Dynamic compaction is an efficient ground improvement technique for loose soils. The improvement is obtained by controlled high energy tamping and its effects vary with the soil properties and energy input. Various analytical methods have been used to simulate the effectiveness of dynamic compaction of loose soils, most of which were based on a rigid hammer striking a vertical soil column represented by springs, masses and dampers. This study simulated the dynamic compaction of loose soils under dynamic loads numerically, using ABAQUS to generate a full axisymmetric elasto-plastic finite element representation of the soils. The impact of the drop mass was modelled in two ways. Firstly, a force-time input derived from the characteristic shape of the deceleration of the mass was imposed. Secondly, a rigid body impacting collision onto the soil surface was investigated. Comparisons were made of the ground waves, peak particle accelerations with depth, mass penetration (crater depth) and peak particle velocity on ground surface.

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