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Blackwell1981 A Method of Predicting Bulk Density Changes in Field Soils
Blackwell1981 A Method of Predicting Bulk Density Changes in Field Soils
Summary
A simplified soil mechanical model was constructed to predict compaction beneath
agricultural wheels when running on soils of certain characteristics. Soil strength
functions were developed from in situ measurements of field soils and some
laboratory measurements. Soil strain was measured by surface sinkage and changes
of dry bulk density by gamma-ray transmission methods. Soil stresses were measured
by deformable spherical transducers and compared to predicted stresses using
equations developed by Sohne. A method of analysis was devised to identify a form
of the virgin compression line from field data. Changes of the slope and intercept of
this line were monitored over a range of moisture contents for two soils and used in
the prediction model.
The prediction model was tested against Compaction measured during independent
experiments at different sites. Good prediction was found for soils of initial dry bulk
density greater than 1.1 g and cone resistance greater than 500 kPa, using a
30". 12.9 mm diameter cone. On looser and weaker soils the predicted compaction
was often less than measured values.
Using the model for simulation of compaction beneath a range of wheels revealed
that contact pressure alone can be a misleading guide to compaction. Increases of
bulk density below 1 O c m are considerably influenced by wheel load. The most
effective way of reducing compaction requires the use of both a minimum load and a
maximum contact area.
Introduction
THE increasing weight of agricultural vehicles (MAFF, 197th) and the
adoption of minimum cultivations and direct drilling techniques (Cannell
et al., 1978; MAW, 19786) have increased the importance of compaction
by wheels in changing the structure of agricultural soil. The changes of soil
packing state following wheel passage have already been emphasised
(Soane, 1970); bulk density and soil strength may be increased, while soil
porosity and permeability may be reduced. Some evidence has been
provided for an 'equilibrium' packing state after a number of years of
direct drilling (Pidgeon and Soane, 1978). Such an 'equilibrium' condition
will be largely influenced by the intensity of agricultural traffic and the soil
strength at the time of the traffic.
Prediction of soil structural changes by cultivation systems and their
'Soil Scientist in the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service at ARC Letcombe
Laboratory, Wantage, Oxfordshire.
-+ I / vcL
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Pmax
In spherical pressure (increasing -)
FIG. 1. The identification of the apparent virgin compression line (‘VCL’) from data relating
logarithm of maximum spherical pressure (Pmax) to dry bulk density after wheel passage ( p f ) .
For any one such application and removal of stress, where the
stress/strain path follows part of the VCL, a point can be defined by p, and
Pmax. This lies on the apparent virgin compression line (‘VCL‘). The
results of a number of similar stress/strain paths using a variety of values of
Pmax for separate volumes of soil of the same moisture content should
generate a cluster of points along the ‘VCL’ as in Fig. 1. This assumes that
the stress/strain path followed the VCL. However, low levels of Pmax or
high initial bulk densities could prevent this. Thus the ‘VCL’ should be
identifiable from suitable in situ measurements of Pmax and p, when levels
of deviatoric stress are low.
Since the sections A B and C D of the stress/strain path do not have the
same slope (Bertilsson, 1971) an estimate of another function is needed for
more complete modelling of situations where the VCL is not used and the
slope of this other function can be derived by subtraction of the slope of
DC from that of AB. This other function is referred to as the ‘initial
function’, since it describes the initial form of the stress/strain path before
the VCL is used.
Materials and Methods
Field experiments were made on a sandy loam (Macmerry series) and
loam (Threipmuir series), Ragg and Futty (1967), to measure in situ the
soil stresses and strains resulting from the passage of tractor wheels. (The
texture description follows USDA classification, the organic matter levels
54 P. S. BLACKWELL and B. D. SOANE
TABLE 1
Wheel treatments applied by rear wheels of three-wheeled tractor
(Nuffield Universal 4 with 12.4 f I 1 x 36 tyres)
Contact area
Wheel Wheel load, Tyre inflation (on rigid surface)
Treatment tonnes pressure, k Pa cm2
being 5 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.) The stress measurements
were made to test the equations of Sohne (1958) while the results of the
strain measurements were used to derive estimates of the virgin
compression lines. The rear wheels of a three-wheeled tractor were used to
apply compactive stresses and the combinations of wheel loadings and
inflation pressures used are shown in Table 1.
