The Proctor compaction test is used to determine the optimal moisture content and maximum dry density of soils. It involves compacting soil samples in a mold using a standardized compactive effort at different moisture contents. The dry density is measured for each sample to create a compaction curve showing the relationship between dry density and moisture content. The peak of the curve indicates the optimum moisture content and maximum dry density, which represent the conditions when the soil is most dense and has the highest load-bearing capacity. The test is important for determining how to properly compact soils in the field.

1. Compaction Tests and empirical
relations.
Presentation by
Jyoti Khatiwada
Roll no. 10

2. What is a Proctor test?
The Proctor compaction test is a laboratory
method of experimentally determining the
optimal moisture content at which a given
soil type will become most dense and
achieve its maximum dry density
Compaction (Soil Compaction) is the process
of applying energy to loose soil to consolidate
it and remove any voids, thereby increasing
the density and consequently its load-bearing
capacity.

3. What is the purpose of the Proctor
test?
• The Proctor compaction test is a laboratory
geotechnical testing method used to
determine the soil compaction properties,
specifically, to determine the optimal water
content at which soil can reach its maximum
dry density

10. Modified Proctor test appartus

12. • These laboratory tests generally consist of compacting soil
at known moisture content into a cylindrical mold of
standard dimensions using a compactive effort of
controlled magnitude.
• The soil is usually compacted into the mold to a certain
amount of equal layers, each receiving a number of blows
from a standard weighted hammer at a specified height.
This process is then repeated for various moisture contents
and the dry densities are determined for each.
• The graphical relationship of the dry density to moisture
content is then plotted to establish the compaction curve.
• The maximum dry density is finally obtained from the peak
point of the compaction curve and its corresponding
moisture content, also known as the optimal moisture
content.

13. Compaction curves
• A large number of compaction curves pertaining to a
wide variety of fine-grained soils were collected and used
in modeling. The developed modules were able to predict
compaction curves of soils with good accuracy, with the
ANN-based module outperforming the statistical-based
analog..
• The compaction
modules were utilized
to inquire about the
compactibility behavior
of fine-grained soils in
relation to their
properties and the
compaction energy used

15. • The point at which this transition occurs is
called the optimum compaction point (OCP),
which relates two key compaction
characteristics: the maximum dry density
(MDD) and the corresponding optimum water
content (OWC). The portion of the curve to
the left of the OCP is named dry of optimum
(DOO) and that to its right wet of optimum
(WOO), as shown in Fig. 1. Because of the bell-
shaped nature of the compaction curve, soil
may be compacted to equal density at two
different water contents.

17. Empirical relation for compaction test

18. • Thank you