 Soil compaction :

 Compaction is the reduction in

voids content due to air being
forced out of the soil or
dissolved in the soil water by
mechanical means
 The purposes of compaction are :
 1.Increasing the soil shear strength;
 2.Decreasing the tendency of subgrade to
settle under repetition wheel loads;
 3.Reducing the soil permeability;
 4.Increasing the resistance to frost heave;
 .5.Decreasing the tendency to volume
change.
 The dry density of the soil is
determined by means of the
following equation:


 d = (m / (1+wc))
 where
 m = wet density pct or gm/cm3
 wc = moisture content
 Zero air voids curve is shown in figure 10, it
represent the theoretical density what this soil will
attain if all the voids were filled with water. The
values of this curve is calculated from the following
formula:

 d(Z.A.V.)= Gs.w/ [1+(Gs.wc/100)]

 where
 Gs = specific gravity of solids
 1.Effect of moisture content
 The behavior of the soil mass under dynamic
compaction having three stages.
 In the first stage, when the moisture content is
less than the optimum value, the soil does not
contain sufficient moisture to flow readily under
the blows of the hammer.
 When the moisture content is increased, the soil
flow more readily under the "lubricating" effect of
the additional water (second stage), and the soil
particles move closer together, thus lead to
increasing the density. This effect is continued
until the optimum moisture content is reached.

 More increase in moisture content tends to overfill

the voids but does not decrease the air content. As
a consequence, the soil particles are forced apart
and the unit weight decreases.
 2.Effect of soil type
 Different soils having various maximum
densities and optimum moisture contents
according to specific gravity of soil
particles themselves, Particle size
distribution and grain shape of particles.
Figure 14 shows the moisture-density
curves obtained by compacting a variety
of soils by standard AASHO compaction.
 3.Effect of compactive effort
 In laboratory, dry density depends upon
method of compaction or number of
blows per each side of specimen. Also, in
the field compaction affected by number
of rollers. The amount of compactive
effort expended changes both maximum
density and optimum moisture content .
 Laboratory tests :
 From the most famous laboratory
test methods are standard AASHO-
and modified AASHO compaction
tests.
 a-Standard AASHO compaction test
(standard proctor test):
 This test provides for dynamic compacting
using 25 blows of a 5.5 Ib hammer with
free fall of 12 in. on each of 3 layers of
soil in a cylindrical mold.
 b-Modified AASHO compaction test
(modified proctor test):
 This method is similar to standard method,
except the free fall distance of the hammer
is 18 in. instead 12 in., the weight of the
hammer is 10 Ib and the soil is compacted
in 5 layers. The compactive effort is 56300
ft-Ib/ft3, while by standard method was
12400 ft-Ib/ft3.
 -Field Compaction Procedures:
 Compaction greatly increases the
supporting power of the subgrade.
Since the subgrade is not sufficiently
compacted during construction,
additional consolidation may occurs
under traffic with resulting settlement
and possible failure.
 a-Cohesive subgrade : Minimum 95% of AASHO
(T180,Method D) density for the top 12 in. and
minimum 90% for all fill areas below the top 12
in.
 b-Cohesionless subgrades : Minimum 100% of
AASHO,density for the top 12 in. and minimum
95% below this for all fill areas.
 c-Bases, subbases and improved subgrade,
minimum 100% of AASHO density.
 Soil, in the field, is compacted by
applying energy in one of the
following three ways:
 1.pressure, by using rollers;

 2.impact, by using hammers;

 3.vibration,by using vibrators.

 a-Smooth wheel rollers
 This type of rollers include the three-wheel
type (3-18 ton), tandem rollers (1-14 ton) and
three-axle tandem rollers (12-18 ton).
 This type is effective to compact fine grained
subgrade soils, granular base and subbase, and
also macadam and other coarse aggregate base
courses.
 These compactors are either of the single-wheel or
multiple wheel types. The ability of compaction is
dependent on the tire inflation pressure and the
contact area between the tire and the ground. The
gross weight of pneumatic-tired compactors is a
secondary parameter.
 This type is suitable for compacting fine grained
subgrade soils, granular base, subbase and improved
subgrade courses.
 This type of compactors consist of hollow
cylindrical steel drum. Compaction
performance depends on the foot pressure
and the coverage of ground obtained per
pass. These in turn depend upon the gross
weight of the rollers, the area of each foot,
the number of feet on contact with the
ground and the total number of feet per
drum.
 Vibrators consist of a vibrating unit of
either the out-of balance weight type of a
hydraulic type mounted on screwed, plate
or roller. Densities resulting from
vibration often exceed 100% of modified
AASHO density with case. The vibrator
will compact the soil from the surface
downward.
  R.C = (Dry density of soil in field / Dry density of
soil in laboratory)x100

 1- Sand-Replacement Method
 A hole about 4 in. in diameter is excavated with
suitable tools to the depth of layer being tested, and
the weight of soil removed is determined and a
moisture content is calculated after drying a
sample .
 2-Core -Cutter Method
 The dolly being placed over the cutter and the
apparatus is rammed into the soil . The cutter
containing the soil is then dug out of the ground.
The weight and volume of the soil is determined,
and also the moisture content is evaluated.
 This method is convenient and quick. The cutting
edge is easily damaged. It is suitable for soft,
cohesive soil, not suitable for stony soils.
 3-Volumeno-meter Method
 A lamp of soil approximately 18 in3 in volume
cut from the compacted soil. The lump is
trimmed clear of loose material, weighted, coated
with thin film of paraffin max and re-weighed.
The volume of soil and paraffin is found from the
volume of displaced water when it is immersed
in the volumeno-meter. Where the volume of
paraffin wax is known, then the volume of soil
can be calculated. A sample of soil is cut from the
specimen and its moisture content determined.
This method can only be used on cohesive soils.
 The degree of compaction or density, which
be obtained for a soil during construction
process depends upon: moisture content at
compaction; type of soil; method and type
of compaction and compactive energy.
 The choice of compaction equipment should
logically depend primarily on the type of soil,
the natural moisture content and the density
specification.
 1- Granular materials
 Granular materials without fines are
compacted efficiently by vibration, sheep-foot
rollers can also be used. Pneumatic rollers and
smooth-wheeled rollers will give satisfactory
results if the granular material contains a small
amount of fines.
 Effect of Number of
Passes
 Heavy rollers will a
chieve adequate
compaction with fewer
numbers of passes than
lighten rollers.