ACCURACY OF RELATIVE DENSITY MEASUREMENTS: RESULTS OF A COMPARATIVE TEST PROGRAM

A COOPERATIVE TESTING PROGRAM WAS CONDUCTED,UNDER THE SPONSORSHIP OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS (ASTM), BY 41 SOIL LABORATORIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA TO DETERMINE VARIATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH GRADATION TESTS, MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM DENSITY TESTS USED TO DEFINE THE RELATIVE DENSITY, AND PROCTOR COMPACTION TESTS ON IDENTICAL SPECIMENS OF A FINE SAND AND A GRAVELLY SAND. DATA WERE ANALYZED STATISTICALLY ON THE BASIS OF VARIATIONS AMONG LABORATORIES AND BETWEEN DUPLICATE TESTS. RESULTS INDICATED THAT (1) ALL TESTS WERE AFFECTED BY A LARGE VARIABILITY AND A LOW REPRODUCIBILITY, (2) VARIATIONS AMONG LABORATORIES WERE TWO TO THREE TIMES GREATER THAN VARIATIONS BETWEEN DUPLICATE TESTS, (3) RESULTING VARIATIONS ON THE RELATIVE DENSITY WERE SUCH THAT THIS PARAMETER CANNOT BE USED EFFICIENTLY IN PRACTICE, AND (4) RELATIVE COMPACTION, EVEN THOUGH NOT VERY RELIABLE, IS A BETTER PARAMETER FOR EXPRESSING THE DENSITY OF A SOIL. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at the 75th Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, June 25-30, 1972.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

  100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700
  West Conshohocken, PA  United States  19428-2957
• Authors:
  • Tavenas, F A
  • Ladd, R S
• Publication Date: 1973-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 188-60
• Serial:
  • ASTM Special Technical Publications
  • Issue Number: 523
  • Publisher: American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accuracy; Analysis of variance; Compaction; Density; Errors; Grain size; Instruments for measuring density; Laboratory tests; Measurement; Sand; Soil compaction test; Soils; Specific gravity; Statistical analysis; Test procedures; Tests; Variables
• Uncontrolled Terms: Particle size distribution; Reproducibility
• Geographic Terms: Canada; United States
• Old TRIS Terms: Compaction tests; Density measurement; Non-cohesive; Relative compaction
• ITRD Terms: 8018: Canada; 3686: Compaction; 5908: Density; 6440: Error; 6136: Measurement; 4109: Non cohesive soil; 6200: Particle size distribution; 6270: Proctor; 5927: Reproducibility; 4156: Soil; 6255: Test; 8122: USA; 9086: Variability; 6578: Variance analysis
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Geotechnology; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00080552
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: Copy Paper
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 27 1975 12:00AM