CHAPTER TWO

SOIL
COMPRESSION
SOIL COMPRESSION

This refers to a process that describes the

decrease in soil volume under an externally
applied load.
Soil compression can involve removal of air
from soil pores called compaction or
expulsion of water from soil pores called
consolidation.
Soil compaction is more usual in agricultural
fields since soils are normally worked at
unsaturated states.
MEASUREMENT OF SOIL
COMPRESSION
Soil compression can be measured in the
laboratory using uniaxial confined
compression test in an oedometer, the
triaxial compression cell, or direct shear test.

Stone and Ekwue (1995, 1996) described a

simple method to measure the compression
of unsaturated agricultural soils.
 MEASUREMENT OF SOIL
COMPRESSION
The soil at a known moisture content is packed at
the required bulk density into a cylinder.
A steel plate with perforations are then placed on
top of the soil in the cylinder and the cylinder
placed on the load cell of a compression machine.

The steel plate serves to spread the load from the

plunger of the machine to the soil. The
perforations on the steel plate provide an exit for
excess pore pressures to leave the soil sample
during compression if present..
 MEASUREMENT OF SOIL
COMPRESSION CONTD
During the test, force (F) exerted by the
loading plunger is continuously
measured as a function of decrease in
sample height () due to plunger
movement. The vertical stress () on
the sample is then F/A where A is the
area of the soil cylinder
Soil Compression Machine
 Derivation of Soil Compression
Equations
The initial dry bulk density on soil packing (with no strain), is
given by: Mass Ms
i ........................................(1)
Volume H 0 . A

Where: Ms is the dry mass of sample; A is the area of the soil

cylinder and Ho is the original height of soil in the cylinder.
Change in soil sample height
Strain ( ) at any applied stress,
Original height
.
Ho H
...............................( 2)
Ho

Where: H is the new height of the sample at any applied stress

(see figure below)
Soil Compression Test

Ho
H
 Derivation of Compression
Equations Contd.
Note: Since there is no lateral strain on the sample as it is
confined, axial strain is equal to volumetric strain.
From Eqn. (2), H = Ho (1 - ) .......... (3)
M M
Dry bulk density, b at any stress ...... (4)
V H. A

Substituting Eqn (3) into Eqn (4),

M
b
H0 (1 ) A
i i
From Eqn (1), b and 1
1 b
These equations were first derived by Stone and Ekwue (1995).
 Void Ratio

Void Ratio: Void ratio, e is defined as e = Vp / Vs

Where: Vp is the volume of voids = total soil volume (V) - Volume

of solids (Vs) V Vs V
e 1
Vs Vs .........................(6)Also
Soil particle density is: M s and dry bulk density , M s
s b
Vs V
s Ms V V
i. e. x
b Vs M s Vs

From Eqn (6), e s 1 ....(7)
b

Note: Soil particle density can be taken as 2.65 gm/cm3 for most
 Soil Compression Index

2.1.3 SOIL COMPRESSION INDEX

Soil compression index, Cc is defined as:
( e2 e1 )
Cc
log( 2 / 1 )

1 and 2 .
Where: e1 and e2 are void ratios at two applied stresses

Example: The following results were computed for the Piarco

sandy loam soil in a laboratory experiment. Plot the strain/stress
curve; and the soil compression curves. The initial soil bulk
density before soil compaction was 0.89 gm/cm 3 and the so
particle density is 2.65 gm/cm3.
 Example Contd.