Following ploughing, each soil experimental plot (6 m x 3 m) was
prepared by an initial compaction treatment using one of four different
intensities of rolling (R1 . . . R4) to provide a range of initial dry bulk
densities. Sufficient plots were prepared to allow each wheel treatment
(W1 . . . W4) to be applied on three occasions (four for sandy loam) when,
as a result of variable weather conditions, the soil water content was at
contrasting levels. Details of the various soil conditions at the time of
application of the wheel treatments are shown in Table 2. Each
combination of soil conditions and wheel treatment was replicated three
times.
Soil stress measurements were made for selected combinations of soil
and wheel treatments. Maximum values of spherical pressure and
deviatoric stress were measured in situ by deformable spherical stress
transducers (Blackwell and Soane, 1979). An hydraulic sphere responded
to combinations of deviatoric stress and spherical pressure, while a mastic
sphere responded to only deviatoric stress. The use of Sohne’s stress
prediction equations required a measurement of wheel load and contact
area between tyre and soil. A horizontal projection of the area was
measured by a transposition of the contact patch onto a perspex board
with a 4 cm grid.
Soil strain was measured by obtaining profiles of initial and final dry
bulk density with gamma-ray transmission equipment having a twin probe
separation of 22 cm (Soane, 1977) and a maximum depth of measurement
of 33 or 45 cm. Surface sinkage was measured by a needle relief meter
with 5 cm spacing. A trailer mounted, constant velocity penetrometer
(Brown and Anderson, 1975) measured cone resistance with a 30°,
12.9 mm diameter cone, while vane shear strength was measured by a
19 mm four bladed vane. Samples were taken by auger and oven dried to
determine gravimetric moisture content.
TABLE 2
Soil conditions (mean 0-30 cm) at the time of application of wheel treatments in relation to soil moisture status and initial
compaction resulting from four rolling treatments (R)
Moisture status Gravimetric Vane sheer
(average matric moisture content Cone resistance strength Dry bulk density
Soil type potential, cm H20) % w/w k Pa k Pa g cm-’
RI R2 R3 R4 RI R2 R3 R4 RI R2 R3 R4 RI R2 R3 R4
Macmerry ‘dry’ 19.3 20.5 21.5 22.3 740 1180 1400 2040 14 23 40 47 1.02 1.13 1.23 1.30
sandy loam (200) (1 .O) (200) (4) (0.023)
(bare) ‘moist’ 24.8 24.9 24.3 24.2 400 750 1260 2490 14 18 31 40 1.02 1.13 1.23 1.30
(60) (1.0) (300) (1)
‘wet’ 24.8 24.5 26.7 25.1 420 880 1480 2530 11 17 32 41 1.02 1.13 1.23 1.30
(50) (1.0) (400) (1)
‘very wet’ 27.9 26.7 28.8 29.5 11 14 26 36 1.02 1.13 1.23 1.30
(40) (1.0) (1)
Threipmuir ‘dry’ 12.6 13.6 13.0 - 3260 3700 4320 - 68 72 83 - 1.19 1.28 1.39 -
loam (4000) (1.05) (300) (3) (0.027)
(ryegrass ‘moist’ 18.0 18.0 18.5 - 2240 2640 3530 - 49 64 72 - 1.19 1.28 1.39 -
crop) (400) (0.95) (500) (4)
‘wet’ 23.4 23.3 23.3 - 1010 1220 1570 - 34 41 50 - 1.19 1.28 1.39 -
(40) (0.64) (200) (6)
Estimated standard errors for groups of means in parentheses
56 P. S. BLACKWELL and B. D. SOANE
Results
Comparison of measured and predicted maximum stresses
First and third principal stresses were compared at four initial depths
(10, 20, 30 and 40 cm) beneath three wheel treatments ( W l , W2 and W4)
for ‘moist’ conditions in the Threipmuir soil. Transducer installation
problems at 20, 30 and 4 0 c m depths beneath wheel treatments W1 and
W2 reduced the extent of the comparison, but a clear relationship could be
identified from the rest. Sohne’s stress prediction equation for the first
principal stress in soft soil (concentration factor = 6, see Sohne, 1958)
closely agreed with measured values at lOcm depth for all wheel
treatments. Measured values of first principal stress beneath wheel
treatment W4 are shown in Fig. 2. in comparison with predicted values
calculated for ‘soft’, ‘firm’ and ‘hard’ soil. The correspondence between
measured and predicted values changed as depth increased due to increasing
soil strength as shown by measured values of cone resistance and vane shear
strength.
