< ag vied __YEARZO|7 Indian oh METHODS OF TEST FOR SOILS PART DETERMINATION OF WATER CONTENT—DRY DENSITY RELATION USING HEAVY COMPACTION + 2720 (Part 8)-1983 (Reaffirmed 2006 ) ( Second Revision ) Second Reprint SEPTEMBER 1994 UDC 624-131-431-3-624131-4315, © Copyright 1984 BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS. MANAK RHAVAN, 9 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG. ‘NEW DELHE 110002 Gra February 19841S : 2720 ( Part 8) - 1983 Indian Standard METHODS OF TEST FOR SOILS PART 8 DETERMINATION OF WATER CONTENT — DRY DENSITY RELATION USING HEAVY COMPACTION ( Second Revision ) Soil Engineering and Kock Mechanics Sectional Committee, BDC 23 Chairman Representing De Jacorsu Nanas Aswoviation of Indian Universities, New Delis Members Sit B,D. Aganwa: Public Works Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow Sunt BL. Dasawas: { Alternate ) Puor ALax Six Us Sit B. Axoiam E sity of Jodhpur, Jodhpur inevring Research Laboratorirs, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad SunrE. M, Brava Concrete Association of India, Hombay ice N.C. Duane st, © Aternate ) Cuter Exorwren (1PRI) Irrigation Department, Government of Punjab, ‘Chandigarh, Dineeron (Daas) ( Alternate ) Sunt A. G, Dastmar: In personal capacity (5 Hungerford Court, 121, Hungerford Street, Caleutta ) Dr G. 8. Dinutow Indian Geotechnical Society, New Delhi Dsercron & Materiais Research Station, New yey Dineeron: ( Alternate ) Dinieror, IRT Irrigation Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Roorkee Sunt A. H. Divan Asia Foundations and Construction (P) Led, Bombay Snr A.N. Jaxcus { Alternate } Dr Gorar, Ragas University of Roorkee, Roorkee; and Institute of Engineers ( India }, Calcutta Sunt $. Gurrs Cemindia Company Limited, Bombay Sart N. V. De-Souss ( Alternate } (Continued on page 2) © Copyright 1904 BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS ‘This publication is protected under the Indian Copyright det (XIV of 1957) and reproduction in whole or in part by any means except with written permission of the publisher shail be deemed to be an infringement of copyright under the said Act. |IS : 2720 ( Part 8) - 1983 ( Continued from page 1) Members Representing Sun: M. Ivexoan Engineers India Limited, New Delhi Suet Aswox K. Jars G8. Jain and Associates, Roorkee Sour Visay'K. Jann ( Alternate) Jouz Dinzcron Rusmanou (GE)-I, Ministry of Railways RDSO Jour Director Rusrancst (GE)-IT RDSO ( Alternate ) La-Cor V.K Kasrzan Engineer-in-Chief’s Branch, Army Headquarters Suur O.P, Mannorna Public Works Department, Chandigarh Adminis tration, Chandigarh Sua D.R. Narananr Central Building Research Institute (CSIR ), ‘corkee Swan V.S, Aoanwat ( Aliernate ) Smu T. K. Nataasan Gentral Road Research Institute (CSIR), New Dethi Sunt Raxare Sixost Ministry of Defence (R & D) Sunt P. D, Desmanne ( Alternate) De G. B. Rao Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi ‘ Dr K. K. Gurra ( Alternate ) Rusrancn Orricer (B& RRL) Public Works Department, Government of Punjab, Chandigarh, Sronzrany Central Board of Irrigation and Power, New Delhi Derury Secretary ( Alternate) Sunt N. Stvacuny: Roads Wing ( Ministry of Shipping and Transport ) Smut P. R. Katna ( Alternate ) Sunt K. §. Saivivagaw National Buildings Organization, New Delhi Sunt Suit, Benny (Alternate) Dz N. Soo Jadavpur University, Calcutta Snax N. Soprawanvase Karnataka Engineering Research Station, Krishnarajaragar : Surmeivrexoixo Ew o1NeER Public Works Department, Government of Tamil (P& DO) Nadu, Madras Executive Exorvern ( SMRD) (Alternate ) Sant H.C. Virica All India Instrument Manufacturers and Dealers Association, Bombay Sar H.K. Guna ( Alternate) Swat G. Rawax, Director General, 1ST ( Ex- Director ( Civ’ Engg ) cio Member ) Secretary Suu K. M. Maxnon Senior Deputy Director (Civ Engg ), 1ST Soil Testing Procedures Subcommittee, BDC 23 : 3 Convener Dr Ava Srxon University of Jodhpur, Jodhpur Members Sun Asean Sion Central Building Research Institute (CSIR), Roorkee Sant M.R.Sommsa (Alternate ) (Continued on page 9)IS : 2720 ( Part 8) - 1983 Indian Standard METHODS OF TEST FOR SOILS . PART 8 DETERMINATION OF WATER CONTENT --DRY DENSITY RELATION USING HEAVY COMPACTION (Second Revision) 0 FOREWORD 0.1 This Indian Standard ( Second Revision ) was adopted by the Indian Standards Institution on 28 November 1983, after the draft finalized by the Soil Engineering and Rocks Mechanics Sectional Committee had been approved by the Civil Engineering Division Council. 