Practical applications of compaction equipments:
1. Compaction by rolling:
a) Smooth Wheel Rollers: These rollers best suitable for subgrade or base coarse compaction of cohesion less soils.
b) Pneumatic Tyred Rollers: Pneumatic tyred rollers are effective for compacting cohesive as well as cohesion less soils.
Light rollers are effective for compacting soil layers of small thickness.
c) Sheep Foot Roller: Suitable only for fine grained soil i.e. cohesive soil.
2. Compaction by Rammers: Ramming equipments consists of three types: dropping weight type, internal combustion type and pneumatic type. Rammers or tampers are used to compact the soil of light to medium structure i.e. for plinth filling, PCC etc. It is suitable for all types of soil.
3. Compaction by Tamping: Tamping rod is used to compact coarse grained cohesion less soils of lesser thickness.
4. Compaction by Vibratory Compactors: Dropping weight type and Pulsating hydraulic type vibrators compacts soil by giving vibration, soil particles are packed together and compaction of subgrades and base course of both flexible and rigid pavement. It is suitable for compacting granular soils with no fines in layer up to 1 m.