These observations helped to validate the use of Sohne’s stress
prediction equations and gave quantitative soil strength limits for the
application of each equation. The depths below the surface at which the
measured stress lay half way between predicted stresses for different
10 -
snz
’ I
30- I I
3
50 0
:id
FIG. 2. Comparison of the measured stress (0)and predicted stress values obtained by
equations for ‘soft’ (S3) (O), ‘firm’ (S2) (+) and ‘hard’ ( S l ) ( x ) soil (Sohne, 1958). Values of
cone resistance and vane shear strength at the ‘separation’ depths are also shown.
PREDICTING COMPACTION 57
strength conditions were termed the ‘separation’ depths and are indicated
on Fig. 2. No similar correlation was found between the measured and
predicted values of third principal stress. Therefore, an empirical ratio
between measured values of first and third principal stress was used for
prediction of spherical pressure and deviatoric stress (Kurtay and Reece,
1970). The observed ratios of measured stress revealed very low
proportions of deviatoric stress (0.08 spherical pressure) which encouraged
the use of virgin compression lines for these conditions.
Throughout the use of Sohne’s stress prediction equations it was found
more convenient to predict tyre/soil contact area from wheel sinkage than
to measure it directly during the field experiments. Soil tank tests, using
soil at a range of different surface strengths, revealed curvilinear
relationships between contact area and mean rut depth measured by the
relief meter. These relationships could be fitted to functions of the form,
contact area = A - B e-‘” where A , B and C are constants and m is the
mean rut depth (averaging needle displacement across the rut profile).
Derivation of soil mechanical firnctions from in situ measurements
Dry bulk density was measured after wheel passage at 3 cm intervals
from 6 cm to 33 or 45 cm below the bottom of the rut. Contact area for
the prediction of stresses was estimated from relief meter measurements of
mean rut depth. Maximum spherical pressure at the same depth as bulk
density measurement was estimated from the appropriate stress prediction
equation, chosen by the measured values of cone resistance and vane shear
strength. This enabled graphs relating the dry bulk density after wheel
passage to the logarithm of maximum spherical pressure to be constructed
for soil at a variety of moisture contents. A large majority of such graphs
revealed linear groups of points, e.g. Fig. 3, through which estimates of the
X
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-0 1.31
+ 0.252 In Pmax
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1.166
0.865
0.3 1.4
Sandy loam (Macmerry)
6
(J 1.3
0.2
1.2
a
-
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.-c
0.1
I 1.1
-
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10 14 18 22 26 30
Moisture content, % w / w
FIG. 4. The variations of slope ( x ) and intercept (0)of the apparent virgin compression lines
with changes of moisture content of the two soil types. Standard errors of mean values are
indicated by vertical lines attached to each point.
PREDICTING COMPACTION 59
12 -
-
E
5- 18-
P
0"
24 -
30 -
-
36
1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
Dry bulk density, g cm-3
FIG. 5 . Model testing. South Road field, 1971 harvest. Predicted values of dry bulk density
are shown (+) with those measured before (0)and after ( x ) passage of the combine harvester
wheel over soil with 'normal ploughing' cultivation treatment (Pidgeon and Soane. 1978).
Standard errors of the measurements and the predicted mean rut depth (m) are shown.
of p, for all measured depths and cultivation treatments from five field
experiments is shown in Fig. 6. Only 17 per cent of predicted values fell
beyond 2 5 per cent of the observed; this compared well with the
performance of other prediction models assessed in a similar way
(Gee-Clough el al., 1977). The 95 per cent confidence limits of the
regression were 20.03 g ~ m - which
~ , is very similar to the standard errors
of field measurements using the same techniques. However, it must be
emphasised that initial dry bulk densities for all these tests were always
above 1.1 g cm-' and initial cone resistance above 500 kPa at all but very
few depths.
