COMPACTION

When a soil is used as a structural material or a fill – for example, in the construction of
an embankment, behind a retaining wall to create a raised terrace or simply to fill in a
trench (figure) – it is generally compacted into place. This is usually in an attempt to
minimize the likelihood of later settlement. When trying to compact unsuitable soils into
confined spaces this may be something of a forlorn hope. In less confined spaces,
particularly on large civil engineering projects where the client or the developer is
prepared to pay for adequate supervision; it is quite possible to achieve satisfactory
compaction of the fill material. Indeed, the adequacy of an embankment or an earth dam
may depend on it.

Clay soils are generally considered unsuitable as backfill materials for retaining walls
and trenches. Apart from the difficulty of expelling the water, clay soils excavated from
the ground tend to be in the form of large clumps or clods. The overall volume occupied
by clay which has formed into clods might be half as much again as the volume occupied
in situ, due to the extra air voids between the clods, which can require the application of
unfeasibly high stresses. An additional problem associated with a predominantly clay fill
is its potential for swelling in the long term. In some applications where low permeability
is required, such as the core of an earth dam, the use of a clay fill is essential. It is equally
essential that the clay core of a dam is placed with an appropriate degree of compaction,
and at appropriate water content, without cracks and large voids which could impair its
effectiveness and integrity.

General Principles

Compaction, in general, is the densification of soil by removal of air, which requires

mechanical energy. The degree of compaction of a soil is measured in terms of its dry
unit weight. When water is added to the soil during compaction, it acts as softening agent
on the soil particles. The soil particles slip over each other and move into a densely
packed position. The dry unit weight after compaction first increases as the moisture
content increases. Note that at a moisture content w = 0, the moist unit weight (γ) is equal
to the dry unit weight (γd), or γ = γd(w=0) = γ1

When the moisture content is gradually increased and the same compactive effort is used
for compaction, the weight of the soil solids in a unit volume gradually increases. For
example, at w = w1,

γ = γ2

However, the dry unit weight at this moisture content is given by

γd(w=w1) = γd(w=0) + Δγd

Beyond a certain moisture content w = w2, any increase in the moisture content tends to
reduce the dry unit weight. This phenomenon occurs because the water takes up the
spaces that would have been occupied by the solid particles. The moisture content at
which the maximum dry unit weight is attained is generally referred to as the optimum
moisture content.

Compaction Test (Standard Proctor Test)

Proctor (1933) devised a compaction test. A standard volume (944 cc) mould is filled up
with soil in three layers. Each layer is compacted by delivering 25 blows with a standard
hammer of weight 2.494 kg falling through 30.48 cm. Knowing the wet weight of
compacted soil and its water content, dry density can be calculated. The test is repeated at
different water contents to obtain the dry density versus water content relationship. This
test is commonly known as Standard Proctor Test.
With the development of heavier compaction, proctor test was modified to simulate the
field compaction more realistically. This test known as Modified Proctor Test differs
from standard proctor test only in weight of hammer and its drop. The weight of hammer
is now 4.54 kg and height of fall is 45.72 cm.

Indian Standards equivalence of modified proctor test is called light compaction test (IS:
2720, part VII – 1974). Volume of mould is 1000 cc. Hammer weight is 2.6 kg and drop
31 cm.

Indian Standards equivalence of modified proctor test is heavy compaction test (IS: 2720,
Part VIII – 1983). Weight of hammer in this case is 4.9 kg and its height of fall is 45 cm.

For each test, the moist unit weight of compaction, γ, can be calculated as follows:

, where W = weight of the compacted soil in the mould, Vm = volume of mould.

For each test, the moisture content of the compacted soil is determined in the laboratory.
With the known moisture content, the dry unit weight, γd, can be calculated as follows:
 , where w(5) = percentage of moisture content.

The values of γd determined can be plotted against the corresponding moisture contents
to obtain the maximum dry unit weight and optimum moisture content for the soil. Figure
shows such a plot for silty – clayey soil.

for a given moisture content (w) and degree of saturation (S), the dry unit weight of
compaction can be calculated as follows for any soil,

, where Gs = specific gravity of soil solids, γw = unit weight of water, and e =

void ratio.

And S e = Gs w, or
Thus,

For a given moisture content, the theoretical maximum dry unit weight is obtained when
no air is in the void spaces – that is, when the degree of saturation equals 100%. Thus, the
maximum dry unit weight at a given moisture content with zero air voids can be obtained
by substituting S =1, or

, where γzav = zero air void unit weight.

To obtain the variation of γzav with moisture content, use the following procedure:

1. Determine the specific gravity of soil solids.

2. Know the unit weight of water.
3. Assume several values od w, such as 5%, 10%, 15%, and so on.
4. Calculate γzav for various values of w.
Above figure also shows the variation of γ zav with moisture content and its relative
location with respect to the compaction curve. Under no circumstances should any part of
the compaction curve lie to the right of the zero air void curve.

Factors Affecting Compaction

Effect of soil type: The soil type – that is grain size distribution, shape of the soil grains,
specific gravity of soil solids, and amount and type of clay minerals present – has a great
influence on the maximum dry unit weight and optimum moisture content.

Note also that the bell shaped compaction curve shown in above figure is typical of most
clayey soils. Figure below shows that for sands, the dry unit weight has a general
tendency first to decrease as moisture content increases, and then to increase to a
maximum value with further increase of moisture. The initial decrease of dry unit weight
with increase of moisture content can be attributed to the capillary tension effect. At
lower moisture contents, the capillary tension in the pore water inhibits the tendency of
the soil particles to move around and be densely compacted.
Effect of compactive effort: The compaction energy per unit volume (E) used for the
standard Proctor test can be given as follows:

As the compaction effort is increased, the maximum dry unit weight of compaction is
also increased and optimum moisture content is decreased to some extent.