Jagadanand Jha Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana 141006, India & Sanjay Kumar Shukla Edith

Cowan University, Perth, WA 6027, Australia

Compaction Laboratory Test Field Compaction Case Study Derivation for Field Compaction

The most commonly used ground improvement technique, where the soil is densified through external compactive effort/mechanical means by reducing volume of air.
Compactive Effort + water =

To refill an excavation, or a void adjacent to a structure (such as behind a retaining wall.) To provide man-made ground to support a structure As a sub-base for a road, railway or airfield runway. As a structure in itself, such as an embankment or earth dam, including reinforced earth
Improvement Effect on mass fill

Higher shear strength

Lower compressibility Higher CBR value Lower permeability Lower frost susceptibility

Greater stability
Less settlement under state load Less deformation under repeated Less tendency to absorb water Less likelihood of frost heave

Compaction Curve

Zero Air Void Curve Sr =100%

d, max

Load optimum water content Air Soil Matrix water Compressed Soil Solid Vol. = VT1 Solid Air Water

gsoil (2) > gsoil (1)

Vol. = VT2

Soil Compaction in the Lab:

1- Standard Proctor Test 2- Modified Proctor Test 3- Gyratory Compaction
Standard Proctor Test Modified Proctor Test

Soil Compaction in the Lab: 1- Standard Proctor Test

5.5 pound hammer

Gs g w g dry 1e

gZAV =
Dry Density

Gs gw
1+ WcGs Sr

Zero Air Void Curve Sr =100%

g
H = 12 in

d max

4
2

25 blows per layer

wc1 gd1

wc2
gd2

wc3
gd3

wc4 gd4

wc5
gd5

Wet to Dry to Optimum Optimum (OWC)

Compaction Curve Water Content

Increasing Water Content

4 inch diameter compaction mold. (V = 1/30 of a cubic foot)

Optimum Water Content

gdry

gwet
1+

Wc%
100

Soil Compaction in the Lab:

1- Standard Proctor Test
ASTM D-698 or AASHTO T-99
Energy = 12,375 foot-pounds per cubic foot
Dry Density Zero Air Void Curve Sr = 60% Zero Air Void Curve Sr =100%

g g

d max

Zero Air Void Curve Sr < 100%

d max

2- Modified Proctor Test ASTM D-1557 or AASHTO T-180

Compaction Curve for Modified Proctor

Energy = 56,520 foot-pounds per cubic foot

Compaction Curve for Standard Proctor (OMC) (OMC) Moisture Content

Energy =

Number of blows per layer x Number of layers x Weight of hammer x Height of drop hammer
Volume of mold

Type of soil Compactive effort Effect of soil Structure / water Content Organic content

Type of clay

Effect of clay content on density (Das 2006)

Proctor compaction test on Sand

Effect of Energy on Soil Compactio (Compactive Effort)

Increasing compaction energy Higher Energy Lower OWC and higher dry density

Dry Density

In the field increasing compaction energy = increasing number of passes or reducing lift depth In the lab increasing compaction energy = increasing number of blows

Water Content

Dry side of optimumFlocculated structure and wet side of optimumDispersed structure Higher compactive effort or water content give more dispersed fabric

Cohesive Soil: Attractive force -Van der waals force acts between two soil particles; Remains same in magnitude Repulsive force Due to the double layer of adsorbed water tending to come into contact with each other; directly related to the size of double layers If net force is attractive Structure is Flocculated If net force is repulsive Structure is Dispersed

Low Water Content: Repulsive force is small because double layer is not fully developed; net force is attractive. Makes difficult for particle to move when compactive effort is applied: Result low dry unit weight

High Water Content: Interparticle repulsive force increases since double layer expands Particle easily slide over one another and get packed more easily : Result high dry unit weight

Double layer expansion is complete at Optimum Moisture Content (OMC): Result maximum dry unit weight at this stage Beyond OMC; water does not add to expansion but replaces the soil grains by water: Result a decrease in dry unit weight

First Decrease in dry unit weight with increase in water content Reason:Capillary tension in pore water prevents soil particle coming close together (Phenomenon- Bulking of Sand- maximum bulkking occurs at 4-5% water content) Further increase in water content : Menisci are broken and particles move and adopt to a closer packing

Permeabilty higher when compacted dry of optimum than when compacted wet of optimum

At relatively low stress level clays compacted wet of optimum are more compressible

At relatively high stress level clays compacted dry of optimum are more compressible

Organic content

Maximum dry unit weight Vs. Organic content for all compaction test (Das 2006)

Effect of drying history and organic content on optimum moisture content (Das 2006)

Shallow Compaction: Compaction depends on following factors Thickness of lift Area over which the pressure is applied Intensity of pressure applied to the soil Type of roller Number of roller passes

Effect of number of passes on compaction of lean clay

Smooth Wheel Roller Provide a smooth finished grade Used for paving Effective only upto 20-30 cm, [Therefore place the soil in shallow layers (Lifts)]

Greater compaction pressure,Provides kneading action, walk out after compaction Effective for compacting fine-grained soil / Clays

Effective for compacting clayey soil and silty soils

Effective for granular soil

Compacted unit weight for 8ft (2.44m) lift height for 2,5,15 and 45 vibratory roller passes

Provides deeper compaction (2-3 m) eg. Air fields

Suitable for granular soils, land fills and karst terrain with sink holes.(Solution cavities in lime stone)

Pounder (Tamper)

Crater created by the impact

(to be backfilled)

