Compaction, as a physical phenomenon, refers to the reduction of volume and increase in bulk density of a particulate or porous material under applied stress, typically due to mechanical loading, overburden pressure, or confining forces. It involves rearrangement of grains, expulsion of pore fluids or gases, and progressive reduction of porosity, often accompanied by deformation or crushing of particles at higher stresses. In geological and engineering contexts, compaction governs consolidation of sediments, evolution of mechanical and hydraulic properties (e.g., permeability), and stress–strain behavior, and is described by constitutive relationships linking effective stress, void ratio, and time-dependent creep or consolidation processes.
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