Compaction and Consolidation: Theory and Practical Applications

Compaction and Consolidation:
Theory and Practical Applications
Dr A D Katdare
(I/C) Head of Department
Sanjay Ghodawat University, Kolhapur
Pre-requisits for webinar
• Knowledge of Engineering Mechanics

• Knowledge of basics of Fluid Mechanics
• Knowledge of soil properties
• density
• index properties
• soil classification
• permeability etc
ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 2

Introduction
Compressibility
1. When soil mass is subjected to compression, it reduces its
volume.
2. Reduction in volume means there is increase in density.
3. Compression of soil can occur due to following reasons
1. Compression of solid particles and water in voids
2. Compression and expulsion of air from voids
3. Expulsion of water from voids
Compaction
Consolidation
Soil Compaction
Soil compaction is defined as the method of mechanically

increasing the density of soil by reducing volume of air.
Load
gsoil (2) > gsoil (1)
Air
Air
Water Water
Soil
Matrix Compressed
soil
Solids Solids

Soil Compaction in the Lab:
1- Standard Proctor Test

2- Modified Proctor Test
Standard Proctor Test Modified Proctor Test
• Mould capacity 1000 ml

• Rammer 2.6 kg mass, 310 mm freefall
• Rammer face diameter 50 mm
• Soil is compacted in 5 layers
Observations
SN Density Water Dry

(kg/m3) content Density
(%) (kg/m3)
1 14 12 10.5
2 16 14 12.5
3 18 16 15.5
4 17 20 14.2
5 16 25 12.8
Typical compaction curve

Standard Proctor Test versus Modified Proctor Test
Standard Proctor Test Modified Proctor Test
1000 ml capacity mould 1000 ml capacity mould
Rammers mass 2.6 kg Rammer is 4.89 kg
Free fall of 310 mm and face diameter of Free fall of 450 mm and face diameter of
50 mm 50 mm
Soil is compacted in three layers with 25 Soil is compacted in five layers with 25
blows to each layer blows to each layer
If % of soil retained on 4.75 mm sieve is If % of soil retained on 4.75 mm sieve is

more than 20%, mould of capacity 2250 ml more than 20%, mould of capacity 2250 ml
is used. is used.
Compactive energy is 592 kJ/m3 Compactive energy is 2700 kJ/m3
IS 2720 (Part VII) names it as light IS 2720 (Part VIII) names it as heavy
compaction test. compaction test.
Done for roads, less important structures Done for airways, runways etc.
Typical Compaction Curve for standard and Modified Proctor test
Dry Density Zero Air Void Curve
Sr =100%
g d max
Zero Air Void Curve
Sr =100%
𝐺𝜌𝑤 𝐺𝜌𝑤
𝜌𝑑 = = ∵ 𝑆𝑒 = 𝑤𝐺
1 + 𝑒 1 + 𝑤𝐺
𝑆 g d max
Put S = 1, to get a curve

for fully saturated soil, Compaction
meaning ‘zero air void Curve for
Modified
line’. Proctor
Compaction
Curve for Standard
Proctor
(OMC) Moisture
(OMC)
Content
ADK/Compaction
Energy = and Consolidation 03/06/2020 9
Volume of mould
Factor Affecting Soil Compaction:
1- Soil Type
2- Water Content (wc)
3- Compaction Effort Required (Energy)
4- Type of soil
5-Admixures
Effect of Compaction on soil properties:

1- Increase Soil Strength
2- Reduce Soil Settlement
3- Reduce Soil Permeability
4- Reduce Frost Damage
5- Reduce Erosion Damage
Field Soil Compaction
Because of the differences between lab and field compaction methods, the
maximum dry density in the field may reach 90% to 95%. (Relative compaction)
Dry Density
ZAV
g d max
95% gd max
Moisture
(OMC)
Content
Field compaction
1. Field Compaction methods

2. Field Compaction control

Soil Compaction in the Field:
5- Sheep foot Roller
1- Rammers
2- Vibratory Plates
6- Dynamic Compaction
3- Smooth Rollers
4- Rubber-Tire
Field Compaction methods
1.Tampers
2.Rollers
3.Vibratory compactors

