Compaction curves on volume basis

Abstract

The compaction curves of soils are generally expressed in terms of dry density and water content. While this representation serves well to compare the efficiency of compaction of different soils whose specific gravities lie in a narrow range (2.6 to 2.7), it fails for materials of varying specific gravities. It has been shown that for fly ashes with a wide range of specific gravities the degree of compaction of different fly ashes cannot be compared from conventional compaction parameters. Compaction curves expressed on a volume basis, viz., volume of solids per unit volume of compacted sample or porosity or void ratio and volume of water per unit volume of solids, can better serve to explain the compaction. Further, it has been shown that for fly ashes of different specific gravities only compaction parameters expressed on a volume basis can be interrelated.