Material Sampling and Testing

Specialized geothechnical investigations involving foundation design and slope stability analysis are provided by an experienced in - house team of geothechnical engineers and engineering geologists. The professional staff have extensive experience of geological conditions in several regions in Ethiopia.

This team of the geothechnical department use the service of a large and well equipped company owned modern laboratory.

Sampling of materials is one of the activities of the geothechnical engineering department. SABA Engineering assists in sampling, sample collection and transportation of samples from site to the laboratory whenever the clients do the sampling by them selves. On site also the company technicians undertake investigations and in-situ tests and their expert service is available whenever requested by clients.

The laboratory, in fact, constitutes a major part of the wide-ranging services of the geo-technical engineering department of the company. The laboratory provides a complete set of material testing services, for determination of engineering properties of soils, rocks, and any construction materials and chemical properties of water.

The laboratory conducts tests for existing structures and all kinds of construction materials.

The laboratory technicians are provided with adequate and modern laboratory equipment and they are all trained to operate in the computerized data analysis and result interpretation software system applications that enable them to provide reliable and fast services.

Some of the common laboratory tests of materials carried out by the concrete, soil chemical and bitumen sections of our central laboratory are listed below.

The following are some of the common tests carried out in our laboratory

SOIL TEST

• Moisture content
• Atterberg limits
• Grain size analysis
• Linear shrinkage
• Unit weight (dry & bulk)
• Specific Gravity
• Free swell test
• Organic contents
• Various chemical tests
• Proctor and modified proctor compaction test
• California Bearing ratio test
• Unconfined compression test
• Direct shear test
• Oedometer one dimensional consolidation test
• In place density test (core drill, sand replacement, and rubber balloon methods)

 AGGREGATE

• Sieve analysis
• Unit weight
• Specific Gravity & Water Absorption
• Organic impurities
• Los Angeles Abrasion test
• 10% fines value
• Aggregate crushing value (ACV)
• Aggregate impact value (AIV)
• Flakiness index

• Soundness of Aggregate by use of sodium or magnesium sulfate solution
• Effects of organic impurities in fine aggregate on mortar strength
• Sand equivalent test
• Stripping & coating of bitumen aggregate mixture
• Deleterious materials (clay lump, silt & clay content, etc…)
• Alkali aggregate reactivity

CONCRETE

• Compressive strength
• Flexural strength
• Slump test
• Mix designs
• Air content
• Non-destructive tests like schmidt hammer.

• Compressive strength
• Unit weight
• Porosity and void ratio
• Soundness

WATER

• PH. Value
• Sulfate Content
• Chloride content
• TDS
• Other Chemical & Biological tests for potable water quality evaluation in compliance with WHO standards.

BITUMINOUS MATERIAL

• Extraction of Bitumen from Bituminous paving mixture
• Grading of residues
• Solubility of Bituminous Materials
• Specific Gravity
• Penetration of Bituminous materials
• Viscosity of Asphaslts
• Ductility of Bituminous materials
• Flash and Fire point test
• Softening point of Asphalt (Bitumen)
• Asphalt concrete mix design (Marshal method)
• Bulk density & specific gravity of Bituminous paving mixtures

ROAD IN – SITU TESTS

• Benkel-man beam deflection test
• Static plate load test
• Dynamic plate load test
• Standard penetration test
• Dynamic cone penetration test
• CBR tests
• Density tests

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