A consistent over-prediction of p, was found for all direct drilling
treatments except for one wet harvest (1974). This may be attributed to a
greater strength of these soils than the more disturbed ones used to derive
the model.
A field experiment made on initially loose and weak Threipmuir soil
(Blackwell and Dickson, 1978) provided a further test of the model. The
cone resistance of the upper 24 cm was well below 500 kPa and the dry
61
FIG. 6. The relationship between observed and predicted dry bulk density at different depths
beneath the original soil surface. for all the model tests on Macmerry soil (Pidgeon and
Soane. 1978). Broken lines show 2 5 per cent and 2 10 per cent deviation from exact
prediction. The best fit straight line is indicated ( I = 0.859, n = 203) as well as the 95 per
cent confidence limits about the line.
bulk density of the upper 12 cm was below 1.1 g cm-". Fig. 7 shows the
comparison between observed and predicted values of p,. Gross
under-prediction of bulk density and wheel sinkage was made in the upper
25 cm. It was assumed that the weaker soil allowed more significant effects
of deviatoric stress, as additional shearing strain would pack the soil to
higher bulk densities.
The good prediction of compaction of firmer soil by the model
encouraged its application to a hypothetical, simplified, soil profile using a
range of different wheels. The result is shown in Fig. 8. Each pair of wheel
load and tyre contact area treatments differed in value by a factor of two.
Most compaction was caused by the highest contact pressure (wheel D),
least by the lowest contact pressure (wheel A ) . This broadly agrees with
the findings of Raghavan and McKyes (1978).
Wheels B and C had the same contact pressure and caused the same
62 P. S. BLACKWELL and B. D. SOANE
-rn (predicted)
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Dry bulk density, g ~ r n - ~
FIG. 8. Simulation by the dry bulk density prediction model of the compaction by the passage
of four different wheels over a hypothetical soil having initial cone resistance of 1000, 1200 and
1800 kPa at 0-22, 22-25 and 25-30 cm depth respectively and water content of 20, 15, 10
per cent w/w at the same depths respectively.
k0.03 g ~ m - very
~ , similar to the standard error value obtained from field
measurements of bulk density using the same technique (gamma-ray
transmission).
Close prediction of final dry bulk density was found for soils of
sandy loam textures with initial dry bulk densities greater than 1.1 g cm-'
and initial cone resistances greater than 500 kPa, using a 30" 12.9 mm
diameter cone. Above these limits deviatoric stresses appeared to have
only a minor influence on soil strain which was an assumption inherent in
the model.
Much emphasis has been placed on the reduction of contact pressures by
64 P. S. BLACKWELL and B. D. SOANE
increasing the area of tyre in contact with the soil. The outcome of this
model reveals the equal, if not greater, importance of wheel load reduction
for compaction of the soil below 10 cm depth. This suggests that increased
compaction due to increasing vehicle weight cannot be fully compensated
by increasing contact areas, especially below cultivation depth.
It is hoped that some application of this model could be made, within
the limits mentioned above, to assess the influence of wheel design and
initial soil conditions upon the compaction of field soils and to point out
the shortcomings of some present designs; especially in relation to the
increasing weight of agricultural vehicles being used in farming.
REFERENCES
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compaction as a function o f contact pressure and soil moisture content. Canadian Journal
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BERTILSSON, G . 1971. Topsoil reaction to mechanical pressure. Swedish Journal of
Agricultural Research 1, 179-189.
BLACKWELL. P. S. and DICKSON. J. W. 1978. A comparison of soil compaction under
conventional and dual wide section tyres carrying the same load over loose soil.
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(unpubl.)
BLACKWELL. P. S. and SOANE. B. D. 1979. Deformable spherical devices to measure
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W. Emerson et ol.) pp 371-378. John Wiley and Sons.
PREDICTING COMPACTION 65
RAGG. J. M. and FU7TY. D. W. 1967. Soils of rhc counrrv uround Huddingron mid
Eytmouth. Memoir o f the Soil Survey of Great Britain. Edinburgh. HMSO.
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(Received 3 January 1980)