Soil-cement construction
The job operations that have put it in business
BY WILLIAM G. DINCHAK, P.E
DIRECTOR
ENERGY AND WATER RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION
Paving contractors, using soil-cement methods, can now
build energy- and water-resource structures. Soil-cement con-
struction often provides the most economical means of build-
ing canals, dikes, dams, lagoons, foundations, coal storage
pads and other structures (see “Soil-Cement: It’s Not Just for
Highways Anymore,” CONCRETE CONSTRUCTIONJanuary 1984,
page 31). Here are descriptions of how it’s done.
S oil-cement is made by thoroughly mixing soil, port-
land cement and water by one of the ways described
in this article. The most practical soils are those that
contain not more than 35 percent silt and clay and that
are easily pulve ri zed. Fine-textured soils with 50 percent
or more silt and clay are harder to pulverize and require
more cement to harden; rather than use them, it is often
more economical to use borrow material. Even sand of
a single particle size requires a high cement content.
Well-graded granular soils, howe ve r, are not likely to
swell or be damaged by frost, so it is possible to stabilize
them with relatively low cement contents.
If more than 4000 cubic yards are to be constructed,
the central-plant mixing method proves easy and eco-
nomical. Jobs requiring smaller quantities are mixed in
place but this requires a higher degree of quality control.
The mixtures are compacted and cured in the same
manner for both methods.
Central-plant mixing method
Central mixing plants can be either continuous-flow
or batch plants.
• Continuous-flow plants (Figure 1) are the more com-
mon. Such plants include a bulkhead that confines the
soil aggregate, an aggregate feeder, a cement silo and
feeder, a main feeder belt, a water supply system and
a pugmill mixer. Materials are metered onto the belt
and fed to the mixer.
• In a batch plant the soil aggregate is stored in bins
above the batching hopper into which an auger feeds
cement. Cement and soil aggregates are batched by
weight.
In both types of plant water is added through spray
bars mounted above the pugmill and the moist mixture
is discharged into haul trucks.
There are usually borrow sources for soil aggregate
near the project from which the soil can be transported
to the stockpile. Before mixing begins it is necessary to
check the materials and adjust the metering devices. Soil
is easily calibrated by passing it through the plant into a
dump truck. Then the moisture content of the soil is de-
termined so the cement requirement can be calculated
on the basis of the dry weight of soil.
Next the cement output is calibrated by running the
plant at full capacity of soil but diverting the cement
feeder into a big container such as a truck and weighing
Figure 2. Earth ramps placed diagonally serve as haul roads
up to soil-cement layers being constructed.
the amounts that flow out in given periods of time, such
as 15, 30 or 45 seconds. The data will also show how uni-
formly the cement is flowing.
The third calibration is the rate of water flow. The
weight discharged in one minute is compared to the gal-
lons-per-minute meter.
If the soil already contains more moisture than the op-
timum water for the mixture, it will be necessary to aer-
ate the stockpile to partially dry it. If the soil aggregate
contains particles larger than 2 inches, clay balls larger
than 1 inch, or any kind of debris, the soil is passed over
a screen to remove the objectionable material and keep
it from clogging the gate opening.
Cement is generally stored in silos and fed to the me-
tering assembly units from feeder silos or special
tankers. Su rc h a rge hoppers of not over 1- to 2-ton ca-
pacity are used over the metering device. The cement
from the meter is deposited in a furrow in the soil
windrow on the main feeder belt. A small plow attach-
ment makes the furrow, and sometimes a second plow
turns soil over the cement to prevent loss by wind.
In continuous-flow plants water should be introduced
at a point over the mixer where some blending of soil
and cement has already occurred; this prevents cement
balls from forming. All water should have been added
before the mixture reaches the discharge end of the mix-
er.
The mixing drum should be large enough to produce
more than 200 tons per hour. Paddles should be re-
versible in case a mix has to be retained in the drum for
any reason.
The soil-cement should be discharged from as low a
height as possible to prevent materials from segregating
in the truck. There are two good indications of whether
the moisture content is proper. If the mixture being dis-
charged into the truck forms a peak or cone, it usually is
at optimum moisture content or slightly above. If a
handful of the mixture squeezed into a cast forms mois-
ture on the palms of the hands, does not separate when
rolled in the hand, and has sharp clear-cut edges when
the cast is broken into halves, the moisture is right.
