COMPACTION OF SOILS

COMPRESSIBILITY:
• Engineering property by virtue of which the soil mass is capable of undergoing
compression or decrease in volume when subjected to compressive loads.
• The two processes, namely compaction and consolidation, both involve reduction in
volume.
COMPACTION:
Is the process in which rapid reduction in volume takes place due to sudden application of loads
as caused by ramming, tamping, rolling and vibration.
 Due to expulsion of pore air and rearrangement of particles
 Results in increase of dry density
• Dry density attained depend on water content, amount and type of
compaction
 CONSOLIDATION

 Is the process in which gradual reduction in volume takes place due to sustained
loading.

 Causes a reduction in volume of a saturated soil due to squeezing out of water from
the soil.

 Whereas in compaction, the volume of a partially saturated soil decreases because of

expulsion of air from the voids at the unaltered water content.

 Compaction is an artificial process which is done to increase density of the soil to

improve its properties before it is put to any use.

 Consolidation is a process which occurs in nature when the saturated soil deposits are
subjected to static loads caused by the weight of buildings and other structures.

Soil compaction is defined as the method of mechanically increasing the density of soil by
reducing volume of air.

PURPOSE OF COMPACTION OF SOIL

 The principal reason for compacting soil is to reduce subsequent settlement under
working loads.
 Compaction increases the shear strength of the soil.
  Compaction reduces the voids ratio making it more difficult for water to flow through
soil. This is important if the soil is being used to retain water such as would be required
for an earth dam.
 Compaction can prevent the build up of large water pressures that cause soil to liquefy
during earthquakes.

1. Increases density
2. Increases strength characteristics
3. Increases load-bearing capacity
4. Decreases undesirable settlement
5. Increases stability of slopes and embankments
6. Decreases permeability
7. Reduces water seepage
8. Reduces Swelling & Shrinkage
9. Reduces frost damage
10. Reduces erosion damage
11. Develops high negative pore pressures (suctions) increasing effective stress

APPLICATIONS OF COMPACTION
1. Compaction of foundation soil for building construction.
2. Compaction of soil / gravel / crushed rock / asphalt in road & pavement construction.
3. Compaction of soil in earth embankments.
4. Compaction of soil behind retaining walls.
5. Compaction of soil backfill in trenches.
6. Dam construction
7. Construction of clay liners for waste storage areas
8. Ground improvement

ROLE OF MOISTURE
 As water added to soil, soil gets surrounded by a film of adsorbed water. If more water
added, film become thicker, slide over each other, thus reducing voids. Water acts as
lubricant.
 Still more water added, water becomes excess, occupies the space of soil grains,
hindering the closer packing of grains.
 The limiting moisture content which causes maximum lubrication, without becoming
excess to cause hindrance in compaction by occupying space for its own molecules is
called optimum moisture content.
 At this OMC, the soil would be compacted maximum possible, and would have the
maximum density or unit weight.

Compaction curve
1.90

1.85
Dry density (gm/cc)

1.80

1.75

1.70

1.65
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Water content
•
(%)
Dry density increases with water content, attains a maximum at optimum moisture
content and thereafter decreases with further increase in water content.
• Amount of compaction affects both maximum dry density and optimum moisture
content. Increase of compactive effort, for a given soil, causes increase in maximum
dry density and decrease in optimum moisture content.
• For a given compactive effort, the maximum dry density achieved depends to a large
extent upon the soil type. Well graded coarse grained soils attain much higher
maximum dry density at lower optimum moisture content when compared with fine
grained soils.
 • Addition of admixtures to soils results in modification of its compaction properties.
Calcium chloride has been a widely used chemical additive.

SOIL COMPACTION IN THE LAB

• 1- Standard Proctor Test

• 2- Modified Proctor Test
STANDARD PROCTOR TEST

• IS 2720 Part VII

– Collar 60mm high
– Mould 127 mm high, 100 mm dia
– Base plate
– Rammer 2.6 kg, drop of 310 mm, face diameter 50mm
• Soil – air dried soil below 4.75 mm sieve – 3kg
• Water – 4% for coarse grained, 8% for fine grained
• Blows 25 per layer -3 layers

MODIFIED PROCTOR TEST

• Collar & mould – same as in Standard Proctor

• Rammer – 4.89 kg 450mm drop
• Blows 25 blows for each layer
• Layers – 5
STANDARD PROCTOR TEST MODIFIED PROCTOR TEST

Line which shows the water content dry density relation for the compacted soil containing a
constant percentage air voids is known as Air Void line.
(1−𝑛𝑎 )𝐺𝛾𝑤 (1−𝑛𝑎 )𝐺𝛾𝑤
𝛾𝑑= (1+𝑒)
= (1+𝑤𝐺)
(for S=1 => 100% saturation)

Therefore Zero Air void line or 100% saturation line are same.

