GUIDELINESFOR

SOILAND GRANULAR MATERIAI,-

STABILIZATION
USING
|IEMENI L|ME& FLYASH

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(500Cooies)
 IFC:SP:89-10
20
CONTENTSi I
i
:
Page No_
Personnelof the HighwaysSpecificatjons
andSlandards
Cr:nrmittee tr/
CHAPTER1: INTHODUCTION
1
1 . 1 Purpose
J
1 . 2 Scope
3
1 . 3 Definitions
3
1.4 Effective
nessof Stabilization A

CHAPTIiR2: MECHANICAL
STABILIZATION tf
2.1 MechanicalStabilization
D
2.2 Designof MechanicailyStabitized
Mixes
2.2.1 Stabilization
usingso-ftaggregaies
B
(Mehra'smethodof stabilization)
2.2.2 Designof mechanically stabilized
nti;<es:
Conrbining
twornaterialsbasedon plasticity
2.2.3 Rothfutchrnethodfordesignof soil_ar;glegate
mixes
CHAPTT]R
3: cENERALGUTDELTNES FOR SOtTJ,cRA|NULAR
MATERIALSSTABILIZAfloN 11

3.1 Factorsto be considered

11
3.1.'l Umestabilization 1 1
i l

3.1.2 Cementstabilization
12
3.1.3 Lime-flyash(LF)andlime-cernent_fly
ash 12
(LCF)srabittzation
3.2 Desirableproperliesof Lime,Cementand
FlyArsh
for 13
Stabilization
3.3 Selection
of Stabilizer
16
3.4 TwoStageStabilization UsingLimelollcrwed
by Cerneinl 16
3.5 M.odifi
r;alionandCemenlalion
17
ckRprenc: SPECIFICATIONS
AND TESTREQU|FIEMEN,IS
FOR 1B
STI\BIUZEDMATEBIALS
4.1 General
Requirement
1B
 RC;SP;89-'2010
4.2 Slabilization
with Cemenl 1B
4.2.1 Requirernentforsoil
nrodification/subgradcl 1B
improvernent
4.2.2 Requirementfor boundsub-basesrbases 18
'4.3 Stabilizationwith Lime 19
4.3.1 Requirement for soil nrodification/sub
grader 19
rmpfovement
- ,1.4 Stabilizationwith Lime and FtyAsfi(LF) 21
,1.5 Stabilizationwith Lime,CenrentandFlyAsh 22
4.6 CementStabilized FlyAsh 22
tl.7 TestRequirements 23
4;,71 Unconfinedcornpressive strengthtest 23
4.',7.2 Durabilityof stabilizedmaterials 24
IHAPTER5: CONSTRUCflON OPERATIONS 26
€;.1 Procedureof Stabilization 26
|:i.2 Mix-in-PlaceStabilization 26
5;.3 Plant-MixStabiti;:ation 29
5;.4 Compaction 30
IHAPTER6: QITALITYASSURAT{CE 31
6.1 Ge,neral 3't
6.2 PrelirninaryTrial J I

6.3 Samplingand Te:;lingFrequency 31

6.4 Stcrrageand Handlingo{ ttre Stabilizer 32
6.5 Controlof the MoistureContent 33
66 Controlof the StabitizerConlent
-33
6.7 RoutineStrengthDeterminations 34
;hapter7: PRECAUI1IONS T'OBE TAKENWHILEUSING 35
ST/\BILIZEDMAT'ERIALS
1 1
t , l General 35
t.z Crackingin StabilizedLayers 35
7 . 3 PrirnaryCracking 36
7.4 TralficAssociatedCracks 37
t.c Durability
of Stabilized
Malerials 37
7 . 6 controlof Feflective pav()rnernts
crackingincementStabilized 38
 lECl:r3P:89-21010

PERSoNNEL oF THE H|GHWAY$SPEc|F|cATloNS A$|D

STANDARDSCOMMTMEE
(As on lst MaY,2010)

