Laboratory Evaluation of the Soil Density Gauge (SDG)

摘要

A compaction quality control (QC) in highway construction in Thailand is typically based on an in-place density measurement using the sand replacement method. Although monitoring compaction quality through a sand cone density test is relatively simple, such method is generally time consuming, labor intensive, less cost-effective, and destructive. This paper presents the laboratory evaluation of an innovative QC tool called the soil density gauge (SDG), which provides rapid and instantaneous measurement of density and moisture content based on the electrical impedance spectroscopy. The SDG was evaluated in a test box. Six highway materials were used in the study. The variation of SDG measurements along with its measurement characteristics was investigated herein. The paper also compared the SDG density and moisture content measurements with other tests such as the nuclear gauge, the soil stiffness gauge, and the sand cone method etc.