A STUDY OF PROBLEMS ASSOCIAT E ~ WITH FIELD MEASUREME T OF MOIST RE CONTE NT OF PEAT

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(Civil Engineering)

A398

2010 2010

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p.KHIDMAT MAKLUMAT AKAOEMIK

1IIIIIIIIIfI'iiilIIIIIIIII

1000212983

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARA W AK BORANG PENGESAHAN STATUS TESIS

.IUD L: A STUDY OF PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH FIELD

MEASUREMENT OF MOISTURE CONTENT OF PEAT

SESI PENGA.lIAN: 200912010

Saya ALICE EDWINA AK NYUDIEN

rnengaku rnernbenarkan tesis/Laporan* ini disimpan di Pusat Khidrnat Maklurnal Akadernik, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak dengan syarat-syarat kegunaan seperti berikut:

I. Tesis adalah hak rnilik Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

2, Pusat Khidrnat Maklurnat Akadernik, Universili Malaysia Sarawak dibenarkan rnernbuat salinan untuk tujuan pcngajian sahaja

3. Pusat Khidrnat Maklurnat Akadernik, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak dibenarkan rnernbuat pendigitan untuk rnernbangunkan Pangkalan Data Kandungan Tempatan

4. Pusat Khidrnat Maklurnat Akadernik, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak dibenarkan rnernbuat salinan tcsis/laporan ini sebagai pertukaran bahan antara institusi pengajian tinggi

5. "sila tandakan (" )

C

_SULIT (Mengandungi rnaklurnat yang berdarjah

keselarnatan alau kepentingan seperti terrnaklub dalarn AKTA RAHSIA RASMI 1972)

C

TERHAD _(M_engandun_gi_{rnaklurnat lerhad}_ya_ng_te_la_h ditentukan oleh Organisasil badan dimana penyelidikan dijalankan)

[TI

TTDAK TERHAD

Disahkan:

(ALlCE EDWINA AK NYUDIEN) (PROF, NIMAL SENEVIRAT E) Alarnat Tetap:

KAMPUNG BOGAG

94000 BAU Sarawak.

Tarikh: ;)

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Calalan: *Tesisl Laporan dlmuksudkan scbaga; It'S;" bagi ljazah Doklor hllsafah, Sarjana dan Sa~jana Muda nJ ika Tesis.: Laporan Ini SUUT atau TERHAD, 511a lampirkan s.ural dalipada pihak berhasal

orgaoisnsl berkenaan dengltn menyalakan sekali sebab dan lempoh leSIS/ lapora n ini pcrlu dikelaskan sebagai TERHAO

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"I hercby declare that I have read this thesis ~nd in my opinion this thesis is slIfiiciclll in formy of

quality for the awardt or the degree of civil engineering·'.

Signature: _ _ -' ,

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Date AS;- -

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ALICE

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This report is submitted ill pal1ial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Bachelor o t' Civil Engineering

Faculty of Civil Engineering

University Malaysia Sarawak (U N IM AS)

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"I declare that this thesis entitled "A study of problems associated with fie ld

measurement of moisture content of peat" is the resu It of my own research except as cited in the reference. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently

submitted in candidature of any other degree".

Signature:

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Name lice [ dwina ak Nyudien

Date

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Specially dedicate

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ar friends ...

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ACKNO

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MENT

For this opportunity, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Proc.Dr.Nimal for his professional supervision, inc~s,ant adv ice, enco ur8gement, guidance and paticnt during the Iinal year project on this research. I appreciate the time, the efforts and suggestions of ProfNimal to improve the performance and outcome Qr the project.

Recognition is also to all lecturers oc civil engineering that have contri buted in completing this projec t. Also thanks to coordinator of this course cor give stllUCnI' guidance and some information. I would like to thank Hj. Afcend i

as

a laboratOl'Y technician cor guidance me in the lab test.

Finally, the greatest thanks go to all my camily and my criends especially Adrian Peter for their support and motivation through out the complct'lng of thi, project. Without this endless care, this study would not have been possible.

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Abstract

Peat is one of major groups of soils found in Sarawak. Peat deposits cover large areas in Kuching; Matang, Batu Kawa and Kota Samarahan. This study presents the problems

~." ociated with field measurement of moisture content at peat. These project reports

focuses on the different method and technique available for measurement of moisture content of peat in the field. Peats are difficult to sample and test using conventional methods. The peat samples werc collected from Kopodims, at Matang and Urat Mata at

