Effect of Compaction on Soil Physical and Hydraulic Properties:
Experimental Results and Modeling
S. Assouline, J. Tavares-Filho, and D. Tessier*
ABSTRACT
Soil compaction affects soil physical properties and, eventually,
crop production. A severe drop in the productivity of the state of
Parana, southern Brazil, was observed due to soil compaction. Two
oxisols from this region, a Haplic Acrothox from the site of Cascavel
and a Haplic Eutrothox from the site of Palotina, presenting different
compaction behaviors in the field, are studied under laboratory condi-
tions. Uniaxial compressive pressures, from 50 to 1000 kPa, are applied
to soil samples at different initial matric potentials, varying from - 0.1
to -1000 kPa. The bulk density of the Palotina soil is always higher
than that of the Cascavel soil and is the highest when the initial matric
tension is -32 kPa. Differences in pH, cation-exchange capacity,
organic matter, and clay particle thickness also tend to explain the
different compaction behaviors. A model of the soil bulk density
increase during compaction is proposed and compared with a multi-
plicative model and a logarithmic model. The performances of the
proposed and the multiplicative models are practically similar and
better than those of the logarithmic model. The major advantage of
the proposed model is that it has one fitting parameter less than the
multiplicative model. Compaction affects the soil water retention curves
for the whole range of matric tensions, up to —100 MPa. An approach
that allows the evaluation of the hydraulic conductivity functions of
the compacted samples is proposed. Applied to the Brooks and Corey
relationship, the main drying curves of the compacted samples are
well reproduced using one fitting parameter only.
S OIL COMPACTION is practically inevitable in modern
agronomy. It has been shown that soil compaction
affects water, heat, and gas exchange (Warkentin, 1971;
Willis and Raney, 1971; Grable and Siemer, 1968; Linn
and Doran, 1984), root penetration (Taylor et al., 1966),
and consequently crop production (Hakansson et al.,
1988). The productivity of the state of Parana, in southern
Brazil, is seriously affected by compaction resulting from
30 yr of intensive cultivation (Tavares-Filho, 1995). The
soil types in the region are Latosols, a type of Oxisol
that developed from basaltic rocks. The term Latosol
refers to leached kaolinitic clayey soils, having a particu-
lar micropedic structure, with millimeter-sized aggre-
gates. Their iron oxide content is generally =20%.
These soils present a similar textural analysis. However,
different effects of compaction have been observed in
two different sites of the region of Parana, Cascavel
and Palotina. This difference is unexpected since soil
compactibility is generally related to the soil textural
composition, especially the percentage and the type of
clay (Faure, 1981). Oxisols, and particularly their aggre-
gate stability, have been studied in the past (Cagauan
and Uehara, 1965). It has been shown that the variation
S. Assouline and D. Tessier, I.N.R. A. Centre de Recherches de Versailles.
Unite de science du sol, Route de St-Cyr, 78026 Versailles cedex, France;
and J. Tavares-Filho, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, CCA-
Agronomia, Londrina, Brazil. Received 27 Nov. 1995. *Corresponding
author (tessier@versailles.inra.fr).
Published in Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 61:390-398 (1997).
390
in aggregate stability of soils with similar texture and
mineralogy can be related to additional factors such as
the degree of particle orientation. However, little atten-
tion has been paid to the compactive behavior of Oxisols
comparatively with other soil types. The first objective
of this study is thus to investigate the compaction process
in the soils of Cascavel and Palotina to explain their
differential behavior in the field.
