Impact of initial conditions on the effectiveness of rolling dynamic compaction of granular soils

A finite element model (FEM) of rolling dynamic compaction (RDC) technology of a BH 1300 4 sided 8 tonne impact roller, developed previously by the authors, has shown to have reasonable agreement with that observed in the field. The use of this FEM is likely to provide high fidelity insights into the capability of the BH 1300 4 sided 8 tonne impact roller, namely in predicting the settlement and densification of an underlying granular material. A parametric study utilising this FEM with respect to initial density and shear strength parameters is undertaken to explore the relationship these properties have to the settlement and densification of a soil subject to RDC with a BH 1300 4 sided 8 tonne impact roller. The empirical relationships constructed within this study are validated against field trials from the literature of the roller improving sandy gravel fill at typical operating speeds of 10 km/h.