CHAPTER FOUR
STABILIZED PAVEMENT
MATERIALS
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STABILIZED PAVEMENT MATERIALS
Problematic soils:
◦ Expansive soils
◦ Dispersive soils
◦ Organic soils
◦ Saline soil or presence of saline water
These soils require special treatment before
acceptance in the pavement foundation so that they
will be re-classified to fall into one of the subgrade
categories for the purpose of pavement design.
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STABILIZED PAVEMENT MATERIALS
Soil stabilization:
The alteration of the properties of an existing soil either by
blending two or more materials and improving particle size
distribution or by the use of stabilizing additives to meet
the specified engineering properties.
“The treatment of the materials used in the construction of
the road bed material, fill or pavement layers by the
addition of a cementitious binder such as lime or Portland
Cement or the mechanical modification of the material
through the addition of a soil binder or a bituminous binder.
Concrete and asphalt shall not be considered as materials
that have been stabilized.” ( ERA Mannual)
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Generally, the objective of soil stabilization are:
◦ Improve the strength: (stability and bearing
capacity) for subgrade, subbase, base and low- cost
road surfaces,
◦ Improve the volume stability – undesirable properties
such as swelling, shrinkage, high plasticity
characteristics, and difficulty in compaction, etc
caused by change in moisture,
◦ Improve durability – increase the resistance to
erosion, weathering or traffic
◦ Improve high permeability, poor workability, frost
susceptibility, etc 5
STABILIZED PAVEMENT MATERIALS
The factors that should be considered in soil stabilization
include:
◦ Physical and chemical composition of the soil to be
stabilized,
◦ Availability and economical feasibility of stabilizing agents,
◦ Ease of application,
◦ Site constraints,
◦ climate,
◦ curing time, and safety.
Such factors be taken into account in order to select the
proper type of stabilization.
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Basically four techniques of soil stabilization are
commonly practiced in pavement construction.
◦ Mechanical stabilization
◦ Cement stabilization,
◦ Lime stabilization, and
◦ Bitumen stabilization
The suitability of these methods depends on site
constraints, materials, climate, and economic
feasibility.
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The stabilizing process with admixture involves the addition
of a stabilizing agent to the soil, mixing with sufficient
water to achieve the optimum moisture compaction of the
mixture, and final curing to ensure that the strength
potential is realized.
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Mechanical Stabilization
Mechanical stabilization is a method by which a soil or gravel
is mixed with the original soil in order to improve the grading
and mechanical characteristics of the soil.
It is an improvement of an available material by blending it
with one or more material in order to improve the particle
size distribution and plasticity characteristics.
The principal properties affecting the stability of compacted
base or sub-base materials are internal friction and
cohesion.
Internal friction is chiefly dependent on the characteristics
of the coarser soil particles, i.e. gravel, sand and silt sizes.
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Mechanical Stabilization
The theoretical maximum density of aggregates is
obtained when grain size distribution follow the Fuller
maximum density equation of the form:
Where: p = percent passing sieve size “d”
D = maximum sieve size in the material,
n = a constant which varies between 0.45 to 0.50.
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Mechanical Stabilization
Liquid Limit and plasticity index: -
The plasticity limits generally be used as satisfactory design
criteria for mechanical stabilized materials.
Moreover, plastic Index and Linear Shrinkage of a material
passing 0.425 mm are normally related to one another. The
permissible values of shrinkage may be determined by test
or estimated from the permissible values of PI. Typical
values are 2% for sealed and 3% for unsealed pavements.
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Mechanical Stabilization
One of the most commonly used strength
tests is the laboratory CBR test.
A 4-day soaking of compacted specimens
before testing is generally used. However,
conditions to be adopted for the test may be
altered in respect of the degree of
compaction and moisture content, to simulate
the worst conditions expected in service.
