International Journal of Pavement Engineering

ISSN: 1029-8436 (Print) 1477-268X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gpav20

Advanced characterisation of cement-stabilised

lateritic soils to be used as road materials

Silvia Caro, Juan Pablo Agudelo, Bernardo Caicedo, Luisa Fernanda Orozco,
Fernando Patiño & Natalia Rodado

To cite this article: Silvia Caro, Juan Pablo Agudelo, Bernardo Caicedo, Luisa Fernanda Orozco,
Fernando Patiño & Natalia Rodado (2018): Advanced characterisation of cement-stabilised
lateritic soils to be used as road materials, International Journal of Pavement Engineering, DOI:
10.1080/10298436.2018.1430893

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2018.1430893

Published online: 01 Feb 2018.

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International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 2018
https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2018.1430893

Advanced characterisation of cement-stabilised lateritic soils to be used as road

materials
Silvia Caro, Juan Pablo Agudelo, Bernardo Caicedo, Luisa Fernanda Orozco, Fernando Patiño and Natalia Rodado
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Laterites or lateritic soils are located in tropical and subtropical regions. Identifying the conditions under Received 7 August 2017
which these local materials could be used as part of road infrastructure projects is particularly critical in Accepted 14 January 2018
regions where high-quality unbound aggregates are limited or unavailable. Previous works conducted on
KEYWORDS
this material have suggested that hydraulic cement stabilisation improves its properties, making it suitable Laterite; lateritic soils;
for the construction of low-volume roads. This work investigates the impact of cement stabilisation at cement-stabilisation; laterite
three different doses (i.e. 2, 4 and 6% by weight of soil) on a Colombian laterite granular material located mortars; low-volume roads
in the Orinoquia region. The study included the characterisation of the basic properties of this laterite
(e.g. gradation, Atterbergh limits, specific gravity and Los Angeles abrasion test), and the advanced
characterisation of the cement-stabilised material through the determination of its resilient modulus at
different partial saturation conditions, and its compressive and tensile strengths. The impact of stabilisation
was further studied through the determination of the mechanical properties and fatigue degradation of
cement-stabilised lateritic mortars, which were fabricated at equivalent cement doses and tested under
torsional conditions using a rheometer. The results suggest that cement stabilisation at doses ranging
between 2 and 6% by weight of soil efficiently improves the mechanical properties of this laterite, allowing
its used as part of low- and eventually medium-volume roads.

1. Introduction do not usually satisfy conventional highway agency requirements

for base or subbase unbound granular materials (Paige-Green
Although the terms ‘laterite’ and ‘lateritic materials’ have been
et al. 2015, Biswal et al. 2016). Nevertheless, reported experiences
used in the past to refer to several types of soils, a common defi-
have demonstrated that they could be successfully used as part
nition that has been widely accepted since the 1960s is that they
of asphalt pavement structures (Paige-Green 1999; Paige-Green
are highly weathered materials with large amounts of secondary
et al. 2015). Paige-Green (1999), for example, evaluated a total
oxides of aluminium, iron or both (Alexander and Cady 1962).
of 57 low-volume roads constructed in South Africa between
Lateritic soils are also characterised for containing a reduced
1990 and 1994 with different types of lateritic soils (i.e. later-
amount of bases and primary silicates, and high contents of
ite, quartzitic laterite and manganocrete laterite), from where it
quartz and kaolinite (Alexander and Cady 1962). Common sec-
was concluded that the durability and performance of the struc-
ondary minerals in these materials include hematite, goethite
tures were satisfactory. Similar successful results have also been
and gibbsite (Pinnard et al. 2014). These soils can be found in
reported in other countries, and they have motivated several
tropical and subtropical regions, especially in countries located
road agencies to develop particular specifications for the use of
in or near the intertropical convergence zone (Mahalinga-Iyer
these soils as part of road projects (Gidigasu 1983). According
and Williams 1996), such as Africa, India, the Southeast region
to Paige-Green et al. (2015), Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe and
of Asia and Centre and South America (Osinubi and Nwaiuw
Angola are some of the countries that have issued technical spec-
2006) – including the east region of Colombia.
ifications for this material, while other African countries, includ-
The interest in lateritic soils initially developed among soil
ing Botswana, Kenya and Malawi, have evaluated trial segments
scientists and geologists because the material was a hindrance
using recommendations and standards from other countries with
to agriculture and because, in some cases, it had a significant
overall positive results.
economic value as a source of iron and aluminium (Alexander
Despite the good experiences, there are also reported cases in
and Cady 1962). Later on, this soil also called the attention of
which pavement structures containing these materials have not
geotechnical and pavement engineers due to its potential as a
performed as expected. De Carvalho et al. (2015), for example,
construction material in low-volume roads. A common difficulty
describe the case of a pavement structure in the Amazon State of
related to this engineering application, however, is that these soils
Brazil that deteriorated after a short period of time. According

