Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical Conference

December 22-24,2013, Roorkee

CONSTRUCTION OF CEMENT STABILIZED ROAD - A CASE STUDY

A. K. Sinha, Sr. Scientist, CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi, sinha.crri@nic.in
V. G. Havanagi, Principal Scientist, CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi, vasant.crri@nic.in
S. Mathur, Chief Scientist, CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi, mathurs.crri@nic.in
ABSTRACT: Rapid industrialization and large scale road infrastructural development in India, has resulted in
huge scarcity of construction materials. There is a thrust to investigate the methodology to reduce the thickness of
pavement crust to conserve the conventional construction materials viz. soil and aggregate. This is possible by
using chemically (cement) stabilized material in sub grade and sub base layers of road pavement. To investigate
this, a 300 m experimental test track was constructed on Amritsar Wagha section of NH-I which is going to be
widened from two lanes to four lane divided highway. Design and construction was carried out as per IRC 37 and
MORTH guidelines respectively. Cement stabilized layers was used on the left side of widening portion (two lanes)
of the road towards Wagha Border. In order to compare the performance of cement stabilized road vis-s-vis
conventional construction (without stabilization), the test track was divided into two sections. First section was
constructed using conventional local soil/aggregate/bituminous materials of 200m long. In the second section, local
soil and granular sub base materials were stabilized with cement (2.5 %) and used for the construction of sub grade
and granular sub base layers of 100 m long. The paper presents the design of pavement, construction methodology
and results of field investigation during construction of stabilized road. Construction methodology has been
discussed considering the experience gained in the field.

INTRODUCTION
Large scale road infrastructural development is
going on in the country under different
programmes viz. National Highway Development
Program (NHDP), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak
Yojana (PMGSY), and State Road Development
programmes etc. Due to, huge quantity of natural
available materials like soil and aggregate are
being utilized in the road construction. This has
created severe scarcity of these conventional
materials, which have to be brought from large
distances increasing the total cost of construction.
Therefore, there is need to search a methodology to
reduce the thickness of pavement layers. Cement
stabilization may be used to improve the properties
of soil and aggregate results the reduced thickness
of pavement layers. Although, it is possible to treat
almost all type of soils with cement to improve
properties. However, it is difficult to treat fine,
clayey materials due to fineness and difficulty in
pulverization,
and
mixing
with
cement
homogeneously. Yusuf [1] stated that cement is
most suitable stabilizing agent for non plastic
coarse grain material. A material is regarded to be
suited for treatment with cement if it has physical

parameters like LL < 50, PI< 6 and silt + clay < 35

% [2].The mechanical strength of cement treated
granular material comes from the coupled
contribution of the compacted granular skeleton
and hydration of cement. The compacted granular
skeleton strongly determines the mechanical
stability of cement treated granular material under
loading. The hydration of cement influences the
bonding strength between the particles. Xuan [3]
studied the matrix of cement treated mixture and
found that the aggregate structure is mainly
governed by the type of aggregate, its gradation
and degree of compaction and bonding phase or
matrix is controlled by the cement content, the
fines content, the moisture content, the curing time
and condition. Kennedy [4] studied the effect of
moisture variation on dry density of compacted
cement treated mix. It was found that the dry
density will be maximum at optimum moisture
content and slight variation in moisture content
from optimum moisture content will reduce the dry
density of the cement treated compacted mix.
White et. al. [5] studied the effect of sample
preparation and parent material used on properties
and behaviour of cement treated material. It was

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A. K Sinha, V.G.Havanagi & S.Mathur

found that Material and sample preparation has a

significant effect on the properties and behaviour
of cement treated material. The most appropriate
preparation procedure for sample would be one
that produces laboratory prepared samples which
represent the field conditions as closely as possible.
Yoon and Abu-Farsakh [6] studied the effect of
cement content on maximum dry density of the
cement treated material. It was found that as the
cement content will increase, the value of
maximum dry density will also increase at OMC.
It was also found that there is significant increase
in maximum dry density as compared to cement
treated mixture.
The Amritsar Wagha border section of NH-I was
proposed to be widened from two lanes to four lane
divided highway under Built Operate and Transfer
(BOT) mode which is around 40 km length. On
this section, construction of experimental test track
was carried out using cement stabilization
technique near Verka chowk (fly over), Amritsar,
Punjab. The total length of test track is about 300
m which is divided into two sections. First one,
cement stabilized layer of 100 m from Chainage
462 + 450m to 462 + 550m and other one is
conventional construction (without stabilization) of
200 m from Chainage 462 + 550m to 462 + 750m.
The whole section is constructed on the left side of
widening portion of the road towards (two lanes)
Wagha Border as shown in the Fig.1.
Wagha border