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Cement Stabilization
Cement is an effective stabilizing agent applicable to a wide
range of soils and situations .It has two important effects
on soil behaviors:
◦ Reduces the moisture susceptibility of soils: cement binds
the particles greatly and reduces moisture induced volume
change
◦ Develop inter-particle bonds in granular materials:
increased tensile strength and elastic modulus.
Soil properties progressively change with increasing cement
contents. For practical reasons, two categories of cement
stabilized materials have been identified.
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Cement Stabilization
Cement modified materials: cement is used to reduce
plasticity, volume- change, etc, and the inter-particle bonds
are not significantly developed.
Cement bound materials: cement is used to sufficiently
enhance modulus and tensile strength. Cement bound
materials have practical application in stiffening the
pavement.
SELECTION OF CEMENT CONTENT
The cement content determines whether the characteristics
of the mixture are dominated by the properties of the
original soil or by the hydration products.
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Cement Stabilization
As the proportion of cement in the mixture
increases, so the strength increases. Strength
also increases with time.
The choice of cement content depends on the
strength required, the durability of the mixture,
and the soundness of the aggregate
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Cement Stabilization
The minimum cement content, expressed as a
percentage of the dry weight of soil, should exceed
the quantity consumed in the initial ion exchange
reactions.
It is recommended that the percentage of cement
added should be equal to or greater than the initial
consumption of lime test (ICL), (British Standard
1924).
A number of factors influence the quality of the
cement-soil interactions. 16
Cement Stabilization
The most important factors can be categorized into
four groups:
◦ Nature and type of soil.
◦ Cement content.
◦ Moisture content.
◦ Pulverization, mixing, compaction, and curing
conditions.
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Cement Stabilization
Cement content.
Based on vast experience on cement stabilization, the
general guidelines in the following table have been provided
regarding the amounts of cement that are needed to
stabilize a soil.
Amount of Cement (%)
Soil type
By Weight By Volume
A-1-1 3-5 5-7
A-1-b 5-8 7-9
A-2 5-9 7 - 10
A-3 7 - 11 8 - 12
A-4 7 - 12 8 - 13
A-5 8 - 13 8 - 13
A-6 9 - 15 10 - 14
A-7 10 - 16 10 - 14
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Cement Stabilization
Since cement stabilized materials constitute in most cases
the main structural part of pavements, much attention is
given to their mechanical characteristics such as:
Tensile and compressive strength,
Deformation behavior, and
Fatigue characteristics
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Lime Stabilization
Lime is a broad term which is used to describe
calcium oxide (CaO)- quick lime; calcium hydroxide
Ca(OH)2- hydrated lime, and calcium carbonate
(CaCO3)-carbonate is of no value for
stabilization.
The most commonly used products of quick lime
and hydrated lime are hydrated calcitic lime
(CaO), dolomitic quick lime (CaO MgO).
Lime can be applied as dry hydrated lime, quick
lime or slurry lime. 20
Lime Stabilization
Lime is an effective stabilizing agent for clayey to
improve both workability and strength.
Lime is not effective with cohesion less or low
cohesion materials without the addition of
secondary (pozzolanic- fine materials which react
with lime to form cementations compounds)
additives.
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Lime Stabilization
The cementitous products resulting from
cement and lime stabilization are with
comparable behavior and follow fairly similar
evaluation, and construction considerations.
The significant difference in the nature and
rate of cementations reactions, however, is a
basis for the choice between cement and
lime.
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Lime Stabilization
Basically four different processes are involved in
the soil-lime reaction which are: cation exchange,
flocculation, pozzolanic reaction, and carbonation.
Cation exchange is an immediate reaction and
unlike pozzolanic reaction, it is not significantly
dependent on temperature in which cations such as
sodium and hydrogen are replaced by calcium ions
for which the clay mineral has a greater affinity.
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Lime Stabilization
This condition in turn promotes the development
of flocculent structures. This means that
plasticity, shrinkage and swelling and other normal
clay – water interactions are distinctly inhibited.
