Investigating the influence of dry density on the hydraulic conductivity of compacted sandy soils.

Abstract

Permeability is one of the physical properties of a soil that greatly influences the flow of water through it. Uncontrolled flow of water through a soil media has caused several engineering catastrophes such as the collapse of building foundations and detrimental performance of pavement layers. Fines content and grain size distribution are known to widely influence the permeability of soils with the latter the predominant influence of permeability in sandy soils. Although the relationships between grain size distribution and permeability has been quantified in previous studies, the influence of density has not widely been studied. Density The objective of this research was to investigate the influence of density on the hydraulic conductivity of a compacted sandy soil of a given grain size distribution. The results of a constant head test at varying densities about the maximum dry density of a sandy soil obtained are presented and discussed in chapter 4: RESULTS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION. The results indicate that the minimum permeability of the sandy soil is achieved at slightly the dry side of the optimum moisture content. Also, the results indicate that density of a sandy soil significantly influences the hydraulic conductivity of the sandy soil.