Soil mechanics laboratory
In dredging operations, production is clearly a function of the dredging equipment employed and the characteristics of the soil to be dredged. MTI's soil laboratory is equipped with a wide variety of sophisticated investigation equipment. Thousands of soil samples from all parts of the world have been analysed. Analysis capabilities include:
Rock samples
Determination of compression and tensile strength, point load values, shear strength, permeability, density and many others.
Sand and gravel
Determination of grain size distribution using screens and/or a sedimentation column (an MTI development for rapid grain size distribution analysis which is also supplied to clients), material abrasiveness, specific gravity, pore volume and chemical analysis to determine the content of limestone, salt and organic materials.
Silts, clay and peat
Determination of specific gravity, water content, Atterberg and adhesion limits, viscosity, shear strength, organic content, and, for certain applications, special tests such as CBR (Californian Bearing Ratio).