Chapter 5

Compacting and Finishing

Part 2
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 Compaction Operations
• After selecting appropriate compaction equipment, a
compaction plan must be developed.
• The major variables to be considered include:
1. soil moisture content,
2. lift thickness,
3. number of passes used,
4. ground contact pressure,
5. compactor weight, and
6. compactor speed.
• For vibratory compactors, it is also necessary to
consider
7. the frequency and amplitude of vibration to be employed.

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 Compaction Operations
• 1. soil moisture content
– the compactive effort delivered by a piece of
compaction equipment will seldom be exactly the
same as that of either the standard or modified
compaction test.
– Thus, the field optimum moisture content for a
particular soil/compactor combination will seldom
be the same as the laboratory optimum.

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 Compaction Operations
• This is illustrated by Figure 5-11, where only
one of the four compactors has a field
optimum moisture content close to the
laboratory optimum.

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FIGURE 5-11: Variation of optimum moisture content with roller type.
(From reference 6)

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 Compaction Operations
• 2. Lifts thicknesses :
– It should be kept thin for most effective
compaction.
– For all rollers, except vibratory rollers and heavy
pneumatic rollers, a maximum of 5 to 8 in. (15 to
20 cm).
– The maximum lift thickness depends on the static
weight of the compactor.

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 Compaction Operations
• 3. number of passes
• The compaction achieved by repeated passes:
– The compaction achieved by repeated passes of a
compactor depends on the soil/compactor
combination utilized.
– For some combinations (such as a tamping foot roller
compacting a clayey gravel), significant increases in
density may continue to occur beyond 50 passes.
– As shown in Figure 5-12, the increase in density is
relatively small after about 10 passes for most
soil/compactor combinations.

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FIGURE 5-12: Typical effect of number of passes.

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• 4. Effect of Ground contact pressure on
Compaction:
– for a tamping foot roller, Ground contact pressure
may vary from:
• 30 lb/sq in. (207 kPa) for a pneumatic roller to
• 300 lb/sq in. (2070 kPa) or more for tamping foot rollers.
– Within these ranges it has been found that:
• total roller weight has a much more pronounced effect on
the compaction achieved than does contact pressure.
– The use of excessive ground contact pressure will
result in shearing and displacement of the soil being
compacted.
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• 6. Effect of Travel time on Compaction:
– Except for vibratory compactors, tests have shown
little relationship between compactor travel speed
and the compaction achieved.
– For vibratory equipment,
• travel speed (at a fixed operating frequency) determines the
number of vibrations that each point on the ground surface
will receive.
• Therefore, when using vibratory equipment, tests should be
performed to determine the compactor speed that results in
the highest compactor productivity.
– For conventional equipment the highest possible
speed should be utilized that does not result in
excessive surface displacement.

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Estimating Compactor Production
• Equation 5-1 may be used to calculate compactor
production based on:
– compactor speed,
– lift thickness, and
– effective width of compaction.
• The accuracy of the result obtained will depend on the
accuracy in estimating speed and lift thickness.
• Trial operations will usually be necessary to obtain
accurate estimates of these factors.
• Typical compactor operating speeds are given in Table
5-3.
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TABLE 5-3: Typical operating speed of compaction equipment

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Estimating Compactor Production
Production (CCY/h)= 16.3 × W × S × L × E / P (5-lA)
Production (CCM/h) = 10 × W × S × L × E / P (5-lB)

Where
P = number of passes required
W = width compacted per pass (ft or m)
S = compactor speed (mi/h or km/h)
L = compacted lift thickness (in. or cm)
E = job efficiency

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Estimating Compactor Production
• The power required to tow rollers depends on
the roller's total resistance (grade plus rolling
resistance).
– The rolling resistance of tamping foot rollers has
been found to be approximately 450 to 500 lb/ton
(225 to 250 kg/t).
– The rolling resistance of pneumatic rollers and the
maximum vehicle speed may be calculated by the
methods of Chapter 4.

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 Job Management
• trial operations are usually required to
determine:
– the exact values of soil moisture content,
– lift thickness,
– compactor weight, and
– vibrator frequency and amplitude that yield maximum
productivity while achieving the specified soil density.
• The use of a nuclear density device to measure
the soil density actually being obtained during
compaction is strongly recommended.

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 Job Management
• Traffic planning and control is an important
factor in compaction operations.
• Hauling equipment must be given the right-of-
way without excessively interfering with
compaction operations.

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 5-3 SOIL STABILIZATION
• Soil stabilization has been defined as:
– the process of giving natural soils enough abrasive
resistance and shear strength to accommodate traffic or
loads.
• Soil stabilization methods include:
– mechanical methods,
– hydraulic methods,
– reinforcement methods ,and
– physiochemical methods.
• Some techniques falling under each of these
categories are shown in Table 5-4.

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 TABLE 5-4: Soil stabilization methods

• Deep compaction: dropping heavy weight ( 9-36 t) from a crane (15-30m) to

increase the density of soil to a depth of up to 9 m.
• Vibroflotation: increasing density of cohesionless soil by inserting a vibratory
probe into soli.
• Electroosmosis: employs electrical current to speed up the drainage of
cohesive soils.