The soil-cement is hauled to the placement area in
dump trucks covered with canvas to protect it from rain
or hot, dry winds. If soil-cement is being constructed in
h o ri zontal, layered stair-step fashion for slope protec-
tion, an earth ramp is placed on the slope over the com-
pleted soil-cement layers (Figure 2). These ramps pro-
tect underlying layers of soil-cement from being
damaged while enabling trucks to reach the area being
constructed. Ramps are about 2 feet thick at an angle of
about 45 degrees and generally 300 to 400 feet apart.
Trucks dump soil-cement mixture into a mechanical
spreader pushed by a crawler tractor. As the spreading
unit moves forward, pushing the truck ahead of it, the
mixture is spread out to the depth and width needed.
Stakes set on the slope mark the inside edge of the lay-
ers of soil-cement. It is necessary to keep spreader box-
es at least half full of mixture to produce a continuous
loose layer throughout the sections and keep the layers
at constant elevation.
Co n ve yo r-belt systems make ramps unnecessary.
They can operate either from below or from the top of
Figure 3. A conveyor-belt system delivers soil-cement
mixture to the spreading unit on a slope.
the embankment. Trucks deposit the mixture in a hop-
per that feeds a conveyor belt leading to the spreader
box. The entire assemblage moves forward as a unit (Fig-
ure 3).
Mixed-in-place method
Most soils require little or no pulverization, particu-
larly if the in-place mixing machine has a high-speed ro-
tor. If the soil needs separate pulverizing, this operation
should be completed first. Rotary mixers, disc harrows
and rollers are generally used. Soils that are difficult to
p u l ve ri ze when dry and brittle can be broken readily if
water is added and allowed to penetrate; sticky soils can
be pulve ri zed more easily after they are dried slightly.
Figure 4. A single-shaft rotary mixer mixes soil, cement and
water in the mixed-in-place method of construction. Only soil
and cement were mixed in the first pass.
Most specifications require that the soils be pulve ri ze d
to a degree that, at the time of compaction, 100 percent
of the soil-cement mixture will pass a 1-inch sieve and a
minimum of 80 percent will pass a Number 4 sieve, ex-
clusive of gravel and stone. The final pulverization test
is made at the end of moist-mixing operations.
Soil layers are first shaped to the proper elevation with
enough loose soil to produce the designed compacted
thickness. Cement will be spread over the top.
Bulk cement may arrive in enclosed hopper cars at the
nearest railroad siding, transferred to enclosed or can-
vas-covered dump trucks, weighed and brought to the
job. A mechanical spreader is attached to the truck and
as it moves forward at a constant slow speed over the soil
layer, cement flows out at the proper rate. When bulk ce-
ment has been brought to the job in bulk transport
trucks, it is sometimes convenient to spread cement di-
rectly from the transport truck.
Cement is spread in front of the mixing machine,
which then picks up soil and cement and mixes it in
place. If a single-shaft mixer is used, the first pass mixes
the soil and cement; additional passes mix water with
the soil-cement mixture (Figure 4).
In a multiple-shaft mixer the first rotor mixes soil and
cement. The second rotor cleans the surface of the un-
derlying layer and throws the soil-cement mixture into
the mixing drum in the rear. Water is metered and in-
jected through a spray bar into the drum. The mixed soil,
cement and water is left in a loose layer as the machine
moves forward.
Regardless of equipment used, mixing must be deep
enough so there are no unmixed seams of soil between
l a ye r s, but excessive striking of the soil-cement below
the layer being mixed should be avoided.
Farm reservoirs have been built by spotting bags of ce-
ment at predetermined intervals on the bottom and
sides of the reservoir. The bags are broken and the ce-
ment distributed to a uniform depth by handraking or by
mechanical cement spreader. While the cement is being
mixed into the soil with a rotary tiller, water is added si-
multaneously to the mixture from a tank truck or hoses.
The cement, soil and water are then thoroughly mixed
and compacted.
Moisture-density test
Moisture and density are checked on a sample of the
newly mixed or deposited layer. The sample is split and
half is put in the sun and wind to dry to determine the
moisture content.