The effect of lime on clay minerals of high cation
exchange capacity, such as montmorillonite clays,
is therefore more apparent than it is on clay of
low cation exchange capacity such as koalinite
clays.
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Lime Stabilization
Chemically equivalent amounts of quick lime and
hydrated lime have the same effect on plasticity.
However, quick lime has an additional drying
effect since, the chemical reaction between the
lime and the water in the soil removes free water
from the soil and the heat produced by the
reaction assists in drying.
The change in plasticity is accompanied an
immediate change in the strength of the soil as
measured by the CBR.
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Lime Stabilization
The effect of lime on the CBR value
increases with time as the pozzolanic
reactions take effect.
Siliceous and aluminous materials in the
soil react with lime to produce a gel of
calcium silicates and aluminates.
This gel cements the soil particles together
in a manner that is similar to that of
hydrated cement.
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Lime Stabilization
Minerals in the soil that react with lime to produce a
cementing compound are known as pozzolans, it takes
considerably more time than required for hydration of
Portland cement.
This long term effect on strength, causing continuing
strength improvements with time, often called
pozzolanic reactions.
The cementing action also depends on climatic
conditions and a thorough compaction of the mixture.
High curing temperatures have a positive effect on the
pozzlanic reactions.
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Lime Stabilization
Temperatures lower than 13 and 160C retard the
reaction; from this point of view it is obvious that
lime stabilization is especially popular in tropical
countries.
Carbonation occurs when the hydrated lime reacts
with the CO2 from the air.
Carbonates (CaCO3) add some strength but the
carbonation reaction “eats” the lime and will
therefore retard pozzilanic reactions.
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Lime Stabilization
Other factors that are of influence on the soil-
lime reaction are:
◦ The presence of excessive quantities of organic
carbon retards the lime –soil reaction,
◦ Moderately weathered and unweathered soils
with high pH display good reactivity,
◦ Poorly drained soils exhibit a higher degree of
lime-reactivity than better drained soils,
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Lime Stabilization
◦ A minimum amount of clay approximately 15% is
required to insure an adequate source of silica
and/ or alumina for the lime- soil pozzolanic
reaction.
◦ The strength of lime stabilized materials is
dependent on the amount of lime, the curing
time, curing temperature and compaction
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Lime Stabilization
In addition, the quality of water, type of stabilizing
lime, and uniformity are important affecting the
quality of production as they are in cement
stabilization.
Mix design procedures for lime stabilization are the
determination of the maximum amount of lime that
can be taken by the soil before free lime occurs
(the lime content above which further increases do
not produce significant additional strength) or the
lime requirement to attain a specific strength levels.
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Lime Stabilization
Characteristics related design procedures are
related to the conditions for which they have
been developed.
The usually used minimum strength requirements
for mix design are 0.69 MPa for subbase and
1.12 for subbase materials and 0.11 for base-
course materials.
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Lime Stabilization
When lime is used for subgrade improvements,
the design lime content may be designated as
the lime content above which no further
appreciable reduction in PI occurs or minimum
lime content is increased 0.5 to 1.0% to offset
the effect of field variability.
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Bituminous Stabilization
Bituminous materials are used as stabilizers to
retard or completely stop moisture absorption by
coating soil or aggregate grains in the soil-
aggregate mixture.
Bituminous stabilization is used with non- cohesive
granular materials-where the bitumen adds
cohesive strength; and with cohesive materials –
where the bitumen “waterproofs” the soil thus
reducing loss of strength with increase in moisture
content.
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Bituminous Stabilization
Both effects take place partly from the
formation of bituminous film around the soil
particles which bonds them together and prevents
the absorption of water, and partly from simple
blocking of the pores, preventing water from
entering the soil mass.
Because more care is necessary in bituminous
stabilization to achieve satisfactory mixing, its
use has not been as widespread as cement and
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Bituminous Stabilization
Bituminous materials: -
The bituminous materials that are used for
stabilization works are mostly penetration grade
bitumen and cutback bitumen and bitumen
emulsion.