Kota samarahan by using a peat auger. The laboratory testing program included the

moisture content test. ash content test, specitlc gravity test and fiber content [cst. The relationship between the parameters also has been drawn. The moisture cOIll~nt test \.IdS

performed on 6 samples for each site by oven drying at 60'c, 80' c and 105"e. This

method is also called oven drying method which the soil samples arc placed in an oven for 24 hour. Comparison of the results obtained at di fferent drying temperature, and different depth level of the sample (bottom, middle, top) show substantial variations of moisture content values, but it shows no clear sign measurement by using the different depth level of the eq uipment. The results show that the average ol'moisture content value at Matang and Kota Samarahan is respectively 1182% and 11 63% with oven drying 105'<;. From the graph of moisture content versus temperature, it can be concluded thaI the values of moisture content increase witb increasing of drying temperature. Ash

content of samples taken from Matang range ti'om 3.20% to 14.59% and those taken at Kota Samarahan are having values range from I 1.13 to 14.17%. From the plotted graph of moislure content versus organic content, it can he concluded thaI lhe moisture content increase with the increasing of organic content.

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Abstrak

Gambut dikenal pasti s~bagai kumpulan tanah yang paling bcsar terdapat di Sarawak terutama sekali di kawasan Kuching; Matang, Batu kawa, dan Kota Samarahan. Laporan

projek ini bel1umpu kepada kaedah yang berlainan digunakan dan teknik yang terdapat di kawasan lapangan untuk menentukan nilai kclcmbapan bagi tanah gambut. Tempat bagi sampel tanah ini di ambil dari Kopodims iaitu di kawasan Matang dan dari Urat Mata di kawasan Kota Samarahan dengan menggunakan kaedah lubang gerimit. Ujikaji makmal

telah dijalan bagi menentukan nilai kandungan lembapan, kandungan abu, b~l1lt unit tentu dan kandungan gentian terhadap sam pel tanah yang diambil dari tapak kajian, l-Iubungill1 antara parameter-parameter ini kemudian diterbitkan, Ujian telah dilakukan kc arns 6 sal11pel dengan 3 kaedah yang berlainan iaitu dikeringkan pad a suhu 60' c, 80'c dan

105'c, Perbandingan keputusan yang diperoleh l11enggunakan suhu yang berlainan dan pembahagian kandungan l11engikut kedalaman lubang gerimit (bawah, lcngah, atas)

menunjukkan variasi nilai kandungan lel11bapan, tetapi ia tidak menulljukkan perubahan

yang ketara menggunakan pembahagian kandungan mengikut kedalaman lubang geril11it,

Hasil ujian rnenunjukkan nilai purata kelembapan tanah gal11bul yang terdapal di kawasan

Matang dan Kota Saillarahan ialah masing-rnasing 11 82% dan I 163% p~da suhu I 05 '~,

Dari grar kandungan lembapan melawan suhu dapat disimpulkan bahawa kandungan

Icmbapan bCltambah dcngan kadar pertambahan suhu. Nilai kandungan abu yang

diperolchi dari kawasan Matang adalah dalam julat 3.20% hingga 14.59% manakala di

kawasan Kota Samarahan nilai nya agak tinggi iaitu dalam julat 11.13% hingga 14,17%,

Dari graf yang diplot, dapat disimpulkan bahawa kandungan lembapan bertarnbah dengan pertambahan kandungan organik.

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PU~t Kh.U/U31 I~l. . .

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&adelll1ll. l·...rVl'ICtlTI MALAYSIA ARAWAK

TABLE

OF

CONTE:"'T

CHAI'TER

CII

APTERJ

C

UAPTER2

TITL

E

TARLE OF'

CONn"

,

TS

LL

T OF FIGURES

LIST

OF

TABLES

LIST OF SYMBOLS

LIST OF API'E OIC'ES

AB

.

TRACT ABSTRAK I TROl>UCTION I. I Background 1.2 Statement ot' Problem 1.3 Obj ectives ot' Study 1.4 Scope o f Stud y

1.5 Thesis Structure and Layout

LITERA

TU

RE REVIEW

2. I Peat Soi 1 2.1.1 Detinitioll vii I' GES \11 xi\' \I' xv i v 3 4

5

8

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9 2.1.2 Peat Formation

2.1.3 Distribution of Peat in Sarawak I I

~. I A Class ifi ca ti on of Peat 12 2. 1A.I Physical Characteristics of Peat 14

2. 1.5 Properties of Peat soil 15 2.1.5. 1 Depth-Density- Water content relations hip 16 :::. ~: Moisture Content

1

8

2.2. I Moisture Relationships

2

1

222 Water holding capacity

2.2.3 Moisture Content and the Groundwater

Table 23

2.3 Moisture content of peat measurement method

2

5

2.3.1 Dual-probe heat pulse technique 25

2.3.2 Theory '27

2.3.3 Field Eva luation of the Dual-Probe

Heat-Pul se Method 28

2.34 Laboratory Evaluation of the Dual-Probe 30

Heat-Pulse Method

2.3.5 Time - Domain Reflcc tometl'Y ( TDR) 30 2.3.5.1 Installation of Probes for Field Work 32 2.3.5.2 Effects of salinil)' on TDR 3_ 2.36 ASTM D 2216 Standa rd Test Method 33