Another aspect of the study of soil compaction is the
modeling of its effect on soil hydraulic properties. In an
overview of research needs in soil compaction, Schafer
et al. (1992) have stated that "significant knowledge gaps
exist in the description and modeling of soil compaction
behavior, in relating soil compaction behavior to agro-
nomic responses (biological and physical) and to conser-
vation of soil and water resources". Models describing
the increase of soil bulk density with applied stress
in nonoverconsolidated soils are available. The earliest
model of soil compressibility described the volume strain
of soil as a function of the logarithm of effective stress
(Terzaghi and Peck, 1967). A two-parameter logarithmic
model was proposed by Bailey and Vanden Berg (1967):
= [mlog(o) [1]
where p is the soil bulk density, o, the applied stress,
and m and d, coefficients determined by least-squares
regression techniques. Larson et al. (1980) have also
adopted the logarithmic model to describe the compress-
ibility of partly saturated soils. A three-parameter multi-
plicative model was proposed by Bailey et al. (1986):
ln(p) = ln(Po) - (a + bo) (1 - e-c°) [2]
where po is the bulk density at zero stress, and a, b,
and c, coefficients determined by nonlinear curve fitting
techniques. This model was extended to account for the
effect of initial bulk density (McNabb and Boersma,
1993) and water content (McNabb and Boersma, 1996)
on soil compression. The models in Eq. [1] and [2] differ
in their boundary conditions for very low stress (including
zero) and for very high stress. The model in Eq. [1] is
undefined for a zero stress and is not adequate for a
very low stress (Bailey et al., 1986). For G-*oo, this
model assumes that p-*oo at a decreasing rate. The model
in Eq. [2] satisfies the boundary condition of p = p0
for a zero stress. For a-*•«>, this model assumes that
dp/do = -&p 0 e- (a+6o) [3]
Since a and b are negative values (Bailey et al., 1986),
the result is that when a-*«>, p-»-oo with an exponentially
increasing rate, which is dependent upon PO. As stated
by Bailey et al. (1986), one of the disadvantages of Eq.
[2] is that it has three parameters. However, the main
disadvantage of the two models, from our point of view,
Abbreviations: WRC, water retention curve; CEC, cation-exchange ca-
pacity; OM, organic matter.
 ASSOULINE ET AL.: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND MODELING OF COMPACTION EFFECT ON SOIL
is the assumption that p-*-oo when <j-*oo, while experi-
mental data indicates that soils can be compacted up to
a finite maximal bulk density, depending on the specific
soil and its initial water content (Amir et al., 1976;
Faure, 1981). The second objective of our study is,
therefore, to present a more simple two-parameter model
for p(o), based on a physical concept and satisfying a
different boundary condition for a very high stress.
As stated earlier, compaction affects soil hydraulic
properties (Gill and Vanden Berg, 1967). Experimental
data relating the effect of the increase in the soil bulk
density on soil hydraulic properties is quite scarce. The
trends observed are that soil compaction (i) decreases
the saturated water content and increases the air entry
value (Croney and Coleman, 1954; Laliberte et al. , 1966;
Smith and Woolhiser, 1971; Libardi et al., 1982) and
(ii) decreases the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Dawi-
dowsky and Koolen, 1987) and consequently, the soil
infiltrability (Akram and Kemper, 1979).
Approaches towards modeling the effect of the increase
in the soil bulk density on soil hydraulic properties
are very limited (Baumhardt et al., 1990; Mualem and
Assouline, 1989). They were developed to infer hydraulic
properties to the seal layer formed at the soil surface by
the action of raindrops. The advantage of the approach
of Mualem and Assouline (1989) is that it is conceptual
and addresses both the soil water retention curve and
the hydraulic conductivity function. The third objective
of this study is to apply this approach to modeling the
effect of compaction on the soil water retention curve
and the hydraulic conductivity function.
THEORY
The Dynamic Model of Compaction
Consider a homogeneous nonoverconsolidated soil volume
of initial bulk density pi at a given volumetric water content
0j. One may expect that, as the soil is progressively compacted,
it will be more difficult to compact it further. In other words,
the higher the soil bulk density, the smaller the increase of
the bulk density, Ap, resulting from the increase of the com-
pressive pressure applied, AP. This can be expressed through
the linearly decreasing function
dp/dP = Ti(0,) - [4]
where r\ and £ are parameters dependent on the specific soil
and water content. For the initial and boundary conditions
P = 0; p = Pi(0i) [5]
[6]
the solution of Eq. [4] becomes
[7]
where pmax(6i) is the highest bulk density reachable at the
specific 0i. For each soil type, a specific water content permits
compacting the soil to a maximal bulk density. Denoting, in
that case, the specific values of pmax(0i) and £(6i) by piL, and
£*, Eq. [7] becomes
= pi+ (p*» - Pi)d - [8]
391
The Model for the Hydraulic Properties
of the Compacted Soil
The soil hydraulic properties consist of the WRC, which
describes the relationships between the volumetric water con-
tent, 0, and the matric potential V|/, and the hydraulic conductiv-
ity function which relates 0 to the hydraulic conductivity, K.
According to the Brooks and Corey (1964) model, the WRC
is expressed by
\-\.