462+750 m
Unstabilised section

462+550 m
Stabilised section
462+450 m
Amritsar

First section was constructed using cement

stabilized technique in the sub grade and granular
sub base layers while second section was
constructed
using
conventional
local
soil/aggregate/bituminous materials. Design of
pavement was carried out considering the design
procedure of stabilized road as per Indian road
congress code [7]. During the construction, quality
checks were carried out viz. density, moisture
content etc. The paper presents the design of
pavement, results of quality check during the
construction and construction methodology.
DESIGN OF PAVEMENT
Design of pavement (stabilised and unstabilised)
was carried out as per Indian road congress code
[7] considering the average annual traffic growth
rate of 7.5 %, life of pavement of 20 years, CBR
value of sub grade = 7 % and traffic of 20 MSA.
Pavement crust thickness for unstabilized and
stabilised sections is given in Tables 1 & 2
respectively.
Table 1. Pavement crust thickness of unstabilized
section
Sl. No.
Layers
Thickness, mm
1
2
3
4
5

BC
DBM
WMM
GSB
Sub grade, soil
CBR > 7 %

40
90
250
300
500

Table 2. Pavement crust thickness of stabilized

section
Sl.
Layers
Thickness,
No.
mm
1
BC
40
2
DBM
90
3
WMM
150
4 GSB-I with 2.5 % cement
260
5 Sub grade top layer with
200
2.5 % cement
6
Sub grade lower layer
300
CBR = 7 %

Fig. 1 Pictorial view of cement stabilized road

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Construction of cement stabilised road

PAVEMENT LAYERS
Sub grade layer
Grain size analysis results indicate that soil
contains 38 % sand and 62 % silt+clay. Liquid
limit of soil was observed to be 25 % and plastic
limit = 10 %. The soil was classified as per Indian
Standard procedure as ML [8]. The maximum dry
density and optimum moisture content were
observed to be 19.9 kN/m3 and 10 % respectively
of blended mix of soil and cement. The CBR value
was determined in the range of 8 10 %.
Granular Sub Base (GSB) Layers
Granular sub base layer of thickness 260 mm was
constructed in two layers viz. 130 mm upper layer
of grade II (close graded) and 130 mm lower
layer of grade III (coarse graded). The maximum
dry density and optimum moisture content was
observed to be 23 kN/m3 and 6 % respectively.
Design mix of GSB having 53 mm size of 35 %, 20
mm and 10 mm size of 15 % each and stone dust
35 %.
Wet Mix Macadam (WMM) Layer
Wet Mix Macadam is designed as per requirement
of MORTH specifications. The coarse and fine
aggregate were mixed proportionally to arrive at
the design mix. WMM layer of thickness 250 mm
was constructed in two layers viz. 125 mm each.
The maximum dry density and optimum moisture
content was observed to be 23.2 kN/m3 and 5 %
respectively. Design mix of GSB having 40 mm
size of 35 %, 20 mm size of 20 %, 10 mm size of
22 % and stone dust 23 %.
Bituminous Layer
Two layers of bituminous were designed over
laying on WMM layer viz. Dense Bituminous
Macadam (DBM) and Bituminous Concrete (BC)
layers of road pavement. Dense Bituminous
Macadam and Bituminous Concrete was designed
as per requirement of MORTH specifications. The
coarse and fine aggregate were mixed
proportionally to arrive at the design mix.
Thickness of DBM/BC layers were designed as
90/40 mm respectively.

Stabilised Layer
Sub grade soil (top) of 200 mm thickness was
mixed with 2.5 % cement. Granular sub base of
thickness 130 mm in two layers were mixed with
2.5 % cement.
CONSTRUCTION
OF
STABILISED
SECTION
The site of proposed experimental test track is
passing through water logging area due to lower
natural ground level (small pond) and domestic
sewage storage. The water was removed by
pumping and slush of 1m depth was removed.
After that, natural ground was compacted and
around 2 m high embankment was constructed. 500
mm sub grade layer was constructed in two layers
over embankment. On top of sub grade, 100 m
length of road was measured and small
compartment of size 10m 3m were marked on
the sub grade layer as shown in the Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 Cement bag staked in the compartment

Amount of cement by weight of soil was
determined based on thickness (200mm) of top sub
grade layer, width (3m) and length (10 m) of
compartment and density of mix of soil +cement
(19.9 kN/m3). After that, required amount of
cement bags were kept in each compartment as
shown in the Fig. 2. Each cement bag was open
and spreaded manually on the top of sub grade
layer.
Cement and soil were mixed/blended by grader at
natural moisture content upto 200mm as soil was in
moist condition.
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A. K Sinha, V.G.Havanagi & S.Mathur

Harrowing and leveling method was adopted for

mixing as shown in the Fig.3.

and kept for 7days curing, covering the layer by

spreading of second layer of GSB. Similarly, after
7 days, second layer of GSB was mixed with
cement, compacted and cured for 7 days covering
with loose WMM layer. Remaining pavement
layers were constructed as same as conventional
method.
FIELD
INVESTIGATIONS
DURING
CONSTRUCTION
Quality of construction was evaluated by carrying
out different field tests viz. sand replacement
method and unconfined compression test as
discussed below.

