Rammer is light weight compaction equipment used for compacting small areas by providing impact load to the soil. This compaction equipment is light and can be hand operated or machine operated. Rammers are most suitable for cohesive and semi-cohesive soils. Due to light weight, it is used for interior floor compaction. It is also used for repair of road, shoulders, pavements, highways and streets.
Dimension and Weight:
Rammer is small size and light weight equipment. Its base dimensions all 15 cm x 15 cm or 20 cm x 20 cm or more. In the case of machine operated rammers, the weights of the rammers vary from 30 kg to 1 tonnes. Rammers delivers a high impact force on the soils. Frequency range is 500 to 750 blows per minute. Rammers gets compaction force from a small gasoline or diesel engine powering a large piston set with two sets of springs. Rammer compacts the surface through impact and vibration. There are three different types of the rammers namely the Dropping weight type, Internal Combustion type and Pneumatic type.
Internal combustion type has frog hammer weighing up to 1 tonne. A frog hammer compacts relatively thick layer of non-cohesive soils. The thickness of layer compacted depends on the size of the base dimension of the rammer. Rammers are generally used in that place where rollers or other heavy compaction equipment are not able to operate, places like trenches and behind the bridge abutment.
Characteristics of Rammers :
01. This compaction equipment is light weight and easy to handle.
02. Rammers are most suitable for cohesive and semi-cohesive soils.
03. Frequncy ranges of blows are 500-750 per minute.
04. Maximum 220mm thickness of layers can be compacted by using these rammers.
05. The weight of the rammer is about 30 kg to 1 tonne.
06. Rammer compacts surface through impact and vibration.
07. Rammers are used at the difficult area where other types of equipment are not able to operate.