CONTACT  Silvia Caro  scaro@uniandes.edu.co

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2   S. CARO ET AL.
to the authors, the rapid degradation of the road was caused
by cracking processes in the embankment of the pavement that
contained these soils, due to the volumetric changes induced by
heavy rainfall events and drought periods. These experiences, in
combination with the necessity for improving the overall quality
of the material for specific applications, have encouraged the
evaluation of chemical stabilisation techniques. Although suc-
cessful results have been reported with alternative materials (e.g.
Phummiphan et al. 2016a, 2016b), most efforts in this area have
been directed to assess the effects of hydraulic cement stabilisa-
tion. Works on cement stabilisation in this material initiated in
the mid 1970s and in the 1980s (Gidigasu 1976; Autret 1983),
and have continued since then (Joel and Agbede 2010; Eze-
Uzomaka and Agbo 2010; Majumder et al. 1999; Millogo et al.
2008; Rashid et al. 2013, Suebsuk et al. 2017). In several of these
works, the stabilisation process has also included the addition
of sands, in order to improve the gradation of the material and
the overall quality of the cemented soil (Majumder et al. 1999;
Joel and Agbede 2010). In general, works in this topic have used
stabilisation doses ranging between 2 and 13% by weight of the
soil, although typical dosages are between 2 and 8%. In all cases,
the authors have reported that cement stabilisation significantly
improved several physical and mechanical properties of these
soils.
Due to the important differences in the mineralogical compo-
sition, the degree of erosion and the characteristics of the parent
rocks among laterites, the only reliable strategy to determine the
specific conditions under which a lateritic soil could be used as
a road material is through the development of particular stud-
ies on each material (Gidigasu 1983; de Carvalho et al. 2015;
Biswal et al. 2016, Pinnard et al. 2014). Within this context, the
objective of this work is to conduct an advanced characterisation
of a Colombian lateritic granular material, and to evaluate the
impact of cement stabilisation in the properties of the mate-
rial. The lateritic soil under study is located in the east region of
Orinoquia, in the Department of Vichada. The material – that
does not satisfy existing Colombian specifications for base or
subbase unbound granular materials – is being currently used
in the construction of embankments for low-volume roads. The
Table 1. Properties of the Colombian lateritic soil.
Property Value
Physical properties
  Water content (%) 2.67
 Abrasion – Los Angeles (%) 30.90
 MicroDeval coefficient (MDE) (%) – dry 7.60
 MicroDeval coefficient (MDE) (%) – wet 14.50
  Specific gravity 2.81
  Plastic limit NP*
 Liquid Limit NP*
Compaction properties (Modified Proctor)
 Maximum dry density (g/cm3) 2.22
 Optimum water content (%) 10.50
Aggregate particles
 Gravel (%) 40.07
  Sand (%) 52.34
 Fine (%) 7.59
  Coefficient of Uniformity (Cu) 34.00
  Coefficient of Curvature (Cc) 11.76
  Classification USCS Sand – poorly graded (SP)
Note: *NP: non-plastic material, the test cannot be performed.
unavailability of high-quality granular materials in this region, in
combination with the absence of characterisation studies on this
local soil, underline the necessity for evaluating if cement-stabi-
lisation could provide it with the properties required for other
road construction applications.
The experimental plan included an initial characterisation of
the laterite, followed by the quantification of the resilient mod-
ulus and the compressive and tensile strengths of the stabilised
material at three cement doses (2, 4 and 6% by total weight).
Additionally, a study of the mechanical properties and dynamic
loading degradation (i.e. fatigue resistance) of mortars charac-
terising the fine fraction of the cement-stabilised laterites (i.e.
stabilised lateritic mortars) was conducted using non-standard-
ised tests that have been recently developed for asphalt mortars.
It is noteworthy that there are limited studies in the literature
that have quantified the resilient modulus of lateritic soils (Fall
et al. 2008; Biswal et al. 2016). Therefore, the advanced experi-
mental plan proposed in this work in both the stabilised lateritic
materials and their corresponding mortars, constitutes a novel
and relevant contribution in the effort for assessing the use of
these tropical soils as road construction materials.
2. Methodology
The characterisation of the lateritic material was conducted using
a three-step procedure:
(1) Initially, the lateritic material was characterised
through some basic testing, including: (i) particle
size distribution, (ii) Los Angeles abrasion test, (iii)
Atterberg limits, (iv) microdeval coefficient, (v) spe-
cific gravity and (vi) Proctor modified test.
(2) Afterwards, the resilient modulus of the material at
different water content levels was determined. Next,
after selecting three doses for cement stabilisation, the
stabilised lateritic material was further characterised in
term of its resilient modulus, compressive strength and
tensile strength.
(3) A novel and comprehensive analysis was then con-
ducted in the fine portion of the stabilised lateritic
material, herein called ‘stabilised lateritic mortar’. The
analysis included non-standardised tests using small
cylindrical samples (50  mm in height and 13.5  mm
in diameter) and a rheometer with a solid geometry,
which objective was to quantify their shear mechanical
properties and degradation to cyclic loading or fatigue
resistance.
The following sections explain in detail these stages.
3.  Basic properties of the lateritic material
The lateritic material studied in this work was obtained near
Puerto Carreño City – the capital of the Department of Vichada
in Colombia – which is located in the east region of the country
named Orinoquia, near the border with Venezuela.
As explained previously, the initial characterisation of
the material included several tests to determine its physical
properties, gradation and compaction characteristics. Table 1
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAVEMENT ENGINEERING   3