J/a [9]
> V|/a [10]
with
& = (6 - er)/(e, - er) [ii]
where 0S and 0r are the saturated and residual water contents,
\l/a is the air entry value, and X is the pore-size distribution
index. The saturated water content, 0S, is generally assumed
to be equal or very close to the soil porosity. The residual
water content, 0r, is defined as the water content at which the
water capacity C(n/) = d0/dv|/-K) and the soil water conductiv-
ity K(Qr) = 0. In some studies, it is defined as the water
content at the wilting point, identified in practice by \|/ =
-1500 kPa (Rogowski, 1972; van Genuchten and Nielsen,
1985). Usually, it is regarded as an additional fitting parameter.
The constants v|/a and X are also fitting parameters.
The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function of the soil,
K(Se), can be defined, in terms of Mualem's (1976) model:
t>vc\ _ v cn+2+2/X
f*-\^e) — ^s'-^e
MOI
L^^J
where Ks is the soil-saturated hydraulic conductivity, and n,
a parameter accounting for the correlation between pores and
the flow path tortuosity. Considering data from 45 soils, Mua-
lem (1976) suggested that the best value for n might be 0.5.
When a compressive pressure P is applied to a homogeneous
soil of initial bulk density Pi at an initial water content 0i,
leading to a bulk density p(P,6i), the WRC of the compacted
soil is
-Xc
(6sc - 0rc) (V|//V|/ac) [13]
where the subscript c denotes the new parameters which charac-
terize the compacted state. According to Mualem and Assouline
(1989), the different parameters for the compacted state can
be denned in terms of p(P,Q\):
(i) Considering that the volumetric water content at saturation
of compacted soils is equal to the porosity, the saturated water
content is
0SC = 1 - p(P,6i)/p, [14]
where ps is the solid particle density.
(ii) Based on the data of Laliberte et al. (1966) and Smith
and Woolhiser (1971), the air entry value is given by the
relationships
Vac = V|/aH[p(/ ) ,0i)/Pi] P [15]
where |x and (3 are positive constants, found to be equal to
0.99 and 3.72, respectively.
(iii) The residual water content is considered to be mainly
a function of the surface area of the soil particles and, thus,
to be practically not affected by the soil compaction when
expressed on a weight basis. This leads to the relation between
volumetric water content and bulk density:
0rc = 6r [p(P,0i)/pJ [16]
(iv) Based on experimental data, the pore-size distribution
index appears to decrease with increasing bulk density. How-
392 SOIL SCI. SOC. AM. J., VOL. 61, MARCH-APRIL 1997
ever, no quantitative relationship describing this relationship
is available. Therefore, it is assumed, as a first approximation,
that this index decreases linearly with the change in bulk
density:
where y is a positive constant dependent on the specific soil.
Another widely used model for the WRC is the van Genuch-
ten (1980) relationship:
Se(V|/) = 1/[1 + (a\\V\b}m [18]
where a, b, and m are fitting parameters. In the particular
case where m is related to b by the equation m = 1 - I/b,
a = \|/a~' and b = K + 1. As a result, the relationships
proposed above are also directly applicable when the van
Genuchten model is preferred.
Once the WRC is defined for the compacted state, the
hydraulic conductivity at saturation, Kx, can be estimated by
applyifig principles similar to those suggested by Mualem
(1986). This leads to
n+2
6sc — 6rc
e s -e r
Substitution of Eq. [13] into Eq. [19] yields, after integration
«_!_*> 1 T
_— Ac
Asc
e s -e r
The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the compacted soil
can be defined as in Eq. [12]. The relationships presented
above define the hydraulic properties of the compacted soil
both in saturated and unsaturated conditions and express them
in terms of properties of the initial uncompacted soil.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The two soil types were a Haplic Acrothox from the site
of Cascavel and a Haplic Eutrothox from the site of Palotina.
Comparative studies in the region have shown that the B
horizon (120-150 cm deep) was not affected by external me-
chanical stresses from tillage or traffic (Tavares-Filho, 1995). It
could represent the soil properties before intensive cultivation.
Therefore, the 120 to 150-cm depth zone of each soil was
selected to study its compaction behavior. Some characteristics
of the two soils are given in Table 1. Undisturbed blocks, of
= 5000 cm3, were collected in the field. They were put into
plastic bags to preserve their humidity and kept in a refrigerator
( = 4°C) before treatment. Coarse fragments of the blocks were
gently fragmented and sieved. The < 5-mm fraction was kept,
and samples of 40 cm3 were placed in a filtration apparatus for
water retention measurements and for mechanical compaction
(Sala and Tessier, 1993). The samples were fully rehydrated
and brought to equilibrium at various matric potentials, \\i,.
