SEMINAR ON

COMPACTION EQUIPMENTS

UMESH GOVIL
SAKSHI TAYAL
SHIVENDER PANDEY
MANU KAPOOR

COMPACTION EQUIPMENTS

It is necessary to compact the material after placing so

as to prevent distortion, settlement and softening. A high
degree of compaction of the fill material gives the
following advantages:
Subsequent maintenance cost such as re compaction
can be reduced.
Risks of landslips can be reduced.
Permanent structures can be constructed immediately
on top of the fill.
Higher bearing pressure can be used in the design of
foundations for permanent structures.

COMPACTION EQUIPMENTS
The function of compaction equipment is to produce higher
density in soil mechanically. The basic forces used in
compaction are static weight, kneading, impact and
vibration. The degree of compaction that may be achieved
depends on the properties of soil, its moisture content, the
thickness of the soil layer for compaction and the method
of compaction.
Objectives for Compaction
Increasing the bearing capacity of foundations;
Decreasing the undesirable settlement of structures;
Control undesirable volume changes;
Reduction in hydraulic conductivity;
Increasing the stability of slopes.

Types of Compactor
-Vibratory compactors
-Sheepsfoot Roller.
-Grid or Mesh.
-Steel Drum.
-Pneumatic Tried
Roller
Dynamic Compactors

Vibratory compactors
Vibration creates impact forces thus result in greater
impact forces

The impact imparted by the vibration produces pressure

waves that set the particles in motion and moving them
closer together for the highest density possible
.

Smooth Drum Vibratory soil compactor

Available in single &dual drum models
Generate three compactive forces impact, vibration
& pressure
These rollers are most effective on granular
materials, with particles size ranging from large
rocks to fine sand.
Frequency is around 4000 vpm and
amplitudes range from .018 to
.020. Vibration is provided by
eccentric shafts placed in the drums
or mounted on the frame.

They can be used on a semi cohesive soil with up to

about 10% of material having a PI of five or greater
Padded Drum Vibratory soil compactor

Padded rollers are also known as

trench rollers due to their effective
use in trenches and excavations.
Large eccentric units provide high
impact force and high amplitude
(for rollers) that are appropriate for
cohesive soils.
The drum pads provide a kneading
action on soil.
The drum of the roller some time
extend beyond the body.

Rammers
Rammers deliver a high impact force ( high
amplitude) making them an excellent choice
for cohesive and semi-cohesive soils.
Frequency range is 500 to 750 blows per
minute.
The rammer is inclined at a forward angle to
allow forward travel as the machine jumps.
Rammers cover three types of compaction:
impact, vibration and kneading.
Rammers get compaction force from a small
gasoline or diesel engine powering a large
piston set with two sets of springs

Sheepsfoot Roller
These rollers are usually found as
towed drum models and is suitable
for compacting all fine grained
materials but is generally not
suitable for use on noncohesive
granular materials.
They are steel wheels equipped
with cylindrical pads (or feet)
normally less than 10 in in length.
The pads on sheepsfoot drum
penetrate through the top lift and
actually compact the below lift.
When the drum rotates the pads
out of the soil they kick up or fluff
the material because of their
shape. The working speed is 4 to
6 mph and usually

6 to 10 passes are needed to

compact an 8 in lift.
The sheepsfoot roller tends to
aerate the soil as it compacts, so it
is ideally suited for working soils
that have moisture contents above
the acceptable moisture range.
Grid roller (mesh).
It operates in a manner similar to
sheepsfoot roller but its kneadin
element is a grid or mesh not feet
as in sheepsfoot roller.
When equipped with the extra
weight, such as slabs of concrete,
this grid can exert tremendous
pressure on soil, crushing rocks and
pushing the broken pieces beneath
the surface.

Tamping rollers.
Tamping foot compactors are
high-speed, self-propelled,
non-vibratory rollers.
These rollers usually have 4
steel padded wheels and can
be equipped with a small blade
to help level of lift. The pads
are tapered with an oval or
rectangular face. The pad face
is smaller than the base of the
pad at the drum.
As the tamping roller moves
over the surface, the feet
penetrate the soil to produce a
kneading action and a
pressure to mix and compact
the soil from bottom to the top
of the layer.

The working speed is 8-12 mph and

usually 2 to 3 passes will be needed
to compact 8-12 in lift.
A tamping foot roller is effective on all
soils except clean sand.
Steel drum compactor.
The steel drum compactor is a
smooth-wheeled steel roller that is
typically water ballasted.
It may be towed or self-propelled and
one, two and three axle types are
common. Its frequently classified by
weight for eg, the two-axle tandem
roller (5-8 tons), three-axle tandem
roller (9-14 tons), etc.

The two-axle roller is suitable for

compacting either diagonally
across or lengthwise along the
surfaces. The three axle roller
should only be used lengthwise.
Thus, two-axle roller is generally
used more than three-axle roller
which is used chiefly on large
highway projects, runways and
similar projects.
Steel drum compactors are most
effective on granular materials
sucha as sand, gravel and crushed
stone. Steel drum compactors see
much use on streets, highways,
runways, parking lots and similar
jobs.

VARIOUS COMPACTORS

COMPACTOR
TYPE

PRINCIPAL METHODS OF
COMPACTION
IMPACT
PRESSURE
VIBRATION

SHEEPSFOOT

TAMPING
FOOT

VIBRATION
SMOOTH

VIBRATION
PADFOOT

PNEUMATIC

KNEADING

FOR COMPLETION OF A PROJECT SUCCESFULLY AND ECONOMICALLY

SEVERAL COMPACTORS MAY BE USED TO DENSIFY THE SOIL PROPERLY.
IF DENSITY IS NOT ACHIEVED IN FOUR TO FIVE COVERAGES , A
DIFFERENT COMAPACTOR IS CONSIDERED.

