Question

Are there any dissimilarity in methods of compaction between clayey soil material and sandy material?

Answer

The three key actions of compaction are static pressure, impact force and vibration. Diverse compactors contain one or more modes of these actions. Such as, vibratory tampers carry out mainly by principle of impact as vibratory rollers work with principle of static pressure and vibration.

For sandy soils, vibration is sufficient for normal compaction since action of vibration sets soil particles in motion and friction forces between soil particles are near demolished. Throughout this vibration motion, soil particles rearrange themselves to develop a dense state.

For regular soils, it is necessary to join action of vibration together with static pressure to breakdown cohesion forces between soil particles in order to allow for better compaction. Static pressure of vibratory machines is adopted to exert a shearing force to get rid of cohesion in clayey soils.