Question

1. The following table is showing the results of a standard proctor test. For each test, two different moisture contents were recorded, one from top and the other from the bottom of the sample. What are the maximum dry unit weight and optimum moisture content for this soil? Make sure to plot the compaction curve in order to determine the values.

Sample No.	1		2		3		4		5
w (%)	7.5	9.8	8.6	10.3	11.12	11.9	13.3	14.11	16.7	15.99
γ (kN/m3)	12.59		14.3		16.2		16.1		13

Answer 1

The dry unit weight for each moisture content (averaged out for the values at top and bottom) can be calculated using the relation

The tabular column for the calculations are as follows

Using the above mentioned table the graph of Water content vs dry density can be plotted as follows

Maximum Dry unit weight = 14.6 kN/m3

Optimum Moisture Content = 11.9%