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CHAPTER 3

2.3.7 ASTM 02974 07a Standard Test Methods 35

M CTIIODOLOGY 38

3.1 Introduction 38

3.1. I Study the Method Used 39 3.2 Measurement of Moisture Content 39 3.2.1 ASTM 02216 Standard Test Method [or 40

Laboratory

3.2. I. IPurpose of Measurement 40

3.2.1.2 Procedure 41

3.2.1.3 Equipment and Materials 41 3.2.1.4 Preparation ot' Peat Soil ,ample for

Conventional Oven method 42 3.3 Measurement orash content ·12 3.3.1 Ory ashing techniques ,Ii

3.3.1.1 Apparatus 43

3.4 Measurement ofSpecitic Gravity 43

3.5ASTM01997 45

3.6 Analysis Result ·16

3.6.1 ASTM Standard For the classification of peat 47 3.7 Field collection oFsoil sample 47 3.8 Equation and Calculation 50

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53

CHAPTER 4 RESULT AND ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

REFERENCES APPENDICES

4. 1 Introduction 53

4.2 Moisture content test result and analysis

57

4.3 Ash content test result and analysis 6 1 4.4 Speci fi c gravi ty test result and analysis liS 4.5 Fi ber content test result and analysis

67

4.6 Summary o f Test Results

68

01 ells. IONS & RECOMMENDATION

70

5.1 Discussion

7

0

5.2 Recommendation

72

5.3 Problem faces during studi es

73

CONCLUSION

74

6.1 Introduction

74

6.2 Conclusion

74

76

80

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LIST OF FI

G

U

R

E

F

i

gure No.

Title Puge

1.1 Organization Chart of Thesis

7

2.

1

The layer of formation of peat 10

22

Distr ihution of peat in Sarawak II

2.3 Peat pro file

1

6

2.4 Profile of a peat soil. 18

2.5 Some soil moisture characteristics

20

26

The gl·oundwater table

24

2.7

Sc hematic diagram of the dual-probe hea t-pul se

29

senSOrS used in the field experiment

2.8

Three TOR probe designs. Left to right. three-rod probe, 31

two -rod probe, and parallel plate probe.

2.9

Muffl e Furnace

37

2 10 Experiment for ASTM

0

297

4

3

7

3. 1 Oven drying equipment 4~

32

MOl1ar and Past Ie

44

3.3 Procedure in specific gravjty

4 :i

3.4 Hand auger

48

3.5 Detailing of Hand Auger

49

36 Flow Chart of Methodology 52

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4.1 Overview of area sampling-pineapple plantation on deep peats at Urat Mata

4.2 Depth of peats at 1.60m 54

4.3 The properties 0

r'

peats

55

4.4 The peatland at Matang area

5S

4.5 The typical place of the location with depth 1.80m

56

4.6 The depth of peat at Matang around 1.70m

56

4.7 Container sampling of moisture content 57

4.8 The soil sample condition after have been dried in the oven 57

4.9 Plotted graph 01' moisture content versus temperature at

K.Samarahan area

58

4.10 Plotted graph of moisture content versus temperature at

Matang area

58

4.11 Soil profile from field at Matang

60

4.12 The dry sample are place in muffle furnace for S hour 61

4.13 The Sample of ash content alier take out li'om mu

m

e

furnace 61

4.14 Sample of dry soil be place into the mume furnac.:. 61

4.1 S The weight of

a

s

il

content is l11easured

62

4.16 The average value for ash content at Matang and K.Sal11arahan

62

4.17 Plotted graph based on organic and 1110isture content at

Kota Sal11arahan 64

4.18 Equipment for measuri ng of speci fic gravity

66

flask with soi I inside.

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4. 19 Soil is fill to the volumetric flask about 5g 66

4 20 Water is filli~g about three-fourths to the vo lumetric fl ask with so il 66

4.2 1 The process of fi ber content test 67

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LIST OF TABLE

TlIblc

N

o.

Title

Page

2.

1

Classification of peat on the basis of

decomposition on the Von Post Scale.

13

2.2

Guiding values for the classification of soil

011 the basis of organic conlent.

1

4

2 .3

Physical properties of peat soi I

1

7

2.4

Dry weight and water content of saturaled peats

23

3

1

ASTM Standard spec;fication

46

4 .

