Estimation of compaction characteristics of soils using Atterberg limits

Abstract

Abstract Soils are mostly used construction materials. Naturally occurring soils when are used as a construction material their engineering properties need to be determined and they mostly need to be compacted for the improvement of their engineering properties. The determination of these engineering properties becomes a vital process for the successful design of any geotechnical structure. Testing the properties of compaction, optimum water content (OWC), and maximum dry density (MDD), requires high amount of work and consumes a large amount of time in the laboratory. In this paper, an attempt to develop predictive models between liquid limit, and compaction test parameters is made. To achieve this purpose, 8 samples of North Nicosia Kythrea group soils in North Cyprus were subjected to Atterberg limits and compaction laboratory tests. The soils were tested using standard Proctor compaction tests. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were carried out on the experimental data and predictive models were developed in terms of liquid limit (LL). Their compaction results were used to validate the proposed models. According to the findings, the R2 values of the models suggested are over 75% and the error variation between the predicted and experimental compaction characteristics values was found to be below ±1. It has been shown that these models will be useful for a preliminary design of earthwork projects which involves Nicosia soils in Cyprus.