Use of Locally Available Materials

and Stabilisation Technique

Soil Stabilization
The soil stabilization means the improvement of
stability or bearing power of the soil by the use of
controlled compaction, proportioning and/or the
addition of suitable admixture or stabilizers.
Basic Principles of Soil Stabilization.
Evaluating the properties of given soil
Deciding the lacking property of soil and choose
effective and economical method of soil stabilization
Designing the Stabilized soil mix for intended stability
and durability values
Need for Soil Stabilization
Limited Financial Resources to Provide a
complete network Road System to build
in conventional method
Effective utilization of locally available
soils and other suitable stabilizing agents.
Encouraging the use of Industrial
Wastages in building low cost construction
of roads.
Methods of Soil Stabilization
Mechanical Stabilization
Soil Cement Stabilization
Soil Lime Stabilization
Soil Bitumen Stabilization
Lime Fly ash Stabilization
Lime Fly ash Bound Macadam.


Mechanical Stabilization
This method is suitable for low volume roads
i.e. Village roads in low rainfall areas.
This method involves the correctly
proportioning of aggregates and soil,
adequately compacted to get mechanically
stable layer
The Basic Principles of Mechanical Stabilization
are Correct Proportioning and Effective
Compaction

Desirable Properties of Soil-
Aggregate Mix
Adequate Strength
Incompressibility
Less Changes in Volume
Stability with Variation in water content
Good drainage, less frost Susceptibility
Ease of Compaction.


Factors Affecting Mechanical
Stabilization
Mechanical Strength of aggregates
Gradation
Properties of the Soil
Presence of Salts
Compaction
Mechanical Strength
When the soil is used in small proportion to fill
up the voids the crushing strength of aggregates
is important
Gradation
A well graded aggregate soil mix results in a mix
with high dry density and stability values
Properties of soil
A mix with Plasticity Index, results poor stability
under soaking conditions. Hence it is desirable to
limit the plasticity index of the soil
Presence of Chemicals
Presence of Salts like Sulphates and mica
are undesirable
Presence of Calcium Chloride is Beneficial
Compaction
Effective Compaction is desirable to
produce high density and stability mix
Soil Cement Stabilization

Soil Cement is an intimate mix of soil,
cement and water, compacted to form a
strong base course
Cement treated or cement modified soil
refers to the compacted mix when cement is
used in small proportions to impart some
strength
Soil Cement can be used as a sub-base or
base course for all types of Pavements
Factors affecting soil cement stabilization

Soil
Cement
Pulverisation and Mixing
Compaction
Curing
Additives
Soil
THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES


Particle Size Distribution
Clay content
Specific Surface
Liquid limit and Plasticity Index
Cement
A increase in cement content generally
causes increase in strength and durability
Pulverisation and Mixing
Better the Pulverisation and degree of mixing,
higher is the strength
Presence of un pulverised dry lumps reduces
the strength
Compaction
By increasing the amount of compaction dry
density of the mix, strength and durability also
increases
Curing
Adequate Moisture content is to be retained in
order to accelerate the strength
Additives
There are some additives to improve properties
Lime
Sodium hydroxide
Sodium Carbonate
Calcium Chloride


Design of Soil Cement Mix
Soil Cement specimens are prepared with
various cement contents in constant volumes
moulds
The compressive strength of these specimens
tested after 7 days of curing
A graph is plotted Cement content Vs
compressive strength
The Cement Content Corresponding to a
strength of 17.5 kg/cm
2
is taken as design
cement content

Soil Lime Stabilization
Soil- Lime has been widely used as a
modifier or a binder
Soil-Lime is used as modifier in high plasticity
soils
Soil Lime also imparts some binding action
even in granular soils

Soil-Lime is effectively used in Expansive
soils with high plasticity index.
Factors affecting Properties of Soil-Lime
Lime Content
Generally increase in lime content causes
slight change in liquid limit and considerable
increase in Plasticity index
The rate of increase is first rapid and then
decreases beyond a certain limit
The point is often termed as lime fixation
point
This is considered as design lime content
Type of Lime

After long curing periods all types of limes
produce same effects. However quick lime
has been found more effective than
hydrated lime
Calcium Carbonate must be heated at higher
temperature to form Quick lime calcium
oxide( CaO)
Calcium oxide must be slaked ( by the
addition of water) to form Hydrated lime

Compaction
Compaction is done at OMC and maximum
dry density.
Curing
The strength of soil-lime increases with curing
period upto several years. The rate of
increase is rapid during initial period
The humidity of the surroundings also affects
the strength
Additives
Sodium metasilicate, Sodium hydroxide and
Sodium Sulphate are also found useful
additives

Soil- Bituminous Stabilization
The Basic Principles of this stabilization are
Water Proofing and Binding
By Water Proofing inherent strength and
other properties could be retained
Most Commonly used materials are Cutback
and Emulsion
Bitumen Stabilized layer may be used as
Sub-base or base course for all the roads
Factors affecting properties of soil-bitumen
Soil
The particle size, shape and gradation of the
soil influence the properties of the soil-bitumen
mix.
Types of Bitumen
Cutbacks of higher grade should be preferred
Emulsions generally gives slightly inferior
results than Cutback.

