Friction Angle of Compacted Fill: Unit Weight, Cohesion, Permeability
The friction angle of compacted fill typically runs from 30 to 40 degrees, with a bulk unit weight of 18 to 21 kN/m3 and effective cohesion of 0 to 10 kPa. Permeability is on the order of varies with source m/s. The table collects the screening values and the note explains what moves them.
| Property | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Friction angle | 30 to 40 degrees |
| Bulk unit weight | 18 to 21 kN/m3 |
| Effective cohesion | 0 to 10 kPa |
| Permeability | varies with source m/s |
What moves the numbers
A properly compacted engineered fill outperforms many natural soils; an uncontrolled tip masquerading as fill outperforms nothing. These are screening ranges for preliminary work and study: design values come from site specific testing, and the tools below show how each property is used once you have it.
Use these values
- Free Online Slope Stability Risk Calculator to turn these ranges into a probability of failure.
- Lateral Earth Pressure Calculator for the pressures this friction angle implies.
- Hazen Permeability Calculator for estimating permeability from grain size.
- The Property Library for every soil, rock, and mineral on this site.
Related Calculators and Reference
- Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Calculator for Shallow Foundations, to turn this friction angle into an allowable bearing pressure.
- Retaining Wall Pressure Calculator (Rankine and Coulomb), because the same friction angle sets both the active and the passive side.
- Void Ratio, Porosity and Unit Weight Converter, to move between the density terms this table quotes.
- Slope Stability Factor of Safety Calculator, for when this material forms a slope rather than a foundation.
- Friction Angle of Organic Soil and Peat, for the neighbouring soil type when a borehole log is ambiguous.
- ASTM D2487, the standard practice behind the classification these values are grouped by.