Pretend you are an earthwork construction control inspector and you are checking

Question

Pretend you are an earthwork construction control inspector and you are checking the field compaction of a layer of soil. The laboratory compaction curve for the soil is shown below. Specifications call for the compacted density to be at least 95% of the maximum laboratory value and within ±2% of the optimum water content. When you did the sand cone test, the volume of soil excavated was 1153 cm3. It weight 2209 g wet and 1879 g dry. The specific gravity is 2.85 4. a. What is the compacted dry density? b. What is the field water content? c. What is the relative compaction? d. Does the test meet specifications? e. What is the degree of saturation of the field sample? f. If the sample were saturated at constant density, what would be the water content? 1.8 16 18 20 12

Explanation / Answer

a) dry density = 1879 / 1153 = 1.629 g/cc = 1.629 (Mg/m3)

b) Water content = [(2209-1879)/ 1879]*100 = 17.56%

c) Relative compaction = [(Density in Field)/ (Density in lab)]*100 = [1.629/1.73]*100 =94.16%

d) It does not meets the specification as relative compaction is less than 95%

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