<p><p><strong>References:<br></strong><em>Adam and Brandl (1997)<br>Adam (1997)<br>Adam and Kopf (2000)<br>Brandl and Adam (1997)<br>Hansbo and Pramborg (1980)<br>NCHRP 21-09 (2010)<br>Newman and White (2008)<br>Peterson et al. (2006)<br>Rahman et al. (2008)<br>Thompson and White (2007)<br>Thompson and White (2008)<br>Vennapusa et al. (2009)<br>Vennapusa et al. (2010)<br>White and Thompson (2008)<br>White et al. (2005, 2006, 2007a, 2007b, 2008a, 2008b)<br>White et al. (2008c, 2008d, 2009a, 2009B, 2009c, 2009d)</em></p><p><strong>Method Summary</strong></p><p>Moisture and dry density tests can be performed using a variety of test methods documented in ASTM, e.g., sand cone replacement method, rubber balloon method, nuclear gauge method, electrical density gauge method, etc. A field test requires a reference laboratory test (e.g., Proctor or relative density tests) to measure the in-situ relative compaction.</p><p><strong>Accuracy and Precision</strong></p><p>Accuracy and precision of the test depends on the test method used. Destructive tests such as sand cone replacement or rubber balloon methods may not be as repeatable as non-destructive methods such as nuclear and electrical density gauges.</p><p><strong>Adequacy of Coverage</strong></p><p>Represents material characteristics to very shallow depths (&lt; 0.3 m). Requires many tests to accurately capture the variability on-site.</p><p><strong>Implementation Requirements</strong></p><p>The operation requires some training and experience. Nuclear density gauges pose regulatory constraints and require specialized training by the manufacturer.</p><p><strong>General Comments</strong></p><p>Moisture-density testing is widely used in earthwork construction QC/QA practice. However, this testing has limitations especially on projects with oversized particles and variable fill material. Further, moisture-density tests cannot be easily related to strength and stiffness properties of soil (which are used in design). Soil stiffness/modulus properties are heavily influenced by the underlying layer support conditions.</p></p>