Answer to Question #235001 in Civil and Environmental Engineering for Farhad

Question

1. In soil compaction test, if a test result exceeds 100%, should engineers accept the result?

Answer 1

It is important for engineers to understand that if the compaction test results indicate values exceeding 100%, it only means that the in-situ compaction is more than that being carried out in laboratories which is treated as the basic criterion for satisfactory degree of soil compaction. Therefore, the soil results are ACCEPTABLE in case compaction test results are over 100%. However, excessive compaction poses a risk of fracturing granular soils resulting in the reduction of soil strength parameters.