Correct option is C
Clayey soils have high plasticity and tend to retain moisture, making them more challenging to compact effectively. The most suitable equipment for compacting clayey soils is the sheep’s foot roller.
A
sheep's foot roller consists of cylindrical drums fitted with numerous round or rectangular protruding "feet" or projections. These feet penetrate the soil and exert pressure on a smaller area, thereby increasing the contact pressure, which helps in compacting cohesive soils like clay. The repeated pressure applied by the feet kneads and compacts the clay, pushing out air and improving the overall density of the soil. This kneading action is essential for clayey soils as it ensures that the moisture is uniformly distributed while the soil particles are compacted together tightly.
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(a) Smooth wheeled roller: This type of roller is best suited for compacting granular soils like sand and gravel. It is not very effective for clayey soils because the smooth surface does not exert enough pressure on cohesive materials.
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(b) Pneumatic tyred roller: While pneumatic rollers are useful for cohesive and semi-cohesive soils, they are not as effective as sheep’s foot rollers for deep compaction in clayey soils. The tires do not provide the same level of pressure and kneading action needed for dense compaction of clay.
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(d) Vibrator: Vibratory compactors are typically used for granular soils where vibration helps rearrange the particles for denser packing. However, vibrators are not as effective for cohesive soils like clay, where a kneading action is required.
Thus, for clayey soils, the sheep’s foot roller is the most effective equipment for compaction due to its ability to exert high pressure and perform the necessary kneading action.
