Skip to main content

Maintaining OMC in the field

Short answer

It is not fully possible to maintain exact OMC in the field, but can be kept within ±2%. Reasons: evaporation, rain, non-uniform borrow soil, differences between lab and field compaction energy, and lag in moisture testing.

Is it practically possible to maintain the optimum moisture content during compaction at field? Give reason.

It is not fully possible to maintain the exact optimum moisture content in the field, but it can be kept within about ±2%\pm 2\% of the OMC.

Reasons:

  • Water content changes after sprinkling, because of evaporation by sun and wind or addition by rain during hauling, spreading and rolling.
  • The borrow soil is non-uniform, so moisture is variable and cannot be mixed perfectly.
  • The field OMC differs from the laboratory OMC, since the field compaction energy and method are different.
  • Water content is checked only in selected spots, and the test results take time.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

Related questions

All Soil Mechanics chapter 5 questions →