Standard Proctor Test

Chinmaya Panda, Guest Faculty, Civil Engineering

Determination of dry density ( )moisture content () relationship for a given soil using
standard Proctor test.

Equipment
1. Compaction mold101.6 mm in diameter and 116.4 mm in height. The inside volume of the
mold is 944 cc.
2. 4.75 mm IS sieve
3. Standard proctor hammer2.5 kg mass with height of drop of 304.8 mm
4. Balance
5. Large flat pan
6. Jack
7. Steel straight edge
8. Moisture cans
9. Drying oven
10. Squeeze bottle

Procedure
1. About 4.5 kg of air-dry soil is obtained and all the lumps present in the soil are broken.
2. The soil is sieved through 4.75 mm sieve and the material passing is collected in a large pan. This
should be 2.7 kg or more.
3. Enough water is added to the soil collected in the pan to bring the moisture content up to about
5%.
4. The mass 1 (g) of proctor mold + base plate (not the extension) is determined.
5. The extension is attached to the top of the mold.
6. The moist soil is poured into the mold in 3 equal layers. Each layer should be compacted
uniformly by the standard Proctor hammer 25 times before the next layer of loose soil is poured
into the mold.
(The layers of loose soil that are being poured into the mold should be such that, at the end of the
three-layer compaction, the soil should extend slightly above the top of the rim of the compaction
mold.)
7. The extension is removed from the top carefully so as not to break off any of the compacted soil
inside the mold.
8. Using a straight edge, the excess soil above the mold is trimmed so as to level the compacted soil
with the top of the mold.
9. The mass 2 (g) of the mold + base plate + compacted soil in the mold is determined.
10. The base plate is removed from the bottom. Using a jack, extrude the compacted soil core from
the mold.
11. A sample is taken for determination of moisture content ().

12. The rest of the compacted soil is broken by hand and is mixed with left over moist soil in the pan.
More water is added and is mixed to raise the moisture content by about 2%.
13. Steps 512 are repeated.
(In this process 2 will first increase with increase in moisture content and then decrease.
Continue the test until at least two successive down readings are obtained)

Tabulation
Test No.
Mass of mold + base plate, 1 (g)
Mass of mold + base plate + compacted soil, 2 (g)
Mass of compacted soil, 2 1 (g)
Volume of mold, (cc)
Moist density, (g/cc)
Moisture content determination
Mass of can (g)
Mass of can + wet soil (g)
Mass of can + dry soil (g)
Moisture content, (%)
Dry density,

=
(g/cc)
1+

Graph
Plot a graph showing the variation of dry density ( ) with water content (%). Determine the
maximum dry density (,max ) and the optimum moisture content, OMC ( ). On the same graph plot
the contour of saturation = 100% which is the zero-air-void curve. On the ZAV curve the relation
between and is:
, =

1
=
=
1 (%)
1 + 1 +
100
+ 100

Here = specific gravity of soil grains, = 1 g/cc and is in percentage.

Result
(Report the maximum dry density (, ) and the optimum moisture content, OMC ( ) obtained
from the compaction curve.)