Amount of Mixing
Increasing proportion of bitumen causes a
decrease in dry density but increases the
stability after a certain bitumen content
The optimum bitumen content for maximum
stability generally ranges from 4 to 6%
Mixing
Improved type of mixing with low mixing period
may be preferred
Compaction
Effective Compaction results higher
stability and resistance to absorb water
Additives
Anti stripping and reactive chemical
additives have been tried to improve the
properties of the mixes
Portland cement can also be used along with
the soil bitumen


Use of Locally Available Materials
in Road Construction
Necessity
Scarcity of good quality
aggregates / soil for road
construction
Production and accumulation of
different waste materials
Disposal and environmental
problem
Economical and gainful
utilisation
Limitations of Using Waste Materials
Quality of waste is not controlled by
their manufacturers
Characteristics of by-products vary in a
wide range
Road construction practice is
accustomed to traditional materials of
steady quality
Specifications of layers compaction of
traditional materials are not suitable for
waste materials
General Criteria for Use of Waste
Materials
Amount of yearly produced waste
material should reach a certain lower
limit
The hauling distance should be
acceptable
The material should not have a
poissonous effect
The material should be insoluble in
water
The utilisation should not have a
pollutional effect to the environment
Special Requirement for Using Waste
Materials
Free from organic matter
Should not swell or decay as
influenced by water
Should not be soluble in water
Particles should be moderately
porous
Industrial wastes
Thermal Power Stations

* Fly ash
* Bottom ash
* Pond ash
Steel Plants
* Blast furnace slag
* Granulated blast furnace slag
* Steel slag


Utilisation of fly ash
Thermal power - Major role in power
generation
Indian scenario - Use of coal with high
ash content
- Negligible utilisation
of ash produced
Bulk utilisation - Civil engineering
applications like
construction of roads &
embankments


Can be used for construction of
Embankments and backfills
Stabilisation of subgrade and sub-base
Rigid and semi-rigid pavements
Fly ash properties vary widely, to be
characterised before use
Major constituents - oxides of silica,
aluminum, iron, calcium & magnesium
Environmentally safe material for road
construction
Possesses many favourable properties for
embankment & road construction

Utilisation of fly ash
Favourable properties of fly ash
Light weight, lesser pressure on sub-soil
High shear strength
Coarser ashes have high CBR value
Pozzolanic nature, additional strength due to self-
hardening
Amenable to stabilisation
Ease of compaction
High permeability
Non plastic
Faster rate of consolidation and low compressibility
Can be compacted using vibratory or static roller

Engineering properties of fly ash
Parameter Range
Specific Gravity 1.90 2.55
Plasticity Non plastic
Maximum dry density (gm/cc) 0.9 1.6
Optimum moisture content (%) 38.0 18.0
Cohesion (kN/m
2
) Negligible
Angle of internal friction (j) 30
0
40
0
Coefficient of consolidation C
v
(cm
2
/sec)

1.75 x 10
-5
2.01 x
10
-3
Compression index C
c
0.05 0.4
Permeability (cm/sec) 8 x 10
-6
7 x 10
-4

Particle size distribution (% of materials)
Clay size fraction
Silt size fraction
Sand size fraction
Gravel size fraction

1 10
8 85
7 90
0 10
Coefficient of uniformity 3.1 10.7
Differences between Indian & US fly
ashes
Property compared Indian fly ash US fly ash
Loss on ignition
(Unburnt carbon)
Less than 2 per
cent
5 to 8 per cent
SO
3
content 0.1 to 0.2 per
cent
3 to 4 per cent
CaO content 1 to 3 per cent 5 to 8 per cent
Increase in
concentration of
heavy metals
3 to 4 times in
comparison to
source coal
10 times or more in
comparison to source
coal
Rate of leaching Lower Higher
Fly ash for road embankment
Ideally suited as backfill material for urban/
industrial areas and areas with weak sub soils
Higher shear strength leads to greater
stability
Design is similar to earth embankments
Intermediate soil layers for ease of
construction and to provide confinement
Side slope erosion needs to be controlled by
providing soil cover
Can be compacted under inclement weather
conditions
15 to 20 per cent savings in construction cost
depending on lead distance


Fly ash for road embankment



Earth
Cover
Earth
Cover
Bottom ash or
Pond ash
Typical cross section of fly ash road embankment
Approach embankment for second
Nizamuddin bridge at Delhi
Length of embankment - 1.8 km
Height varies from 6 to 9 m
Ash utilised - 1,50,000 cubic metre
Embankment opened to traffic in 1998
Instrumentation installed in the
embankment showed very good
performance
Approximate savings due to usage of fly
ash is about Rs.1.00 Crore
Approach embankment for second
Nizamuddin bridge at Delhi
Spreading of pond ash
Compaction of pond ash
Second Nizamuddin bridge approach embankment
Stone pitching for slope
protection
Traffic plying on the
embankment
Second Nizamuddin bridge approach embankment
Utilisation of fly ash
Four laning work on NH-6 (Dankuni to Kolaghat)
Water logged area
(soft ground conditions)
Compaction of fly ash over layer of geotextile
Length of stretch 54 km
Height of embankment 3 to
4 m
Fly ash utilisation 2 Million
cubic metres
Reinforced fly ash embankment
Fly ash - better backfill material for
reinforced embankments
Polymeric reinforcing materials
Geogrids, friction ties, geotextiles
Construction sequence similar to
reinforced earth structures


Okhla flyover approach embankment
First geogrid reinforced fly ash approach
embankment constructed in the country
Length of embankment 59 m
Height varied from 5.9 to 7.8 m
Ash utilised 2,700 cubic metre
Opened to traffic in 1996
Performance has been very good


































Pond Ash Fill
7.8 to
5.9 m
Facing
panels
Filter
medium Geogrids
Reinforced foundation mattress of bottom ash
Okhla flyover approach embankment
Okhla flyover approach embankment
Erection of facing panels
Rolling of pond ash
Support provided to
facing panels during
construction
Laying of geogrids
Okhla flyover approach embankment
Hanuman Setu flyover approach embankment
Geogrid reinforced fly ash approach
embankment
Length of embankment 138.4 m
Height varied from 3.42 m to 1.0 m
Opened to traffic in 1997
Sarita Vihar flyover approach embankment
Length of embankment 90 m
Maximum height 5.25 m
Embankment opened to traffic in
Feb 2001
Polymeric friction ties used for
reinforcement
Sarita Vihar flyover reinforced approach embankment
Arrangement of
friction ties before
laying pond ash
Laying of friction ties
Compaction using
plate vibrator near
the facing panels
Compaction of pond
ash using static and
vibratory rollers
Sarita Vihar flyover reinforced approach embankment
Fly ash for road construction
Stabilised soil subgrade & sub-
base/base courses
Mixing with soil reduces plasticity
characteristics of subgrade
Addition of small percentage of lime or
cement greatly improves strength
Leaching of lime is inhibited and
durability improves due to addition of fly
ash
Pond ash & bottom ash can also be
stabilised
Lime-fly ash mixture is better alternative
to moorum for construction of WBM /
WMM

Construction of semi-rigid/ rigid
pavements
Lime-fly ash concrete
Dry lean cement fly ash concrete
Roller compacted concrete
Fly ash admixed concrete pavements
Lime-fly ash bound macadam
Precast block paving
High performance concrete
Fly ash for road construction

































WBM Gr II/WMM 150 mm
WBM Gr III/WMM 75 mm
GSB 350 mm
BM 75 mm
DBM 100 mm
Bituminous concrete 40 mm
Typical cross section of flexible
pavement conventional section
Fly ash + 6% cement
stabilised layer 150 mm
Typical cross section of flexible
pavement using fly ash

































WBM Gr III/WMM 75 mm
Pond ash 350 mm
BM 75 mm
DBM 100 mm
Bituminous concrete 40 mm
























Pond ash 300 mm
DLFC 100 mm
Fly ash admixed PQC 300 mm
Typical cross section of rigid pavement
using fly ash
Demonstration road project
at Raichur