SOIL TYPE V/S METHOD OF COMPACTION

MATERIAL

IMPACT

PRESSURE

VIBRATION

KNEADING

GRAVEL

POOR

NO

GOOD

V.GOOD

SAND

POOR

NO

EXCELLENT

GOOD

SILT

GOOD

GOOD

POOR

EXCELLEN
T

NO

GOOD

CLAY

EXCELLENT
V.GOOD
WITH
CONFINEMEN
PROCESS OF SOIL COMPACTION
T
SOIL
IDENTIFICATION

METHOD
IDENTIFICATION

EQUIPEMENT
SUITABILITY

SOIL
PREPARATION/LEVELLING

PNEUMATIC TIRED ROLLERS

PRINCIPLE: Compaction by KNEADING action
TYPES: self propelled or towed
WORKING : The kneading action is generated
by the small-tired units usually having two tandem
axles with four to five wheels on each axles.
The wheels oscillate , enabling them to reach into
lower areas for uniform comapaction.
Also the wheels on the rear are so spaced to
travel over surfaces between the front
tires hence covering the surface completely.
These tires can be mounted slightly above ,
out of line with the axle, hence achieving
a complete Weaving action.

Small pneumatics are not suited for big lift embankment comapction
projects.They are used on small- medium size compaction jobs,primarily
on granular bladed base material.
Large-tired rollers are available in sizes varying from 15 to 200 tons
gross weight.
They utilise one to two earth-moving tires on a single axle. The air
pressure in each tire may vary from 80-150 psi (pounds per square inch)
Because of their size and high pressure , they can compact all soil
types to greater depths.
The expense is in propelling these large rollers over the lifts as they
require tractors with large draw-bar pull action.
APPLICATION:
ROADWAY SUBGRADES
AIR-FILLED BASES
EARTH FILLED DAMS

COMPACTING ABILITY OF ROLLERS DEPEND ON:

1. WHEEL LOAD
2. TIRE SIZE
3. TIRE PLY.
4. INFLATION PRESSURE

PNEUMATIC ROLLERS WITH VARIABLE INFLATION PRESSURES

Used when only pneumatic rollers are used to compact soil through all its stages of
density compaction.
First passes over a lift should be made with relatively low pressures to increase
ground coverage and floatation.
As the soil is compacted further the pressure must be increased gradually to its
maximum value for the final pass.
Initially the rollers (constant) had to be stopped to vary pressure or wt. of the ballast
on the rollers
However , availability of rollers with operator controlled pressures doesnt require for
the machine to be stopped.

VIBROCOMPACTION METHODS
1.Vibrating pile method
2.Compaction pile method
Vibrator compaction is accomplished by the use of a vibratory piledriving apparatus,together with an open-end tubular pile.
Using a square spacing pattern , the pile is driven into and extracted
from the soil.
The spacing is usually determined based on project-specific test panel
construction.
When the driving and extracting phases are accomplished ,densification
of soil occurs both inside and outside the pile
The best pile configuration used has been an open-end 30-in. pipe of
3/8-in. wall thickness with 4-6 inch wide and -in. thick steel bands
spaced 5-10 ft. apart on the outside of the pipe, together with wider
driving and clamping bands at the bottom and top of the pile.
A crane is used to handle this entire arrangement.

The pile is attached to the vibrator by means of a

hydraulic clamp ;This enables the vertical vibratory
energy produced to travel to the pile material
undiminished , as the pile, hydraulic clamping head,
and vibrating transmisson case act as a unit .

Site work with pressure piles

VIBROCOMPACTION METHODS

This method was invented in Germany almost 60

years ago, and its development has continued
mainly there and in North America, where it was
introduced in the 1940's. The equipment consists of
three main parts: the vibrator, extension tubes and a
supporting crane
Vibroflotation is the most widely used deep
compaction equipment and extensive experience
has been accumulated over the past 20 years
This method utilizes a vibrator penitrator that has
water jets at both top and the bottom.
It actually settles into the soil by its own weight.
The vibrator is incorporated in the lower end of a
steel probe. The vibrator rotates around the vertical
axis to generate horizontal vibration amplitude.
Vibrator diameters are in the range of 350 to 450
mm and the length is about 3 - 5 m, including a
special flexible coupling, which connects the vibrator
with the extension tube.

The vibroflot is slowly lowered to the bottom of

the soil layer and then gradually withdrawn in 0.51.0 m stages. The length of time spent at each
compaction level depends on the soil type and the
required degree of compaction. Generally, the finer
the soil, the longer the time required achieving the
same degree of compaction. In order to facilitate
penetration and withdrawal of the equipment,
water jetting is utilised with a water pressure of up
to 0.8 MPa and flow rates of up to 3000 l/min. The
water jetting transports the fine soil particles to the
ground surface and by replacing the fines with
coarse material, well-compacted soil columns are
obtained.
This method is with greater spacing patterns than
the vibrating pile method and is much more
efficient for finer granular formations.

DYNAMIC COMPACTION METHOD

The weight is attached to a single hoist line
During the drop the , the hoist drum to which line is attached to is allowed to free
spool, releasing the line.
When heavier weights are used .specially designed dropping machines are
required.
Disadvantage : vibrations can travel long distances.
The densification technique of repeatedly dropping
a heavy weight onto to ground surface is commonly
referred to as dynamic compaction

Heavy tamping , impact densification,dynamic

consolidation,pounding and dynamic
precompression.
For either a natural soil deposit or a placed fill,the
method can produce densification upto depths
greater than 35 ft.
Most projects have drop weights (6-30 tons) and
dropped from ht.s of 30-75 ft.