.t. A.V.
sinha, General
Director of f]rriad
Ministry
(RD)& Spl.secrelary,
(Cmvenor) Transport NewDelhi
& l-lighways,
2. Puri,s.K. Adcll.DirectorGeneral,Ministry &
of RoadTransport
(CoConvenor) Highways, NewDelhi
3. c.
Kanrtasamy &
chief Eryineer(R)s&Fl,Ministryof RoadTransport
(Member-Secretaryt) Highways,NewDelhi

Mentbers

4. Datta,P.K. Executive Director, Engg.Services(l)

Cc'rsulting
Pvt.Ltd-,New Delhi
5. GuptaK.K. ChiefEngineer(Retd'),llaryanaPWD
€. Sinfra,S. Engineer,
Adcll.ChiefTransportatron CIDCO,
NaviMumbai
7. Dr.L.R.
Kadiyali, New le,lhi
L.R.Kadiyali& Associates,
chief Execuitve,
B. Katare,
P.K. NationalRuralRoadq
Director(Projects-lll), Developnrenl
NewDelhi
Agency,{Minislryof RuralDevelopment),
9. Jain,Dr.S.S. Professor & Coordinatcrr, EnEg.,
Centreof Trarsportation
llT Roorf,,ae
10. Reddy,
K. Siva E-in-C(Fi&B)Andhra Hyderabad
Pradesh,
11. Basu,S.B. (Reld.),
ChiefEngineer NewDelhi
MoRT&l'i,
12. A.C.
Bordoloi, ChiefEngineef(NFl)/rss?m,Guwahati
13. Raihore,S.S. PrincipalSecrelaryto tlteGovt.of Gujarat,l1&BDeptl.
Gandhinagar
14. Pradhan,B.C. ChiefEngineer(NH),'Govt.ol Otissa,Bhubaneshwar
15. Prasad,D.N. ChielEngineer(N]-{),lFlCD, Patna
I6. Kumar,Ashok Chie{Engineei,Ministryol RoadTransport & Highway:s,
NewDelhi
17. Kumar,Kamlesh ChiefEngineer,Ministryol RoadTransport & Highways,
NewDelhi
18. Krishna,Prabhat ChiefEngineer(Betd),Ministryof RoadTransport& l-lighurays,
NewDelhi
19. V.L.
Patankar, ChiefEngineer,Ministrl, ot RoadTransport& Ftigfrwavs,
NewDeliri
20. Kumar,Mahesh Haryana,
Engineer.-in-Chiel, PWD
21. P.L.
Bongin*,ar, Advisor,
L&T,Mumbai
22. Sinha,A.K. (NH),UPPWD,Lucknow
Chil.iEngineer