For this purpose, gas pressure was applied to the filtration
apparatus and selected filter pore sizes were used to prepare
Table 1. The physical and chemical properties of the soils of Cascavel and Palotina.
Soils Clay Silt Sand
_,
Cascavel 0.81 0.17 0.02
Palotina 0.83 0.11 0.06
t CEC = cation-exchange capacity; OM = organic matter; K, = saturated hydraulic property; p, = solid particle density.
the samples at y, values of -1.0, -3.2, -10.0, -32.0,
-100.0, -320.0, and -1000.0 kPa. Soil aggregates from
the samples at »|/j = —3.2 kPa were embedded in an epoxy
resin (Tessier, 1984). After hardening, thin sections were cut
with a diamond knife. Electron micrographs at low (lOOOOx)
magnification were made using a Philips (Model 420, Eindho-
ven, the Netherlands) transmission electron microscope, to
characterize the soil constituents. A series of one-dimensional
compressive pressures was applied to the samples that had
been pre-equilibrated at the different \|/i. A piston was installed
in the filtration apparatus, and pressures of 50, 100, 150, 200,
250, 300, 400, 500, 600, 800, and 1000 kPa were applied.
Few minutes were generally necessary to reach equilibrium.
The volume change of the sample was evaluated by measuring
the piston displacement. Water was allowed to drain out of
the filtration apparatus during the compression experiments.
After equilibrium was reached, and when no drainage was
observed, the samples were extracted from the apparatus.
Water retention curves and saturated hydraulic conductivity
were measured on the samples pre-equilibrated at \\i, = -32.0
kPa, which had been compacted at 1000 kPa pressure. The
main drying curves of the saturated samples were obtained
using pressure cells for matric tensions up to —1.6 MPa.
[19J
Dessicators with a range of relative humidity between 95 and
50% were used for matric tensions between —2 and —100
MPa. The main wetting curves were obtained using dry samples
at 50% relative humidity and applying the sample procedure
as for the drying curves but with increasing matric potentials.
Volume change of the samples at the different matric potential
steps of the WRC were measured according to the method
presented in Tessier and Berrier (1979), to account for possible
swelling and shrinking of the samples. As a result, the specific
bulk density of each sample at every step was monitored,
and the volumetric water content corresponding to the matric
potential at each step determined with accuracy.
The saturated hydraulic conductivity, K^, of the compacted
samples was measured using constant-head permeameters.
All the compression experiments as well as the WRC and
Ks measurements were taken in 10 replicates.
The fitting procedure used was an iterative nonlinear regres-
sion using the Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm to find the
values of the parameters of the independent variable that gives,
the best fit between the model and the data, i.e., that minimize
the mean square errors between the observed and predicted
values of the dependent variable (Glantz and Slinker, 1990).
The square root of this mean is defined as the norm index,
which is an indicator of the goodness of the fit reached.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Compaction Behavior of the Two Soils
The relationships between the final bulk density (p)
and initial matric pressure (\|/i) are depicted in Fig. la
and Ib for four different compressive pressures. The
initial bulk density of the two soils is approximately the
same. In spite of the high amount of clay, shrinking
CECt PH OMt W P,t
meqlOOg-' m s~' Mgm-3
4.6 4.9 8.0 4 x 10-' 2.88
6.6 6.5 4.0 3 x 10-' 2.94
 ASSOULINE ET AL.: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND MODELING OF COMPACTION EFFECT ON SOIL
10.0 100.0 1000.0
-(INITIAL MATRIC POTENTIAL) (kPa)
Fig. 1. Bulk densities obtained at different initial matric potentials,
vj/i, for four of the eleven compressive pressures applied: (a) Palotina
soil, (b) Cascavel soil. The dashed lines represent the bulk density
of the uncompacted samples at each \|>i.
resulting from drying is limited and only slight changes
in p are measured with the decrease in \|/j.
