Proctor Test

[martin888888]

My experience is out of the geotechnical and testing arena so I have a stupid question. We have a gravel pit in which a contractor will pull fill material from. This same pit has been used for many different projects in the area. Compaction testing will be completed per ODOT specifications.

If the contractor has used material from this pit before is it normal to allow him to use the same Proctor? What does that mean in terms of the compaction testing?

 

[Ron]

No. It is not reasonable to use the same proctor, unless a statistical distribution of proctor results from the same pit do not vary (extremely unlikely).

Soils vary in characterization from one location to another, laterally and vertically in soil stata. That can occur within a few feet or even within a few inches in highly stratified soils.

A single Proctor test is relatively cheap compared to the consequence of using the wrong value in compaction control.

 

[BigH]

I wouldn't. The only positive is that he would have historical data and by reviewing this data compared to your particular project data by doing your own "Proctor" tests, you would have an appreciation that your numbers seem (or not) reasonable.