summarises these results, and Figure 1 illustrates the gradation 4.1.  Resilient modulus and compressive strength
of this soil. This information shows that this laterite is mainly
The mechanical behaviour of the stabilised lateritic samples was
composed by sand (52.34%) and gravel (40.07%), and that it
quantified through the resilient modulus of the materials, fol-
classifies as poorly graded sand (SP), according to the Unified
lowing the European standard EN 13286-7 (EN-13286-7 2004).
Soil Classification System (USCS). This classification explains
The tests were performed using a triaxial cell, and the response
the Atterberg limits results presented in Table 1. The absence of
of the material was recorded through two extensometers located
coarse and fine aggregates is the main reason explaining why the
at the middle third of the samples.
material does not satisfy national (INVIAS 2013a, 2013b) and
The experimental method included two phases: (i) a prelimi-
most international specifications for unbound granular base or
nary conditioning of the sample and (ii) the measurement of the
subbase materials, even if the individual particles do meet some
response of the sample under cyclic loading and specific stress
of the specification criteria (e.g. Aterbergh limits less than 35
paths. The objective of the initial phase was to reproduce the state
to 50% or Microdeval Coefficient in dry conditions less than
of the material in a pavement structure right after construction
30–35% – depending on the expected traffic (INVIAS 2013c)).
or, equivalently, to simulate the compaction conditions that are
applied to these materials in the field. This phase consisted in
4.  Advanced characterisation of the natural and applying 20,000 loading-unloading cycles under an isotropic
cement-stabilised lateritic material stress of 40 kPa and a deviatoric stress of 280 kPa. According
to Hornych and Gérard (1999), a non-linear elastic behaviour
Based on works reported in the literature on cement-stabilised
is achieved at the end of this preconditioning stage. During the
lateritic materials (e.g. Majumder et al. 1999; Millogo et al. 2008;
second phase, the specimens were subjected to 20 successive
Joel and Agbede 2010; Qian et al. 2017), the following three sta-
loading paths of 100 cycles each with increasing stress levels.
bilisation doses by weight were selected: 2, 4 and 6%. Once these
Figure 2 presents the stress paths used for this phase in the space
values were defined, the next step consisted in determining the
of deviatoric versus mean stresses (p, q). In each case, the resilient
optimum water content and the maximum dry density through
strain of the specimen was measured at the 100th cycle.
equivalent Proctor Modified tests, which results are summa-
After finalising the resilient modulus procedure, the com-
rised in Table 2. These results were used to fabricate the testing
pressive strength of the samples was quantified by performing a
specimens required for the mechanical characterisation of the
simple compression test on the same specimens.
materials.
As explained previously, the experimental plan on the stabi-
4.1.1.  Specimen preparation
lised laterite included two different efforts: (i) the quantification
The influence of cement and water content on the resilient
of the mechanical properties of the cement-stabilised materi-
response of the lateritic soil was studied using a total of 14 speci-
als and (ii) the determination of the mechanical properties and
mens. The tests were conducted on a control sample (i.e. non-sta-
performance of the fine portion or mortars of the stabilised
bilised lateritic material) and on samples fabricated at the three
mixtures. While the first effort provides initial information of
cement dosages previously selected (i.e. 2, 4 and 6%). Besides,
the material in terms of its competence to be used as part of
three different water contents near the optimum obtained from
pavement structures, the later complements this information
the proctor tests (Table 2) were considered for each cement dose,
by offering evidence about the quality of its finer structure in
as summarised in Table 3. The interest of studying the role of sev-
terms of both its mechanical modulus and fatigue resistance.
eral water contents is that this variable is crucial in determining
This section presents the experimental characterisation results
the mechanical properties of the material. This is particularly
of the stabilised mixtures, while the following section presents
true in tropical zones that are characterised by strong weather
the results obtained on the mortars.
variations and marked rainy and drought periods, which generate
unavoidable changes in the saturation degree of the materials.
The testing specimens were cylinders having 15 cm in diam-
eter and 30  cm in height. The fabrication of these specimens
was conducted by homogeneously mixing the lateritic material
with water and cement at the selected dosages. Afterwards, the
samples were dynamically compacted in 5 layers of 6 cm thick
each, using a pneumatic hammer, at the maximum density value
provided by the proctor tests. Finally, the samples were extracted
from the compaction container, and they were conditioned at a
relative humidity-controlled room to assure a complete curing
process.