(i)
 IRC:SP:89-2010

.23- Shamra, S.C. DirectorGenerirl{Rll) li AS riRc,t<,.),

Ministryof RoadTransport&
. Highways,New Delhi
24. Shamta, 0r. V.M. Consultant,AlVllt-NevvCielhi
25- Gupta, D.P. DireclorGeneml(RD) 8,AS 1Rr.rtcl.),
Ministryof RoadTransport&
Highways,New Delhi
26. Mornin,S.S. Former Menrber.MehareshtraF'ubliclServir:eCommission,
Mumbai
27. Reddy, Dr. T.S. Ex-Scienlisl,Grnlral Fiicard
ResearchInsfitute,New Delhi
28. Shukla, F.S. Ex-scientist,CentralFl;oadResearchInstilute,New Delhi
?-9. Jain, R.K. Chief Engineer(Retd.)tlaryarnaFVr/D,Sonrrpat
30. Chandrasekhar,[]r. B.P. Direclor(-lech.),NatiorrLlRural lRoadDevelopmentAgency
(Minislryof Rur;alDevelopmenl)New Dethi
31. Singh, B.N. Chiei Engineer,Ministry'of lloarj Transport,l Highways,
'
New Ddhi
32. Nashkar,S.S. Chiel Engineer(NH),F\!'(R), Kolkata
33. Haju, Dr. GV.S. Ghief Engineer(B&El),AndhraF1'radesh,
Hy,Jerabad
34. Alarn, Parvez Vice President,Hinduslern
C,onstn.Co. Ltd., Mumbai
35- . Gangopadhyay,Dr. S. Director,CentrerlRoad FlesearclrInstilute,l,lew Delhi
36- Sinha, V.K. DirectorGeneral'(F[))& SS riRr:rtd.),
Ministryof Road Transport&
Highways,New Delhi
37. Singh, NirmalJit (RD) & .SiS(lFetd.),Ministryof Foad Transporl&
DireclorGeneraLl
Highways,New Delhi
38. Jain, N.S. Chief Enginner(Retcl.),ldinistryof Road Trernsporl
&
Highways,New Delhi
39. chiel Engineer(Plg.) Ministryof Roaclrrarrsport& Hitlhways,NervDelhi
40. Representalive DGBR, Director,ate
GerreiralElorderRoads,New Delhi

Ex-Offici<t Memlxtrs

1. President,lRc (Liansanga),Engineer-in-chiefand secretary,pwD Mizoram,

Aizawl
2. I DirectorGeneral(RD) & (Sinha,A.V.)Ministryof Ficrad
Transpnrt& Highways,
, Spl- Secretary New Dethi
3" SecretaryGeneral,IRC (lndoria,R.P.),IndianRoarlsOongress,NerrvDelhi

Co r re s po n diing M em.ber:s
1. Justo, Dr. C.E.G EmeritusFellow,i3angalon:
Univ, Bangalorer
2. fftaftar, M.D. Consultant,Run,,,r,al
Cientfre,
Mlunrbai
3. hgarwal,M.K. E-in_C(Retd),H,aryana,
F)WD
4- tlorge,V.B. Secrelary(Roads)(Feic.l, MaharashtrapWD, Mumbai

(ii)
 IRC:SP:89-2010

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTIOI.I

'E:mbankrnenl'Ground
It was discussediinthe first meeting07'032009 o{ newly':onstiluted
and DrainageCommittee'(H-4)thatlollowingIRC;guirJelirre:'; which dealswithsoil
lmprovement
dev'elopments
need revisionin the lighlof currentpracticesand latestlech,nological
stabiiization
in thefield.The identifiedguidelinesvrere:

1) IRC:28-1967:"Tentative for the Constructionof StabilizedSoilRoads

{ipecifications
withSoftAggregatesinareasofModerateandllighFlilinfal|,

2) IRC:33-1969:"standard
Procedure artoConditionSurveycf Stabilized
lor Evaluation
Soil Roads'

3) IRC:49-1973: "Recommended
Practice CotlonSoilslor
o1'Blacl<
forthe Pulverisation
Lime Stabilization"

4\ "Recommended
lFlC:SO-1973: llreuse of rllementModifiedSoils
DesignOriterrorrior
in BoadConstruction
'Guidelines
IRC:51-1992: in RoadConslruction'
tor the useof Soil-UmeMixetsr
5)
6) I R C : B B - 1 9 B 4" :R e c o m m e n d e dP r a c t i c ef ' ' l r L i m e - F l ) ' l \ s h S t a b i l i z e dS o i l s
Base/Sub-base in PavementConstruclion"

Alltheseguidelineswere reviewecl and it wasfoundthal.lFlL--3:3, ti1 and BBare relaledto

