An unsaturated soil mechanics approach for performance-based intelligent compaction

Abstract

Intelligent compaction involves using instrumented rollers to provide real-time monitoring of the compacted ground using sensors such as accelerometers and GPS. This technology has the potential to improve productivity and uniformity in construction but its advancement is currently impeded due toinaccurate estimation of the physical ground properties, such as dry density, and the absence of robust quantitative models to predict the effect of compaction on the long-term performance of unsaturated soils under repeated loads. In this study, the compaction of the soil layers and subsequent deformations under repeated traffic loads are simulated by using an advanced computational framework and model for unsaturated soils. By employing an effective stress concept, the presented computational approach allows a unified description of soils at various degrees of saturation. In addition, the model can capture plastic deformations at the initiation of loading and thereby offer accurate predictions of soil behaviour under cyclic loads. Several numerical examples will be provided to demonstrate how the initial states of compacted soils affect the compaction efficiency and the long-term performance of compacted soils.