Applied stress Bulk density Strain Void ratio

(kPa) (gm/cm3)
10 1.09 0.21 1.43
40 1.20 0.28 1.21
60 1.24 0.31 1.14
80 1.27 0.32 1.09
100 1.29 0.33 1.05
150 1.34 0.36 0.98
200 1.37 0.37 0.93
400 1.45 0.41 0.83
500 1.47 0.42 0.80
600 1.49 0.42 0.78
800 1.52 0.43 0.74
1000 1.55 0.45 0.71
Solution: Using stresses of 10 kPa and 100 kPa
(1.05 1.43)
Cc 0.38
log (100 / 10)
Bulk Density and Applied Stress
Stress/Strain Relations
Void Ratio and Applied Stress
2.2 SOIL COMPACTION
Soil Compaction is defined as the volume
change produced by momentary load
application caused by rolling, tamping or
vibration.
It involves the expulsion of air without
significant change in the amount of water in
the soil mass.
The most common causes of agricultural
soil compaction are trampling by livestock
and pressures imposed by vehicles or tillage
equipment.
Soil Compaction Contd.
While Soil compaction is desirable in most
engineering situations, it is undesirable in
agricultural fields. Improvements of engineering
properties of soils through compaction lead to
advantages such as:
i) Reduction or prevention of detrimental
settlement of soil.
ii) Soil strength increases and improvements of
slope stability.
iii) Improvement of bearing capacity of pavements
and
iv) The control of undesirable volume changes
caused by frost action, swelling and shrinkage.
 Compaction Contd.
Compaction in agricultural fields leads to
Excess soil hardness,
Reduced soil permeability to water and airflow
and a resulting loss of crop yields.
It is not possible to remove water from the voids
by compaction, but the addition of water to a
slightly moist soil increases compaction by
reducing surface tension.
Compaction increases to a limit called the
optimum moisture content above which further
addition of water causes an increase in voids,
leading to reductions in soil compaction.
State of Compaction
The State of Compaction of a Soil can be Measured
by
Dry Bulk Density,
Shear Strength,
Penetration Resistance or
Reductions in Soil Permeability.
To determine compaction of a soil in terms of dry
density, it is necessary to find the bulk density and
moisture content.
This is usually done using the Standard Proctor test.
 PROCTOR TEST
The Standard Proctor test is a method of
finding the optimum moisture content for
compaction of a soil.
A cylindrical mould 0.001 m3 in volume is
filled with a sieved soil sample in three equal
layers, each layer being compacted by 25 or
27 blows in a standard hammer, weight 2.5
kg, dropped from a height of 300 mm for
each blow.
Proctor Test Contd.

The mould is then trimmed and weighed, to

determine the bulk density of the soil.
Moisture content of the soil is then determined to
obtain the dry density.
The test is carried out with soil at different
moisture contents and a graph of dry density
against moisture content is plotted.
A heavy compaction test uses a greater
compactive effort from a 4.5 kg hammer dropping
450 mm on to five soil layers in the mould.
Typical Proctor Test Curve
Proctor Test
 APPLICATIONS OF PROCTOR
TEST IN AGRICULTURE
Proctor Compaction Soil mechanics Test can
be used to index and predict with reasonable
accuracy, the compaction behaviour of
agricultural soils over a wide range of soil
moisture contents and single or multiple passes
of tyres of mechanical equipment with varying
contact pressures.
The knowledge of the moisture content and
pressure changes on dry density of a soil could
be provided in order to make recommendations to
the farmer or machine designer.
APPLICATIONS OF PROCTOR
TEST IN AGRICULTURE CONTD.

The Proctor compaction test has

hitherto been reserved for earthwork
engineering.

In agricultural practice, it is advisable to

limit soil working below the optimum
moisture content in order not to cause
maximum soil compaction.
 Factors that Affect Soil Compaction

(1)The Magnitude and Nature of Compacting forces: The

i)

higher the Compactive effort, the higher the maximum dry

density but the optimum moisture content reduces.

d Higher compactive force

Lower compactive force

% Moisture Content
The extent of soil compaction also varies according to
whether the force acts by impact, kneading action or
vibration etc.
 Factors that Affect Soil Compaction
Contd.

ii) Moisture Content of the Soil (see diagram above).

iii) The Degree of Compaction of the Soil at the time of
compaction.
iv) Soil properties eg. texture, density, and organic
matter content:
Sandy soils are more compactible than clays but clays
have higher optimum moisture contents.
Organic matter reduces the maximum dry density and
increases the optimum or critical moisture content.
This increases soil workability since it can be worked over
a wider range of moisture content without achieving
maximum compaction.
Example

Example: Standard Proctor Compaction test

carried out on a Piarco sandy soil yielded the
following results:

Bulk density(kg/m3) 1700 1880 2010 1940 1860

Moisture content(%) 5.1 10.4 14.4 19.6 24.7

Plot the curve of dry density against moisture

content and hence find the maximum dry density
and the optimum(critical) moisture content.
Solution

Solution: r = rd
1+m
where: rd = dry bulk density, r = Wet Density,
m = Moisture Content

m 0.051 0.104 0.144 0.196 0.247

r 1.70 1.88 2.01 1.94 1.86
(gm/cm3)
rd 1.62 1.7 1.76 1.62 1.49
(gm/cm3)
 Solution Concluded

Compaction Curve For Piarco Sand

) m /c m

1.8
D r y b u l k d e n s i ty (g
3

1.7
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1
0 10 20 30
Moisture Content (%)

From graph, Maximum Dry Density = 1.76 gm/cm 3 and

Optimum(critical) Moisture Content = 14.5%.