Dynamic Compaction
Presented by
Nur Md. Robiul Hoque
Assistant Professor, Dept. of CEE, SUST
Dynamic Compaction
Dynamic compaction is for the densification
of granular soil deposit
Degree of compaction achieve depends on
a. The weight of the hammer
b. The height of the drop
c. The spacing of the locations at
which the hammer is dropped
Figure: Dynamic compaction
process
Note: See the video link provided in the “Sources”
end of the page. 2
Dynamic Compaction
Design steps of dynamic compaction
Step 1: Selection of tamper (tamper weight) and drop height of
required depth
𝐷 = 𝑛(𝑊𝐻)1/2
Where,
D = Depth of improvement
W = Weight of tamper = 8 to 35 metric ton
H = Falling height = 7.5 to 30.5 meter
n = From Table 1, depending on soil type
Step 2: Determination of applied energy to achieve required Figure: Spacing between two
depth of improvement points of dynamic
Average energy applied at the ground surface compaction
𝐴𝐸 = (𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 × 𝐷) 𝑘J/𝑚2
Where, Unit applied energy = From Table 2, depending on type of deposit (kJ/m2) 3
Dynamic Compaction
Design steps of dynamic compaction
Table 1: Recommended n value for different soil types
Degree of Recommended n
Soil Type
saturation value
High 0.5
Pervious soil deposits – Granular soil
Low 0.5 - 0.6
Semi-pervious soil deposits – Primarily High 0.35 - 0.4
silts with plasticity index of < 8 Low 0.4 - 0.5
High Not recommended
Impervious deposits – Primarily clayey Low 0.35 - 0.4
soils with plasticity index of > 8 Soils should be at
water content less than
the plastic limit
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Dynamic Compaction
Design steps of dynamic compaction
Table 2: Applied energy guidelines
Unit Applied Percent Standard
Type of Deposit
Energy (kJ/m2) Proctor Energy
Pervious coarse – grained soil 200-250 33-41
Semi-pervious fine – grained soils
250-350 41-60
and clay fills above the water table
Landfills 600-1100 100-180
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Dynamic Compaction
Design steps of dynamic compaction
Step 3: Project area to identify
Project area need to be identified according to the soil types
Step 4: Grid (drop point) spacing and drops
Grid spacing = 1.5 to 2.5 × diameter or width of tamper
Drops and passes
𝐴𝐸 = 𝑁 × 𝑊 × 𝐻 × 𝑃 /(𝐺𝑟𝑖𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔)2
Where,
N = Number of drops = 7 to 15
P = number of passes = 2 for pervious soil
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Dynamic Compaction
Example 1
Design dynamic compaction to densify 10 m thick manually filled loose backfill which consists of
poorly-graded gravel & sand up to 75 mm maximum size. The geotechnical engineer determined
that ground improvement for a 21.5 m * 50 m zone is required to prevent liquefaction under the
design earthquake peak ground acceleration. Design specifications include: (i) Weight of hammer,
(ii) Height of drop, (iii) No of passes for certain energy requirements and (iv) sketches of phase
design & energy.
Solution So,
𝐷 = 𝑛(𝑊𝐻) 1/2
Step 1
or, 10 = 0.6 × (𝑊𝐻)1/2
𝐷 = 𝑛(𝑊𝐻)1/2 or, 𝑊𝐻 = 277.8 𝑀𝑔. 𝑚
Here, Let,
Depth of improvement, D = 10 m 𝑊 = 18.1 𝑀𝑔 = 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟
Then,
From Table 1, for granular soil , n = 0.6 𝐻 = 15.4 𝑚 = 𝐷𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
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Dynamic Compaction
Example 1
Solution
Step 2
Average energy applied at the ground surface,
𝐴𝐸 = (𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 × 𝐷) 𝑘J/𝑚2
or, 𝐴𝐸 = (200 𝑡𝑜 250) × 10 𝑘J/𝑚2 ; [From Table 2, for pervious coarse grained soil]
or, 𝐴𝐸 = 2000 𝑡𝑜 2500 𝑘J/𝑚2
Step 3
As the whole site is consisted of the same type of soil and needed to treat, 21.5 m × 50 m zone
is identified as the project area.
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Dynamic Compaction
Example 1
Solution
Step 4
Grid spacing = (2 × 3) m; [Assume diameter of tamper = 3 m]
=6m
Again,
𝐴𝐸 = 𝑁 × 𝑊 × 𝐻 × 𝑃 /(𝐺𝑟𝑖𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔)2
or, 2250 = 𝑁 × 18.1 × 9.81 × 15.4 × 𝑃 /(6)2 ; [AE = (2000+2500)/2 = 2250
or, 𝑁𝑃 = 29.62
For pervious soil, number of passes, P = 2
So, N = 14.81 ≈ 15
Number of drops, N = 15
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Dynamic Compaction
Example 1: Solution
Phase Design
3 grid points along the 21.5 m and 8 along the 50 m
For 2 passes number of drops needed is = 48 x 15;
[3*8*2 = 48]
Note: Grid points are arranged slightly at different position to make efficient
compaction of soil Figure: Dropping pattern for
dynamic compaction
Table : Number of drops and applied energy
Phase Pass Drop on each grid point Applied energy (kJ/m2)
1st 15 1125
1
2nd 15 1125
Total 2 30 2250 10
Dynamic Compaction
Das, B.M. (2013), Principles of foundation Engineering. Cengage learning India private
limited. ISBN-13: 978-81-315-1878-6
Arora, K.R. (1987), Soil mechanics and foundation engineering. Standard publishers
distributors. ISBN: 81-8014-028-8
Coduto, D.P. (2003), Geotechnical engineering-principles and practices. Prentice hall of
India private limited. ISBN: 81-203-2137-5
Video link
[Link]
[Link]
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