0.2 Purpose of a laboratory compaction test is to determine the proper amount of mixing water to be used, when compacting the soil in the field and the resulting degree of denseness which can be expected from compaction at optimum moisture content. To accomplish this, a laboratory test which will give a degree of compaction comparable to that obtained by the field inethod used is necessary. This procedure is satisfactory for cohesive soils but does not lend itself well to the study of the compaction characteristics of clean sands or gravels whici: displace easily when struck with rammer. Some nearly cohesionless soils compact satisfactorily in the standard test although in many cases the water density curve is not well defined. Frequently, too in these cases indicated, maximum density is not as great as can be achieved readily in the field under available compaction methods. With a knowledge of the water density relation as determined by this test, better control of the field compaction of soil fill is possible because the optimam moisture content and the density which should be obtained are known by using t test procedure and these can be checked by field control tesis. ‘This part which was first published in 1965 and revised in 1974 covers the method of test based on heavy compaction. The method of test based on light compaction is covered in IS :.2720 (Part 7 )-1%80*. This revision is prepared so as to cover such cases when soil could be susceptible to crushing during compaction. 0.3 For the purpose of deciding whether a particular requirement of this standard is complied with, the final value, observed or calculated, ‘Methods of test for soils: Part 7 Determination of water content dry density relation using light compaction ( srcond revision 31S: 2720 ( Part 8) - 1983 expressing the result of a test or analysis, shall be rounded off in accordance with IS; 2-1960*. The number of significant places retained in the rounded off value should be the same as that of the specified value in this standard. 1. SCOPE A, This standard ( Part 8) lays down the method for the determination of the relation between the water content and the dry density of soils using heavy compaction. 2. TERMINOLOGY 2.1 For the purpose of this standard, the definitions given in IS : 2809- 1972 shall apply. 3. APPARATUS 3.1 Cylindrical Metal Mould — It shall be either of 100 mm diameter and 1000 cm volume or 150 mm diameter, and 2250 cm* volume and shall conform to IS : 10074-1982}. 3.2 Sample Extrader ( Optioral) — It consists of a jack, lever frame or other device adopted for the purpose of extruding compacted specimens from the mould. 3.3 Balances — One of 10 kg capacity sensitive to I g, and other of 200 g capacity and sensitive to 0°01 g. 3.4 Oven — Thermostatically controlied, with interior of non-corroding material to maintain temperature between 105°C and 110°C. 3.5 Container — Any suitable non-corrodible airtight container to determine the water content for tests conducted in the laboratory. 3.6 Steel Straightedge — A steel straightedge about 30 cm in length and having one bevelled edge. 3.7 Sieve — 4°75-mm, 19-mm and- 37°5 mm IS. sieves conforming to IS: 460 ( Part I )-19786. *Rules for rounding off numerical values ( revised). Glossary of terms and symbols relating to soil engineering ( frat retirion ). Specification for compaction mould assembly for light and heavy compaction of soils, $Specification for test sieves: Part | Wire cloth test sieves ( stcond revision ). 41S : 2720 ( Part 8) - 1983 3.8 Mixing Tools — Miscellaneous tools, such as tray or pan, spoon, trowel and spatula, or a. suitable mechanical device for thoroughly mixing the sample of soil with additions of water. 3.9 Metal Rammer —Heavy compaction rammer conforming to IS: 9189-1979*. 4, SOIL SPECIMEN 4.1 A representative portion of air-dried soil material and large enough to provide about 6 kg of material passing a 19-mm IS sieve (for soils not susceptible to crushing during compaction), or about 15 kg of material passing a 19 mm IS sieve (for soils susceptible to crushing during compaction ), shall be taken (see Note). This portion shall be sieved on a 19 mm IS sieve and the coarse fraction rejected after its proportion of the total sample has been recorded. Norn—The soil should be considered susceptible to crushing during compaction if the sample contains granuiar material of a soft nature, such as soft lime stone, sandstone, ete, which is reduced in size by the action of the ¢ rammer. The procedure given in 5.2 for soils susceptible to crushing during compaction can be applied to all soils if it is convenient to do so 4.1.1 Aggregations of particles shall be broken down so that if the sample was sieved on a 4°75-m IS sieve, only separated individual particles would be retained. 