For the lowest pressure applied (50 kPa), the same
compaction behavior is observed for both soils. The
highest p is achieved for V|/i = — 1.0 kPa, in other words,
when the soil is saturated. For the two intermediate
pressures presented (200 and 500 kPa), a different behav-
ior is observed for each soil. For the Palotina soil, the
highest p at 200 kPa applied pressure is achieved for
v|/j = -10.0 kPa, and the highest p at 500 kPa is achieved
for \j/j = —32.0 kPa, demonstrating clear effect of V|/i
on p. On the contrary, for the Cascavel soil, the highest
p is still achieved in both cases for \\i\ = —1.0 kPa,
with practically no effect of \\i, on p, especially in the
P = 500 kPa case. For the highest pressure applied
(1000 kPa), the maximal p of the two soils is obtained
when \i/j = -32.0 kPa. However, the bulk density
achieved in the Palotina soil (~ 1.55 Mg m~3) is higher
than that of the Cascavel soil (~ 1.30 Mg m~3). In Fig.
2, the results obtained for all compressive pressures
applied at each \\it are presented in terms of ratio between
the bulk density of the Palotina soil and that of the
Cascavel soil. For the whole range of pressures, the
ratio is greater than one, indicating that for any given
W and P, the Palotina soil reaches a higher bulk density
than the Cascavel soil. The highest ratios, around 1.2,
393
-LOkPa) (-3.2 kPa)
(-10.0kPa) (-32.0 kPa)
- MOO.OkPa) (-1000.0 kPa)
200 400 600 800 1000
COMPRESSIVE PRESSURE (kPa)
Fig. 2. Ratio between the bulk density of the Palotina and Cascavel
soils at different applied pressures, for different \)»i conditions.
are achieved when \|/j = -10.0 kPa for 100 kPa < P
< 300 kPa, and when \\i, = -32.0 kPa, for P > 400
kPa. It is interesting to note the similarity in the relative
compactibility of these two soils when \\i\ = —1.0 and
-1000.0 kPa and when \\it = -3.2 and -100.0 kPa.
Beyond the similarity in textural analysis, the two soils
present differences in physico-chemical properties, which
are known to affect soil stability.
The two soils differ in particle thickness and crystallin-
ity of the respective clay fractions. Electron micrographs
of thin sections of the two soils (Fig. 3) show that the
clay particles, including kaolinite and oxides, are coarser
in the Palotina soil (A) than in the Cascavel soil (B). It
has been shown that the thinner the clay particles, the
larger the surface area in contact between soil constit-
uents, thus inferring a higher stability to the fabric (Tes-
sier, 1991; Van Damme and Ben Ohoud, 1989).
The soils also differ in pH, CEC, and OM content
(Table 1). As shown by Guerif and Faure (1979) and
O'Sullivan (1992), the presence of OM decreases the
soil compaction sensitivity to initial water content and
decreases the bulk density reached after compaction.
The pH also affects the structure stability of strongly
weathered soils such as Oxisols where kaolinite and
oxides are dominant (El Swaifi, 1980; Me Bride, 1989;
Schwertmann and Taylor, 1989). Under the acidic condi-
tions of the Cascavel soil, the surfaces of iron oxides
are mainly positively charged, while kaolinite surfaces
are negatively charged. The resulting attraction forces
between the oppositely charged soil constituents impart
some physical stability to the clay aggregates. By con-
trast, in die Palotina soil, where pH is close to neutrality,
iron oxides have very low charges and therefore a lower
stability is obtained.
Also, because of the low pH of the Cascavel soil, the
presence of free aluminum hydroxides was only observed
in this soil (Fig. 3). Free aluminum hydroxides act as
a ligand and are more effective than iron oxides in
maintaining the stability of soil aggregates (El Swaifi and
Emerson, 1975). The effectiveness of the free aluminum
hydroxides and the iron oxides in stability is increased
by the presence of OM (Edwards and Bremner, 1967).
394 SOIL SCI. SOC. AM. J., VOL. 61, MARCH-APRIL 1997

Fig. 3. Transmission electron micrographs of thin sections of the two uncompacted soils: (a) Palotina, (b) Cascavel (black surfaces represent
particles; arrows indicate aluminum hydroxides).
