Abstract:Although used for over 70 years,explosive compaction(EC) has not attained widespread acceptance despite the attraction of low cost and ease of treating large depths,due to empirical design approach without solid theoretical basis. The charge weight,charge placement (in profile) and depth of charges are important factors in design of explosive compaction for saturated loose sand. Six laboratory tests are conducted to investigate the effect of charge weight,charge placement (in profile) and depth of charge on densification,two of which are concentrated charge,the others are decked or tiered charges. Variation of pore water pressure,cone penetration tests and surface elevation changes are measured. The results of laboratory tests prove that the decked and tiered charges are more effective for ground treatment in explosive compaction. The more uniform distribution of energy release,the more effective for ground treatment. However,the evaluation of uniform distribution of energy is only qualitative,not quantitative.