The characteristics of cutbacks depended on the
particle size distribution of the soil, the
temperature of application, and the type of mix
plant.
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Bituminous Stabilization
The more viscous binders are normally used for
soils having only a small proportion of material
passing the 0.075mm sieve and for plant mixes,
while the lighter binders are used for mix –in
place methods and with soils containing a larger
proportion of fines.
Emulsions are generally suitable for soil
stabilization in climate where rapid drying
conditions occur, since this is equivalent to adding
water to the soil as well as bituminous binder.
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Bituminous Stabilization
Soils requirements: -
Bituminous materials are used for the stabilization
of both cohesive and non-cohesive granular soils.
Soils which can readily pulverized by construction
equipment are satisfactory for bituminous
stabilization.
Cohesive soils usually have satisfactory bearing
capacity at low moisture content. The purpose of
using bitumen as a stabilizer in such soils is to
waterproof them as a means to maintain them at
low moisture contents and high bearing capacities.
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Bituminous Stabilization
In the non-cohesive granular materials,
bitumen serves as a bonding or cementing
agent between particles.
Depending on the particle size distribution and
physical properties of the available soil
materials and the function of the stabilizing
bitumen, there are four types of soil-bitumen
mixtures in highway engineering.
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Bituminous Stabilization
Soil-bitumen: this is a mixture of cohesive soil and
bitumen for waterproofing purposes. The maximum
grain size should preferably not greater than one-
third of the compacted layer. The bitumen
requirements commonly range from 4-7% of the dry
weight of the soil.
Sand bitumen: sands such as beach, river, pit, or
existing roadway sand may be stabilized with
bitumen if they are substantially free from
vegetable matter, lumps or balls of clay or adherent
films of clay.
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Bituminous Stabilization
Waterproofed granular stabilization: This is a
system in which a soil material possessing good
gradation of constituent particles from coarse to
fine, and having high potential density is
waterproofed by uniform distribution of small
amount (1-2%) of bitumen.
Oiled earth: This is a soil surface, consisting of
silt-clay material made water and abrasion
resistant by slow or medium curing bitumen
cutbacks or emulsions.
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Bituminous Stabilization
Table Characteristics of soils empirically found suitable for
bitumen stabilization.
Sieve size Percent passing
Soil-bitumen Sand-bitumen Water proofed granular stabilization
A B C
1.5inch 100
1inch 80-100 100
075inch 65-85 80-100 100
No. 4 >50 100 40-65 50-75 80-100
No. 10 35-100 25-50 40-60 60-80
No. 40 15-30 20-35 30-50
No.100 10-20 13-23 20-35
No.200 10-50 <12,<25 8-12 10-16 13-30
Plasticity characteristics
LL <40
PI <18 <10;<15 <10;<15 <10;<152
Field moisture <201
Linear shrinkage <51 42
Bituminous Stabilization
The mechanism of stabilization with bituminous
materials consists of adding cohesive strength and
reducing the percolation of water,
No chemical interaction is taking place.
Waterproofing occur by coating the surface of
particles aggregated lumps of particles or by
blocking the pores of the soil mass, and a strength
comes from the presence of a continuous film of
bitumen giving cohesion.
Too much bitumen, however, causes loss of strength
by lubricating the particles and preventing interlock.
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Bituminous Stabilization
The mix design procedure for bituminous treatments
of soils may be considered under four headings;
◦ mix design for stability in non-cohesive or
cohesive materials;
◦ mix design for sand-bitumen mixes, and
◦ mix design for oiled earth roads.
For the first three types of mix, a series of tests
should be made with varying bitumen contents and
grades using hot bitumen, cutback and emulsion,&the
appropriate mix is selected giving due weight to the
need for stability or water resistance as required. 44
Bituminous Stabilization
Compaction, compressive, and water absorption
test are normally used to select the optimum
amount of bitumen content.
May difficulties in construction and poor
pavement performance may be attributed to a
lack of appreciation of this additive effect.
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