5, PROCEDURE 5.1 Soil Not Susceptible to Crushing Daring Compaction (see Note under 4.1 ) — The procedure is as follows: 5.L1 A 5-kg sample of air dried soil passing the 19-mm IS test sieve shall be taken (see Note 1). The sample shall be mixed thoroughly with a suitable amount of water depending on the soil type (see Notes Qand 3). 5.1.2 The mould, of 1 000 cm? capacity with baseplate attached, shall be weighed to the nearest 1 g(m,). The mould shall be placed on a solid base, such as a concrete floor or plinth and the moist soil shall be compacted into the mould, with the extension attached, in five layers of approximately equal mass, each layer being given 25 blows from the 4"9-kg rammer droped from a height of 450 mm above the soil. The blows shall be distributed uniformly over the surface of each layer. The operator shall ensure that the tube of the rammer is kept clear of soil so that the rammer always falls freely. The amount of soil ication for compaction rammer for soil testing. 5IS : 2720 ( Part 8) - 1983 used shail be sufficient to fill the mould, leaving not more than about 6 mm to be struck off when the extension is removed (see Note 4 ie The extension shall be removed and the compacted soil shall be levelled off carefully to the top of the mould by means of the straightedge. The mould and soil shall then be weighed nearest to | g { m" ). 5.1.3 The compacted soil specimen shall be removed from the mould and placed on the mixing tray. ‘The water content of a representative sample of the specimen shall be determined as in 1S :2720( Part 2)- 1973%. 5.1.4 The remainder of the soil specimen shall be broken up, rubbed through the 19-mm IS test sieve, and then mixed with the remainder , of the original sample. Suitable increments of water ( see Note 5 ) shall be added successively and mixed into the sample, and the above procedure from operations 5.1.2 to 5.1.4 shall be repeated for each increment of water added. The total number of determinations made shall be at least five, and the moisture contents should be such that the optimum moisture content, at which the maximum dry density occurs, is within that range. 5.2 Soil Susceptible to Crushing During Compaction (see Note under 4.1) — The procedure is as follows : 5.2.1 Five or more 2'5 kg samples of air-cried soil passing the 19-mm IS sieve, shall be taken (see Note | ). The samples shall each be mixed thoroughly with different amounts of water to give a suitable range of moisture contents (sce Notes 2and 3). The range of moisture content, at which the maximum dry density occurs, is within that range (se Note 5) 5.2.2 Each sample shall be treated as in 5.! 5.2.3 Each specimen shall be treated as in 5.1.3. 5.2.4 The remainder of each soil specimen shall be discarded. 5.3 Compaction in Large Size Mould —For compacting soil containing coarse material up to 37°5 mm size, the 2250 cm? mould should be used. A sample weighing about 30 kg and passing the 37°35 mm IS sieve is used for the test. Soil is compacted in five layers, each layer being given 55 blows of the 49-ky rammer. ‘The test of the procedure is the same as in 5.1 or 5.2. Nore | — The removal of small amounts of stone ( up to 5 percent) retained on a 19-mm IS sieve will effect the density obtainable only by amounts comparable * Methods of test for soil : Part 2 Determination of water content ( second revision ) 6IS: 2720 ( Part 8) - 1983 with the experimental error involved in measuring the maximum dry density: ‘The exclusion of a_ large proporation of stone coarser than 19-mm may have a major effect on the density obtained compared with that obtainable with soil as a whole, and on the optimum moisture content. There is at present no generally accepted method of test of calculation for dealing with this difficulty in comparing laboratory compaction test results with densities obtained in the field. For soils containing larger proportions of gravel, the use of a bigger mould ( 2250 em*) will avoid major errors. Nore 2—The amount of water to be mixed with air-dried soil at the commencement of the test will vary with the (ype of soil under test. In general, with sandy and gravelly soils a moisture content of 3 to 5 percent would be-suitable, while with cohesive soils a moisture content about 12 to 16 percent below the plastic limit of the soil should usually be suitable. Note 3— It is important that the water is mixed thoroughly and adequately with the soil, since inadequate mixing gives rise to variable test results. ‘This is particularly important with cohesive soils when adding a substantial quantity of water