4.1.2.  Testing results

There are numerous models in the literature that correlate the
resilient modulus with the stress state for unbound granular
materials, the majority of which are modifications of the K-θ
model, that relates the modulus (K) of the material with the sum
of the principal stresses (θ), or the universal model, that also
Figure 1. Gradation of the natural lateritic aggregate material.
4   S. CARO ET AL.

Table 2. Optimum water content and maximum density for the cement stabilised Table 3. Sample conditions for resilient modulus and compressive strength tests.
materials.
Cement content (wt. %) Specimen Water content (%)
Optimum water con- Maximum dry density 0 1 6.66
% Cement (by weight) tent (%) (gr/cm3) 2 7.26
2.0 6.10 2.32 3 10.65
4.0 8.40 2.30 2 1 11.22
6.0 8.80 2.28 2 8.59
3 2.75
4 1 7.51
300 2 9.97
3 = 10 kPa 3 2.69
250 3 = 20 kPa 4 5.74
6% 1 7.09
= 30 kPa
Stress deviator, q (kPa)

3 2 6.70
200 3 = 40 kPa 3 3.18
4 2.90
150

100
50
0 It should be pointed out that a comparison of the resilient
0 40
Mean stress, p (kPa)
Figure 2.  Stress paths for the resilient modulus tests (σ3 corresponds to the cell
pressure).
includes the octahedral shear stress, τoct (Seed et al. 1967, Uzan
1985). However, these models lead to values of zero modulus
for null stress states; a result that is not realistic for cemented
materials. Therefore, the linear model proposed by Caicedo et al.
(2009) that relates the secant modulus (Esec) to the vertical stress
(σv) was selected to analyse the experimental data:
Esec = E0𝜎V + A𝜎V 𝜎V
where Esec is the secant modulus, E0𝜎V is the modulus at a null
stress state and AσV is the rate of change of modulus as a func-
tion of σV.
Figure 3 presents the results of the resilient modulus test for
the natural non-stabilised lateritic samples with different water
contents. This figure shows that there was an increase in the resil-
ient modulus as a function of the vertical stress, as expected. This
1000
0% w=6.7%
0% w=7.3%
0% w=10.2%
Resilient Modulus (MPa)
increase was up to 1.5 times the value of E0σv and between 1.5
and 5 times the slope Aσv with a reduction of the water content,
which corroborates the important role of partial saturation in
the mechanical properties of the material.
80 120 160 modulus of the Colombian lateritic material with equivalent
soils from other regions is challenging due to the absence of
studies reported in the literature that have assessed this prop-
erty. However, values of this property reported in two studies
conducted with lateritic materials from India and Senegal (Fall
et al. 2008; Biswal et al. 2016) are significantly lower than those
obtained for the Colombian laterite investigated in this study.
In terms of the results obtained for the cemented lateritic
material after 28 curing days, Figure 4 shows that the slope of
the linear equation, Aσv, normalised by the modulus at zero stress
E0σv, approaches to zero for these stabilised materials, indicating
that the bonding effect induced by the cement reduces the impact
(1) of the confining pressure in their resilient response. Therefore,
this response could be characterised using only the magnitude
of E0σv.
Within this context, Figure 5 illustrates the results of the
modulus at zero stress (E0σv) and the compressive strength (σc)
of the stabilised specimens, from where it can be easily cor-
roborated that cement stabilisation significantly increased both
properties of this lateritic granular material. In this figure, the
different points at each specific cement content correspond to
the results for samples with different water contents, and the
curves were included to identify trends of these data. Indeed,
an overall trend of higher modulus at higher cement contents

is evident, although it is also notable that the dispersion among

MR = 2878.545 * v + 132.888 results with a similar water content increased with an increase
in the stabilisation dose.
Data in this figure demonstrate that the impact of cement
MR = 808.414 * v + 159.708 stabilisation is remarkable even for the lowest cement content of
2%. For this cement dose, E0σv was, in average, 20 times greater
100 than the same property for the non-stabilised laterite, and the
MR = 514.820 * v + 97.245 value of σc at this same cement content increased in 113.3%. The
improvement in comparison to the natural non-stabilised laterite
was even greater at higher cement dosages: about 47 times in E0σv
0.01 0.1 and 3 times in σc for a cement dose of 4%, and about 72 times in
v (MPa)
E0σv and 8 times in σc, for a cement dose of 6.
Besides, similar to what was observed in the natural mate-
Figure 3.  Results of resilient modulus for natural lateritic samples with different rial, the samples stabilised with 2% of cement presented resilient
water contents (w). modulus values that were greater at small values of water content,
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAVEMENT ENGINEERING   5

