COMPACTION TEST
Final Lab
Soil Mechanics final
By Malik Noor Ul Amin Awan
FA19-CVE-008
COMPACTION TEST
ASTM D698
Introduction
Rearrangement of soil particles and packing close together by
mechanical methods is known as compaction. For the improvement
of soil properties, e.g., density, water content or gradation,
compaction is necessary in the construction of embankment, road,
sub-grades, earth dams, etc.
Compaction helps to reduce the settlement, permeability, seepage,
etc. During compaction, air is expelled from the void spaces in the
soil mass which increases the density. Compaction generally
increases the shear strength, bearing capacity and makes the soil
more stable against the structure failure.
2. Meaning of Soil Compaction:
Compaction means pressing the soil particles close to each other by
mechanical methods. During compaction air is expelled from the void
spaces in the soil mass and, therefore, the mass density is increased.
Objective:
To improve the engineering properties –
(i) Shear strength –
(a) Stability
APPARATUS
1. Compaction mould with base plate and collar
(Mould height = 4.584 inch, Mould internal diameter = 4 inch, M
ould volume = 1/30 cft)
2. Standard compaction rammer (5.5 lbs with free fall of 12 i
nch)
3. Moisture tins
4. Large mixing utensil
5. Large mixing spoon
6. Trimming knife
7. Steel straight edge
8. Drying oven
9. Weighing balance (Least count = 0.01 gram)
10. Weighing balance (Least count = 1.0 gram)
Procedure
Take a representative quantity (3 kg) of air dried soil that passe
s the U.S No. 4 sieve. If the material has to
be broken up, it should be accomplished in a manner that does
not crush the soil particles.
Mix the soil sample with a percentage of water by dry weight fr
om and inspection of the soil specimen (about 7 % for sandy soi
ls and about 10 % for clayey soils). Keep this
soil in an air tight container for 20 hours for maturation.
Weigh the compaction mould lass than the collar and base
plate.
Measure the compaction mould to determine its volume. Attac
h the collar nad base plate to the mould.
Use the standard compaction method and compact the soil in t
hree (03) equal layers, each layer being given 25 blows from th
e rammer weighing 5.5 lbs dropping from a height of 12 inches.
The blows should be uniformly distributed over the surface of e
ach layer. The amount of soil used should be just sufficient to fil
l the mould leaving about ¼ inch
to be struck off when the collar is removed.
Remove the collar and base plate carefully; strike both the top
and base of the compacted cylinder of soil with a straight edge.
Fill in any holes in the compacted specimen with soil.
Clean the mould from outside and weight it to the nearest
1 gram.
Extrude the cylinder of soil from the mould, split it and take soil
sample for moisture determination.
Break the sample to No. 4 sieve size and 2 percent (based on th
e original sample weight) of water. Carefully remix and repeat s
tep 5 to 9 until, based on wet weights, a peak value
is followed by two slightly lesser compacted weights.
Return to the laboratory the following day and weigh the oven-
dry water content samples to find the actual water content of
each test.
Plot zero air void line/ saturation curve.
use
the compaction factor test is used to calculate the degree of
workability of fresh concrete with regard to the internal energy
required for computing the concrete perfectly.
In the UK by Glanville in 1947 compaction factor tests were
developed and the degree of compaction is measure by it. This test
will give the reasonably reliable assessment of the workability of
concrete and the test require measurement of the weight of the
partially and fully compacted concrete and also the ratio the partially
compacted weight to the fully compacted weight.
The compacting factor lies between 0.8 to 0.92 for the normal range
of concrete.
For concrete which has low workability for which slump test is not
suitable then the compaction factor test is used and this test is
conducted in the laboratory.
ADVANTAGES OF COMPACTION FACTOR TEST:
There are the following advantages of compaction factor test such
as;
In laboratories, suitable for testing workability.
For concrete of low workability, this test is suitable.
Over a wide range, it is suitable to detect the variation in
workability.
As compared to the slump test, the compaction factor test
gives more information that is about compatibility.
This test is more appropriate than static tests for highly
thixotropic concrete mixtures and is a dynamic test.
More precise and sensitive results.
DISADVANTAGES OF COMPACTION FACTOR TEST:
There are the following disadvantages of this test;
Reduces its usefulness in the field due to the large and bulky
nature of the device.
To measure the mass of the concrete in the cylinder, the test
method requires a balance.
This test method does not use vibration and although the test
is commercially available and used rarely.
