Effect of median grain size ratio on the compaction behavior of binary granular mixes

Optimization of compaction in granular material without the use of traditional ground improvement methods may be possible by optimizing the percentage of finer material and the median grain size ratio in binary soil mixtures. In this study, the median grain size ratio, D50d50 was explored as a fundamental parameter affecting the compaction characteristics of binary mixes made from natural sands as opposed to singular measurements such as fines content and mean grain size traditionally used to represent granular soils. A total of 18 binary granular mixes were synthetically generated from natural sands obtained from Longboat Key, Florida and evaluated through grain size analysis, laboratory compaction and determination of relative density. Results indicate that the D50d50 ratio shows promise as a fundamental parameter for compaction optimization in binary mixes with values exceeding six approaching the densest packing configurations.