soil compaction is a vital part of the construction process. it is used for support of structural entities such as building foundations, roadways, walkways, and earth retaining structures to name a few. for a given soil type certain properties may deem it more or less desirable to perform adequately for a particular circumstance. in general, the preselected soil should have adequate strength, be relatively incompressible so that future settlement is not significant, be stable against volume change as water content or other factors vary, be durable and safe against deterioration, and possess proper permeability.