Pounder (Tamper) Mass = 5-30 tonne Drop = 10-30 m

Suitable for granular soils

Practiced in several forms:

vibrocompaction stone columns vibro-replacement

Vibroflot (vibrating unit) Length = 2 3 m Diameter = 0.3 0.5 m Mass = 2 tonnes (lowered into the ground and vibrated)

vibrator makes a hole in the weak ground

hole backfilled

..and compacted

Densely compacted stone column

For densifying granular soils

Fireworks

Aftermath of blasting

Site: Anpara Thermal Power Plant, Uttar Pradesh Expansion of existing thermal power plant:Unit D of 2x 500 MW Capacity Site allocated for Expansion: An abandoned Ash Pond of area app. 5400 acres. Depth of Site: 3m to 13m State of Denseness: Loose to Medium dense in condition Existing bearing capacity of the flyash deposit: < 10 t/m2 Site falls under Zone III IS 1893 (Part1) 1982Susceptible to liquefaction Method adopted for improvement of the Ash Pond: Vibro Stone Column (Dry bottom feed method)

Soil Strata: Ash deposit 3-13m Clayey silt/Silty clay upto 23m Dense sandy silt or Hard clayey silt with occasionally weathered rock (Granitic gnesis) Density within Ash deposit: Considerable variation SPT value of Ash deposit Range of N 2 to 30, but on an average 3 to 8 SPT value of Hard Clayey Silt : N ranges between 9 and 30

Vibro Stone Column (Bottom feed method): Method does not require water for penetration thus avoiding the disposal of large quantities of muck and also making environmental friendly Rig used: Vibrocat, operational avantage is it is able to exert a pull down force improving penetration speed Vibrocat feeds the Coarse granular material to the tip of vibrator with the aid of pressurized air Installation method consists of alternate step of penetration and retraction During retraction gravel runs into the annular space created and then compacted using vibrator thrusts and compressed air

Improving Bearing Capacity of open foundation

Vibro stone column of dia 0.9m at 2m centre to centre spacing in a triangular grid pattern resulted the bearing capacity value 10t/m2

Vibro stone column enhanced the density of Fly ash deposits, which inturn improved Lateral load carrying capacity. After Improvement, Result Reported: Design lateral load capacity = 7 t Ultimate Load = 20 t

Typical detail of stone column installed surrounding the piles

The selection of right depth, right diameter and proper compaction is essential. Computerised monitoring of penetration depth of vibrator. Sensor within the depth vibrator indicates the compaction effort of depth vibrator.

General Procedure in Compaction Tests Depending on the size of the compaction mould, a fraction of the soil sample having particle size larger than a specific value, say d0, is discarded For example, in the standard Proctor compaction test, the soil particles coarser than 19 mm are discarded before compacting soil in the standard 101.6 mmdiameter laboratory mould; IS270 (Parts 7 and 8) recommends 100-mm diameter mould (BIS, 1980, 1983); AS1289.5.1.1 (Standards Australia, 2003) recommends 105-mm diameter mould

If the fraction removed is significant, the laboratory optimum moisture content and the maximum dry unit weight determined for the remaining soil are not directly comparable with the field values. To make laboratory values more representative, the following approaches can be used:

In the laboratory soil sample for conducting the test, the coarse fraction larger than d0, say 19 mm, is replaced by an equal amount of material between 19 mm and the next smaller sieve size, say 4.75 mm; The water/moisture content and dry unit weight of the discarded coarse fraction (larger than d0) are estimated and the field values are computed as weighted averages of those of the discarded coarse fraction and of the remaining soil.

The field optimum moisture content is calculated using water content of coarse fraction (larger than d0) as described above in second approach, and then the maximum dry unit weight is calculated assuming that the saturation of the soil in field is equal to that achieved in the laboratory test. This treatment is equivalent to shifting the compaction curve upward along a saturation line. It requires knowledge of the specific gravity of the soil particles.

Zero Air Void Curve Sr =100%

d, max

optimum water content

First step: To calculate the saturation from the laboratory values of maximum dry unit weight, optimum moisture content and specific gravity of soil particles. Second step: The equivalent field unit weight is then computed from the laboratory degree of saturation, field optimum moisture content and specific gravity of soil particles.

Zero Air Void Curve Sr =100%

d, max

optimum water content

Field Compacted Sample

Laboratory Compacted Sample

When the coarser fraction, larger than size d0 (e.g. 19 mm), is removed, it also takes away some water associated with its water content. In addition, there is also possibility of some change in the air void volume when the soil is compacted without this coarse fraction.

1/dF=(1-p)(1+)/dL+p/Gcw+(pWc-(1-p)WL)/w-(1-p)/(Gfw) WF = (1-p)WL+pWc

Gf = specific gravity of the fine soil particles (smaller than d0) in the field/laboratory soil sample Va = volume of the air in voids of the field soil sample VF = total volume of field soil sample VL = total volume of the laboratory soil sample wc = water content of the coarse soil particles in the field soil sample Ws = weight of the soil particles in the field sample Wwc = weight of the water with coarse soil particles in the field soil sample Wwf = weight of the water with fine soil particles in the field/laboratory soil sample = ratio of volume of the air in voids of the laboratory sample to that in the field soil sample Gcw = unit weight of the coarser fraction of soil particles in the field soil sample Gfw = unit weight of the finer fraction of soil particles in the field/laboratory soil sample .

The authors wish to acknowledge all the sources (journals/books/photographs) used for the preparation of this presentation.

Thank you.