Evaluation of Nuclear Moisture and Density Gages: 1965 Annual Report

The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the practicality and accuracy of using nuclear devices for determining moisture and density of materials used in highway subgrades and base courses and the density of bituminous paving courses. In Minnesota the sand cone method of density determination is presently used for control of embankments and granular base materials, In the last two years the burner dry moisture content has been supplemented with the "quickie" moisture method using the carbide pressure meter. It was felt that the nuclear method showed enough promise to make a study on it to compare the performance of devices using this method to that of the presently used methods in terms of accuracy and of time requirements in obtaining the results.