The California bearing ratio (CBR) is a penetration test for evaluation of the mechanical

strength of road subgrades and basecourses. It was developed by the California Department of
Transportation before World War II.
The test is performed by measuring the pressure required to penetrate a soil sample with a
plunger of standard area. The measured pressure is then divided by the pressure required to
achieve an equal penetration on a standard crushed rock material. The CBR test is described in
ASTM Standards D1883-05 (for laboratory-prepared samples) and D4429 (for soils in place in
field), and AASHTO T193. The CBR test is fully described in BS 1377 : Soils for civil
engineering purposes : Part 4, Compaction related tests.
The CBR rating was developed for measuring the load-bearing capacity of soils used for building
roads. The CBR can also be used for measuring the load-bearing capacity of unimproved
airstrips or for soils under paved airstrips. The harder the surface, the higher the CBR rating. A
CBR of 3 equates to tilled farmland, a CBR of 4.75 equates to turf or moist clay, while moist

sand may have a CBR of 10. High quality crushed rock has a CBR over 80. The standard
material for this test is crushed California limestone which has a value of 100.

= CBR [%]
= measured pressure for site soils [N/mm]
= pressure to achieve equal penetration on standard soil [N/mm]

significantly improves the load-bearing capacity and tensile strength of treated soils), Copolymer
Based Products, fiber reinforcement, calcium chloride, and Sodium Chloride.
Traditionally and widely accepted types of soil stabilization techniques use products such as
bitumen emulsions which can be used as a binding agents for producing a road base. However,
bitumen is not environmentally friendly and becomes brittle when it dries out. Portland cement
has been used as an alternative to soil stabilization. However, this can often be expensive and is
not a very good "green" alternative. Cement Fly Ash, Lime Fly Ash (separately, or with Cement
or Lime), Asphalt, Bitumen, Tar, Cement Kiln Dust (CKD), Tree resin and Ionic stabilizers are
all commonly used stabilizing agents.
There are advantages and disadvantages to many of these soil stabilizers.
Many of the "green" products have essentially the same formula as soap powders, merely
lubricating and realigning the soil with no effective binding property. Many of the new
approaches rely on large amounts of clay with its inherent binding properties. Bitumen,tar
emulsions, asphalt, cement, lime can be used as a binding agents for producing a road base.
When using such products issues such as safety, health and the environment must be considered.
The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has explored some of the newer types of
soil stabilization technology, specifically looking for "effective and green" alternatives. One of
the examples utilizes new soil stabilization technology, a process based on cross-linking styrene
acrylic polymer.[3] Another example uses long crystals to create a closed cell formation that is
impermeable to water and is frost, acid, and salt resistant.[4]
Utilizing new soil stabilization technology, a process of cross-linking within the polymeric
formulation can replace traditional road/house construction methods in an environmentally
friendly and effective way.