Simple Explanation of the Compressible

Packing Model
Cameron Kellough
February 20, 2008

Introduction

The compressible packing model was developed by Francois de Larrard to

describe the packing density achieved by a granular mixture. 1 This model
has been described in other places besides the footnoted book including in a
paper by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology2 .
The major tenet of the model is that all size classes in the mixture interact
with all other sizes classes in the mixture affecting the overall density. It is
a semi-empirical model.
The compressible packing model models the actual packing density which
can be achieved using a mixture of actual aggregates. The prediction of actual
densities differentiates this model from similar models and statistical experiments which predict the theoretical density that could be achived placing
aggregate grain by grain. This latter concept is known as the virtual packing
density.

Virtual Packing Density

Of specific interest in the model is the virtual packing density for a class when
it is dominant. It should be noted here that the virtual packing density is a
1

See Concrete Mixture Proportioning, a Scientific Approach by Francois de Larrard,

c
1999,
E & FN SPON, 11 New Fetterer Lane, London EC4P 4EE.
2
http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build98/PDF/b98023.pdf

theoretical concept that is only a component of the achievable density of an

actual mixture.
A class of large grains is dominant when it fills all space available such that
adding a few smaller grains would merely fill interstitials without forcing the
large particles apart. A class of small grains is dominant when it consumes
more space than the interstitials available between the large particles.
The virtual packing density of a single component mixture is denoted i
and is about 0.72 for spheres. 2
The overall virtual packing density for a mixture of any number of particle size classes with independent beta values is defined by the following
equation where the value yi represents the volume fraction of the ith size
class when each of the i size classes to be mixed are measured in beakers
before combination.
The book equation for i is the following:
i =

i
Pn
i
1
j=1 [1 i + bij i (1 j )]yj
j=i+1 [1 aij j ]yj

P i1

(1)

After thinking about it however and trying to get results to match the
books graphs, I believe the following to be correct:
i =

i
P i+1
i
1
j=n [1 aij j ]yj
j=1 [1 i + bij i (1 j )]yj

P i1

(2)

The Loosening Effect

The loosening effect describes an effect whereby the introduction of small

particles forces apart larger particles. The theoretical basis for this was a
curve fit of an analysis of several researchers data over the course of more
than 50 years.
s

aij =

1 (1

dj 1.02
)
di

The value di represents is the average particle diameter.

2

http://www.niss.org/technicalreports/tr104.pdf

(3)

The Wall Effect

The wall effect describes an effect whereby larger particles cause interstitials
in the mixture which are too small to be filled by other particle classes. The
theoretical basis for this was a curve fit of an analysis of several researchers
data over the course of more than 50 years.
bij = 1 (1

di 1.50
)
dj

(4)

The Compressible Packing Model Equation

The final equation for the compressible packing model involves a bunch of
derivation which is not of great interest to those implementing the model.
As a result, I will state without proof that the final equation for the model
is given below where represents the percentage solids of the mixture and
the value of K, a constant related to the manner in which the mixture is
compacted (corresponding to vibration under 15psi of pressure) is equal to
the value 9.0.
The situation in the book is confused by the notation in which Ki is
described. The original equation in the book is the following:
9.0 = K =

n
i=1 Ki

yi
i
n
i=1 1
1i

(5)

What was really meant is this:

Ki =

yi
i
1

9.0 = K =

1
i
n
i=1 Ki

(6)
(7)

To get a mixture of maximal density, one must optimize the above equation for .
A theoretical result for a simplified model elsewhere in de Larrards book
indicates that an optimal mixture with size classes of the form dn = dnmax
with n = 0 for the largest and n = i for the ith size class should have equal
values of Ki when the density is maximized.

The Segregation Potential

Once again, avoiding the derivation, we reproduce an equation for a factor

called the segregation potential. This value represents the tendency for a
mixture to segregate.
S =1

min

1<=i<=n

Ki
1 + Ki

(8)

Solving for Packing Density

To find the optimal mixture, one must solve the compressible packing model
equation given above such that is maximized and S is minimized. It can be
observed from the segregation potential equation that the minimum value for
P
Ki is achieved when all Ki are equal since 9.0 = K = nj=1 Ki . This condition
minimizes both the segregation potential and maximizes the density. One
can optimize for without optimizing for S but the mixture will have a
larger tendency to segregate which is not suitable for Epoxy Granite. The
final solution then is to optimize the compressible packing model equation
for Ki = Ki+1 = ....

Measuring i

i is measured by placing a mass MD of aggregate in a cylinder width diameter D which is more than 5 times the maximum size of the aggregate. The
cylinder is closed with a piston which exerts a force of 10kPa and vibrated
at an acceleration of 4G for 2 minutes. This corresponds to the conditions
for K = 9. After the vibration, the height h of the packed aggegate is measured and the actual packing density calculated according to the following
equation:
=

4MD
D2 hD

(9)

where D is the intrinsic density of the dry aggregate.

Assuming that the aggregate is from a single sieve size where the ratio
between sieve sizes is less than 1.26:1, the uncorrected mean virtual packing
density can be expressed as follows:
4

1
= (1 + )
(10)
K
The corrected virtual packing density is then expressed as follows:
=

1 (1 kw )[1 (1 d/D)2 (1 d/h)]

(11)

where kw is the wall effect coefficient, d is the average diameter of the

aggregate and h is the height in the cylinder. The value of kw was measured
by de Larrard for round and crushed grains in 30 widely varying cases. For
round grains, kw = 0.88. For crushed grains, kw = 0.73