Assessment of rapid impact compaction in ground improvement from in-situ testing

Ground improvement has been used on many construction sites to densify granular materials, in other word, to improve soil properties and reduce potential settlement. This work presents a case study of ground improvement using rapid impact compaction （RIC）. The research site comprises the construction of workshop and depots as part of railway development project at Batu Gajah-Ipoh, Malaysia. In-situ testing results show that the subsurface soil comprises mainly of sand and silty sand through the investigated depth extended to 10 m. Groundwater is approximately 0.5 m below the ground surface. Evaluation of improvement was based on the results of pre- and post-improvement cone penetration test （CPT）. Interpretation software has been used to infer soil properties. Load test was conducted to estimate soil settlement. It is found that the technique succeeds in improving soil properties namely the relative density increases from 45% to 70%, the friction angle of soil is increased by an average of 3°, and the soil settlement is reduced by 50%： The technique succeeds in improving soil properties to approximately 5.0 m in depth depending on soil uniformity with depth.

Visualization and quantification of soil laboratory impact compaction

As important methods to guide the field soil compaction,the standard and modified Proctor tests for laboratory compaction have remained unchanged for decades,which should be improved to better understand the compaction process and the properties of soils.In this study,an accelerometer was installed on a Marshall impact compactor to capture the dynamic response of three types of soils during compaction.The experimental test results indicated that the acceleration curve for each blow gradually evolved to a stable pattern following the progress of compaction,and the impact and gyratory locking points were linearly related with coefficient of determination R2equal to 0.59.The impact compaction curve could be further constructed by filtering the structural resonance,which can be used to quantify the compactability of soil materials.Although each type of soil had a unique set of compaction curves,the slope and value of compaction curve altered accordingly as the moisture content changed for the same soil.In addition,the average acceleration value at the final compaction stage could serve as the target value of soil stiffness.

Discussion on compact mechanism of air-stream and synchro-formed clamp plate impact molding

Applying the air impact molding method to mold the complicated pattern with wider opening surface and deeper concave, there always exist vaulted phenomenon and lower compactibility of sand mold over the entrance and the concave regions. Using the air-stream and synchro-formed clamp plate impact molding, however, this problem will be preferably solved. In this paper, the compact mechanism of the new molding method and the effect of some configuration factors, such as the area flowed by compressed air and the highness of the protruding block displacement around the diffluent clamp plate, on the compactibility of sand mold were discussed.

A Case Study on Soil Improvement with Rapid Impact Compaction (RIC)

Soil treatment was utilized on numerous production sites to compact cohesion less formations, having the objective to increase earth characteristics and decrease probable subsidence. Within the last few years, Rapid Impact Compaction (RIC) has increased its attractiveness as a soil treatment method. RIC is an innovative dynamic compaction technique primarily used to compact sandy soils where silt and clay contents are low. This work presents a case study of ground improvement using RIC and its suitability for site preparation earthworks. The RIC technique has been performed in an early site preparation which consists of a cut and fill contract for a mega project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. RIC is a process where loose subsurface soils are improved through compaction with the utilization of successive impact blows from the top surface. This project involves the compaction of the fill materials (with an average thickness of 4 m) and loose natural formations (averaging 4 m in depth). The objective of the soil treatment scheme is to increase the relative density of the soils (both fill and natural) to 85%. The usage of the RIC within the site preparation earthwork applications is possible provided the presence of certain elements—specifically, granular materials and particles finer than number 200 sieve—do not exceed 15%. The RIC method proved to be cost- and time-effective when utilized for filling compaction activities since it compacts considerable soil thicknesses with a single action from the top surface, and can be used as an alternative to the traditional method of compacting fill formations in pre-determined lift thicknesses.