FACTORS AFFECTING SOIL COMPACTION

1. Water content – dry density increases with water content, attains a maximum OPC and
then decreases with further increase in water content.
2. Amount and type of compaction – effects both maximum dry density and OPC. Increase
in compactive effort, for a given soil, causes increase in maximum dry density and
decrease in OPC.
3. Addition of admixtures -Stabilizing agents are the admixtures added to soil. The effect
of adding these admixtures is to stabilize the soil. In many cases they accelerate the
process of densification
4. Site conditions - weather, type of site, layer thickness used.
5. Type of soil
EFFECT OF TYPE OF SOIL - TYPICAL COMPACTION CURVES

Fine grain soil needs

more water to reach
optimum; and
•Coarse grain soil
needs less water to
reach optimum.
EFFECT OF COMPACTION ENERGY (OR AMOUNT OF COMPACTION) - ON
THE COMPACTION OF A SANDY CLAY

EFFECT OF COMPACTION - ON STRUCTURE OF CLAY SOIL

EFFECT OF TYPE OF COMPACTION
1. Weight of compacting equipment
2. Type of compaction
3. Area of contact of compacting equipment with soil
4. Time of exposure
5. Each of these approaches will yield different compactive effort.
6. Further, suitability of a particular method depends on type of soil.

EFFECT OF COMPACTION ON SOIL PROPERTIES

1. Permeability- Increased dry density, reduces the void space, decreases permeability.
Increased compactive effort reduces permeability.
2. Pore pressure: Clayey soil compacted dry of optimum develops less pore water pressure
than that compacted wet of optimum at the same density at low strains.
3. Shrinkage and swelling: soil compacted dry swell pressure than that compacted on wet
side because of random orientation and deficiency in water.
4. 4. Compressibility- At low pressure, soil compacted on wet side of optimum shows
more compressibility than that on dry side. But at higher pressure, behaviour is similar.

5. 5. Stress-strain relation: The strength and modulus of elasticity of soil on the dry side
of optimum will always be better than on the wet side for the same density. Soil
compacted dry of optimum shows brittle failure and that compacted on wet side
experiences increased strain.
CONTROL OF COMPACTION IN THE FIELD

Control of compaction in the field consists of checking the water content in relation to the
laboratory optimum moisture content and the dry unit weight achieved in-situ in relation
to the laboratory maximum dry unit weight from the proctor test.

Degree of compaction is the ratio of the in-situ dry unit weight achieved by compaction to
the maximum dry unit weight obtained from a proctor compaction test in the laboratory.

Relative compaction or Percentage compaction or Degree of compaction is

𝛾 (𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑)

Relative compaction =𝛾 𝑑 x100
𝑑 max(𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑏)

Proctor needle may be used for the determination of in situ unit weight as well as in situ
moisture content.
• The stem of the plunger is calibrated for reading the resistance in lbs/kgs/N.

• The needle shank has the graduations to indicate depth of penetration.

• Needle points are with 0.25, 0.5, 1.00 and 2.50 cm2 c/s area.

• Plunger is forced at a rate of 1.25 cm/sec to a depth of 7.5 cm.

• From the known area of needle point, the penetration resistance per unit area is
computed.

• Against this penetration resistance, the corresponding values of water content and dry
unit weight are obtained from the calibration curve.

FIELD COMPACTION METHODS:

Field compaction is done by rolling, ramming and by vibration. The various equipments
used for this are:

1. Rollers
2. Rammers
3. Vibrators

ROLLERS:

a) Smooth wheel roller: These rollers are either three wheel type or drum type. The three
wheel type rollers have two large wheels in the rear and a small one in the front. The
weights of these rollers ranges from 2 to 15 tonnes, and are best suitable for
compacting gravels, sands and moderately cohesive soils.
b) Sheep foot roller: It consists of a hollow cylindrical steel drum to which a number of
projections known as feet are attached. The weight of the drum can be varied by
filling either water or sand. The weight of these rollers varies from 2.5 to 13 tonnes.
These rollers are best suited for compacting the cohesive soils.
c) Pneumatic tyred rollers: These rollers consist of a box moulded between two axles.
The rear axle has got one more wheel than the front axle. The weight of these rollers
varies from 5 to 15 tonnes. It is best suited for compacting cohesionless sands and
gravel.
RAMMERS:

It is a block of iron weighing 3 to 4 kg, and attached to a wooden handle. Usually used for
compacting soil in confined places.

VIBRATORS:

It consists of a vibrating unit, which is connected to a plate or roller. It is best suited for
compacting cohesive soils.