20 of cement (Qian et al. 2017). The results from another study

A v/E0 v
15
10
5
0 literature. Paute et al. (1994) and Coronado et al. (2011) proposed
0 1 2 3 4 5
Cement content %
-5
Figure 4. Influence of cement content in the parameters of the linear model for the
resilient modulus.
although this trend changed for the laterites stabilised at 4 and
6% of cement, where the materials exhibited a better response as
the water content increased. For example, a reduction of 3% in
water content in the non-stabilised material lead to an increase
of 52% in E0σv and 143% in σc. On the contrary, in the lateritic
material stabilised with 4% cement, a small increase of 1.75%
in the water content resulted in an increase of 238% in E0σv and
of 35% in σc. This result is mainly due to the fact that mixtures
with higher cement content require larger amounts of water to
promote the required cementitious processes. In general, it could
be concluded that an improvement in the mechanical properties
of the stabilised materials occurred when the water content is
close to the optimum, as expected.
When comparing these results with previous works, it is
found that studies conducted on African lateritic gravels have
reported significant improvements in the compressive strength
of the material with the addition of cement. This has been, in
some cases, higher than that observed in the Colombian samples.
For example, results of compressive strength tests conducted on
lateritic soils from the Republic of Mali showed values that are
4.72% larger than those of the Colombian material when stabi-
lised at 6% of cement, and 63.22% larger when stabilised at 2%
conducted in this type of soils from Nigeria (Joel and Agbede
2010), however, show that the Colombian material exhibited
compressive strength values that were 41.82% larger than the
Nigerian samples when stabilised at 6% of cement.
4.2.2.  Macro-geomechanical approach to rank the
stabilised lateritic materials
An effort was conducted to rank the quality of the cement sta-
bilised lateritic material using existing models reported in the
6 a methodology that can be applied to rank the quality of differ-
ent granular soils to be used in road construction, using two
mechanical parameters: (1) a characteristic value of the resilient
modulus, named Ec, which is determined for a reference level of
cyclic stresses (p = 250 kPa; q = 500 kPa) and (2) the permanent
axial strain A1c obtained during the pre-conditioning phase of
the resilient modulus test. This classification includes four classes,
ranking the materials from type C1 (excellent) to type C4 (mar-
ginal). The best material, C1, presents high values of stiffness and
low susceptibility to permanent deformation.
Figure 6 summarises the results obtained for the non-stabi-
lised and the stabilised granular lateritic soils. This Figure indi-
cates that the non-stabilised laterite herein evaluated classified
in categories C2 or C3, while all stabilised samples classified in
category C1, revealing the strong influence of cement stabilisation
in the resilient response of the material. In addition, this figure
shows that, within the C1 classification, larger amounts of cement
improved the properties of the material (i.e. smaller permanent
strain and larger secant modulus). These results indicate that
although the natural lateritic soil is not competent for the con-
struction of granular layers, stabilised mixtures present good
resilient response and a small rutting susceptibility, making the
material suitable for road applications.
4.2.  Tensile strength test
Tensile strength tests (ASTM C496/C496M-11 2004) were
conducted on the cement-stabilised laterites fabricated at the

100000 6
E0σv (MPa) σc (MPa)
w=6.70% w=6.70%
w=9.97%
w=3.18% w=7.09%
10000 w=7.51%
w=2.75% w=7.09%
w=5.74% 4 w=2.90%
w=8.59% w=2.90%
w=11.2% w=2.69% w=3.18%
1000 w=9.97%

