Excel Add-in to Model the Soil Compression Curve

Abstract

Soil compression curve (CC) provides parameters to identify soil load-bearing capacity and susceptibility to compaction. An Excel add-in (ACC) incorporating graphical procedures for mathematical models for soil CC description and calculation of parameters was developed. By using the ACC, soil CC can be described by means of the Casagrande method, mathematically operationalized with the van Genuchten equation, with or without restrictions on its parameters, and by Dias Junior and Pierce method in its original form and also modified using the void ratio rather than soil bulk density. The ACC uses a single Excel spreadsheet for input and output data, in addition to a graphical interface and a tool for exporting editable charts. Compared to SAS statistical software, the ACC minimized the sum of squared residuals and estimated parameters of mathematical models with the same efficiency for 347 compression curves. The ACC programming script is available and can be modified or used as a framework for other programming projects.

Physical properties of a Brazilian sandy loam soil after the traffic of a military vehicle M113 BR

“…At the end of the load application, the samples were dried at 105 °C for Bd calculation. The soil bearing capacity was estimated by the preconsolidation pressure (σp), which was determined in each sample by the method of Casagrande (Casagrande, 1936) using the SCC supplement (Gubiani et al, 2017). A nonlinear model (Busscher, 1990) was fitted to the dataset of σp, Bd and θ:…”

Soil carbon and physical-mechanical properties after successive applications of swine and poultry organic waste

“…The sample was subjected to seven pressure levels: 25 kPa, 50 kPa, 100 kPa, 200 kPa, 400 kPa, 800 kPa and 1,600 kPa (Silva et al 2007), each level being applied until the sample reached 90 % of its maximum deformation (Taylor 1971), moving on to the next level without load alleviation. Subsequently, in order to adjust the soil compression curve and calculate the preconsolidation pressure and compression ratio, the Excel soil compression curve supplement developed by Gubiani et al (2017) was used. Based on the results of the uniaxial compression test, the maximum soil density was determined, considered equal to the soil density at the end of the application of the 1,600 kPa pressure level (Suzuki et al 2013).…”

Is cassava yield affected by inverting tillage, chiseling or additional compaction of no-till sandy-loam soil?

“…in which ε o (m 3 m -3 ) is the void ratio without load application; ε f (m 3 m -3 ) is the final void rate after the test; and n is an empirical parameter. To fit equation 4 and obtain the σp and Cc, the data of static loads, displacement, bulk density, particle density, and core sampler dimension were subjected to the Soil Compression Curve (SCC) Excel ® Add-in developed by Gubiani et al (2017).…”