Formula to Get Desired Soil Density

Abstract

Changing the soil characteristics is a main concern to all civil engineers. Highway and foundation engineers are particularly more concerned with the subject. There are several methods to improve the soil characteristics. One of these methods is to add fine material, which fills the voids between the grains of the soil, helping to make the soil denser, thus gaining high resistance to penetration. This study uses statistical parameters of the soil grains distribution to predict the soil maximum dry density, then uses the fine biasness coefficient to predict the new density of the soil after mixing any amount of fine particles with the original soil. A mathematical formula is developed to make such a prediction. Lab testing results were compared with the results of the prediction. They were found to be in total agreement, and the margin of error was found to be quite low.