{$, SCl,
soil stabilizationwith admixtures llowever, IRC-2€|deralswith soil and soft ,aggregales
fhe revisedguidelines;presented
stabilizaLtion, er(lompass tlre reviewof
throughthis;docunt,etlt
soil stahilizalionwhich is the processwherebysoilsand relatednratr:rii,tls are made slronger
and more durableby nrixiqgwitha stabilizingagent. Althcugtr milny agentscan be
:;terbilizing
used,cementand limeare by farlhernostimportantandtlreguidelinesilnainlyconcentrate on
Cement,Lime-llyash/Lime-cement
use of L.ime, fly ash as stabilrzrrr inclurle,
T lre guidelirtes
generalfeatures of slabilization, malerialstabilization,speci{ications
guidelines{orsoit/granular
and tesl requirementsfor stabilizedmaterials,conslru,;tionpro<rcclur,r:, quality conlroland
limitationson the use of stabilizedmaterials.These guirielines
ha.veb€:renrnade considering
prevailingIndianand International practices.

was preparedby Shri SudhrrMalhui, lr'lermber-Secretarey,

The drerftof the gr.ridelines l-l-4
and
Committee his collegues namely R.K.
S/Shri Swami, Mrs UmetArun ancl U.K. Guru Vittal.
Theguidelines undertlreOonvenorship
werelinalisedby H-z'Committee of Shri MalteshKumar,
and Fl:ads)Deprarlnlent.
Haryana,PublicWorks(Building
Engineer-in-Chief,
lFtC:SP:89-2010
cornittee(H4)
8rDrairtit'ge
Groundlmprovemeni
Duringthe seventhMeetingof Enrbankment, wasapproverd to
lor crrtrculation
on 09'04,2010,thedraftdocument
(penonnelgivenbelowjnrr-1.:
& Stetndards
SpeciRcairions (HSS)'
Cornmittee
il;'gil+
- Convenor
Kumar,Mahesh
Kttma:' - Co-Convenor
Sharma,Arun
- MemberSecretary
Mathur,Sudhir

Menbers

Chahd,Faquir Rao,Prof'CiV
DhodaPkar,A.N- Rao,Prof'F.J.
Gairia,Maj.Gen- K.T', M.M
Sangal,
GuPta,SanjaY R-B.
Singh,
Gupta,Dr.PradeeP Saha,D.C.
Jain,NareshChi:rrd Sen,Samiren
Jain,M.K. Thomas,Dr.JitnmY'
Jalota,Di-A.V' VermaMaj.V'0.
Kansal,R.K. Chitra,R.
Korulla,Nlinimol (ReP.Dir.CSI\4RS)
Koul,R.L. Tlwari,Dr.A.Fl'
Kumar,Saterrder (ReP.of DGBR)
B.C.
Pradhan, C.E.,PWD,lrt:ghalaY;a

Conesponding Members
Verma,M.S.

Ex-OfticioMemturs

Presidenl.lRC (Liansanga)
DirectorGen,eral (Sinha,A.\/.)
(RD)& SS, IvloR-IH
SecrelaryGeneral,IRC R.P.I
(lndoria,

l . h e d r a f t d o c r l m e n t w a s s u b s e q u e n t | y a p p r o v e d w i t h s o r n e-[he
remarksblrtheHighways
dirattdocum€lnt
specifications andslandardscommilteein itsmeetingheldon r11.05.2010.
held c,n111.05.,2010. council in its
l[h':i
wasapprovedby the Executivecomrnitteein itsmeeting
approved the documeml wifl'h sorrlrecommenls'
meetingheldat MunnaqKeralaon 22.05.2010
iafterincorporaiing commentsofcouncilMembers rrrrztsaptlrorr€rcl the
b),r converpr
Thedocument
of Highways Qrociflcations & litandardsCommittee forprintin0'
 lFtC:Sf):89-21]10

1.1 PurPose
pioperties
theengineering
forirnproving
thecriteria olsrrils granuli;rr
arrcl
Theseguidelines
suggest
basecourses,sub-base
usedforpavem(lnt
ntaterials and
courses by
subgrade's USer;rf
ttrer
whiclhare rnixed into the soil/granular
additives/stabilizers, materialsto elilecttlte:desir€rd
improvement. A numberc,fadditives are to
irvailable improve the physicalend engineerirrlJ
propertiesof thesematerierls;however,thiscJocument restricts rs sur:tlas lim's,
to stabilize
itself
cement,fly ashor a mixturr:o{ the aboveadditives.