2 w=7.51%
100 w=11.2%
w=5.74%
w=7.26% w=8.59%
w=6.66%
w=10.2% w=2.75% w=2.69%
10 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Cement content (%) Cement content (%)
(a) (b)
Figure 5. (a) Resilient modulus at zero stress, E0σv and (b) compressive strength, σc, as function of the cement dose and water content (w).
6   S. CARO ET AL.
100000
Secant Modulus Ec (MPa)
10000
1000
C1
C2
C3
C4
100
0.1 1 10
Permanent strain after 20000 cycles p (104)
Figure 6.  Mechanical classification of the natural cement-stabilised laterite. The
values of modulus and permanent strains correspond to the following stress
condition: p = 133 kPa and q = 280 kPa (Paute et al. 1994).
optimum moisture content at the three selected stabilisation
doses (i.e. 2, 4 and 6%). The cylindrical samples (6.3 cm in diam-
eter and 6 cm in height) were dynamically compacted using the
technique described in Section 4.1.1. A total of 3 replicates were
tested at each one of the three cement dosages considered. The
corresponding results are summarised in Table 4.
Data in Table 4 exhibits the expected behaviour of cement-sta-
bilised materials, in which higher cement contents result in a
significant increase in strength. Specifically, it was observed that
an increase in the cement content from 2 to 4% increased the
tensile strength of the material in 232%, and that this increase
was of 33% when the cement dosage passed from 4 to 6%.
Comparing the results with the values obtained for the com-
pressive strength of the materials, it is observed that the tensile
strength is less than 10% the value of the compressive strength,
which is consistent with the nature of cemented materials,
including hydraulic concrete (Neville 2012). It is also notable
that the tensile strength results herein obtained are in good agree-
ment with the results presented by Paige-Green et al. (2015) for
similar cement-stabilised lateritic materials from Brazil, Western
Australia and Africa, which in all cases presented tensile strength
values larger than 0.05 MPa.
5.  Mechanical characterisation of the cement-
stabilised lateritic mortars
In this stage of the study, an advanced characterisation of the
mechanical properties and performance of the cement-stabilised
lateritic materials was conducted at the meso-scale level, which
corresponds to the matrix or mortar that exists within the cement
stabilised lateritic soils. More specifically, this scale is defined as
Table 4. Tensile strength of the cement-stabilised laterite.
Tensile strength (MPa)
Cement content (wt. %) Mean value
2 0.057
4 0.190
6 0.252
the portion of the stabilised materials that contains aggregates
2% passing the sieve #16 (i.e. smaller than 1.18 mm), following a defi-
4% nition that has been extensively used in recent years for asphalt
6%
mortars (Masad et al. 2006; Caro et al. 2008; Masad et al. 2008;
0%
Caro et al. 2012; Sánchez et al. 2017). The importance of studying
road materials at this scale is that it is well recognised that sev-
eral degradation phenomena, like fatigue cracking, initiate and
propagate within this fine matrix (Montepara et al. 2011). Thus,
it is believed that the characterisation of the material at this scale
provides unique information on the expected performance of the
full mixture at a reduced cost, due to the significant decrease in
the amount of time and materials required for the experiments.
The solid geometry of a TA AR2000ex rheometer was used
100 to characterise small cylindrical specimens of these stabilised
lateritic mortars, through the development of two different tests:
(1) Characterisation of the linear viscoelastic properties
(i.e. low strain levels) and
(2) Deterioration under cyclic loading (i.e. fatigue
resistance).
The first test provides fundamental mechanical properties of
the three stabilised mortars, while the second permits to com-
pare the impact of the cement dosage in the fatigue resistance of
these mortars. The following sections describe the preparation of
the testing specimens, the mechanical tests procedures and the
corresponding results and analyses.
5.1.  Specimens preparation
The initial step in the preparation of the cement-stabilised lat-
eritic mortars consisted in determining the actual percentage
of cement within the fine portion of the mixtures that were
stabilised at 2, 4 and 6% by weight of laterite. Since finer aggre-
gates have higher specific surface areas, the amount of cement
in the mortar portion of the mixture is always larger than that
present in full-stabilised mixtures. To estimate these values, a
dimensional analysis based on the volumetric properties of the
stabilised materials was used to compute the expected volume
of cement that is required to cover every fine aggregate parti-
cle (Masad et al. 2008). The results showed that the estimated
amount of cement in the stabilised mortars were 5, 10 and 15%,
for the cases where the mixtures were stabilised at 2, 4 and 6%
of cement, respectively. After defining the cement doses, the next
step consisted in determining the compaction properties of the
mortars. Therefore, a procedure similar to the Standard Proctor
test was performed to quantify the optimum water content of the
three mortars, which results are presented in Table 5.
This information was used to fabricate small cylindrical mor-
tar specimens (50 mm in height and 13.5 mm in diameter) at the
three different cement contents. The specimens were fabricated
using a compaction mould especially designed and built for these
purposes, and a loading frame that applied a vertical monotonic
load with a maximum value of 150 kg. After compaction, the
curing process consisted in placing the cylindrical specimens in
containers with a relative humidity near 100% (i.e. containers
Standard deviation with distilled water) for a total period of 28 days. Figure 7 illus-
0.022 trates the compaction mould, the final geometry of the specimens
0.028 and the curing experimental set-up.
0.040

