OPTIMIZATION OF DENSITY AND MOISTURE CONTENT MEASUREMENTS BY NUCLEAR METHODS

THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO MINIMIZE THE ERRORS IDENTIFIED WITH MEASUREMENT OF DENSITY AND MOISTURE CONTENT OF SOILS USING NUCLEAR GAUGES. TO PROVIDE A REASONABLE BASIS FOR OPTIMIZATION, ALL IDENTIFIED ERRORS WERE COMBINED TO YIELD A SINGLE CRITERION, THE QUALITY FACTOR, WHICH CAN BE USED TO EVALUATE THE OVER-ALL PERFORMANCE OF A NUCLEAR DENSITY GAUGE. RESEARCH AIMED AT MINIMIZING MOISTURE CONTENT MEASUREMENT ERRORS INVOLVED USING THE MONTE CARLO OR RANDOM WALK METHOD TO SIMULATE GAUGE RESPONSE, CHECKING THE RESULTS OF THE SIMULATION AGAINST EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES, AND ATTEMPTING TO GENERALIZE THE MONTE CARLO RESULTS. THE STUDY HAS VERIFIED THAT, WITH PROPER CALIBRATION, CURRENTLY AVAILABLE NUCLEAR EQUIPMENT FOR MEASUREMENT OF DENSITY AND MOISTURE CONTENT PROVIDES SATISFACTORY ACCURACY FOR THE CONTROL OF COMPACTION OF HIGHWAY EMBANKMENTS AND BASE COURSES WHEN USED WITHIN THE CONCEPT OF RANDOM SAMPLING AND STATISTICALLY BASED QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMS. THE QUALITY FACTOR IS OF IMMEDIATE BENEFIT IN EVALUATING EXISTING GAUGES AND OF LONG RANGE BENEFIT AS A BASIS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF MEASUREMENT EQUIPMENT.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_125.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00775614
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. 86 PP, FIGS, TABS, REFS, 3 APP
• Authors:
  • Gardner, R P
  • Dunn, W L
  • Mcdougall, F H
  • Lippold, W J
• Publication Date: 1971

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Serial:
  • NCHRP Report
  • Issue Number: 125
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0077-5614

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Dry density; Errors; Gamma rays; Measuring instruments; Moisture content; Monte Carlo method; Nuclear tests
• Old TRIS Terms: Dry density (Soils); Nuclear testing
• Subject Areas: Construction; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00217182
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 20 1972 12:00AM