Proposed Alternative to Correcting Soil Issues

Introduction
In the event of a large area of failed subgrade on a project, soil-cement is being
proposed as a cost effective and practical solution to avoid further failure. Soil-cement
is a soil stabilization technique used with soft soils at subgrade that require the addition
of a measured amount Portland cement and water mixed to improve stability and
compressive strength.

Determining Soft Soils

Failure occurs when a proof roll displays soft soil when either pumping or rutting occurs.
A proof roll is a soil compaction test identifying unsuitable subgrade, where a tri-axle
loaded with stone weighing approximately 36 tons traverses slowly across an area of
graded subgrade as a certified inspector determines the quality of the subgrade. If soil
failures are not addressed, the roadway or parking lot becomes susceptible to cracking
and deformation, which can lead to safety risks quickly and without warning. Therefore,
the government requires remediation of any area of soil that has the potential to cause
safety risks.

Rutting occurs due to soft soil in a test roll.

Adapted from docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/

Inefficiencies of Undercuts in Large Areas

In small areas, undercuts can be effective. Undercutting is the process of removing the
failed soil, placing a layer of geotextile fabric, filling the cut with stone, and placing
another layer of fabric over the failed area. This process becomes increasingly
expensive as the area increases because the removed soil needs to be wasted, stone is
very expensive, and the soil must be regraded. Therefore, the manpower hours
dedicated to undercuts increase causing costs to rise. For that reason, soil-cement is
being proposed as an alternative solution.

Process of Soil-Cement
The process of soil-cement is a fairly simple process with only four steps: determining
the proper mixture, preparing the failed areas, processing, and inspection.

Determining the Prepared Mixture

The quantity of Portland cement must comply with specifications used in each state.
AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) and
ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards are used to determine
the cement requirements. The amount of cement is determined based on the
classification of soil or type of material used for subgrade. Soil classification must have
been done prior to breaking ground on a project. Proper cement content is either give
in cement percentage by weight of compacted soil or cement pounds per cubic foot of
compacted soil. Depending on the classification of the soil, the percentage ranges from
3% to 16%. The weight of cement pounds per cubic foot ranges from 5 to 13 pounds per
cubic foot. The depth of soil to be remediated must be determined by a geotechnical
engineer. This depth varies based on soil quality as well as well as traffic volumes. The
average depth will vary from 6 to 18 inches but will remain constant within an effected
area.

Preparing the Failed Area

Once the failed areas of soil are determined, the area must be regraded if needed. This
grade will be the final grade to a major extent. When the area is at grade, the area must
be sectioned off as to prevent equipment and vehicles from ruining the subgrade. The
only piece of equipment allowed to travel on the ground is a water truck if and only if
the soil requires additional moisture prior to soil-cement application. The unsatisfactory
areas should be measured to determine the amount of Portland cement that needs to
be applied.

Applying the Cement

The application of the soil-cement requires 5 pieces of equipment: truck to haul cement
onsite, a mechanical cement spreader, a soil stabilizer (also known as a cold recycler), a
roller with a vibrating drum, and a grader (or dozer). A water truck may be needed for
curing and to ensure proper moisture content. When the truck arrives, the contents of
the truck’s weight must be used to determine the area to be soil-cemented. That area
must then be staked out to ensure that the proper percentage or weight of concrete is
applied to the proper area.

Test Strip
After the area is staked out, a test area is required to ensure proper placement occurs.
This requires a test strip a length of 100 feet and the width of the mechanical spreader.
A square yard canvas is laid on the ground in a random location within the test strip
before the spreader makes one pass. The weight of cement on the canvas is calculated,
and if the proper weight is not met, the spreader must be recalibrated, and the test
must be redone until specifications are met. This test strip must only be done once per
job site. Once the test strip is completed, the mechanical spreader may spread the rest
of the load over the staked-out area.

Mixing in Cement, Regrading, and Recompaction

Once the load of cement is spread, the soil stabilizer is used to mill the proper depth to
be cemented while mixing in the cement. The miller has sharp teeth on a rotating drum
able to dig deep and create a homogeneous mix of cement, water, and soil. The soil is
left uncompacted behind the machine. Therefore, a roller with a vibrating drum is used
to compact the soil. A grader (or dozer) is used to regrade and smooth out any ripples
created by the soil stabilizer. The soil is then tested using a nuclear gage to ensure that
compaction requirements are being met.

Soil stabilizer mixing already spread cement leaving uncompacted material behind.
Adapted from https://www.wirtgen.de/en/technologies/

Curing and Testing

The soil must remain untouched for the following three days as the soil cures except for
a water truck. During the three-day curing period, a water truck may be necessary to
apply moisture to the soil-cemented area. This is because the cement requires water to
set properly to increase compressive strength of the area. The soil will continue to
harden for the next 28 days, but after the three-day curing period, the geotechnical
engineer will retest for proper compaction, cement-to-soil ratio, and moisture content.
If any of these criteria fail to meet specification, the area may need to be remilled with
additional cement applied. The last test will be another proof roll with a tri-axle loaded
with stone to determine whether the soil-cement worked effectively.

Conclusion
Although soil-cement requires a three-day curing period, application of the cement is
much quicker than that of undercutting in a larger area. Soil-cement also requires little
labor and therefore will save on labor costs. Soil-cement provides an effective
alternative to increase compressive strength and stability of the subgrade.
Audience Analysis
The audience in this scenario is the owner of a construction project that contains a road
or parking lot where concerns of stability of soil are concerned. This owner may be
relatively new to the idea of soil-cement. The owner will also look for ways to reduce
costs and keep a project on schedule. The owner will most likely not know a lot of the
jargon used with construction, and therefore many aspects of construction may need to
be explained. References tend to not be displayed in an RFI document.

References
1Portland Cement Association, Soil-Cement Construction Handbook,
https://www.cement.org/docs/default-source/th-paving-
pdfs/soil_cement/eb003.pdf?sfvrsn=2

2PortlandCement Association, Soil-Cement Inspector’s Manual,

https://www.cement.org/docs/default-source/th-paving-pdfs/soil_cement/pa050-
03_reduced-size.pdf?sfvrsn=2