Innovative Developments in Compaction Technology Using High Energy Impact Compactors

This paper describes the comparatively recent developments that have taken place in compaction technology using High Energy Impact Compactors. The paper outlines the principles of impact compaction technology and the characteristics and typical uses of impact compactors. The paper then reviews the appropriateness of traditional compaction specifications for use with impact compactors and presents a rational design system, which integrates impact compaction technology with modern pavement design methods. Typical examples of the use of impact compaction technology are then given which illustrate various innovative techniques, which are increasingly being used to meet the construction challenges of the 21st century in a creative and cost-effective manner. The paper concludes that impact compactors of appropriate shape, energy and configuration, compatible with the prevailing soil type, are uniquely suited to meeting the increasingly stringent compaction requirements of modern pavements in a cost-effective manner.