Abstract
Large and small-scale laboratory tests were carried out to investigate compaction characteristics and permeability of soil containing large particles. The materials were tested containing different maximum particle sizes and gravel contents. Different gravel types were used to study weathering effect. Different sizes of test equipment were used for the compaction tests. Soil specimens were compacted under various compaction energies. Finite element analysis was used to predict permeability of soil containing large particles based on permeability of matrix soil alone. The results show that with an increase of gravel content, maximum dry density of soil increases up to gravel content of 60% and dry density of matrix fraction decreases especially when gravel content is over 40%. Even if at the same compaction energy heavier rammer produces higher maximum dry density and lower optimum moisture content. Within gravel content range of 20-40% for soil containing hard particles and 20-60 % for soil containing soft particles, permeability of earth-rock mixture is lower than that of matrix soil tested alone. Specimen containing larger maximum particle size attained lower permeability. Numerical study shows that permeability of soil containing large particle can be well predicted.