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 5-4 GRADING AND FINISHING
• Grading is the process of bringing earthwork to the
desired shape and elevation (or grade).
• Finish grading, or simply finishing, involves:
– smoothing slopes,
– shaping ditches, and
– bringing the earthwork to the elevation required by the
plans and specification.
• Finishing usually follows closely behind excavation,
compaction, and grading.
• Finishing, in turn, is usually followed closely by seeding
or sodding (grass) to control soil erosion.

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 5-4 GRADING AND FINISHING
• The piece of equipment most widely used for
grading and finishing is the motor grader
(Figure 5-13).
• Grade trimmers and excavators are frequently
used on large highway and airfield projects
– because their operating speed is greater than that
of the motor grader.

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 FIGURE 5-13: Modern motor grader.
(Courtesy of Fiatallis North America, Inc.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFoN5LD0Q-w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNWafIsqI_g

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• In highway construction,
– the process of cutting down high spots and filling in
low spots of each roadway layer is called balancing.
– Trimming is the process of bringing each roadway
layer to its final grade.

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• Motor Grader
• Grade Excavators and Trimmers
• Estimating Grader Production
• Job Management

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 Motor Grader
• The motor grader is one of the most versatile
items of earthmoving equipment.
• It can be used for:
– light stripping, – bank sloping,
– grading, – ditching,
– finishing, – backfilling, and
– trimming, – scarifying.

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 Motor Grader
• It is also :
– capable of mixing and spreading soil and asphaltic
mixtures.
– used on building construction projects as well as
in heavy and highway construction.
– It is frequently used for the maintenance of
highways and haul roads.

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 Motor Grader
• The blade of a motor grader:
– is referred to as a moldboard and is equipped with
replaceable cutting edges and end pieces (end
bits).
– The wide range of possible blade positions is
illustrated in Figure 5-15.

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FIGURE 5-15: Blade positions for the motor grader.
(U.S. Department of the Army)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1GSkljGjsg

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 Motor Grader
• Motor graders are available with articulated frames that increase
grader maneuverability.
• The three possible modes of operation for an articulated grader
are illustrated in Figure 5-16.

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FIGURE 5-16: Articulated grader positions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQXaW2svM7w

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• The machine operation modes are:
– Conventional manner when in the straight mode (Figure 5-16A).
– Articulated mode (Figure 5-16B) to allow the machine to turn in
a short radius.
– The crab mode (Figure 5-16C) permits the rear driving wheels to
be offset so that they remain on firm ground while the machine
cuts banks, side slopes, or ditches.

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 Motor Grader

• The front wheels of both conventional and

articulated graders may be leaned from side to
side.
• Wheels are leaned away from the cut to:
– offset the side thrust produced by soil pressure
against the angled blade.
– assist in turning the grader.

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 Motor Grader
• Graders are available with automatic blade
control systems that:
– permit precise grade control.
– utilize a sensing system that follows an existing
surface, string line, or laser beam to automatically
raise or lower the blade as required to achieve the
desired grade.

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 Grade Excavators and Trimmers
• Grade excavators or trimmers:
– they are machines that are capable of finishing
roadway and airfield subgrades and bases faster
and more accurately than can motor graders.
– Many of these machines also act as reclaimers.
– they are capable of scarifying and removing soil
and old asphalt pavement.

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FIGURE 5-17: Large grade trimmer/reclaimer/paver.
(Courtesy of CMI Corp.)

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 Grade Excavators and Trimmers
• Grade trimmers:
– They lack the versatility of motor graders.
– They are very useful on large roadway and airfield
projects.
• Because of their accuracy and high speed.
– Their large size often requires that they be
partially disassembled and transported between
job sites on heavy equipment trailers.

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 Estimating Grader Production
• Grader production is usually calculated:
– on a linear basis (miles or kilometers completed per hour)
for roadway projects and
– on an area basis (square yards or square meters per hour)
for general construction projects.
• The time required to complete a roadway project may be
estimated as follows:

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 Estimating Grader Production
• Average speed will depend on:
– operator skill,
– machine characteristics, and
– job conditions.
• Typical grader speeds for various types of
operations are given in Table 5-6.

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TABLE 5-6: Typical grader operating speed

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 EXAMPLE 5-1
Fifteen miles (24.1 km) of gravel road require reshaping
and leveling. You estimate that six passes of a motor
grader will be required. Based on operator skill,
machine characteristics, and job conditions, you
estimate two passes at 4 mi/h (6.4 km/h), two passes
at 5 mi/h (8.0 km/h), and two passes at 6 mi/h (9.7
km/h). If job efficiency is 0.80, how many grader hours
will be required for this job?
Solution

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 Job Management
• to maximize grader production efficiency, it is
required:
– Careful job planning,
– the use of skilled operators, and
– competent supervision.
• Use the minimum possible number of grader
passes to accomplish the work.
• Eliminate as many turns as possible.

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