Effective compaction power index for real-time compaction quality assessment of coarse-grained geomaterials: Proposal and comparative study

Abstract

Assessing the compaction quality of geomaterials is important for quality assurance and control during the rolling process of earthworks. However, accurately assessing the compaction quality of coarse-grained geomaterials in real time still remains a challenge. The compaction quality of geomaterials is closely related to compaction energy. Therefore, a new method that uses effective compaction power (ECP) to assess the compaction quality of geomaterials is proposed. We define ECP; model the walking, vibration, and transmission systems of the roller to calculate ECP; and then propose a real-time ECP measurement and integration method. Field experiments showed that the ECP index demonstrated a high correlation with the compaction parameters, the dry density of coarse-grained geomaterials (such as rock-fill and filter materials), and the compactness of core wall materials. The error margin of the ECP index-based compaction quality assessment was small. The proposed method can realize accurate, real-time compaction quality assessments of entire work areas. Thus, this study has broad application prospects in road and dam constructions.