ESTIMATING OBJECTIVES

SUBGRADE By the end of this topic, we should learn:

MOISTURE  Common soil tests for road and their respective characteristics

CONTENT

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 INTRODUCTION
 Subgrade soil strength and/or stiffness are major factors in the
design and performance of pavements, particularly low-volume
ESTIMATING pavements.
SUBGRADE  A practical method of realistically estimating in situ moisture
content significantly improves the determination of the
MOISTURE appropriate resilient modulus to be used for pavement design.
CONTENT  The bearing capacity of subgrade soils, which is a critical
parameter for assessing pavement conditions and guiding the
type and extent of maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R), is
greatly influenced by soil water content.

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 SOIL TESTS
 Types of soil tests for a road construction project require the site
investigation to be carried out to understand the soil profile.
 For road construction works, the properties of soil at subgrade
level are required.
 The common soil test for road construction includes;
ESTIMATING i. classification of soil,
SUBGRADE ii. particle size distribution,
iii. moisture content determination,
MOISTURE iv. specific gravity,
CONTENT v. liquid limit, and plastic limit tests.

 Moisture content, particle size, and specific gravity tests on soils

are used for the calculation of soil properties such as degree of
saturation.
 The soil tests can be laboratory tests or in-situ tests. The
laboratory tests should be carried out on every sample taken for
the determination of particle size and moisture content.
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 SOIL TESTS
In-situ Moisture Content
 The moisture content of the soil test is carried out in the
laboratory.
 It is expressed as the percentage of water in the soil to its dry
mass.
 The moisture content in soil signifies the various properties of soil
ESTIMATING such as;
 compaction,
SUBGRADE  permeability,
MOISTURE  particle size, etc.
In compaction of soils, the main aim is to keep the soil particles
CONTENT close together which leads to improve dry density of soil.
The soil with maximum dry density is suitable for the several
constructional purposes. But maximum dry density of soil through
compaction will be possible at a particular moisture content called
optimum moisture content.
Hence compaction purely depends upon the relationship between;
 moisture content of soil and
 its dry density.
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 MOISTURE CONTENT – dry density relationship
 Moisture content of soil is defined as the ratio of mass of water to
the mass of solids present in the soil sample. It is represented by
“w”.
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑀𝑤
𝑤= =
ESTIMATING 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑀𝑠
 Bulk density of soil is defined as the ratio of Mass of solids to the
SUBGRADE total volume of the soil. It is represented by "𝜌”.
MOISTURE 𝜌=
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑠
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙
=
𝑀𝑠
𝑉
CONTENT
 Dry density of soil is defined as the ratio of bulk density to the
water content of the soil plus 1. It is represented by "𝜌𝑑 ”.
𝜌
𝜌𝑑 =
1+𝑤

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 MOISTURE CONTENT – dry density relationship
Effects of moisture content affects the dry density.
 Generally dry soil contains soil particles which are not in contact
with each other and when we try to compact this type of soil
without water tit becomes stiff and cracks and gaps will be
formed.
 When we added water to it, the water forms a thin film around the
ESTIMATING each soil particle and this film helps the particles to contact with
each other.
SUBGRADE
 Thereby the soil becomes denser under compaction. At one point
MOISTURE of time, the volume of air in the soil sample becomes minimum
and dry density of soil becomes maximum. This is called maximum
CONTENT dry density point at this point the addition of water should be
stopped.
 The moisture content corresponding to the maximum dry density
of soil is called as “Optimum moisture content”.
 If water is added beyond the optimum moisture content, the
water will occupy the extra space since there is no air volume and
dry density will reduce.
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 MOISTURE CONTENT – dry density relationship
Compaction Curve

ESTIMATING
SUBGRADE
MOISTURE
CONTENT  Compaction curve is plotted by taking moisture content on x-axis and
dry density on y-axis.
 Required amount of soil is collected from the field and compaction
test performed in the laboratory.
 The results obtained are used to draw the compaction curve as a
result the amount of compaction required will be known.
 The laboratory result is approximately equal to the amount of
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 COMPACTION - Introduction
Compaction of soil is the pressing of soil particles close to each
ESTIMATING other by mechanical methods.
SUBGRADE Air during compaction of soil is expelled from the void space in the
soil mass and therefore the mass density is increased.
MOISTURE Compaction of soil is done to improve the engineering properties of
CONTENT the soil.
Compaction of soil is required for the construction of earth dams,
canal embankments, highways, runways and many other structures.

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 COMPACTION
Methods of Compaction of Soil
i. Standard Proctor's Test for Compaction of Soil
▪ The mould recommended is of 100mm diameter, 127.3 mm height
and 1000 ml capacity.
ESTIMATING ▪ The rammer recommended is of 2.6 kg mass with a free drop of
310mm and a face diameter of 50mm.
SUBGRADE ▪ The soil is compacted in three layers.
▪ The collar is of 60mm height.
MOISTURE
ii. Modified Proctor Test for Compaction of Soil
CONTENT  The mould recommended is of 100mm diameter, 127.3 mm height
and 1000 ml capacity.
 Rammer mass is 4.89 kg and the free drop is 450mm.
 The soil is compacted in five equal layers, each layer is given 25
blows.
 The compactive effort in modified Proctor test is 4.56 times greater
than in the Std Proctor test. The rest of the procedure is same

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 COMPACTION
Factors affecting compaction
i. Water content
 At low water content, the soil is stiff and offers more resistance to
compaction. As the water content is increased, the soil particles get
ESTIMATING lubricated. The soil mass becomes more workable and the particles
have closer packing. The dry density of the soil increases with an
SUBGRADE increase in the water content till the O.M.C is reached.

MOISTURE ii. Amount of compaction

 The increase in compactive effort will increase the dry density at
CONTENT lower water content to a certain extent.

iii. Types of soil

 The dry density achieved depends upon the type of soil. The O.M.C
and dry density for different soils are different.

iv. Method of compaction

 The dry density achieved depends on the method of compaction

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 COMPACTION
Methods of Compaction of Soil used in Field
Several methods are used in the field for compaction of soils.
The choice of method will depend upon the;
 soil type,
ESTIMATING  the maximum dry density required and
 economic consideration.
SUBGRADE
The commonly used methods are;
MOISTURE  Tampers
CONTENT  Rollers
 Vibratory compactors

The compaction depends upon the following factors:

 Contact pressure
 Number of passes
 Layer thickness
 Speed of roller
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 1. List at least four common soil test for road construction.
2. You had carried out an in-situ filed test to find out the moisture
content of the soil at a construction site. What are the soil
properties represented by moisture content you got from your
field test?
EXERCISE 3. What are the types of compaction method commonly used for
QUESTIONS compaction?
4. List four factors affecting compaction.
5. What are the commonly compaction method used in the field?
6. What are the factors which determined the type of compaction
method in the field?

Prepared & Compiled by Brian. Q. Inomea