 ASSOULINE ET AL.: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND MODELING OF COMPACTION EFFECT ON SOIL 395

All these differences in soil composition, which deter- Table 2. The parameters, and the corresponding norm index,
resulting from fitting the three compaction models (Eq. [1],
mine the chemical bonding strength, are related to the [2], and [8]) to measured bulk density resulting from the applica-
sensibility of compressibility to the initial matric pres- tion of increasing compressive pressures to samples initially at
sure. They provide potential explanations for the higher y, = -32kPa.
compactibility observed in the Palotina soil. It is worth Soil type Model type Parameter 1 Parameter 2 Parameter 3 Norm
noting that, when differences in compaction behavior 3
Palotina Multiplicative a = -0.86 b = - 1.26 10-" <: = 7.010- 0.06
resulting from intensive cultivation are considered, the Logarithmic m = -0.35 d = 1.67 0.39
practical aspect of the sensitivity to initial matric pressure Proposed p,™,* = 1.57 tf i- = 4.1 10-' 0.04
3
can play a preponderant role. Cultivation practices are Cascavel Multiplicative a = -0.70 6 = -1.40 10-" <: = 6.110- 0.02
usually carried out only when the upper soil layer is dry Logarithmic m — —0.36 d = 1.85 0.37
Proposed Pm** = 1.33 !;"' = 3.5 10-3 0.02
enough to allow the use of heavy machines, that is, when
the matric potential in this layer reaches values between
—10 and —30 kPa. This is precisely the range of matric conditions can predict the maximal bulk density reached
potentials where the compaction of the Palotina soil is in the field (O'Sullivan, 1992; Hartge, 1986). In our
maximal within a wide range of compressive pressures case, the bulk densities obtained by the application of a
(Fig. 2). compressive pressure of 1000 kPa to samples at v|/i =
— 32 kPa are similar to the respective bulk densities
measured in the field in the upper layer of the cultivated
The Dynamic Change of the Soil Bulk Density soils. In such a case, p*ax can be evaluated independently
during Compaction so that only one parameter, £*, remains to be determined
The measured bulk densities obtained at increasing P, to define the dynamics of the compaction of the specific
for the samples initially at V|/, = —32 kPa, are depicted in soil studied.
Fig. 4. The fitted curves corresponding to the logarithmic The Effect of Compaction on the Water
model of Bailey and Vanden Berg (1967) and Larson et Retention Curve
al. (1980) (Eq. [1]), the multiplicative model of Bailey
et al. (1986) (Eq. [2]), and the proposed model (Eq. The main drying and wetting curves of the uncom-
[8]) are also presented. The values of the fitting parame- pacted and the compacted soils of Palotina and Cascavel
ters and of the corresponding norm index are given in are presented in Fig. 5a and 5b.
Table 2. The logarithmic model, which represents the
measured data very roughly, leads to the less satisfactory
results. The multiplicative model and the proposed model
have similar performances. However, on a conceptual
basis, the multiplicative model assumes that p-*oo with
an exponentially increasing rate when P-*oo, which does
not occur experimentally, while the proposed model
yields the experimentally correct value p = pmax(6i) as
P-*oo. Thus, one of the two parameters of the proposed
model [Pmax(6i)] has a physical meaning, effectively trans- - - 0 - INITIAL-drying
forming the model into an expression with only one —•—COMPAC - drying
empirical fitting parameter. The multiplicative model, • - Q- - INITIAL - wetting
on the other hand, requires three fitting parameters. It —•—COMPAC - wetting
has been shown that compression tests under laboratory

• - O - INITIAL - drying
—•—COMPAC - drying
• - n- - INITIAL - wetting
—•—COMPAC - wetting

1.0 10.0 100.0 1000.0 10000.0 100000.0

200 400 600 800 1000 -(MATRIC POTENTIAL) (kPa)
COMPRESSIVE PRESSURE (kPa) Fig. 5. Main wetting curves (squares) and main drying curves (circles)
Fig. 4. Measured bulk densities of the compacted samples (initially for uncompacted and compacted samples of (a) Palotina, (b) Casca-
at <)/i = - 32 kPa), at each of the pressures applied (full circles) vel. Empty symbols represent uncompacted soil and full symbols
and the fitted curves representing the three dynamic models com- denote compacted soil. The compaction conditions are (\\f> = — 32
pared (Eq. [1], Eq. [2], and Eq. [8]). kPa, P = 1000 kPa).
396 SOIL SCI. SOC. AM. J., VOL. 61, MARCH-APRIL 1997
Table 3. The parameters resulting from fitting the Brooks and
Corey relationship to the data of the main drying curve for
the uncompacted soils.t
Soils Pi <t> es e, V, X Soils
Mg m~ 3 kPa
Cascavel 0.96 0.67 0.58 0.33 -2.2 0.61
Palotina 1.25 0.57 0.49 0.32 -2.5 0.45
t Pi = initial bulk density; <t> = soil porosity; O, = saturated water content;
Or = residual water content; i|/a = air entry value; X = pore-size distribution
index.
