Soil Compaction Testing Equipment

For soil compaction testing, moulds and rammers are used to determine the connection between compacted soil's density and moisture content.

The local standards that define compaction testing in Australia are AS 1289.5.1.1 and 1289.5.1.2.

PCTE's range of test hardware includes standard and modified compaction moulds and handheld manual hammers/rammers. The same hardware is also used to compact samples for CBR (California Bearing Ratio) testing. 

Alternatively, an Automatic Soil Compactor lets your lab technicians focus on their other work, replacing endless manual impacts with a robust chain drive machine that can work all day. 

PCTE are able to support you in your choice of equipment and through the installation and operation of your equipment. We carry parts and stock at all times.

Compaction Moulds and Compaction Hammers 

Utest's soil compaction moulds are made of plated steel and are supplied complete with a collar, mould body and base plate. Rammers are made of plated steel and are used to compact the soil sample in the compaction mould. Different models are available, conforming to the relevant standards. 

PCTE can supply quality soil compaction moulds and rammers to Australian Standard specifications. In Australia, the standard compaction effort of 596kJ/m3 is used. To achieve this, a 2.7kg Hammer is dropped from 300mm a total of 75 times for the 105mm mould or 180 times for the 152mm mould.

The standard also specifies heights, volumes and tolerances for the moulds, diameter, sector radius and segment arc for the rammer/hammer.

Automatic Soil Compactor

UTS-0620

The Automatic Soil Compactor is designed to compact soil specimens automatically and uniformly, assuring conformity with local and international standards. It is appropriate for Compaction testing (Proctor) and preparing samples for CBR testing. 

The design principle is to allow the hammer to drop the required height into the soil in the mould, which rotates circularly to distribute the blows uniformly over the surface of the specimen in the mould.

The drop height is adjustable by the end-user and comes ready for Australian Standard testing for soil compaction. When compacting standard 100 mm, diameter specimens the unit operates on a single radius. When compacting modified 150 mm diameter specimens, the unit operates on an inner and outer radius to obtain even compaction.

The number of blows per layer can be set at the beginning of the soil compaction process by the digital counter according to the standard preferred by the user.

The automatic blow pattern ensures effective and equal compaction for each layer of soil by rotating the mould in equal steps and moving the impact of the rammer across the mould.

The Automatic Soil Compactor is supplied complete with impact rammer weights and drop heights that meet the local Australian Standards, AS 1289.5.1.1 and 1289.5.1.2.

Technical Specifications

Soil Penetrometer

UTS-0665

The UTS-0665 Spring Type Proctor Penetrometer is used for determining the moisture-penetration resistance relation of fine-grained soils. The apparatus is supplied complete with a spring loading device that is graduated from 10-150 lbf in 2 lbf subdivisions.