Fig. 3 Mixing of cement and soil by grader

Proper soil-cement mix and depth of mix were
observed after three times of harrowing and
leveling. Completion of homogeneous mix was
checked
manually
through
visualization
considering the colour & depth of mix, quantity of
soil and cement etc. After that, proper profile was
checked by total station as shown in the Fig. 4.
Then, water is sprinkled to achieve optimum
moisture content (around 2 % more of OMC).
Compaction was carried out by vibratory roller.

Fig. 4 Checking of profile for leveling

Curing: After completion of compaction of
stabilized sub grade layer, GSB layer was laid
immediately and kept sub grade covered for 7
days.
After that, stabilized GSB first layer of thickness
130 mm is constructed as stabilised sub grade layer

Degree of Compaction
During construction, density of compacted each
layer was carried out by sand replacement method
as per Indian standard procedure [9]. The results of
degree of compaction of sub grade and GSB layers
were given in Table 3. It was observed that degree
of compaction was more than 98 % required as per
MORTH specifications [10].
Table 3 Degree of compaction of stabilized sub
grade and GSB layers
Chainage Field Dry Moisture Degree of
density content compaction
(kN/m3)
(%)
(%)
462+400 m
19.8
10
99
462+420 m
19.2
12
96
462+430 m
19.4
11
97
A
462+435 m
19.5
10
98
462+445 m
19.6
13
98
462+460 m
19.4
12
97
462+475 m
19.7
11
99
462+495 m
18.8
10
94
462+430 m
22.5
6
98
462+440 m
23.0
7
100
B
462+450 m
22.8
8
99
462+470 m
22.9
6
100
462+495 m
23.2
7
101
A Stabilised sub grade layer,

B- GSB layer

Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS):

Undisturbed sample of stabilized sub grade layer
was taken out after 7 days from the site of size 38
mm diameter in the Shelby tube. proper waxing on
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Construction of cement stabilised road

both side of the Shelby tube was completed and

brought to CRRI. Unconfined compressive strength
value was determined in the laboratory as per
Indian standard procedure [11]. It was observed
that UCS value is in the range of 1500 to 1800
kN/m2. Undisturbed samples of GSB layers were
not taken out with available indigenous equipment.
As the GSB layer having granular particles, it was
very difficult to penetrate the compacted layer even
by using bigger size Shelby tube of 100mm
diameter. It may possible if cement content in the
GSB layer will be more than 2.5%.
CONCLUSIONS
Design and construction of cement stabilized road
was carried out at Amritsar, Punjab. Based on
experience gained during the construction,
following conclusions were arrived as given
below.
Design of pavement was carried out for
stabilised and unstabilised roads.
Proper mixing of soil and cement was observed
after three times of harrowing and leveling by
grader.
Degree of compaction of stabilised sub grade
and GSB layers was achieved more than 98 %
as specified by MORTH specifications.
Unconfined compressive strength of stabilised
sub grade layer was observed in the range of
1500 to 1800 kN/m2.
NEED FOR FURTHER STUDY
The performance study of experimental test
sections (stabilized and unstabilized) is being
carried out by measuring rebound deflection
(Benkelman beam) and International roughness
index (dip stick) for at least two monsoon seasons.

3.

Xuan, D. (2012), Cement Treated Recycled

Crushed Concrete and Masonry Aggregates
for Pavements, MS thesis submitted to Wuhan
University of Technology, China.
4. Kennedy, J. (1983), Cement bound Materials
for Subbases and Road Slough bases, Cement
and Concrete Association, Publication No.
46.027, UK.
5. White, G. W. and Gnanendran (2002), The
characterization of cementitious in-situ
stabilised pavement materials: the past, the
present and the future, Road & Transport
Research Journal, Vol. 11(4), 56-69.
6. Yoon, S. and Abu-Farsakh, M. (2009),
Laboratory investigation on the strength
characteristics of cement-sand as base
material, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering
13(1), 15-22.
7. IRC 37 (2012), Guidelines for the design of
flexible pavement, Published by Indian Road
Congress, New Delhi, India.
8. IS
1498
(1970),
Classification
and
identification of soils for general engineering
purposes, Published by Beauro of Indian
standard, New Delhi, India.
9. MORTH (2001), Specifications for road and
bridge works, Published by Ministry of Road
and Highway Transport, New Delhi, India.
10. IS 2720 part 28(1974), Methods of test for
soils: Determination of dry density of soils in
place by sand replacement method, Published
by Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
11. IS 4332-part-5(1970), Methods of test for
stabilized soils: Determination of unconfined
compressive strength of stabilized soil,
Published by Bureau of Indian Standards, New
Delhi.

REFERENCES
1. Yusuf, M. (2005), Investigating the potential
for incorporating Tin Slag in road pavement,
Ph.D. thesis submitted to University of
Nottingham.
2. Pengpeng, Wu. (2011), Cement-Bound Road
Base Materials, Submitted to Delft University
of Technology, Delft, Netherlands.

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