For the uncompacted soils, 9S is smaller than the soil
porosity, <j>, indicating that air is easily entrapped in the
soil samples (Table 3). Less air is entrapped during
wetting from dry initial state, so that 0sW > 9so for the
two soils. After compaction, 9SC for the drying curve is
practically similar to 0C, indicating negligible entrapped
air at 9S after compaction. At the end of the wetting
process of the compacted samples, 9SC is also equal to
the respective porosity of each soil, but this porosity is
lower than that at the beginning of the drying phase.
Therefore, porosity changes in a compacted soil, induced
by drying to \y = —100 MPa, are irreversible and are
much more accentuated than in the uncompacted soil.
The unsaturated domain can be divided in two parts.
In the first part, up to \\i = -1500 kPa, the water
capacity C(vy) = d9/d\|/ is lower for the compacted soils,
reflecting a reduction in number of larger pores in this
range due to compaction.
In the range between \\> = -1500 and -100 MPa,
water is mostly retained in very small pores of the fabric
and as films absorbed to particle surfaces. Here, the water
capacity C(v|/) appears to be higher for the compacted soil
than for the uncompacted one. From \|/ « -15 MPa,
there are only minor differences between wetting and
drying curves, because pores are mostly filled with vapor
at these vy values. For \|/ = -100 MPa, the water content
in the compacted soils is slightly lower than in the initial
soil. The reason might be that compaction reduces the
potential of surfaces on which water can absorb by
increasing the points of contact between particles.
Figures 5a and 5b show that the difference between
the WRC of the uncompacted and the compacted states
is larger for the soil of Cascavel, which is the less
compactable soil. Therefore, changes in bulk density do
not necessarily represent the effect of compaction on soil
water retention properties.
The model of Brooks and Corey (Eq. [9]) was fitted
to the data corresponding to the drying curves of the
uncompacted soils, for the first part of the unsaturated
domain, up to \\i = —1500 kPa. The resulting parameters
are shown in Table 3. Based on these parameters and
on the bulk density, pc, of each compacted soil, the
parameters characterizing the drying curves of the com-
pacted soils are computed using Eq. [14] to [17] (Table
4). The fitting parameter y relating X, to Xc (Eq. [17])
is 0.28 for the Palotina soil and 0.48 for the Cascavel
soil. The fitted curves and the measured data are shown
in Fig. 6a and 6b. The agreement between the computed
curves and the data is good. Considering that this is the
result of three predetermined parameters and only one
Table 4. The parameters of the Brooks and Corey relationship
for the main drying curve of the compacted soils (at P = 1000
kPa), computed using the relationships in Eq. [14] to [17].t
Pe ere Vac X,
3 3
Mg m- 3
-m m - kPa
Cascavel 1.27 0.55 0.55 0.43 -6.2 0.46
Palotina 1.50 0.49 0.49 0.39 -4.9 0.38
t PC = bulk density of compacted soil; <t>c = porosity of compacted soil;
BSC = saturated water content of compacted soil; Grc = residual water
content of compacted soil; <)»„ = air entry value of compacted soil;
Xc = pore-size distribution index for compacted soil.
fitting parameter, the relationships proposed in Eq. [14]
to [17] can give a relatively good first quantitative approx-
imation of the effect of soil compaction on the WRC.
The sensitivity of the model to y and \yac are shown
in Fig. 6a and 6b, respectively. The dashed lines show
the eifects of imposed relative errors of +25% on the
fitting parameter and on the air entry value, respectively.
Errors in y affect primarily the low water content range,
while errors in \|/ac affect the high water content range.
The goodness of the fit can be improved if the parameters
in Eq. [15] are determined specifically for the soils under
interest.
The parameters of the WRC are used in Eq. [20],
to estimate the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the
compacted state. The measured and the computed values
are presented in Table 5. The Ksc values obtained assum-
ing Mualem's (1976) suggested value of n = 0.5 are
one order of magnitude higher than the measured ones.
