and push it gently into the ground. Remove the
soil from the outside of the mould which is pushed in . When the mould is full of soil,
remove it from weighing the soil with the mould or by any field method near the spot.

• Remoulded specimen
Prepare the remoulded specimen at Proctors maximum dry density or any other density
at which C.B.R is required. Maintain the specimen at optimum moisture content or the
field moisture as required. The material used should pass 20 mm I.S. sieve but it should
be retained on 4.75 mm I.S. sieve. Prepare the specimen either by dynamic compaction
or by static compaction

– Dynamic Compaction
Take about 4.5 to 5.5 kg of soil and mix thoroughly with the required water. Fix
the extension collar and the base plate to the mould. Insert the spacer disc over
the base, Place the filter paper on the top of the spacer disc. Compact the mix
soil in the mould using either light compaction or heavy compaction. For light
compaction, compact the soil in 3 equal layers, each layer being given 55 blows
by the 2.6 kg rammer. For heavy compaction compact the soil in 5 layers, 56
blows to each layer by the 4.89 kg rammer. Remove the collar and trim off soil.
Turn the mould upside down and remove the base plate and the displacer disc.
Weigh the mould with compacted soil and determine the bulk density and dry

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 density. Put filter paper on the top of the compacted soil (collar side) and clamp
the perforated base plate on to it.
– Static compaction
Calculate the weight of the wet soil at the required water content to give the
desired density when occupying the standard specimen volume in the mould from
the expression. W =desired dry density * (1+w) V Where W = Weight of the wet
soil w = desired water content V = volume of the specimen in the mould = 2250
cm3 (as per the mould available in laboratory) Take the weight W (calculated
as above) of the mix soil and place it in the mould. Place a filter paper and the
displacer disc on the top of soil. Keep the mould assembly in static loading frame
and compact by pressing the displacer disc till the level of disc reaches the top of
the mould. Keep the load for some time and then release the load. Remove the
displacer disc. The test may be conducted for both soaked as well as unsoaked
conditions. If the sample is to be soaked, in both cases of compaction, put a filter
paper on the top of the soil and place the adjustable stem and perforated plate
on the top of filter paper. Put annular weights to produce a surcharge equal to
weight of base material and pavement expected in actual construction. Each 2.5
kg weight is equivalent to 7 cm construction. A minimum of two weights should
be put. Immerse the mould assembly and weights in a tank of water and soak
it for 96 hours. Remove the mould from tank. Note the consolidation of the
specimen.

5. PROCEDURE

The CBR test was conducted following the ASTM D1883-16 standard procedure. The steps
involved in the test are as follows:

• Placing the swell plate and spacer disc in the mold assembly.

• Compact the moist soil in layers within the mold using the specified 56 number of
blows and compactive effort.

• After compaction, the specimen was soaked for a specified period.

• The penetration piston was positioned on the surface of the specimen.

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• Set the stress and strain dial gauge to read zero. Apply the load on the piston so that
the penetration rate is about 1.25 mm/min

• Record the load readings at penetrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10
and 12.5 mm. Note the maximum load and corresponding penetration if it occurs for
a penetration less than 12.5 mm

• Detach the mould from the loading equipment. Take about 20 to 50 g of soil from the
top 3 cm layer and determine the moisture content.

• The CBR value was calculated using the formula: CBR Percentage = (P/P standard) x
100, where P is the measured load and Pstandard is the standard load corresponding to
a CBR of 100 percentage.

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6. OBSERVATION AND CALCULATION

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CALCULATION

Correction factor = 1.42 kg

7. RESULT

The results obtained from the CBR test are presented in tabular and graphical formats. The
load-penetration curve was plotted, showing the relationship between the applied load and
penetration depth. From the curve, the CBR value was determined.

8. CONCLUSION

Further studies could include conducting CBR tests on different soil types and comparing the
results. Additionally, investigating the effect of different compactive efforts and moisture
contents on the CBR value could provide insights into the behavior of soil under varying
conditions.

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