1.2 Scope

Theseguidelinesprescribethe appropriatetypeor typesof additivesto beru:sedwilh tlifferent

soiltypes,procedurestor deterrnininga designtreatmentlevelfor each typeoi atJclijiive and
recommended constructic,n theadditiveintolhe s'cil.Thers;er
practicesfor incorporating criteila
pavementl,ayer.
havinga slabilized
are applicableto alltypeof roadsand airfielcis

1.3 Definitions

a) of z;tll
Sol'ls;Naturallyoccurringnraterialsthatare usedlor lhe c;{instruciiL:tt
exceptthe surfacelayersof pavernents andttrirt
(i.e.,concretearrdaspha.lt)
tests{lS 1498)to providea gr;neral's)ncept
to classificalion
are subjrect (rf
theirengineeringr;haracteristics,
b) Additive,s:
ManufacturerJ comrrrercialproductsthat,whenaddedto llresoil in
lhe properquantilies,improvesomeenginearirrg rrl thersoil
i'l ;a;':iclolislics
andptasticity.
texture,workabilily,
suchas strerrglh, Additirre.s;.rddrerx;r:d in this
manualare limitedto ccnrt:nt,LimealtdFlyash.
c) gabilization:Stiabilization is theprocessof blendingandrnixirrg mstoiialswilih
a soil to improvecertainpropertiesof the soil.The processmay includtllhe
blending of soilsto aclrirsvea desiredgradation orthernixirtgol corrnerr.:ially
availabler addiliveslhal mayalterthegradation, ()racl as a
texlureor plilr;ticity,
fc,r
binder cernenlation of the soil.
o) MechanicalStabilization:Mechanical stabilization is accom[,lishe,Jiry mixing
or blendingsoilsof two or moregradations or mixingsoilvr,ithagrlregatras to
obtaina materialmeetingthe requiredspecification. The srrilblerndingmily
takeplaceatthe conshuclionsite,a centralplant,or a bonc'wiarea.Tlr':blsrdcd
materialis then spreadand compactedto requireddensitiesby <nnl'entiorral
means.
e) Additive.lChemiqal Stabilizalion:Addilivestabilizationis achie'v'edb;' lr'19
additionof proper percenlages of cement,lime,fly ash orr-tnt,1t"u116ps 'of
of typeandquantityc,rlhe trxn
thesematerialsto thesoil.TheselecJi.Jn centai:le
IRC:[iP:89-2010
upon1:hesoilOlassificationandthe degree
ol additiveto be usedis depentjerrt
of improvement desired'Generally,
in soilquality $malleramountsof addilives
arerequiredwhenitissimplycesirerjtonro:lifysoi|propertiessuchas
gradation,workabi|ityandplasticitl.Whetlitisdex;iredtoimp,rovelhestrength
3rr3usad.After the
and durabititysignificanily,largerrquantitiesol iadcJitive
water and
additivehas been mixed with tre soil, spreading,sprinkling
compactionatoMCareachietredbycon.renli.onia|means.
that resultsin
I Modificafion:Modificationreft:rsto the r;tabiliziltionprocess
improvementinsomepropert.yc,fthesoilbutdoesnot,byrJesign,resu|tin
significanlincreasein soilstrengthanddttrability'

t.4 EtfectivenessofStabilization

ravemenl desigrris based on the premisethat nrinimu.rn structuralstrengthwill be

spe,cifi,:d
syslent'Eiar:hlayer must resistshearing'
achievedfor each layerof materialin the pavemernt
avoidexcessivedeflections thatcausefaliguecrackjngwithirn thel:ryeror in overlyinglayersand
preventexcessivepermanentdeformalionthroughdensiiicirtic'n' '{s the qualityof a soillayeris
irrcreased, the abrlityo{ that layerto distributethraloirdovera greatr3rarea is generallyincreased
may be prermitted'Someol
so that a reduclionin the requiredthicknessol lhe pavernentlayerrs
the attributesol soil modificatioir/stabilization are indicaleclbelovr'

