ABSTRACT

The bases of the compaction test were established by Proctor (1933) who expressed the relationship between compaction energy, water content and the resulting dry density in the form of the so-called compaction diagram. It is generally recognised that the compaction curve depends on the soil, the mode of

1 INTRODUCTION

Compaction of soils is one of the most common activities in geotechnical engineering. However, it is generally recognised that the behaviour of compacted soils is complex and, when it comes time to specifying compaction conditions for earthworks or to predict the behaviour of compacted soils, the geotechnical engineer is often perplexed. In recent years, however, the development of unsaturated soil mechanics and of technologies allowing for testing of unsaturated soils and measurement of suction have significantly improved our understanding of the behaviour of compacted soils. This paper aims to explain the physics that underlies the behaviour of compacted soils and to assess its implications in terms of hydraulic and mechanical behaviour when the soil is as-compacted, submerged and saturated. Aspects related to drying are not considered. Reference is made to some practical implications.