Soil Compaction

pneumatic rubber-tired roller

Sheeps foot roller

vibratory steel-wheeled roller

I.
A.

Overview of Soil Compaction

Compaction (concept): the densification
of soil by removal of air.
Requires mechanical energy
Densification increases with help of
water

water acts as softening agent and allows

soil particles to slip over one another,
thereby increasing the packing factor

I. Overview
B. Factors Affecting Compaction
1. Grain size
2. Grain shape
3. Sorting

II. Laboratory Methods for Determining OM and MD

The Proctor Test (after Ralph R. Proctor, 1933)

II. Laboratory Methods for Determining OM and MD

The Proctor Test (after Ralph R. Proctor, 1933)

II. The Method

The Proctor Test (after Ralph R. Proctor, 1933)

II. The Method

The Proctor Test (after Ralph R. Proctor, 1933)

Unit weight has units of

density * gravity

III. Terms to Reckon with

Porosity: = volume of voids
volume total of material

n = Vv
Vt

Moisture Content: = weight of water

weight of dry soil

w = Ww
Ws

Unit Weight: (w) = weight of soil and water

(moist)
volume total of soil
(lbs/ft3)

w = Ws+Ww = Ww
Vt
Vt

Unit Weight (d) : = unit weight (wet)

(d) = w
(dry)
1 + (moisture content /100)
1+(w/100)
(lbs/ft3)

IV. Field Methods of Determining if OM &

MD are achieved
A. Sand Cone Method

IV. Field Methods of Determining if OM &

MD have been achieved
A. Sand Cone Method

Unit Weight: = weight of soil and water

(moist)
volume total of soil
Moisture Content: = weight of water
weight of soil

w = Ws+Ww = Ww
Vt
Vt
w = Ww
Ws

IV. Field Methods of Determining if OM &

MD have been achieved
B. Nuclear Density Meter

V. Pavement Design
A. Overview
Degree of curvature

Principal cause of pavement failure shown abovenot the blacktop

V. Pavement Design
B. California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
How to build a road!

V. Pavement Design
B. California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
1. The California bearing ratio (CBR) is a
penetration test for evaluation of the mechanical
strength of road subgrades and basecourses. It
was developed by the California Department of
Transportation.

V. Pavement Design
B. California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
1. The California bearing ratio (CBR) is a penetration test
for evaluation of the mechanical strength of road
subgrades and basecourses. It was developed by the
California Department of Transportation.

2. The test is performed by measuring the pressure

required to penetrate a soil sample with a
plunger of standard area. The measured
pressure is then divided by the pressure
required to achieve an equal penetration on a
standard crushed rock material.

V. Pavement Design
B. California Bearing Ratio (CBR)

3. The Test
Take load readings at penetrations of:
the result
0.025 70 psi
0.05...115 psi
0.1.220 psi
0.2.300 psi
0.4.320 psi
6 mold

Penetrations of 0.05 per minute

Achieve OM &MD

4. Plot the Data

5. Determine the percent of compacted crushed stone values for the 0.1 and 0.2
penetration.

The Gold Standard for CBR

for 0.1 of penetration, 1000 psi
for 0.2 of penetration, 1500 psi
The standard material for this test is
crushed California limestone

Example above:
for 0.1 of penetration, 220 psi
for 0.2 of penetration, 300 psi

5. Determine the percent of compacted crushed stone values for the 0.1 and 0.2
penetration.

Example psi = CBR

Standard psi
220 psi = .22, or 22%
1000 psi
300 psi = .20, or 20%
1500 psi
CBR of material = 22%
The Gold Standard for CBR
for 0.1 of penetration, 1000 psi
for 0.2 of penetration, 1500 psi

Example above:
for 0.1 of penetration, 220 psi
for 0.2 of penetration, 300 psi

5. Determine the percent of compacted crushed stone values for the 0.1 and 0.2
penetration.

Example psi = CBR

Standard psi
220 psi = .22, or 22%
1000 psi
300 psi = .20, or 20%
1500 psi

In General:
The harder the surface, the higher the CBR rating.
A CBR of 3 equates to tilled farmland,
A CBR of 4.75 equates to turf or moist clay,
Moist sand may have a CBR of 10.
High quality crushed rock has a CBR over 80.
The standard material for this test is crushed California
limestone which has a value of 100.

CBR of material = 22%,

or 22
The Gold Standard for CBR
for 0.1 of penetration, 1000 psi
for 0.2 of penetration, 1500 psi

Example above:
for 0.1 of penetration, 220 psi
for 0.2 of penetration, 300 psi

Potential Corrections to the

Stress-Penetration Curves