Table 5. Optimum water content and maximum dry density for the three stabilised
lateritic mortars.
Maximum dry density (gr/
% Cement Optimum water content (%) cm3)
5.0 8.0 1.636
10.0 9.0 1.643
15.0 10.0 1.654
5.2.  Testing procedures and results
Two different strain-controlled tests under dynamic torsional
loading were conducted in the rheometer to characterise the
mechanical response of the three stabilised lateritic mortars,
using the experimental set-up presented in Figure 8. It is note-
worthy that, to the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first
time that this equipment and testing procedures are used to test
cement-stabilised granular materials for road applications.
5.2.1.  Linear viscoelastic properties
The shear torsional viscoelastic properties of the cement-stabi-
lised lateritic mortars were determined after applying a shear
strain signal with a constant amplitude of 3 × 10−4% at a fre-
quency of 10 Hz. The corresponding results from this test are the
dynamic shear modulus of the materials (i.e. the ratio between
the amplitudes of the stress and strain signals), |G∗ |, and the cor-
responding phase angle (i.e. the lag between the strain and stress
signals; pure elastic materials have a phase angle equal to 0º and
pure viscous materials have a phase angle equal to 90º). A total
of 8 specimens were tested for each cement dose. The average
results, including the dispersion among replicates, are summa-
rised in Figure 9.
Data in Figure 9 demonstrate that an increase in the stabilisa-
tion dose from 5 to 10% (i.e. from 2 to 4% in the full mixtures)
generated an increase in the modulus of 63%, and that when
the cement dosage rose from 10 to 15% (i.e. from 4 to 6% in
the full mixtures), the modulus increased from 643 to 824 MPa,
representing a total growth of around 28%. It should be men-
tioned that the coefficient of variability (COV) of the modulus
among replicates at each cement dose ranged between 1 and
5%, demonstrating high reliability in the experimental results. In
terms of the phase angle, the results ranged between 3 and 4º for
all mortars, being slightly smaller at higher stabilisation doses.
These results were expected since the viscous component of these
solid materials is almost inexistent (i.e. very low phase angle
values) which, in practical terms, means that their mechanical
response could be considered elastic.
(a)
Figure 7. (a) Components of the compaction mould used to fabricate for the cement-stabilised lateritic mortars, (b) compacted specimens and (c) curing method.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAVEMENT ENGINEERING   7
5.2.2.  Fatigue degradation tests
The fatigue degradation of the stabilised lateritic mortars was
quantified under strain-controlled conditions. The test – that was
conducted on at least 4 specimens of each mortar – consisted in
applying a sinusoidal torsional strain signal at a constant ampli-
tude of 1 × 10−2%, under room conditions and at a frequency
loading value of 10 Hz. The total duration of the test was 12 h
per specimen (i.e. 432,000 loading cycles). It is important to men-
tion that the selected strain level for these fatigue analysis was
obtained after conducting sweep strain tests on the three mortars.
These sweep tests consisted on applying different shear strain
levels for periods of 2 min each, increasing from 3.0*10−6% to
1.3%, in a total of 8 intervals. The sweep test results permitted
to identify the strain values defining the thresholds between the
linear elastic and the non-linear elastic regions, and between the
non-linear elastic and the damage regions. Such results showed
that the selected shear strain level of 1 × 10−2% was enough to
produce sufficient degradation in the three mortars during the
duration of the fatigue test, without causing premature failure in
the specimens. Figure 10 presents a typical result of the fatigue
test for a mortar specimen stabilised with 10% of cement, from
where it is evident the continuous reduction in |G∗ | as a function
of the number of cycles.
In general, the majority of the specimens did not present
evident failure during the 12-h test. In fact, at the end of the
test only three specimens – stabilised at the lower cement dose
– presented a reduction of at least 50% in |G∗ |. For this reason,
in order to compare the results, the number of cycles that were
required to get a reduction of ‘X%’ in the modulus of the mate-
rials with respect to the initial modulus (Nx%) was computed.
Thus, for example, N30% refers to the number of loading cycles
that were needed to reduce the initial modulus of the material
in 30%. When comparing the three mortars, the specimens with
lower values of N30% correspond to those with a smaller fatigue
resistance, while the materials with the highest values correspond
to those with improved fatigue resistance. Figure 11 summarises
the results for N10%, N20%, N30%, N40% and N50%. Data in this fig-
ure include the mean values and the dispersion obtained among
replicates. It is important to mention that the modulus in certain
specimens did not present a reduction of at least 30, 40 or 50%
at the end of the test. Specifically, the specimens stabilised at
10% of cement did not reach a reduction of at least 40% in their
modulus at the end of the test, and the specimens stabilised with
15% of cement did not achieve a reduction of at least 30% in |G∗ |
. For this reason, Figure 11 specifies that the number of cycles to
(b) (c)
8   S. CARO ET AL.