to the air-dried soil. With clays of high plasticity, or where hand mixing is employed, it may b¢ difficult to distribute the water uniformly through the air-dried soil by mixing alony, and it may be necessary to store the mixed sample in a sealed container for a minimum period of about 16 hours b:fore continuing with the test, Nore 4— It is necessary to control the total volume of soil compacted, since it bas been found that if the amount of soil struck off after removing the extension is too great, the test results will be inaccurate. Nore 5 — The water added for each stage of the test should be such that a range of moisture contents is obtained which includes the optimum moisture. In general, increments of 1 102 percent are suitable for sandy and gravelly soils and Of 2 to percent for cohesive soils. To increase the accuracy of the test it is often advisable to reduce the increments of water in the region of the optimum moisture content. 6. CALCULATIONS 6.1 Bulk Density — Bulk density, %m, in g/cm? of each compacted specimen shall be calculated from the equation: my =m Tn = where m, = mass in g of mould and base; m, = mass in g of mould, base and soil Vm = volume in cm? of mould. |; and 6.2 Dry Density — The dry density, Y4, in g/m, shall be calculated from the equation 100 Yim Y= 100 + w where w = moisture content of soil in percent. 7IS : 2720 (Part 8) - 1983 6.3 The dry densities, Yj obtained in a series of determinations shall be plotted against the corresponding moisture contents w. A smooth curve shall be drawn through the resulting points and the position of the maximum on this curve shall be determined. 7. REPORTING OF RESULTS 7.1 The experimental points and the smooth curve drawn through then: showing the relationship between moisture content and dry density shal! be reported. 7.2 The dry density in g/cm corresponding to the maximum point on the moisture content/dry density curve shall be reported as the maximum dry density to the nearest 0°01. 7.3 The percentage moisture content corresponding to the maximum dry density on the moisture content/dry density curve shall be reported as the optimum moisture content and quoted to the nearst 0°2 for values below 5 percent to the nearest 0°5 for values from 5 to 10 percent, and to the nearest whole number for value exceeding 10 percent (see Note under 7.5 ). 7.4 The amount of stone retained on the 19-mm IS sieve shall be reported to the nearest | percent. 7.5 The method of obtaining the result shall be stated, ( 4-9+kg rammer method ). The procedure used shall also be stated that is single sample or separate sample and the size of the mould used. Nozz —For.some highly permeable jsoils sich as clean gravels, uniformily graded and coarse cleen sands the results of the laboratory compaction test (49 rammer method ) may provide only a poor guide for specifeations on field compaction. ‘The laboratory test often indicates higher valucs of optimum moisture content than would be desirable for field compaction and the maximum dry density is often much lower than the state of compaction, that can readily be obtained in the field.IS 12720 ( Part 8) - 1983 (Continued from page 2) Members Representing Asstazaxe Reezanon Orricen {rrigation Department, Government of Punjab (IPRI) thandigarh ‘Assirax Ruszancr Orviczn Irrigation Department, Government of Uttar (SRD) ( Alternate ) rradeab, Lucknow Derury Dinrcton Resrancn Ministry of Railways (GE-ILI ), RDSO Jour Diagcros Rusxancn (GE-I), RDSO ( dlternate ) Dinsotor Central Soil and Materials Research Station, New eth Derury Diareront ( Alternate ) Suni H. K. Guna Geologist Syndicate Private Limited, Calcutta Suut N,N. BRATTACHARAYA (Alternate) Dr Gorat Raxsan University of Roorkee, Roorkee Da S.C. Hanva ( Alternate ) Da Saori K. Guexart Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi Sur P. JaoaxatH#a Rao Central Road Research Teatitute (CSIR ), New a eli Lr-Cox V.K. Kasiskan, Engineer-in-Chief's Branch, Army Headquarters Sart M.D. Nain Associated Instruinents Manufacturers (I) Private Limited. New Delhi Paor T. S. NAaanas ( Alternate)BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS Headquarters Manak Bhavan, 9 Bahadur Shah Zatar Marg, NEW DELHI 110002 Telephones : 331 01 31 Telegrams : Manaksenstha 33113 75 (Common to ail Offices) Regione! Ottices : Telephone Central Manak Bhavan, 9, Bahadur Shan Zatar Marg, 3310131 NEW DELHI 110002 33113 78 “Eastern 11/14 C,1.T. Scheme Vil M, ‘37 86 62 V.L.P. Road, Maniktola, CALCUTTA 700054 Northern — : SCO 445-446, Sector 35-C, CHANDIGARH 160036 5316 40 Southern: C.1.T. 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