Three moisture-density determinations are then
made by compacting three specimens in moisture-den-
sity molds. One is the sampled mixture, one a similar
sample with about 2 percent additional water, and one
a partially dried sample. The densities are then plotted
Figure 5. Operations of compacting. a. A sheepsfoot roller
compacts lower layers of soil-cement. b. A pneumatic-tire
roller compacts the loose, upper layer. c. Compaction with
a vibratory steel-wheel roller has been done on some
projects.
on the Y-axis of a graph against the corresponding mois-
ture contents on the X-axis and a smooth curve drawn
through the points. The optimum moisture content can
be read from the highest point on the curve.
It usually takes an 8- to 9-inch depth of uncompacted
mixture for a 6-inch final compacted thickness. The
length of spread per truckload can be calculated from
the maximum moist weight per cubic foot and the
weight of the plant-mixed truckload.
Compaction
The soil-cement mixture can be compacted initially
by a sheepsfoot roller. This should be of sufficient size
and weight to compact the bottom of the layer to the re-
quired density. The layers are compacted from edge to
edge and usually in 100- to 200-foot sections behind the
spreading unit (see Figure 5 a).
Following the sheepsfoot rolling, a heavy pneumatic-
tire roller compacts the loose upper portion of the soil-
cement layer (Figure 5 b). If a coarsely graded soil has
been used and a low compactive effort is consequently
needed, pneumatic-tire rolling is enough by itself to pro-
duce the proper density. Pneumatic-tire rolling, like
sheepsfoot rolling, is continued from edge to edge in
Figure 6. A tank truck applies curing water to the
compacted soil-cement.
100- to 200-foot sections. Sometimes it is advantageous
to pull or push the sheepsfoot or pneumatic-tire roller
with a crawler tractor with street plates. The plates tend
to compact the outer edge without shoving too much
material outside the slope design limits.
Vibratory compaction, using a vibratory steel-wheel
roller (Figure 5 c), has been used successfully on seve ra l
large projects.
Soil from the earth slope may move down onto com-
pleted layers because of earth-moving equipment work-
ing above or as a result of rain or wind. Surfaces can also
become contaminated by mud picked up from haul
roads by trucks and dribbled onto the completed soil-
cement layers. All such extraneous material should be
removed by rotary wire bristle broom before the next
layer of soil-cement is deposited. The surface should be
moistened by fog spraying immediately before placing
the next layer.
When the soil-cement is plant-mixed, it is seldom if
ever necessary to shape the layers during compaction,
since each layer is spread to a uniform loose depth and
immediately compacted. When soil-cement is mixed in
place, howe ve r, it may be necessary to shape the soil-
cement layer before the final rolling operations to keep
the layers at their proper elevations. It is important dur-
ing this operation to avoid blading raw soil from the
edges onto the mixed soil-cement.
Density testing
The completed soil-cement layer is tested for proper
compaction. Quick and accurate density determinations
can be readily made with small portable nuclear density
meters. Compaction can also be measured by the sand-
cone method of ASTM D 1556 or the ru b b e r- b a l l o o n
method of ASTM D 2167.
Curing
After final compaction it is necessary to wet down the
surface (Figure 6) and maintain the moisture content in
the completed work to hydrate and harden the soil-ce-
ment. A 7-day curing period is recommended. Water,
earth or a bituminous or other sealing membrane may
be used as a curing material on the outer, exposed face
of the slope. It is not necessary to remove earth or bitu-
minous covers because wave action and weathering will
remove them later.
If surfaces are to be covered with succeeding layers of
soil-cement they should be kept continuously moist by
fog spraying for at least 7 days or until the next layer of
soil-cement is placed. Care should be taken to ensure
that no curing material except water is applied to such
bonding surfaces.
Construction joints
At the exposed ends of layers, as at the end of each
day’s placement, a construction joint should be formed.
This is done by cutting back into the completed work to
form a vertical face transverse to the axis of the layer.
Quality
All in all, the basic requirements for a quality job are:
• proper cement content
• adequate moisture content
• adequate compaction
• proper curing
References
1. “Soil Stabilization with Portland Cement,” Highway Re-
search Board, Bulletin 292, 1961.
2. “Soil-Cement Slope Protection for Embankments: Con-
struction,” IS167.02W, Portland Cement Association, Skok-
ie, Illinois, 1975.
3. Dinchak, William G., “Conserve On-Farm Irrigation Water
with Soil-Cement,” paper presented at an ASCE Specialty
Conference: Water—Today and Tomorrow; Flagstaff, Ari-
zona, 1984.
PUBLICATION #C840725
Copyright © 1984, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved