TRANSPORT and ROAD

RESEARCH LABORATORY
Department of the Environment
TRRL REPORT LR 523

ARABIAN SALT-BEARING 'SOIL (SABKHA)

AS AN ENGINEERING MATERIAL

by
C.I. Ellis, B.Sc., C.Eng., M.I.C.E., A.M. Inst., H.E.

Overseas Unit
Transport and. Road Research Laboratory
Crowthorne, Berkshire
1973
 CONTENTS

Page

Abstract 1

1. Introduction 1

2. Definition of sabkha 2

3. Geclo~' 3

4. Engineering properties 5

4.1 Summary of test data 6

4.2 Unsurfaced sabkha roads 7

4.3 Effect ofsabkha on route location 7

4.4 Sabkha as fill or sub-base 8

4.5 Sabkha as road base 8

5. Use o f similar material from other areas 9

5.1 South Africa 9

5.2 North Africa 9

5.3 Australia 10

5.4 Sudan !0

6. Experiment on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai road 11

7. Conclusions 12

8. Acknowledgements 12

9. References 13

© C R O W N COPYRIGHT 1973
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provided the source is acknowledged
Ownership of the Transport Research
Laboratory was transferred from the
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April 1996.

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 ARABIAN SALT-BEARING SOIL (SABKHA)
AS AN ENGINEERING M A T E R I A L

ABSTRACT

Sabkha is essentially a carbonate sand containing varying proportions of

evaporitic minerals and is found in the salt fiats of the Arabian peninsula.
This Report discusses the highway engineering properties and uses of the
material and compares its performance with that of similar saline
materials in other arid areas of the world. The manner in which the
evaporitic minerals contribute to the performance of the material in road
construction is not fully understood and in order to find out more about
their influence on the performance of sabkha road bases, a full-scale
experiment has been constructed to study the relative performance under
traffic of three different sabkhas used as road bases under a thin bituminous
surfacing.

1. INTRODUCTION

Sabkha is a term used in Arab countries to describe an inland or coastal salt fiat. It is also used to describe
the materials which form these flats.

The purpose of this Report is to provide a summary of available information on sabkha which may be
of value to highway engineers working in hot arid environments. Whilst the information in this report is mainly
concerned with the materials from the coastal fiats of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, two states within the recently
formed United Arab Emirates (formerly known as the Trucial States) much of it will be equally applicable to
similar regions elsewhere in the world.

The variable and unusual characteristics of sabkha (especially after rain) have long been experienced by
travellers in this region even if they have chosen camels rather than m o t o r vehicles as their mode of transport.
Both Thesiger 1 and Innes 2 in their popular books about the Arabian peninsula have described some of the
difficulties encountered in traversing sabkha.

Under normal dry conditions the sabkha provides an excellent running surface for wheeled vehicles but
under high water table conditions vehicles can break through the surface crust and find themselves up to the
axles in a liquid mud.
 2. D E F I N I T I O N OF S A B K H A

The most common spelling o f the word 'sabkha' has been used in this report but alternative spellings are as
follows:
sebkha, subkha, sabkah, sabhkat

A glossary of desert terms produced by the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment 3 gives the
following general definition : -
sebkha, sabkha Bottom of a closed depression, zone of evaporation for accumulated run-off
from a shallow subterranean water table, characterized by the presence of
salt deposits and absence of vegetation. Usually consists of fine textured
materials and is soft when wet. Can also be used for salt marshes or marine
lagoons.

In the particular case of coastal sabkha the groundwater is largely marine derived and Shearman 5 points
out t h a t . . . 'as geomorphological entities these coastal sabkhas are the desert zone analogues of the salt
marshes of temperate coastlines and they may be built up of carbonate or non-carbonate sediments or ad-
mixtures of the two'.
Sabkha may be geologically termed a playa and under the title of'Playa variation' J.T. Neal q has
discussed the characteristics of sabkha and other similar landforms. In order to illustrate the variations in
regional nomenclature Table 1 below has been reproduced from his paper in Arid Lands in Perspective,
edited by William G. McGinnies and B.J. Goldman, by kind permission of the University of Arizona Press,
copyright 1969.
TABLE 1
Regional playa nomenclature

Locale General Terms Clay-silt Playas Saline Playas

United States Playa, dry lake, alkali flat Dry playa, clay playa Salt flat, salt marsh, salina
Mexico Laguna, salina Laguna Salina
Chile Salina (moderate salt)
salar (much salt)
Australia Playa, lake Clay pan Salt pan, salina
Russia Pliazh Takir Tsidam
Mongolia Gobi, nor Takyr Tsaka, nor
Iran Daryacheh Dayq Kavir
South Africa Pan, vloer mbuga Clay pan Salt pan, kalahari
kulpfannen (lime)
North Africa Sebkha Garoet, qavat Sebkha, chott
Arabia Khabra Mamlahah (salt flat)
sabkah (coastal salt fiat)
Jordan Ghor Oa
Iraq Hawr Foydat Sabkhat
India Rei
Pakistan Hamun

2
 The coastal sabkhas of Abu Dhabi and Dubai may be defined for engineering purposes as extensive flat
desert areas of silty sands containing a high percentage of calcium carbonate and varying smaller percentages
of gypsum, anhydrite and other salts produced by evaporation of sea water or of groundwater from the high
water table. The surface texture may vary from smooth to puffy and in some cases the salt crust forms marked
polygonal pressure ridges.

The distribution of sabkha areas within the United Arab Emirates is shown in Fig. 1. and an indication
of the type of terrain is shown in Plates 1 and 2.

3. GEOLOGY

The geology of the coastal sabkha plains of Abu Dhabi has been studied in great detail particularly by the
Geology Department of Imperial College London, and their findings have been well documented. 5- 18

The sabkha was formed by levelling of Pleistocene sand dunes through wind erosion and extreme storm
tides, followed by a recent period of sedimentation. Since the deposition of these sediments, there has been
extensive formation of evaporitic minerals as a result of reactions which involved the marine derived ground-
waters. The groundwaters themselves have been concentrated by evaporation, and as a result, most of them
are virtually saturated with respect to sodium chloride. The water-table is usually within 2 metres of the
sabkha surface,and salinities of the groundwater range from 70 to about 400 parts per thousand compared
with salinities of 55 to 75 parts per thousand in the adjacent lagoon waters.

Figures 2 and 3 (after Evans et al 6 ) s h o w details of a prof'fle through the sabkha on a line AA shown
on Figure 1. The sabkha is broken down into four main units but highway engineers will be mainly concerned
with units 1 and 4. The other units would usually be found in saturated conditions and it would be impractical
to excavate them for highway construction. Thus, in this area, sabkhas likely to be used for road construction
would probably be brown quartzose carbonate sands. The performance characteristics of sabkha are usually
attributed to the variable content of evaporitic minerals, and Table 2 (also from Evans et al 6) gives an
indication of the variable composition with depth.

Gypsum is most common in the sabkhas beneath the abandoned beach ridge where it occurs as scattered
crystals or as a gypsum mush. Farther inland it forms cemented masses o f sediment a few m m to a few cm
thick. Butler 1 6 has stated that gypsum is the stable calcium sulphate mineral in contact with brines o f
chlorine contents less than 145 parts per thousand by weight and anhydrite at chlorine contents greater than
145 parts per thousand by weight. Anhydrite occurs mainly in the brown sediments in the top o f unit 4 and
is reckoned to occur as (a) sharply defined nodules, (b) both regular and irregular contorted beds and
(c) irregularly-shaped masses which grade almost imperceptibly into the surrounding brown sediment. Except
where they are now exposed all occurrences are soft and plastic.

Low magnesium Calcite is found in the brown sabkhas together with a low dolomite content and sparse
occurrence of magnesite. Halite is present to some extent in most of the sediments above the water table.

3
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4
 4. ENGINEERING PROPERTIES

In an environment where traditional road building materials are economically available the use of sabkha
would normally be excluded. However, in spite of its failure to meet conventional specifications, local
experience in the Arabian Gulf has shown that under certain circumstances its performance has been better
than expected. In general terms we may consider a good sabkha road as an example of salt stabilisation
(i.e. as a silty carbonate sand naturally stabilised with evaporitic minerals). A study of the work done on
salt stabilisation, notably in USA, provides a useful background to the mechanics of salt stabilization and
Thornburn and Mura 19 have carried out a useful review of the literature on this subject. They conclude that
salt stabilisation... 'has been carried out successfully in the field for m a n y y e a r s b u t attempts to utilise
laboratory tests to predict field behaviour have generally been unsuccessful. This is probably because lab-
oratory curing procedures have not usually involved wet/dry cycles which may be necessary to produce the
required strength'.

Some of the effects of salts that are most likely to influence the engineering properties o f sabkha a r e : -

(a) absorption of moisture from the air by sodium chloride at Relative Humidities greater than
80 per cent.

(b) absorption of moisture from the air by calcium chloride at Relative Humidities greater than
30 per cent. (In coastal areas of Abu Dhabi the daily range of Relative Humidity is approx.
4 0 - 1 0 0 per cent.)

(c) increased surface tension is created when sodium chloride is dissolved in water thus reducing
evaporation.

(d) increased solubility of limestone, dolomite and gypsum in sodium chloride solutions as compared
with pure water.

(e) instability of gypsum (CaSO 4 2 H 2 0 ) under hot and humid conditions since dehydration and
hydration occur at natural temperatures with consequent changes in volume.

(0 Crystallization as a cementing agent.

For assessing the value of sabkha to a highway engineer, it is convenient to discuss the situation under
the following headings:

(i) Summary of test data

(ii) Unsurfaced sabkha roads

(iii) Effect of sabkha on route location

(iv) Sabkha as sub-base or fill material

(v) Sabkha as road base.

For this discussion all comments relate to the types of sabkhas that are easily accessible to engineers,
i.e. the brown sabkhas rather than the grey sabkhas. The figures quoted are based on information obtained
by the TRRL and from results made available to TRRL by various organisations. It should be emphasized
that sabkha is a very .variable material and that in the present state of knowledge the selection of sabkha for

5
road works should normally be based on field trials. However, there are indications that with more experience
gained from controlled field trials it may be possible to select sabkhas on the basis of their chemical and
physical properties as determined in the laboratory 20.

4.1 Summary of test data

Particle size distribution - results of wet sieving tests on numerous sabkha samples from Abu Dhabi and
Dubai have shown that, in general, between 55 and 70 per cent of the material lies between BS sieve sizes 300Pro
and 7 5 ~ (No.52 and No.200) and hence they are outside normal specifications for mechanically-stable
materials. Figure 4 shows how sabkha gradings compare with the grading limits normally accepted for
mechanically stable bases 20. Samples containing material from the top 150 m m (6 inches) of a sabkha area
will generally have a high proportion passing BS Sieve 75psn (No.200). Water solubility may also affect the
determination of particle size distribution if a wet sieving technique is used since all dissolved material will
be classed as passing the BS 75grn (No.200) sieve. Curtis et al 9 have recorded a sabkha 4 - 5 cm (1% - 2
inches) below the surface with a maximum 26 per cent by weight soluble in water. Samples tested in Abu
Dhabi by a T R R L team for possible use as road base materials gave water solubilities of between 3 and 12 per
cent. Where it is necessary to be precise sieving may be carried out with a non polar solvent such as kerosene
or methylene-chloride and this technique has been carried out at T R R L by Russell in his examinations of
sabkha samples and will be reported shortly.

Plasticity - the brown sabkhas are generally non plastic as indicated by zero shrinkage in the linear
shrinkage test 21 but isolated samples showed shrinkages between 0 and 4 per cent. This would indicate max.
P.I. values of about 8.

Compaction - the brown sabkha of Abu Dhabi generally gives maximum dry densities in the BS Heavy
Compaction Test 21 of between 1.71 and 1.91 Mg/m 3 (107 and 119 lb/cu ft) with corresponding optimum
moisture contents of 15 to 8 per cent.

CBR - for samples compacted at optimum moisture content and 95 per cent of BS Heavy Maximum
Dry Density a CBR value between 10 per cent and 15 per cent may be expected. At 100 per cent relative
compaction this figure m a y be increased to over 60 per cent but experience in the field suggests that this
higher degree of compaction is rarely achieved in the initial construction. Laboratory samples compacted to
95 per cent relative BS Heavy compaction and left for 20 days before testing have shown an increase in strength
to give CBR values between 25 per cent and 50 per cent. In-situ CBR's of over 80 per cent have been reported
from existing sabkha tracks and values of the same order are suggested from the results of a laboratory investi-
gation of small samples of sabkha base material taken from existing surfaced roads in Dubai.

Chemical properties - sabkha exhibits considerable variations in its chemical composition, as shown in
Table 2. Samples taken with road applications in mind have given the following range of values:

Calcium Carbonate content varies between 12 - 85 per cent

Calcium Sulphate (Gypsum and Anhydrite) between 0 - 30 per cent
and Sodium Chloride from about 0.8 - 28 per cent.

During field work in Abu Dhabi it was found convenient to make approximations to the carbonate,
gypsum and chloride contents on the respective bases of (a) the percentage of sabkha soluble in hydrochloric

6
 acid, (b) loss in weight between material dried at 80 ° C and 130 ° C and (c) the percentage of material soluble
in water.

The method for the more accurate determination of the chemical composition of sabkha type materials
will appear in a TRRL report under preparation by Russell, together with a more detailed discussion o f their
chemical properties.

4.2 Unsurfaced sabkha roads

Until 1966, except within the town of Dubai, there were no paved roads in the states which now form
the United Arab Emirates. Wherever possible the existing tracks followed the sabkha fiats since they provided
a hard flat surface for travelling over in contrast to the soft sand areas which were the only alternative.
These tracks performed satisfactorily with little or no maintenance for most of the year and tracks in regular
use often exhibit a characteristic black surface, which at first glance may even be confused with a bituminous
surfacing. Only in the rare event of rain or when there was an unusual combination of wind and tide, did the
tracks become impassable. Until very recently many important town roads in Abu Dhabi were sabkha tracks.
Maintenance takes the form of soaking the surface with water and then reshaping with a grader.

The good performance of unsurfaced sabkha roads would appear to depend on the formation o f a thin
salt crust which becomes very tightly compacted under traffic. In a humid area the salt's affinity for water
enables the sabkha to hold enough water to keep itself bound together, but at dawn and dusk when the
humidity is at its highest the sabkha surface may become very slippery.

Deterioration of unsurfaced sabkha roads takes the form of potholing rather than rutting.

In this type of environment unsurfaced sabkha roads may still play an important role for lightly trafficked
routes and there is a good case for the construction of properly engineered unsurfaced sabkha roads to be used
as the first stage of a stage construction process.

4.3 Effect of sabkha on route location

It has already been stated that most existing unsurfaced tracks followed the sabkha plains where possible.
A decision that may need to be made is whether future new roads in coastal areas should follow a route across
the sabkha plains or whether to move the proposed routes farther inland, usually into soft sand.

The following factors will affect the decision reached:

(1) An embankment will probably be required over the sabkha plains in order to overcome the
adverse effects of:

(a) inundation by the sea at times of high tide and onshore winds.
(b) possible flooding due to freak rainstorms.
(c) high water table.

Costs will be dependent upon the height of embankment which is considered necessary and an
assessment of the risks of subsequent settlement.

(2) If economic factors are not of prime importance an inland route may overcome possible objections
to driving large distances on featureless coastal salt flats.
4.4 S a b k h a as fill or sub-base

Normal specifications for sub-base require that the material should have a CBR of over 25 per cent.
At the time of compaction few sabkhas will exhibit this strength but many will attain the required strength
after a few days. Trafficking will generally encourage the formation of a sound well knit surface and improve
the degree of compaction. Sabkha has been used as fill and in effect as sub-base on the Abu Dhabi - Dubai
road which is at present under construction.

There is no evidence to suggest that selected sabkha should not be used as sub-base material in conditions
where the ground water table is likely to be more than 1 metre beneath the final road surface and the pavement
is suitably protected from the ingress of moisture.

4.5 S a b k h a as road base

If sabkha could be used satisfactorily for road bases in this particular environment where other base
materials are scarce then road building costs could be significantly reduced.

Not unnaturally consultants with a reputation to preserve have been reluctant to use sabkha bases for
surfaced roads which are likely to carry heavy traffic for long periods. However, sabkha bases have been used
with some success on town roads in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

During a visit to the Dubai area in 1967, over 30 small samples of sabkha were collected from borrow
pits or from bases o f existing roads. These were analysed chemically and the results compared with a local
assessment of the suitability of each material given by local road engineers. At that time it was tentatively
concluded that the following chemical criteria may prove a useful guide in selecting suitable sabkha for road
use;
(a) A carbonate content of approx. 50 per cent by weight or greater

or (b) A lower carbonate content in conjunction with a sulphate content of approx. 5 per cent by
weight or greater.

(c) High sodium chloride content may be tolerated provided that correspondingly high proportions
of sulphate and/or carbonate are present.

As a result o f suction tests and the consideration of equilibrium moisture content in road bases it was
also concluded that adequate performance may be expected where the water table is more than 1 metre below
the surface. However in areas with large fluctuations in the depth of the watertable there may be volume
changes due to variation in moisture content, and recrystallisation of mobilised salts.

Another factor affecting the suitability of sabkha as a base is the way it behaves when covered with a
layer o f bitumen or bituminous material. In this respect also the performance o f sabkha has been the subject
o f conflicting reports.

The application of cut back bitumen as a priming coat on a sabkha base has met with mixed success.
Some engineers report that no problems were encountered but others have found that the bitumen layer was
completely 'rejected'. Experience from Abu Dhabi and Dubai suggests that such failures could not be attributed
to bad construction practice.

8
 5. USE OF S I M I L A R M A T E R I A L FROM O T H E R A R E A S

Materials with some similarities to sabkha have been used with varying degrees o f success by engineers in other
countries and a brief summary of their experiences is given below, together with comments about likely
sabkha performance. The author has not visited any of the countries mentioned below and the information
which has been extracted from official correspondence and published reports is quoted without c o m m e n t .

5.1 South Africa 22

Sabkha type materials have not been used for road bases under bituminous surfacings in South Africa
or South West Africa. However, the coastal salt deposits of the Swakopmund area of South West Africa make
good unsurfaced roads, though slippery when wet. Further inland gypseous calcretes also provide good
materials for unsurfaced roads.

It is suggested that the main problems in using such materials may be crystallization of soluble salt and
hydration causing blisters and lifting and cracking of bituminous surfacings over unstabilised bases. The above
factors may additionally cause disintegration of the top inch of cement-stabilised bases made from this material.
The South West Africa Roads Department specify a maximum of 1 or 2 per cent gypsum in bases under
bitumen, but this figure is not based on a study of failed and unfailed bases; a higher gypsum content than
this would probably be allowed for unstabilised bases. Weinert and Clauss 23 suggest m a x i m u m chloride
contents of 0.5 per cent and sulphate contents not exceeding 0.05 per cent.

The presence of water may create hazards such as:

(a) Swelling due to the transition of anhydrite to gypsum
(b) 'sulphate' attack on cement stabiliser due to gypsum content
(c) retardation and possible prevention of the hardening process of the cement stabiliser due to
high quantity of gypsum
(d) collapse due to solution of halite crystals.

Acid formation is not considered as a hazard when carbonates are available for neutralization.

From these comments it may be concluded that the South Africans would consider most sabkha as
unsuitable for use as a base under a bituminous surfacing but acceptable for unsurfaced roads.

5.2 North Africa 24~ 25, 26, 2 7

Material from the "chotts" of the Sahara has not been used for road construction because the simulta-
neous presence of chloride and clay in a gypseous sand led to large differential swelling in the base. The
gypseous sands that were used for road construction contained ~ 30 per cent CaSO 4 and only about 5 p e r cent
CaCO 3. The compressive strength of the gypseous sand is a function of the gypsum content and o f the
percentage of fines. In general roads were not built on "chotts" sfnce it was believed that deformations
would occur sooner or later. Material containing smaller percentages of gypsum (CaSO 4 2 H 2 0 ) were used
as sub-base.

Acceptable construction practice requires that the material must be wetted homogeneously using some
form of pulvimixer, to a moisture content which takes into account the eventual evaporation caused by the
9
high temperatures. Compaction can then be carried out at optimum moisture content. Pavement layers must
be extremely even and grader operators must produce perfect surfacings first time. Reworking results in
laminations due to the non-adhesion of layers brought back to the surface and therefore defects must be
remedied by complete re-mixing.

The completed base is sealed with a cutback bitumen and a two or three layer surface dressing was
found to be the most suitable surfacing
(a) because the layer is thin, deformations can occur without cracking
(b) because of the fairly high proportion of bituminous binder added, ageing is slow and the binder
retains its flexibility.

Occasionally a "coffee grounds" effect is caused by the use of certain binders as a priming coat. Surface
cohesion is lost due to the selective absorption of the binder flux oils 24 and it is reported that it may be
cured by using a more viscous cutback.

5.3 Australia 28' 29

It is believed that due to its high calcium carbonate content sabkha should behave better as a road
material than material from the clay pans in arid Australia. Suggested selection criteria would be maximal
calcium carbonate content and minimal proportions of halite anhydrite and gypsum.

Cole and Lewis 29 have shown that sodium chloride contents in excess of 0.5 per cent are sufficient to
cause disruptions o f compacted sandy clay soils beneath untrafficked areas. The bitumen surface over such
areas exhibited a complete lack of bond between the bitumen and the underlying soil' or gravel. The soil
immediately beneath the bitumen had become 'fluffy' and unstable.

5.4 S u d a n 30

A material used for unsurfaced roads and known locally as salt marsh is available along the Red Sea
coastal plain and has been described as basically a silty substance containing varying amounts of sand and
vegetable matter. It is found in all low lying areas that are either subject to periodic inundation by sea water
or have a very high water table. In the latter case it is thought that salt pan that is excavated from more than
2 metres above standing water level will not possess the hygroscopicity necessary to retain the moisture
required for compaction. At the other end of the scale there is salt-marsh that lies just above and below
standing water level that is highly hygroscopic containing 40 per cent - 50 per cent salt by volume. This
material is grey in colour and when rolled out and dry will form a hard durable water resistant surface.

Two features are responsible for the durability of salt pan, both fundamentally depending on the retained
moisture content of the surfacing; hygroscopicity o f the material and, the height of the water table. Grey
salt pan will last well on ground over a low water table, but surface (brown) salt pan relies on a high water
table, (i.e. within 1.5 metres of surface). Thus the use of this material resolves into two groups depending
on the standing water level of the country being traversed.

10
 6. E X P E R I M E N T O N T H E A B U D H A B I -- D U B A I R O A D

In order to gain further information on the use of sabkha as a base material, a full-scale experiment was made
on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai road by a team from the Overseas Unit, TRRL, during August-September 1971.
The object of the experiment was to study the performance o f three different sabkha materials. The essential
differences between the three sabkhas are tabulated in Table 3. One experimental section of each type of
sabkha was sealed above and below in order to isolate the base from moisture movements. For comparison
a gravel and a crushed rock base were also included in the experiment (see Figure 5).
TABLE 3
Chemical characteristics of sabkhas used
for full scale experiment

Sabkha Sabkha Sabkha

A B C

Silica 26.6 28.6 45.3

Sodium Chloride 5.4 5.7 0.1
Calcium Chloride 4.3 2.1 3.1
Magnesium Chloride 0.3 0.3 0.2
Calcium Carbonate 11.7 56.0 37.2
Magnesium Carbonate 7.6 1.7 1.7
Calcium Sulphate 33.2 NIL 4.2

The experiment was constructed on a sabkha embankment crossing a sabkha plain about 5 km from
the junction with the Abu Dhabi-A1 Ain Road. Up to formation level the construction was the same as that
for the non-experimental road on either side. During construction of the experiment, traffic was diverted
onto the floor of the sabkha plain.

The compaction of the formation was checked by means of dry density tests determined in accordance
with the 4 in sand replacement method specified in BS 1377 21. Sections 4, 5 and 8 were then sprayed with
two applications of crude oil in order to provide a waterproof surface. The base material was spread by a
motor grader, sprayed with water to raise the moisture content for compaction and then mixed and levelled
with a grader. Compaction was checked again using the sand replacement method of determining dry density
and the surface was then sprayed with MC2 followed by a double surface dressing. A detailed report will be
made when evidence is available on the relative performance of the different sections.

It is intended that the sections should be covered with a 50 m m thickness o f asphaltic concrete surfacing
before the contractor finishes the whole road at the end of 1972. However, if the surface dressed sabkha
sections perform satisfactorily it is hoped to persuade the authorities to delay overlaying until an indication
of their long-term service under traffic is established. This would give an indication o f whether, for lightly-
trafficked roads, surface-dressed sabkha, ultimately strengthened with premixed overlays when traffic
increases, would be satisfactory and economical for this area.

Whilst it is too early to suggest which of the three sabkhas gives the best performance as a base material
it may be of value to note some of the construction problems associated with laying these materials. Sabkha
'A' laid on Sections 3 and 4 was by far the easiest material to use. Its natural moisture content was such that

11
it could be compacted without the addition of further water and rolling very quickly produced a firm well
knit surface. In contrast Sabkha 'C' laid on Sections 7 and 8 required the addition of a considerable quantity
of water and all attempts at compaction produced a loose and overstressed surface. The surface finally
achieved was only barely acceptable and was produced by successive watering with saline water and rolling.
Some of the above problems but less severe were experienced with Sabkha 'B'. All sections were opened to
traffic for two days to improve the surface condition before MC2 prime was sprayed.

7. CONCLUSIONS

1. Sabkha is a very variable material and thus its performance in road bases is likewise bound to be very
variable.

2. On present evidence the most suitable sabkha for road building is likely to be one which satisfies the
following characteristics:

(a) an~ability to compact to produce a sound well-knit surface

(b) a carbonate content greater than 50 per cent by weight or lower carbonate content with a
sulphate content approximately 5 per cent by weight or greater.
(c) high sodium chloride content provided that correspondingly high proportions of sulphate
and/or carbonate are present.

. Standard laboratory tests do not necessarily'provide adequate prediction of field behaviour and field
trials remain the most reliable m e t h o d of assessing the performance of sabkha as a road building
material. However, with further experience from full-scale trials it may be possible to select sabkhas
for use as bases from the results of laboratory tests.

4. I f sabkha is used as a base material the road surface should be at least 1 metre above the highest water-
table.

5. Different selection criteria are needed for surfaced and unsurfaced sabkha roads. For unsurfaced roads,
the hygroscopic properties of sodium and/or calcium chlorides assist in maintaining the necessary moisture
content required to give a sound well-knit surface but these constituents are not necessarily beneficial under
a bituminous surfacing.

8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to acknowledge the help and assistance received from many people and organisations.
In particular:
H.H. Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan A1 Nahyan - Ruler of Abu Dhabi for his cooperation and support for the
T R R L team based in Abu Dhabi.
H.E. Sheikh Hamden bin Mohammed, A1 Nahyan, Minister of Public Works,
and Engineers and Officials f r o m : -
Ministry o f Public Works, Abu Dhabi
Dubai State Engineer
Trucial States Development Council

12
 British Petroleum
Consolidated Contractors Co.
Darwish Engineering Co.
Sir William Halcrow & Partners
Pauling (Middle East) Ltd.
Sauti Overseas Anstalt

9. REFERENCES

1. THESIGER, W. Arabian Sands, Penguin Books Ltd. Harmondsworth, 1964.

2. INNES,M. The Doomed Oasis, Fontana Books, 1963.

3. MILITARY ENGINEERING EXPERIMENTAL ESTABLISHMENT CHRISTCHURCH. Report No. 1124

Glossary of local physiographic and hydrogeological terms about World hot deserts. (Military Engineering
Experimental Establishment, May 1969).

4. NEAL, J.T. Playa variation. Arid Lands in perspective. Edited by W.G. McGinnies and B.J. Goldman.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science and the University of Arizona Press.

5. SHEARMAN,D.J. Origin of marine evaporites by diagenesis. Transactions of Institution of Mining

and Metallurgy. Vol 75 1966 Bulletin No. 717 pp B208-B215.

6. EVANS,G., V. SCHMIDT, P. BUSH and H. NELSON. Stratigraphy and Geologic,history of the sabkha,
Abu Dhabi, Persian Gulf Sedimentology, 12 (I 969) 145-159.

7, EVANS,G. The recent sedimentary facies of the Persian Gulf region Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society of London 1966, 259 No. 1099 Series A pp 291-298.

8. SHEARMAN,D.J. Recent anhydrite, gypsum, dolomite and halite from the coastal fiats of the Arabian
shore of the Persian Gulf. Proceedings of the Geological Society of London No. 1607 (Session 1962-3)
Published 2 July 1963.

9. CURTIS,R., G. EVANS, D.J.J. KINSMAN, and D.J. SHEARMAN. Association of dolomite and anhy-
drite in therecent sediments of the Persian Gulf. Nature, London. 197 pp 679--680. 1963.

10. EVANS,G., C.G.St.C. KENDALL, and Sir P.A.d'E SKIPWITH. Origin of the coastal fiats, the sabkha
of the Trucial coast, Persian Gulf. Nature, London Vol 202 pp 759-761 1964.

I I. WELLS,A.J. Recent dolomite in the Persian Gulf. Nature, London Vol. 194 pp 274-275 1962.

12. SHEARMAN,D.J. and P.A. d'E. SKIPWlTH. Organic matter in recent and ancient limestones and its
role in their diagenesis. Nature, London Vol 208 pp 1310-1311 1965.

13. EVANS,G., D.J.J. KINSMAN and D.J. SHEARMAN. A reconnaissance survey of the environment of
recent carbonate sedimentation along the Trucial coast, Persian Gull Developments in Sedimentology
Vol. 1. Proceedings of 6th. Int. Sed. Congress 1963. Elsevier Publishing Co. 1964.
13
14. EVANS, G., and D.J. SHEARMAN. Recent celestine from the sediments of the Trucial coast of the
Persian Gulf. Nature, London Vol. 202 pp 3 8 5 - 3 8 6 1964.

15. KINSMAN, D.J.J. The recent carbonate sediments near Halat el Bahrain, Trucial coast, Persian Gulf.
Developments in sedimentology Vol. 1. Proceedings 6th Int. Sed. Congress 1963. Elsevier Publishing
Co, 1964.

16. BUTLER, G.P. Modern evaporite deposition and geochemistry of coexisting brines the sabkha, Trucial
. .o. a. .s t ,
~ ' -- "--'~
A~abian ~ u , . Journal o f Sedimentary Petrology"voi.
~ ' ", ~" No. I pp 7 0 - 8 9 .tvia,~,~t
. . . 1. •~96:,.
,,

17. WELLS, A.J. and L.V. ILLING. Present day precipitation of calcium carbonate in the Persian Gulf.
Developments in Sedimentology Vol. 1. Proceedings 6th Int. Sed. Congress 1963. Elsevier Publishing
Co. 1964.

18. KINSMAN, D.J.J., S. GOLUBIC, R.K. PARK, and R.J. PATTERSON. Early diagenesis of carbonate
sediments in a supratidal evaporitic setting. Second Annual progress report and third semi-annual
progress report (1970) (Preliminary) Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton
University USA.

19. THORNBURN, T.H., and R. MURA. Stabilization of soils with inorganic salts and bases: A review of
the literature. Highway Research Record No. 294 pp 1 - 2 2 1969.

20. O ' R E I L L Y , M.P., and R.S. MILLARD. Roadmaking materials and pavement design in tropical and
sub-tropical countries. Ministry of Transport, R R L Report LR 279, Crowthorne, Berks. 1969
(Road Research Laboratory).

21. BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION. British Standard 1377:1967. Methods of testing soils for
civil engineering purposes, London 1967 (British Standards Institution).

22. Correspondence between T R R L and National Institute for Road Research, South Africa.

23. WEINERT, H.H., and K.A. CLAUSS. Soluble salts in road foundations. Proc. 4th Reg. Conf. Soil
Mech. Fndn. Eng., Cape Town, Vol. 1 pp 2 1 3 - 2 1 8 . Discussion in Vol. 2.

24. Correspondence between T R R L and Laboratoire Centrale du Ponts et Chaussees.

25. Roads in the Sahara Desert -- The primary role of gypsum in the building of desert roads. African Roads
and Transport. January/February 1960 Vol.XVII! No.1 p 27.

26. FUMET, P. Roadways made of gypseous sand and of chemically stabilized sand. Symposium on soil
stabilization. Nairobi 3 - 8 Oct. 1960. (Scientific Council for Africa South of the Sahara).

27. FENZY, E. Particularites de la technique routiere au Sahara. Revue Generale de Routes et des
Aerodromes. No. 411 de Juin 1966.

28. Correspondence between T R R L and Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation,
Australia.
14
29. COLE, D.C.H., and J.G. LEWIS. Progress report on the effect o f soluble salts on stability of compacted
soils. Third Australia - New Zealand Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. 1960.
(Institution of Engineers, Australia. Sydney, 1963).

30. BIDGOOD, R. Report on the use of natural hygroscopic materials for road surfaces and bases (with
reference to the Red Sea coastal plain - A.E. Sudan.) (Unpublished).

15
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(m) -.....:'.:.-...'.-:.-...: .':'-:......-[..-........~f ~ ,

Ei
(~)~---~ U p p e r c o m p l e x
(see fig.3)
Unconformity T Tertiary (~)F~ Grey muddy
c a r b o n a t e sand
,--~,~ D i a s t e m HW High w a t e r level
Grey quortzose
L W Low w a t e r level ( ~ D ~ c a r b o n a t e sand
B R Abandoned beach Brown quartzose
ridge O~ c a r b o n a t e sand
0 2 (km) D^ ~ P r e s e n t - d a y
''=--algal f l a t Dalnrnit~
I

Fig. 2. SABKHA PROFILE ON AA FROM FI6.1

A A ..-.~
m) l~- Dolomite common _I
1 BR -i
Magnesite present I
mWhite salt crust ~j
'- on surface ~ ~ - ~ ~ "~

-o ;:.b7 °'"
O l(km) ~." ~ ~ / "
, , , / }
o^ o~.~ . . . . C e r i t h i d rich
~ " ( ~ l " ~ ' J coquina
HW • " "" ...... ~,~r "~ (;-~=-~-~ Grey q u a r t z o s e
~j~~j/-~ ~,~.~s~, -J~ ~L~)I;-'--'I
c a r b o n a t e sand

* -~ S t o r m t~(gh.
SHW S.t_or_m high ~ ~r~-~ Grey carbonate
J ~ " ~'i.'" w a t e r level ~(~)I;••':1 mud and sand
~
e • • •
'
e • •
~
e l-
, W Highwoter level ~ Brown muddy
'W J ~ " LW LOW w a t e r level ~ c a r b o n a t e sand
--- . . " . * ,~ •~-,,A,~,~C#' __ Abandoned beach ~ Z o n e of a b u n d a n t
• *-, ~.r" I~1~ ridge k\\'l a n h y d r i t e
,.~.r-r'~- -vvv" Unconformity 1771 Zone o f a bundant
LH Lithified h o r i z o n VIA gypsum,gypsum mush
,. ; , , ~ (diastem)

Fig.& UPPER COMLEX SABKHA FROM FIG.2.

 B.S. s i e v e s
~m mm
A

O. 0 0 oJ 8 k r ~c ~ O0 CO
,-,,.,. o~0 ,,:. o
(J c~c~ c ~ c b o.I C~l t,') L£) r,,,
100

i
ll[l "
90

80
¢;

O 70
¢-
¢) II
u GO II
£_
13L t II
50
t-
O ' I ~ \ ~ ]
40 f
O
E Extreme range . . . .
E 3O
U3
20 I~\~ Normal range

10

0
0-01 0"1 1
Liliikii 1 10 1OO
Particle size (mm)
PARTICLE SIZE OISTRIBUTIOH OF SABKHAS

B.S. s i e v e s
llm mm
A ~F A it
0 ouSm 0 ~ I1")
0 0
(.0~.
•-
~( . oao~
0 ~ ~-
040 ~.-
~
f,') t'~
c~6a ob I n ~
o~ oe ~.o
tkl(~l M I L 3 I~
16J t~,-
lO0

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f
BO
o3
o
.qJ
70
t-
U GO
I-

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5O
C
0
.m
40
o
E 3O
E
U3
2O

10

0
0 "01 0.1 10 100
Particle size ( r a m )
PARTICLE SIZE OISTRIBUTION OF SABKHA COMPAREO WITH
RECOMMENBEO LIMITS
Fig. i..
 c o
o--
0 r-

u
o
t/)

C o
o~
0

u
o
o
bO

'0

c 0 "o
o~
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O
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(J

h 7-
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.J o
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0
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o

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>
u o
f_

c "o
0
°m

~J {_
{_
iJ

Lod
 ° ~

- 7-
°

Neg No CR 1148/71/5
PLATE 1
Sabkha plain near Abu Dhabi

I -: ......... L "
. . . . :~ :-~: Y::~1_"2]L,.S-.

Neg No CR 1148/71/1
PLATE 2
Sabkha plain with outcrop in background

(1787) D d 8 9 1 7 9 6 3,500 1/73 H P L t d . , S o ' t o n G1915

P R I N T E D IN ENGLAND
 ABSTRACT

Arabian salt-bearing soil (Sabkha) as an engineering material: C I ELLIS, B.Sc., C.Eng.,

M.I.C.E., A.M. Inst., H.E.: Department o f the Environment, T R R L Report L R 523:
Crowthorne, 1973 (Transport and Road Research Laboratory). Sabkha is essentially a
carbonate sand containing varying proportions of evaporitic minerals and is f o u n d in the salt
flats of the Arabian peninsula. This Report discusses the highway engineering properties and
uses of the material and compares its performance with that o f similar saline materials in
other arid areas of the world. The manner in which the evaporitic minerals contribute to
the performance of the material in road construction is not fully understood and in order
to find out more about their influence on the performance o f sabkha road bases, a full-
scale experiment has been constructed to study the relative performance under traffic o f
three different sabkhas used as road bases under a thin bituminous surfacing.

ABSTRACT

Arabian salt-bearing soil (Sabkha) as an engineering material: C I ELLIS, B.Sc., C.Eng.,

M.I.C.E., A.M. Inst., H.E.: Department o f the Environment, T R R L R e p o r t LR 523:
Crowthorne, 1973 (Transport and Road Research Laboratory). Sabkha is essentially a
carbonate sand containing varying proportions of evaporitic minerals and is f o u n d in the salt
flats of the Arabian peninsula. This Report discusses the highway engineering properties and
uses of the material and compares its performance with that o f similar saline materials in
other arid areas of the world. The manner in which the evaporitic minerals contribute to
the performance of the material in road construction is not fully u n d e r s t o o d and in order
to find out more about their influence on the performance o f sabkha road bases, a full-
scale experiment has been constructed to study the relative performance under traffic o f
three different sabkhas used as road bases under a thin b i t u m i n o u s surfacing.