Chapter 2
Soil Compaction
2.1 General Principles
2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
2.3 Factors Affecting Compaction
3.4 Field Compaction
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2.1 General Principles
NEED TO COMPACT THE SOIL FOR…
- Embankment
- Dam
- Highway
- Port
- Airport
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2.1 General Principles
+ Water
(add to the soil)
- Reduce permeability
- Increase the strength of soil
- Decrease the settlement of soil
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2.1 General Principles
The soil particles can not slip over each other
and move into a densely packed position
LESS
Water
(add to the soil)
MORE
The water takes up the spaces that would have
been occupied by the solid particles
There is an optimum water content
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2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
Purpose and Scope
The Proctor compaction test is a laboratory method of
experimentally determining the optimal moisture content at which a
given soil type will become most dense and achieve its maximum
dry density.
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2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
Standard Proctor test equipment
Mass of hammer
2.5 kg = 5.5 lb
Mold (Mould) Hammer
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2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
Standard Proctor test procedure
Step 1: Take 3 kilograms of dry
soil passing #4 sieve
Step 2: Measure the internal
diameter and the height of the
mold
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2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
Standard Proctor test procedure
Step 3: Determine the self-weight
of the mold
Step 5: Compact the soil into the mold in
three equal layers by a hammer with 25
blows to each layer
Step 4: Add 150 – 200 ml of water
to the soil 8
2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
Standard Proctor test procedure
Step 6: Cut the soil over
the top of the mold
Step 7:
Determine the
mass of soil
and mold
Step 8: Push the soil out of the mold
and take a little bit of soil in order to
determine the water content
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2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
Standard Proctor test procedure
Step 9: Add more 150 – 200 millimeter of water into
the soil and repeat step 5 to step 8. Reproduce the
step 4 to 8 until the mass of soil and mold on step 7
reduce
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2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
Standard Proctor test data
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2.2 Proctor Compaction Test
Standard Proctor test result
ρdmax
1.95
Dry density of soil (g/cm3)
1.9
1.85
1.8
1.75
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
wopt
Water content w(%)
ρdmax – maximum dry density wopt – optimum water content
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2.3 Factors Affecting Compaction
Effect of Soil Type
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2.3 Factors Affecting Compaction
Effect of Compaction Effort
E - compaction effort per unit volume of soil
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2.3 Factors Affecting Compaction
Method A, B and C
of
Standard Proctor Test
and
Modified Proctor Test
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2.3 Factors Affecting Compaction
Effect of Compaction Effort
Compaction Energy of Standard Proctor Test Method A
Compaction Energy of Modified Proctor Test Method A
457
2671
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2.3 Factors Affecting Compaction
Effect of Compaction Effort
Compaction energy: E2 > E1
Dry density of soil ρd
• Optimum water content wopt
wopt1 < wopt2
E2 (>E1)
• Maximum dry density ρdmax
ρdmax1 > ρdmax2
E1
O
Water content w (%)
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2.4 Field Compaction
Pneumatic rubber-tired roller
Compacted lift thickness: 150 – 250mm
(Effective depth of soil compaction)
Smooth-wheel rollers
Compacted lift thickness: 150 – 300mm
(Effective depth of soil compaction)
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2.4 Field Compaction
Vibrating Plates
(For small area and coarse-grained soils)
Compacted lift thickness: 200 – 250mm
(Effective depth of soil compaction)
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2.4 Field Compaction
Sheepsfoot rollers
(For fine-grained soils)
Compacted lift thickness: 150mm
(Effective depth of soil compaction)
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2.4 Field Compaction
Optimum
Water
+
Content
wopt
(result from
Compaction Test)
Compacted
with
Soil
Maximum compaction energy can be obtained from the equipment
- Save the shift work and time
- Save the machine shift and fuel
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2.4 Field Compaction
Relative compaction
𝜌𝜌𝑑𝑑 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝛾𝛾𝑑𝑑 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓
𝑅𝑅(%) = × 100 = × 100
𝜌𝜌𝑑𝑑 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚−𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝛾𝛾𝑑𝑑 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚−𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙
ρd(field) – dry density of compaction soil in the field
ρd(max-lab) – dry density of compaction soil determined from compaction test
γd(field) – dry unit weight of compaction soil in the field
γd(max-lab) – dry unit weight of compaction soil determined from compaction test
Dry density of compaction soil in the field is determine by core-cutter method,
sand or water replacement method
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