Soil Compaction

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 1

 Soil Compaction
• Soil is used as a basic material for construction of:
• Retaining walls,
• Highways, Embankments, Ramps
• Airports,
• Dams, Dikes, etc.
• The advantages of using soil are:
• Is generally available everywhere
• Is durable - it will last for a long time
• Has a comparatively low cost

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 2

 Compaction vs. Consolidation
• Compaction:
• When loose soils are applied to a construction site, compressive
mechanical energy is applied to the soil using special equipment to
densify the soil (or reduce the void ratio). Typically applies to soils that are
being used or re-used to a site.

• Consolidation
• When a static loads are applied to saturated soils, and over a period of
time the increased stresses are transferred to the soil skeleton, leading to
a reduction in void ratio.
• Depending on the permeability of the soil and the magnitude of the
drainage distance, this can be a very time-consuming process.
• Typically applies to existing, undisturbed soil deposits that has
appreciable amount of clay.

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 3

 Compaction vs. Consolidation
• Compaction means the removal of air-filled porosity while
Consolidation means the removal of water-filled porosity

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 4

 Compaction Benefits
1. Increased Shear Strength
2. Reduced Permeability
• This inhibits soils’ ability to absorb water, and therefore reduces
the tendency to expand/shrink and potentially liquefy
3. Reduced Compressibility
4. Control Swelling & Shrinking
5. Reduce Liquefaction Potential

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 5

 Principles of Compaction
• Compaction of soils is achieved by reducing the volume of
voids. It is assumed that the compaction process does not
decrease the volume of the solids or soil grains·

uncompacted compacted uncompacted compacted

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 6

 Principles of Compaction
• Moisture Density Relationship:

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 7

 Compaction—General Principles
• Approximate optimum moisture content

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 8

 Factors Affecting Compaction
1. Effect of soil type:
Compaction
Group Symbol
Characteristics
GW
GP
GM
GC Good
SW
SP
SM
SC
Good to Fair
CL
ML Good to Poor
OL, MH, CH, OH, PT Fair to Poor
Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 9
 Factors Affecting Compaction
1. Effect of soil type:
Group Symbol Value as Embankment Material
GW
Very Stable
SW
CL Stable
GP
GM
Reasonably Stable
GC
SC
SP
Reasonably Stable when Dense
SM
ML Poor, gets better with high density
OL, MH, CH, OH, PT Poor, Unstable
Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 10
 Factors Affecting Compaction
1. Effect of soil type:
Group Symbol Value as Subgrade Material
GW Excellent
GP
Excellent to Good
GM
GC
Good
SW
SP
SM Good to Fair
SC
ML
Fair to Poor
CL
OL, MH, CH, OH, PT Poor to Not Suitable
Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 11
 Factors Affecting Compaction
2. Effect of compaction effort:

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 12

 Factors Affecting Compaction
2. Effect of compaction effort:
• If the compaction effort per unit volume of soil is changed, the
moisture–unit weight curve also changes.
• Three layers for all cases, number of hammer blows 20 to 50.
• As the compaction effort is increased, the maximum dry unit
weight is also increased and the moisture content is decreased.

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 13

 Factors Affecting Compaction
2. Effect of compaction effort:

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 14

 Laboratory Compaction Test
Methods
• Standard Proctor Test

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 15

 Laboratory Compaction Test
Methods
• Standard Proctor Test
• 2.5 Kg rod
• 12 in. drop

• Modified Proctor Test

• 4.5 Kg rod
• 18 in. drop

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 16

 Field Compaction
• Most of the compaction in the field is done with rollers. The
four most common types of rollers are:
• Smooth-wheel rollers (or smooth-drum rollers)
• Pneumatic rubber-tired rollers
• Sheep foot rollers
• Vibratory rollers

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 17

 Field Compaction
• Smooth-wheel rollers (or smooth-drum rollers)
• Provide 100% coverage under the wheels
• Ground contact pressures as high as 310 to 380 kN/m2
• Not suitable for producing high unit weights of compaction when
used on thicker layers.

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 18

 Field Compaction
• Pneumatic rubber-tired rollers
• Heavily loaded with several rows of tires.
• Tires are closely spaced—four to six in a row.
• The contact pressure under the tires can range from 600 to 700
kN/m2 and they produce about 70 to 80% coverage.
• Can be used for sandy and clayey soil compaction.

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 19

 Field Compaction
• Sheep foot rollers
• drums with a large number of projections
• most effective in compacting clayey soils.
• The contact pressure under the projections can range from 1400
to 7000 kN/m2

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 20

 Field Compaction
• Vibratory rollers
• Vibratory rollers are extremely efcient in compacting granular
soils.
• Vibrators can be attached to smooth-wheel, pneumatic rubber-
tired, or sheep foot rollers to provide vibratory effects to the soil.

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 21

 Factors Affecting Field Compaction
• Soil type and moisture content
• Thickness of lift, the intensity
of pressure applied by the
compacting equipment,
• The area over which the
pressure is applied

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 22

 Factors Affecting Field Compaction
• (a) Variation of dry unit weight with number of roller passes;
thickness of lift 5 2.44 m (8 ft); (b) estimation of compaction lift
thickness for minimum required relative density of 75% with
five roller passes

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 23

 Specifications for Field Compaction
• In most specifications for earthwork, the contractor is
instructed to achieve a compacted field dry unit weight of 90
to 95% of the maximum dry unit weight determined in the
laboratory by either the standard or modified Proctor test.
• Relative Compaction:

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 24

 Question?

Alberoni University, Fall 2020 Pavement Analysis and Design 25