Total length of the road 1 km
Five sections of 200 m each with different
pavement sections
Pond ash has been used for replacing moorum
in sub-base course
Stabilised pond ash used for replacing part of
WBM layer
One rigid pavement section using DLFC and
RCCP technology was laid
Performance of all the specifications is good
Mixing of lime
stabilised pond ash
Compaction of
stabilised pond ash
using road roller
Demonstration road project using fly ash at Raichur
Construction of roller
compacted concrete
pavement
View of the
demonstration road
stretch after three years
Demonstration road project using fly ash at Raichur
A rural road near Dadri in District Gautam
Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh was selected
Total length of road 1.4 km
Bottom ash used as embankment fill
Base course constructed using fly ash
stabilised with 8% cement
RCCP Wearing course 10 cm thickness
RCCP Mix proportion 1:2:4
30 per cent of cement and 20 per cent of
sand replaced with fly ash in RCCP
Shoulders 8% cement stabilised fly ash



Demonstration road project using fly ash
near Dadri (U.P)
Bottom ash
RCCP wearing course - 0.1 m
Stabilised fly ash
base - 0.1 m

Stabilised fly ash
Shoulder

Soil cover
Demonstration road project using fly ash
near Dadri (U.P) Typical section
Stabilised base course
Compaction of RCCP
Mixing & laying of RCCP
Demonstration
road project using
fly ash near Dadri
(U.P)
IRC Guidelines / Specifications
Guidelines available on pavement construction
IRC 60 Tentative guidelines for use of lime fly
ash concrete as pavement base or sub-base
IRC 68 Tentative guidelines on cement fly
ash concrete for rigid pavement construction
IRC 74 Tentative guidelines for lean cement
concrete and lean cement fly ash concrete as
a pavement base or sub-base
IRC 88 Recommended practice for lime fly
ash stabilised soil as base or sub-base in
pavement construction



Guidelines for use of fly ash in road
embankments
Published recently by Indian Roads Congress
(SP- 58:2001)
Includes design aspects also
Handling and construction
Loose layer thickness of 400 mm can be
adopted if vibratory rollers are used
Moisture content - OMC + 2 per cent
Use of vibratory rollers advocated
Minimum dry density to be achieved - 95
per cent of modified Proctor density
Ash layer and side soil cover to be
constructed simultaneously

Utilisation of steel slags
Total production of slag from steel
industries is about 8.0 million tonnes
Types of slags
Blast furnace slag
Granulated blast furnace slag
(GBFS)
Air cooled slag
Steel slag

Granulated blast
furnace slag
Contains reactive silica
Suitable for lime / cement
stabilisation
Air cooled blast
furnace slag
Non reactive
Suitable for use as
coarse aggregates
CRRI work on utilisation of
steel slags
Characterisation of slags produced at
different steel plants
Laboratory studies on Lime-GBFS mixes
Semi-field studies on Lime-GBFS concrete
Test track studies on usage of slags in
road works

Properties of air cooled slag
Property Durgapur Bhilai Rourkela Delhi
Quartzite
Specification
requirements
Specific
gravity
2.78
2.82
2.82
3.33
2.97
2.99
2.67 -
Water
absorption
(%)
1.53
1.72
0.58
1.38
0.74
1.29
0.48 2% Max
Los
Angeles
abrasion
value (%)
18.80 25.00 14.28 34.00 40% Max
Impact
value (%)
15.79 14.80 16.90 24.50 30% Max
Soundness
value (%)
1.66 1.17 0.33 0.17 12% Max
Percentage
voids
46.40 43.90 43.10 43.80 -
Steel slags
Obtained as a waste product during
production of steel
Particle size varies from 80 mm to 300
microns
Compared to blast furnace slag, steel
slag contains lower amount of silica,
higher amounts of iron oxide and
calcium oxide
Due to presence of free lime, steel slag
should be weathered before using it in
construction

Road projects executed under CRRI
guidance using slags
Plant roads at Visakhapatnam
Test tracks in collaboration with AP
PWD using slags from Visakhapatnam
Steel Plant
Test tracks in collaboration with Orissa
PWD using slags from Rourkella Plant
Test tracks at R&D Centre for Iron &
Steel, Ranchi using Slags from Bokaro
Plant
Construction of
test track using
slag at Orissa
Labour based techniques
for construction of
stabilised layer
View of finished
surface of road
constructed
using slags at
Orissa
Lime
stabilisation
of iron slags
(Orissa)
Processed municipal wastes
Processed municipal wastes
utilised for construction of
test track on village road
near Delhi
Stabilised municipal waste
used for construction of sub-
base layer
Performance of stretch is
good
Kimberlite tailings
Kimberlite tailings are waste produced from
diamond mining
Can be used in base or sub-base course by
adopting mechanical or cement stabilisation
High value of water absorption makes them
unsuitable for use in bituminous pavement