a) eualily improvemenfThe nost comm()rlirnp'rovements achievedthrough

stabitizationincludebetters;oilgradation,rer:lluctionof plasticityindex or
swellingpolentialand increarse, in dunabili\'andstrength'ln wet wealher,
may also be useClc provicler
stabilization platformfor construction
a vror:1<ing
operations.These types of soil ,qualitry
intprovrr)menlare relerredto as soil
modification- can errhancelhepr<perliesof toad materialsand
Stabilization
givepavementlayersthefollowingatlributes:
l;lrengthis retainedeven after they
A substantialproportionof lherfu
becomesaturatedwithwater.

: ;:'J::"*,::ffi;::;:,,,
. Materialsin the supp,crtingftrrrercannot contaminatetire stabilized
layer.
r The elasticmoduliofgrranrrlar
layers; abrlvestabilizedlayer
crlns;trucled

. ffiiffi::, issuitetblt;'
materiial orworking
tayer
foruseascappitrg
platformwhen the in-silurmaleriafil; excessivelywel or weak and
removalis notecononrica.
 IRC:SP:€19-2010

b,)Thicknessreduction:Thestrengthandsliffnelsiso|asoi|layercanbe
improverJtnrougrrtheuseo|additivestopetnrilarelductionindesign
thicknessofthestabi|izedmateria|compareclwilhanun-st;'tbi|izedorunbound
material.
c)Possib|eproblems:Theincreaseinthestrcn$htl|pavementlayersisalso
wilhthe{ollowing
associaterl problems:
possible .
rTraffic,thermalandshrinkagecracl.scanGause:stabilizedlayersto
crack.
.Crackscanreflectthroughthesr.rrfacingart,dal|owwatertoenterthe
pavementstructure-
reactions
has accessto the nlaterial,the sli'tbilization
o ll carbondioxicJe
arereversibleandthestrengthoflher|ayerscandr=lcrease.
r more s;kilisilnd controithan lor
l-he conslructionoperationsrecluir:e
materials'
eouivalentun-stabilized
Theseissueshavebeenfurtherhighlightedin Ohapter'/'
 IHC:SP:89-20lCl
CHAPTER2
MECHANICALSTABILIZATION

2.'t lt|echanical Stabilization

Mochanicalstabilizatronis a processin whichmaterialsare propc,rtionrxl to obtain desired

gradationand plzrsticity of lhe mlx. Correctlyproportioned
material(aggregzrte arrdsoil)can be
adequalelycompactedto form a mechanically stablepavemenlla1'sr.'t'"1rmethodis called
rner;hanical slatrilization. Thus;the basicprinciplesin this rnett^odof stabiliziation are :
a) Proportioning ilnd b) Compaaion.lf a granularsoilcontainingneglligible
finesi:srnixecJwitha
certainproportionof bindersoil,il Lspossiblelo increasethe stabilit,l. of a
Similariyther:;tability
firn grainedsoil can be considerablyimprovedby mixinga suitatrleprol)rsrtion lrf granular
rrnterialto get a desiredgradation.

