Tamp
Encyclopedia
A tamp is a device used to compact or flatten an aggregate
Aggregate (composite)
Aggregate is the component of a composite material that resists compressive stress and provides bulk to the composite material. For efficient filling, aggregate should be much smaller than the finished item, but have a wide variety of sizes...

 or other powdered or granular material, typically to make it resistant to further compression or simply to increase density.
  • Small, handheld tampers compress ground coffee
    Coffee
    Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

     into a puck in the preparation of espresso
    Espresso
    Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....

    .
  • Manual or powered tampers compact gravel
    Gravel
    Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...

     in the preparation of laying a concrete or brick patio
    Patio
    A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....

     or walkway
    Walkway
    In US English, a walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails. These include sidewalks, footbridges, stiles, stairs, ramps, paseos or tunnels...

     so that the underlying gravel layer does not settle over time, or compress the fill in a utility trench as seen in the illustration.
  • Self-propelled, mechanised ballast tamper
    Ballast tamper
    A ballast tamper or tamping machine is a machine used to pack the track ballast under railway tracks to make the tracks more durable. Prior to the introduction of mechanical tampers, this task was done by manual labour with the help of beaters...

    s, which compact the ballast
    Track ballast
    Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...

     underneath rail tracks
    Rail tracks
    The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...

    .
  • Preparation of some firearms and artillery
    Artillery
    Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

    pieces for firing may involve tamping the charge (explosive material, projectile, and so on) into the barrel.
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