1

Description of the place of sampling

S3

4.2

Propel1ies of peat sample al Kola Samarahan area

64

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LIST OF

SYI\-1Il0LS

r - radius

W - moisture content P - density

C - capacity

e - void ratio of soil

e

-

volumetric water content

q -

heat inpu t

LlTI11 - temperature increase Ps -Particles density F.e - Fiber content

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LI

S

T

OF APPF:Nf>ICE

AppeJ)d i;.: T icle Page~

A Natural moisture content resu lt 80

B Ash call tent result

92 C

Specific gravity test r",,,lt

9

8

0

Fiber content test result 100

E Physical properti es of peat h~sed on locatioll CHuat, _004) 102

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Final Year Project 2009120 I 0

The main commercial uses for is in the production of garden composts, where it

adds bulk and organic matter, helping the soil to retain moisture but not adding significant nutrients,

In

fact, its behavior in the garden mimics that of tile bog, which retains lots of moisture but has a very low nutrient status.

Knowledge on moisture contem of peat soil is important in most civil engineering

works related to vegetation and agriculture works, However, Ibe soi! moisture has been

,,,( ..In,,, obscr'vc'd routinely at meteorological stations. The method in measuring moisture

content peat involves issues related to moisture analysis, moisture content, laboratory

field test and peat soi I.

The water content is important as a guide for classification of natural soils and as a control criterion io re-compaction soils. II is measured in samples used for most field and laboratory tests, The oven-drying method is one of the testing procedures used in usual laboratory practice,

The practical procedure for delermining Ihe water content of a soil is to determine the mass of water removed by drying the moisl soil (test specimen) to a constant mass in a drying oven controlled at a given temperature, and to use this value as the mass of water in the test specimen related to the mass of solid particles, The mass of soil remaining aftcr oven-drying is used as the mass of the solid particles.

There are several methods can be used for measuring Ihe moisture content of peal

soils. The moisture content obtained by using the TDR method, DPHP method,

conventional oven-drying method and ASTM D2974 - 07a Standard Test 'vlethods for

'vloisture, and Organic Matter of Peat and Other Organic Soils,

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Final Year Project 2009/20 I 0

The dual-probe heat pulse (DPHP) technique is one of the potentially useful methods for providing non-destructive measurements of moisture content of both saturated and, unsaturated peat soils. Probes consist in this technique is a pairs of stainless steel needles, one of which contains a heating element and the other a thermocou pie.

TDR technique, involves measuring the propagation of electromagnetic, waves or signals. The propagation of electrical signals in soil is influenced by so il water content and electrical conductivity. Thus, this moisture content determination is independent of

soil texture and temperature.

The oven-drying technique is probably the most widely used for measuring soil moisture. This method involves removing of soil sample from the field and determining the moisture content in laboratory.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Measurement of moisture content can be made either in laboratory or in field by using different methods. There are some methods that can be used for measurement of moisture content in peal. They consist of the dual-probe heat-pulse method, r.ime-domain reflectometry (TOR), ASTM 02974 method and conventional oven metbod.

The soil moisture content has an important effect on stabilization of soil, soil thermal properties, soil heat flow, and vegetation. It is thus considered to be a critical

parameter in analyzing the moisture content. Selection of proper method for

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Final Year Project 2009/20 J0

measurement of moisture content is important to obtain an accuracy value of the moisture content.

For peat soil, the method used to determine the moisture content is quite complicated because there is no proper method to measure the moisture content in peat. In fact, most of peat is composed in different layers with depth. This final year project is to apply research on the method used in measurement of moisture content of peal. Field and laboratory method for measuring moisture content is usually obtained from ASTM standards.

1.3 Objective of Study

The main objectives of conducting this project are:

a) To determine different types of methods and techniques for measurement of moisture content of peat in the field.

b) To determine the problem associated with the techniques.

c) To study improved method of moisture determination of peat using resources available in soil laboratory.

d) To compare and contrast different methods of measuring peat moisture.

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Pusat KJudmat

M.kJumat

Akadem,.I.

UNIVERS/TI MALAYSIA SAUWAK

Final Year Project 2009/20 I 0

1.4 Scope of Study

To achieve the objectives, the study is focus on the different method and technique

available for measurement of moisture content at peat in the field. It also involved a

study of literature and taking of some field measurements. The evaluation is limited to

the study of the moisture content profile with depth in a peaty soil.

1.5

Thesis Structure and Layout

Following this introductory chapter, this study is divided into six further chapter

consisting of literature review related to peat so il, moisture content analysis, method used for measuring moisture content a peat, data collection, research methodology, analysis

with data and result, and conclusion with recommendations for further study.

A literature review on this research is presented in chapter 2. Study on peat soil; the formation, characteristics, properties of peat soil and moisture content analysis and method used for measuring moisture content are discussed in detail.

Chapter 3 deals with methodology to be used to achieve the objective of study. A flow cha'i is made to show the sequence of tasks to be accomplished. All the steps will be discussed.

Chapter 4 presents the detail of data and result analysis. Some of the result will be shown in graph and the process of the test will be discussed. Analysis of data is