Unit weight of soil in the absence of water table

[sworddark90]

Hello , i need guidance to which unit weight of soil to be used. I have been given a soil report and was asked to conduct a review on the bearing capacity calculations and settlements. All boreholes were up to 12 meters in depth , and none encountered water table. The soil type is sand . In the calculations sheet in the soil report , the unit weight used was 18Kn/m2 assuming it is saturated. Shouldn't we use the dry unit weight for these calculations since we don't have water table in these boreholes? No test was conducted to determine the unit weight of soil in the soil report.

 

[EireChch]

Check BS8001 it has typical values for unit weight above and below water table.

I wouldnt get hung up on it though, 18 for SAND is generally ok. I use 18 for loose to medium dense SAND and 19 for dense.