(a) (b)
Figure 8. Experimental set-up for the dynamic characterisation of the cement-stabilised lateritic mortars: (a) specimen installed in the rheometer and (b) detailed of the
testing specimen (the specimen in covered in plastic wrap to prevent changes in its internal water content during the test).

1000 4

800
3
Phase Angle (°)
|G*| (MPa)

600
2
400

1
200

0 0
5% 10% 15% 5% 10% 15%
Cement content (% wt.) Cement content (% wt.)

Figure 9. Dynamic shear modulus,||G∗ ||, and phase angle of the fine cement stabilised lateritic materials as a function of the cement content.

700 obtain the specified reduction in modulus in these cases is higher

than 432,000 loading cycles.
650
In general, the results in Figure 11 show that the stabilised
600 mortars with the three cement doses do not easily fatigue at the
selected deformation level. Also, these data indicate that higher
|G*| (MPa)

550 cement stabilisation doses significantly improve the resistance

to fatigue degradation of the mortars. Information in this figure
500 also shows that there exists a high level of variability among
replicates of the same type of stabilised lateritic mortar. In fact,
450 the magnitude of COV for the different values of ‘Nx%’ oscillated
between 50 and 75%, which is somehow higher when compared
400
to the dispersion that has been observed for equivalent fatigue
1 2 3 4 5 6
10 10 10 10 10 10 tests conducted on asphalt mortars (Caro et al. 2008).
Number of cycles When comparing the velocity of degradation of the modulus
among the different mortars (i.e. changes in the number of cycles
Figure 10. Fatigue degradation of a mortar specimen stabilised at 10% of cement. corresponding to N10%, N20%, N30%, N40% and N50%), it was found
that the stabilised specimens at 5% of cement (i.e. equivalent to

500
> 432x103
400
Number of cycles (x10 3)
300 5%
10%
200 15%
100
0 experimental testing presented in this work. The authors also appreciate
10 20 30 40 50
Nx%
Figure 11. Mean values of N10%, N20%, N30%, N40% and N50% for each cement content
used in the stabilisation.
2% of cement in the total mixture) degraded 2.5 times faster, in
average, than the stabilised specimens at 10% of cement content
(i.e. equivalent to 4% of cement in the total mixture), and that the
mortars stabilised at 10% of cement degraded 1.33 times faster, in
average, than those stabilised at 15% cement content (i.e. equiva-
lent to 6% of cement in the total mixture). These results support
previous findings with respect to the improvements achieved
with cement stabilisation in this lateritic material.
6. Conclusions
This work presents the results of an advanced characterisation of
a lateritic soil from the Department of Vichada, in the Orinoquia
region in Colombia, and the impact of cement stabilisation at
three different doses (i.e. 2, 4 and 6% by weight of soil) in the
properties of the material. The experimental work showed that
water content significantly impacted the resilient modulus of
the natural and cement-stabilised laterite samples, and that the
larger values of modulus were obtained with water contents near
to the optimum.
The experimental results also showed that cement stabilisation
significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of the mate-
rial, leading to an increase of 72 times in the resilient modulus,
4.5 times in the tensile strength, 155 times in the compressive
resistance, and a reduction of 25 times in the permanent strain at
the highest cement dose evaluated (i.e. 6% by total weight) with
respect to the natural laterite. In fact, based on Paute’s mechanical
classification, it was found that the resilient modulus of the sta-
bilised soils classified them as competent for road construction.
This result was further verified after quantifying the dynamic
shear modulus and fatigue resistance of the mortars present in
the stabilised lateritic materials. The results obtained from these
tests showed that the elastic modulus of these mortars increased
in 63 and 28% when the cement doses of the full mixtures passed
from 2 to 4% and from 4 to 6%, respectively; and that the velocity
of fatigue degradation was significantly slower at higher cement
stabilisation doses.
In conclusion, it was found that cement stabilisation of the
Colombian lateritic material at doses ranging between 2 and
6% make the material suitable for the construction of low- and,
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAVEMENT ENGINEERING   9
eventually, medium-volume roads. The final decision about the
dosage of cement stabilisation would mainly depend on the avail-
ability of the material and the economic feasibility of the pro-
ject. Nevertheless, based on the fatigue results conducted on the
stabilised lateritic mortars, it is advised to use a cement dosage
of at least 4%, in order to guarantee proper performance of the
material in the field.
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate the funding provided by Gobernación del Vichada,
through contract 069-2014, which was used to develop most of the
the funding provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research at
Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) through the call for pro-
posals “Research Program 2012”. The contents of this work are solely the
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official
views of the any of the sponsor institutions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work was supported by Gobernación del Vichada Contract 069-2014
and by the Office of the Vice President for Research at Universidad de los
Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) Research Program 2012.
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