Tampers
1. Hand operated tamper (or rammer) is usually of mass 3 to 5

kg, which is attached to a rod.
2. Tamper is to be lifted aby about 30 cm and blows are given to
compact the soil.
3. Mechanical rammer may be of mass 30 to 150 kg.
4. Suitable for small works.
Smooth wheel roller
• Generally of three wheels

• The mass of roller is between 2 to 15 Mg
• Used for finishing operations of roads
• Not effective for compacting deep layers of soil
Note: 1 Mg = 1000 kg
Sheepsfoot roller
• Sheepsfoot rollers consist of a steel drum on which round or rectangular

protrusions known as ‘lugs’ or ‘feet’ are fixed.
• The drum’s weight can be increased by ballasting with water, damp sand
• These rollers compact soil by combination of tamping and kneading
action.
• Contact pressure generally between 700 to 7200 kN/m2.
• These are suited for cohesive soils.
Pneumatic tyre rollers
• Also known as rubber tyred rollers, these consist of a heavily-loaded

wagon with several rows of closely-spaced tyres.
• Generally consists of 9 to 11 tyres on two axle.
• Gross mass of the roller is 5 to 200 Mg. (Usual size if 50 Mg).
• Contact pressure is 200 to 1000kN/m2.
• Compact soil primarily by kneading action.
• Light rollers (upto 20 Mg) are used for thickness upto 15 cm while heavy
rollers are used for thickness upto 30 cm.
Vibratory rollers
• The drums vibrate by the rotation of an eccentric shaft

inside.
• They are commonly used for compacting granular base
courses and sometimes for asphalt, and are useful for
compacting to greater depths (more than 30 cm) .
Suitability of compaction equipment
Soil Type of equipment
Cohesionless soil Smooth wheel rollers with layers of small
thickness (less than 15 cm)
Cohesionless soil Vibratory rollers with layers of large thickness

(more than 15 cm)
Cohesive soils Sheep foot roller

Cohesive and Tampers are effective for confined and small
cohesionless soil space.
Penumatic rollers are extremely for compacting
soil in field

Field Compaction Control
Field Compaction Control means checking of dry density and water content
in field.
Checking of density:
1. Core cutter method
2. Sand Replacement method
3. Rubber balloon method
4. Water displacement method
Checking water content:

1. Proctor needle
2. Rapid moisture meter

Proctor needle

RAPID MOISTURE METER
In this method, water content is determined from

the gas pressure developed by the reaction of
calcium carbide (Absorbent) with free water of
the soil sample.
IS-2720 (Part 2):1973 (Reaffirmed- May 2015) “Methods of test for soils:
Determination of water content (second revision)”.
Dry of optimum and wet of optimum
I general, the shear strength f the soil increases with increase in water content,
with further increase in compactive effort, the shear strength decreases.

Typical application of compaction
Road project
Why these activities are done ??

SOIL CONSOLIDATION

Soil Consolidation
• The compression of saturated soil under stead static
pressure is known as ‘Consolidation’.
• It deals with expulsion of water from voids
• It occurs under static sustained loading for long
duration
• Similar to squeezing of water from saturated sponge
• Initial consolidation
• Primary consolidation
• Secondary consolidation

Spring analogy for 1-D Consolidation

Analogy of spring piston Analogy
Spring piston Field

Spring compression Soil consolidation
Opening of valve Soil permeability
Spring stiffness Coefficient of permeability
Loading pressure Load on foundation due to building

Laboratory tests on Consolidation

Laboratory investigation on Consoildation
• Consolidometer test
Usual thk of sample
= 60 mm
Ration of dia to thk =
Min 3
Two types
1. Floating or free ring cell
2. Fixed ring cell
Results from Consolidation test
Time versus void ratio plot Void ration versus effective stress plot

Properties of Consolidation curve
• Loading Curve
• Unloading Curve Loading curve
• Reloading curve
• Coefficient of Compressibility
• Compression index
• Expansion index
• Coefficient of volume change
e versus log𝜎ത curve

Determination of void ratio at various load
increments
• Height of solids method
𝐻−𝐻𝑠
• 𝑒= 𝐻𝑠
• Change in void ratio method

1+𝑒
𝛥𝑒 = 𝛥𝐻
𝐻

Terzaghi’s 1-D Consolidation theory
• To measure quantitatively, Terzaghi (1925) presented

1-D theory of Consolidation.
• Assumptions
• Soil is homogenous and isotropic
• Fully saturated soil, Darcy’s law is valid
• k is constant through process of consolidation
• Soil is laterally confined, compression is only in 1 direction
• Lag in consolidation and loading is due to low permeability
of soil

• It gives a differential equation as,
𝜕 2 𝑢 𝜕 𝑢ത 𝑘
𝑐𝑣 2 = where, 𝑐𝑣 =
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑡 𝛾𝑤 𝑚𝑣
• Solution of the above differential equation is given by,

𝐶𝑣 𝑡 𝑘 𝑡
𝑇𝑣 = 2 = From Defination of 𝐶𝑣
𝑑 𝑚𝑣 𝛾𝑤 𝑑2
𝜋 2
𝑈 (for U<60%)
𝑇𝑣 =
4
Where, T𝑣 = −0.933log10 (1 − 𝑈) − 0.085 (for U>60%)
Tv is a non dimensional “Time factor”

• Important note on calculation of Tv

Degree of Consolidation (U) Drainage conditions
• Single drainage: If the soil
If 100% consolidation or (or sample) has one side
ultimate (full) consolidation of permeable and other non
soil is 50 mm, then permeable, then it is single
• 25 mm is 50% consolidation drainage (d=H)
and therefore U = 50%) • Double drainage: If the soil
• 10 mm consolidation is 20%, (or sample) has both sides
therefore U = 20%) permeable, then it is double
drainage (d = H/2)
• H is compressible layer
thickness

Calculation of Field Consolidation time from
Lab data
• For a soil in field, Cv = 0.6 m2/month, thickness of
compressible layer is 6 m, Ultimate settlement is 60
cm. Find time required for 40 cm settlement with
single drainage?
40
Degree of consolidation = ∗ 100 = 66.67%. So, we use,
60
T𝑣 = −0.933log10 (1 − 𝑈) − 0.085 (for U>60%) and get 𝑇𝑣 = 0.364
𝐻 6
For double drainage, 𝑑 = = = 3𝑚
2 2
𝐶𝑣 𝑡
We have, T𝑣 = 2 ∴ by substituting, 𝑡 = 10.92 months (Ans.)
𝑑

Calculation of consolidation settlement
• For normally consolidated soil,

𝐶𝑐 𝜎0 + 𝛥𝜎ത
𝑠𝑓 = 𝐻0 log10
1 + 𝑒0 𝜎0
• If soil is over consolidated,
𝐶𝑟 𝜎𝑐 𝐶𝑐 𝜎0 + 𝛥𝜎
𝑠𝑓 = 𝐻0 log10 + 𝐻0 log10
1 + 𝑒0 𝜎0 1 + 𝑒0 𝜎0
• From void ratio versus effective stress curve,

𝛥𝑒
𝑠𝑓 = 𝐻0
1 + 𝑒0
𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒:ADK/Compaction
𝑐𝑐 = 0.009(𝐿 𝐿 − 10) (Empirical relation)
and Consolidation 03/06/2020 40
Calculation of consolidation settlement
• In these equations,
𝜎0 is initial effective overburden pressure
𝛥𝜎ത is change in effective stress due to comstruction
𝑐𝑐 is compression index,
𝑒0 is initial void ratio
Compression index Cc can be found out using empirical equations.
𝑐𝑐 = 0.009(𝐿𝐿 − 10) (Empirical relation)
For calculation of change in effective stress

(if not given) we may assume 2:1 pressure
distribution.
Example
• Calculate final settlement of the clay layer as shown

in Fig. 1. The increase in pressure is 30 kN/m2.
Fig. 1
Solution
Consolidation settlement if given by,

𝐶𝑐 𝜎0 + 𝛥𝜎ത
𝑠𝑓 = 𝐻0 log10
1 + 𝑒0 𝜎0
H0 = 2.5𝑚, 𝜎0 = 4 ∗ 20 + 1.25 ∗ 18 = 102.5𝑘 𝑁Τ𝑚2
𝛥𝜎ത = 30𝑘 𝑁Τ𝑚2 (Given)
Substituing is above equation,
ADK/Compaction and Consolidation
𝑠𝑓 = 2.63𝑐𝑚 (Ans.) 03/06/2020 43
Field Consolidation
• Normally consolidated soil

• Are loaded for first time in history to the present applied
effective stress
• More compressible so exhibiting high settlement
• Over consolidated soil
• Which are loaded in past to a pressure greater than existing
effective stress
• More stable and less compressible

Field consolidation
• Need to calculate consolidation settlement of soil

• Need to calculate settlement time in field
It is to be avoided

Difference between Compaction and Consolidation
Compaction Consolidation
Compaction is the compression Consolidation is the
of soil by the expulsion of air compression of soil by the
from the voids of the soil. expulsion of water from voids
of the soil.
It is a quick process. It is a slow process.
Under dynamic loading Under static and constant
loading
Compaction is done purposely Consolidation of soil occurs
in order to get maximum dry naturally due to structural loads
density of soil. from foundations.
Soil is not fully saturated Soil is fully saturated.

Compaction Consolidation
Properties of compacting soil Consolidation soil properties is
are OMC and MDD Cv.
Proctor test Oedometer test

Home work
• Due to limited time following points were not covered in

this webinar. For sake of completeness all can read:
• How to calculate Coefficient of consolidation (Cv) in Lab
• Square root of time method
• Logarithm of time method
• Determination of pre-consolidation pressure
• Determination void ratio of a sample (required for determining
initial void ratio in settlement calculations)

Thanks !
• I thank all my teachers for giving me the knowledge and

courage to present this webinar.
• Most of the content is taken from book “Soil Mechanics
and Foundation Engineering” by Dr K R Arora.
• Some content is also taken from NPTEL.

You can also ask querries on
ameykatdare@gmail.com

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Compaction and Consolidation:

Theory and Practical Applications

• Knowledge of Engineering Mechanics

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 2

Soil compaction is defined as the method of mechanically

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 4

1- Standard Proctor Test

Standard Proctor Test Modified Proctor Test

• Mould capacity 1000 ml

SN Density Water Dry

Typical compaction curve

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 7

If % of soil retained on 4.75 mm sieve is If % of soil retained on 4.75 mm sieve is

Put S = 1, to get a curve

Effect of Compaction on soil properties:

1. Field Compaction methods

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 12

5- Sheep foot Roller

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 14

1. Hand operated tamper (or rammer) is usually of mass 3 to 5

• Generally of three wheels

• Sheepsfoot rollers consist of a steel drum on which round or rectangular

• Also known as rubber tyred rollers, these consist of a heavily-loaded

• The drums vibrate by the rotation of an eccentric shaft

Cohesionless soil Vibratory rollers with layers of large thickness

Cohesive soils Sheep foot roller

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 20

Checking water content:

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 21

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 22

In this method, water content is determined from

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 24

Why these activities are done ??

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 25

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 27

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 28

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 29

Spring piston Field

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 30

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 31

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 33

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 34

• Change in void ratio method

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 35

• To measure quantitatively, Terzaghi (1925) presented

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 36

• Solution of the above differential equation is given by,

Tv is a non dimensional “Time factor”

• Important note on calculation of Tv

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 38

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 39

• For normally consolidated soil,

• From void ratio versus effective stress curve,

𝑐𝑐 = 0.009(𝐿𝐿 − 10) (Empirical relation)

For calculation of change in effective stress

• Calculate final settlement of the clay layer as shown

Consolidation settlement if given by,

• Normally consolidated soil

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 44

• Need to calculate consolidation settlement of soil

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 45

ADK/Compaction and Consolidation 03/06/2020 46