A quantity of soil or soil and aggregate mixture is prepared at a determinable moisture content and compacted in a standard mold using a manual or mechanical rammer. The wet mass of this compacted sample is divided by the volume of the mold to determine the wet density.

What is moisture density relation test?

MOISTURE-DENSITY RELATION (COMPACTION) TEST. Purpose: This laboratory test is performed to determine the relationship between the moisture content and the dry density of a soil for a specified compactive effort. The compactive effort is the amount of mechanical energy that is applied to the soil mass.

What is the importance of OMC?

Optimum moisture content/maximum dry density (OMC/MDD) – when placing soils as fill materials, it is important to achieve suitable compaction, primarily in order to reduce the susceptibility of a soil to settlement.

How do you calculate moist density of soil?

When there is moisture content in the soil, the wet bulk density is obtained by dividing the mass of solids plus the mass of water by the total volume.

What is moisture density?

Moisture content of soil is defined as the ratio of mass of water to the mass of solids present in the soil sample. It is represented by “w”. Dry density of soil is defined as the ratio of Mass of solids to the total volume of the soil.

What is the relationship between bulk density and dry density?

Explanation: Bulk density (aka total density) is the total mass of the soil (ie mass of soil solids, water and air) per unit volume, while a dry density is mass of soil solids only per unit volume of the soil.

What is optimum moisture content of soil?

Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) is the water content at which the soil attains maximum dry density. Maximum Dry Density (MDD) is the dry density of soil corresponding to Optimum Moisture Content.

What is moisture content of soil?

The soil moisture content of soil is the quantity of water it contains. Water content is used in a wide range of scientific and technical areas and is expressed as a ratio, which can range from 0 (completely dry) to the value of the materials’ porosity at saturation.

Why is optimum moisture content of soil important?

The optimum moisture content provides the maximum dry unit weight that can be obtained. The increase in the dry unit weight means improving the soil properties; increased strength, decrease in permeability and compressiblity. So it is better to use the optimum moisture content.

What is OMC in soil compaction?

The Optimum moisture content (OMC) or Optimum Water Content (OWC) is the moisture content at which the soil attains maximum dry density. This OMC value is with respect to the specific amount of compaction energy applied to the soil.

How do you find the dry density of soil from wet density?

Calculate the dry density using the following equation: Dry Density (pcf) = Wet Density (pcf) – Moisture Content (pcf).

What is the relationship of moisture content and density?

The moisture content corresponding to the maximum dry density of soil is called as “Optimum moisture content”. If water is added beyond the optimum moisture content, the water will occupy the extra space since there is no air volume and dry density will reduce.