Center for Transportation Research and Education

About the research

Caterpillar Inc. has developed proprietary technology to predict compaction performance for site-specific applications. The output of the technology is the prediction of (a) the capability of compaction machines to meet compaction specifications, (b) predicted productivity for specific machines, (c) sensitivity of compaction and productivity to soil moisture, and (d) recommended soil lift thickness with anticipated number of machine passes to meet compaction specifications. The technology is site and soil specific. It requires standard and specialized testing of the actual earthworks construction soils. Results from the soil testing are then input to unique software that converts the input data to the four predictions for capability, productivity, sensitivity, and process. This output has been defined as the recipe for successful cost effective earthworks construction. The forecasting technology is developed and has been shown successful in limited trial applications. General application of the technology needs a broader database of soils and machine performance results and coincidental upgrades to the prediction algorithms with an expanded database.