Measured Kx values are better reproduced using n =
4.3 for the Cascavel soil and n = 4.5 for the Palotina
soil. It is likely that the specific values of n for these
soils differ from the value of 0.5, but this cannot be
verified since experimental hydraulic conductivity func-
tions are not available. Further research is required to
determine the effect of compaction on unsaturated hy-
draulic conductivity to improve the proposed model.
CONCLUSIONS
Soil compaction behavior is not determined only by
soil texture. It is also affected by properties such as pH,
CEC, clay particle thickness, and by the presence of
OM, iron oxides, and free aluminum hydroxides, which
determine the nature of the resulting cohesive forces
between the soil constituents. Two Oxisols, presenting
practically the same texture but having different pH,
CEC, OM content, and free aluminum hydroxides, ex-
hibit different compaction properties. Uniaxial compres-
sive pressure tests show that the soil at Palotina, with
higher pH and CEC and lower OM content, is more
compactable and more sensitive to the initial matric
tension than the soil at Cascavel. The highest bulk density
in the Palotina soil is reached for an initial matric tension
of —32 kPa, which is close to the matric tension at
which practices are generally carried out. These results
correspond to field observations that indicate that dam-
ages resulting from compaction, following 30 yr of inten-
sive cultivation, are greater in the Palotina soil than in
the Cascavel soil.
A new model is proposed that reproduces soil compac-
 ASSOULINE ET AL.: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND MODELING OF COMPACTION EFFECT ON SOIL 397

1000.0 Table 5. The measured and computed saturated hydraulic conduc-

tivity of the compacted samples (tfsc) (at P = 1000 kPa) of the
Cascavel and the Palotina soils.
Kx estimated
Soils Kx measured n = 0.5 4.3 4.5

Cascavel 3.0 x Ifl-' 5.0 x Ifl-* 3.0 x 10-' 2.6 x 10~9

Palotina 2.0 x lO"8 2.0 x 10"' 2.2 x lO"8 2.0 x 1Q-*

depends upon the initial water content of the soil during

the compaction process. When fitted to measured data,
the proposed model has better performances than the
logarithmic model and practically the same performances
as the multiplicative model. Its main advantage is that it
only needs two fitting parameters while the multiplicative
model needs three.
The compaction process deeply affects the microstruc-
ture of the soil, as revealed by the water retention curves
of both soils for the whole range of matric tensions,
from -0.1 to -100 MPa. The relative changes between
the initial and the compacted water retention curves are
greater for the less compactable Cascavel soil. Therefore,
it is not only the absolute increase in bulk density that
indicates the effect of compaction. Previously published
models expressing the effect of the increase in bulk
density on the soil hydraulic properties are investigated.
The model of Mualem and Assouline (1989) is applied
to the parameters of the Brooks and Corey (1964) relation
for WRC and to the saturated hydraulic conductivity.
Such models open the way to the representation of the
effect of compaction on soil hydraulic properties. This
approach emphasizes the joint effect of both the initial
soil hydraulic properties and the bulk density increase
on the result of the compaction process. At this stage,
one fitting parameter is still needed. The results of the
application of the approach to the main drying curves
of the two compacted soils are satisfactory. The method
can also be applied to the main wetting curves and thus
determine the effect of compaction on the hysteresis
domain. The modeled water retention function can also
be used to evaluate the effect of compaction on the
saturated hydraulic conductivity and on the hydraulic
conductivity function, although further research is still
needed in this field.
0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60
3 3
WATER CONTENT (m /m ) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Fig. 6. Measured main drying curves of the compacted soils (full The prime author thanks the Ministry of Science and the
circles) for y-, = - 32 kPa and P = 1000 kPA, and the curves Arts of Israel for the financial support during his stay in France.
(solid lines) resulting from the proposed approach using one fitting The authors thank V. Snyder for his constructive comments.
parameter, y. In Fig. 6a, the dashed lines represent a ±25% error
in the value of y used for evaluation X« (Eq. [17]), and in Fig. 6b,
the dashed lines represent at ±25% error in the parameter <|/ac
(Eq. [15]).

tion data very well. It is compared to two available

models: the logarithmic model of Bailey and Vanden
Berg (1967) and the multiplicative model of Bailey et
al. (1986). Unlike these models, which assume that an
infinite compressive pressure leads to an infinite soil
bulk density, the proposed model assumes that the soil
bulk density tends toward a finite maximal value that
398 SOIL SCI. SOC. AM. J., VOL. 61, MARCH-APRIL 1997