LABORATORY SIMULATION OF THE EFFECTS OF TRAFFIC DURING SEEDBED PREPARATION ON SOIL PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES USING A QUICK UNIAXIAL COMPRESSION TEST

A quick uni-axial compression test was applied to simulate the effect of traffic during seedbed preparation on the soil condition. The soil type was "Slootdorp" sandy clay loam. The effect on the soil condition was quantified by the following soil physical properties: total pore space; saturated water conductivity; air content at pF2; air permeability at pF2; penetrability at pF2; and oven-dry tensile strength. The compression tests were run at various uni-axial loads and moisture contents. The relationships between the respective soil physical properties and the moisture content at compression, as a function of the uni-axial load, were presented graphically by means of a composite diagram. The relationships were compared with those obtained from observations on traffic-compacted soil. Good agreement was found between the shape of the curves. A calibration method was discussed in order to use the quick uni-axial compression test, extended with measurements on soil physical properties for predictive purposes. © 1990.