Compaction Test

if you want the future wall, building, etc to stand you must confirm its foundation is constructed on solid ground, this test will indicate it it will

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soil compaction test

It's a medical test used to diagnose or prevent constipation.

In actuality it is a test to determine the relative value of "the runs" vs. complete blockage based on a scale of 1 to 10. A score of 1 represents no self adhesion or ability for the materials to hold itself together without any intervention of man made preparations such as Maalox or Imodium AD. A score of 10 represents severe compaction with high self adhesion to itself, high density, non-compressibility and painful discharge. Adjustments for this dilemma are usually done with some changes in input. The usual modifications necessary to bring the numerical value to mid range are to revaluate the materials of input for processing, also sometimes defined as eating. Eventual treatment is usually done by the use of Docusate.

When finished with the testing devises, please clean all equipment carefully and leave the hall light on for the next experimenter. Also, please utilize the rotary air dispersion devise to expel any offensive odors.

Good Luck, Old Salt

A facetious reply to this query is a reasonable response to a subject so exhaustively covered on the web! However, as an architect, I'm happy to give 'Anonymous' a brief - but serious - explanation.

If any structure is built on insufficiently compacted and unstable soil, this can subside over time, causing cracks in the structure or even total failure. A device called a Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) is often used to establish the suitability of ground conditions to sustain concrete foundations, surface beds or entire roads.

A 1Kg weight is trigger-released and falls 1m down a shaft, driving a steel peg into the soil. The degree of penetration of the peg gives a clear numerical indication of the soil compaction. Further details can be found in many websites.

In the U. S of A., the most historically common compaction test is called the (modified) ''Proctor test'' as specified by the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM D1557, as I recall).

Two or three test samples are prepared of about a (tenth?) of a cubic foot, each, at varying water contents, subjected to standard lab compaction procedures, measured and computed densities plotted vs. water contents, with the highest water content determining the optimal density.

The standard to be met is then ''spec-ed'' at 90 to 95% of that optimal density, if the compactive effort in the field is to be accepted by the Grading Inspector.

This test is, of course, conducted by a Proctorologist.

Just to be more clear, I was referring to the most historically common LABORTORY compaction test ( on a compacted volume of a 30th of a cubic foot ).

FIELD compaction tests include the venerable ''sand-cone density test'' and the nuclear gauge density'' test, in addition to the (cone penetrometer type of test). All such tests should be conducted by an experienced Soils Engineering technician...

A compaction test? Have you never heard of the saying, "Go pack sand"?

Dear All

compaction test was carried out and the reading was 95%MDD which is acceptable to civil inspection.

Regards

That must have been in California - Berkley maybe?

By the way, exactly what is going to be built on the site, now that it has ''passed'' the compaction test/...

You should understand that ''95% MDD" is actually not ''Maximum Design Density'' but is actually a modified relative optimum density. A greater ''compactive'' effort could achieve a significantly greater density...

Colloquially, it is called a ''max'' density, for the sake of convenience, however...

The ''95%MDD'' is a relatively high degree-of-compaction that is not usually achieved by conventional means, and therefore should be regarded as ''suspect''...