Mechanicalstabilizationhas been successfully appliedfor sub-baser and biirsecourse

conslruclion.ll hasak;obeenusedas a surfacecoursefor lowcostroadsl;uc:has villageioaG
whenthe trafficerndrainfallare low.The desirablepropertiesof soil aggrol;ates; nrixturgsare
sirength;incompressibility; fewerchangesin volumeand stabilityvrithvilr,atiorrsiinmoisture
content;gooddrarinage; lessfrostsusceptibility
andeaseof compaclion. lt is glenererlly
believed
ihatthe stabilityof a soil aggregalemixcan be increasedby increasing its rjryden:sity.
Hence
prolrcrtioning
of rnixesis doneto altainmaximumdry density.
Thefactorsto be consideredin ttre designof mixare gradation,density,irrcl'cxp,roperties
and
stability.Of these,the gradationis the mostinrpodantfactor,Theparlicles;i;url
dislnbutionthat
gives maximumdensityis genorallyaimedat. Fuller'sformulanrzrybe u$ed lo obtain the
theorelicalgradalion formaxirnumdensityandis givenby:
p= 100 (d/D)'z

wtnre

P - per centliner ttrandiameter'd'(mm)in the materriarl

D = diamelerof lhe largestparticle,mm

'l-he
following are the recommended values ol the liquid limil and plar;ticirrde:<for tihe material
passing 425 micnrn sieve, to be used for mechanicalstabilization

Base Course SurfaceCourse for Cira'uelRoads

Liquidlimit 25 percenlmax. 3i5percent rnax

lnclex
Plasticity 6 percentmex. l5to .10p{3rcent
 IRC:S;F':,89-11O10
2.2 Design of MechanicallyStabilizedMixes
tcrmixthen in ,sur::lt
Whena fewmaterialsare availablein thenearvicinityof site,it is necessan/
a proportion,which would produce a mix v,tithhighestdensity-As an exampl,eif coar:;;e
aggregate,sandand finesoilare availablefrom threedepositsorborrowpits,it is tirslr:sserntial
to decidetheproportionof thesecornponenl Themostcornmonly
malerials. tr,Jopted graphhal
rnethod{orproportioning i:;the Rothfutch's Detailsof Rothfutch
rnethod. methocj areirrc:sented in
Section2.2.3.Thedesignbasedon combining twomaterials(soilandaggregates)on lhe tlasis
of lheirsieveanalysisto a,chievespecifiedgradationis givenbelow:
o Column2 and 6 in theTablegivetheparlicle
sizedistribution
of materrialAa rtd
B whichdo not satisfythegradalion
requirementof lhe specificatirrn.
o Column3 showsthe standard sievesizes,colurnn4 shorars
the recornrmended
limitsfor a particularpavernent
courseandcolumn5 shovvs the avenlgevaluc
of corra;pondinglimitsshownin colui'nn4.
. ThGinvt>rseratioof lhe totalsin columns1 and 7 givestherproporlirrn
c'fthe
materialsto tp mixedto obtainthe desiredmix.
A : B = z l 5 :1 3 9( 1 : 3 ) .
r Mixing25 percentof lhe nraterialA
and75 percentof malerialB woul,clgive
lhe
desiredgradationas sholn in theTable.

Table I Mixing of Aggregatesfor DesiredGradation

Numerical MaterialA Sieve size Recomm- Average Materiall I N;ffi;ll

Nurneric:
Difference percent ended percent B percerrt I difiierence
oinierenc
I
between passing Limils passing passin'g I betfwerer I
belfweren
rnaterialA percent I material I
and passing I El
B anrJ
anrJ
average I
average
average I
I
I
percent I perrcent
perrcerrt
passing pasisrng
pasising
I
I -i-iil- -lI
Col 1 Col 2 Col3 Col4 Col5 Col 6 |
---:-*-l
(.ill7

100 40 mm 100 100 100 -ir--

t1 98 20 mm 80-100 90 7i)
-;__l7I
26 94 10 rnm 55-80 68 5r; *--r-I
t 3
33 B3 4.75mm 40-60
'40
411 8
-*----*"-1 I
32 72 2.36mni 30-50 3ft 5
5
-------*-"-t l
33 55 600 pm 15-30 22 21 . 1__
1
_i
7
17 75 pm 5-15 10 I 1
1 l
Total= 139 g,l--,gl
Tot;ll=,4
 IRC:SP:89-2010
22.'l Stabilizationusing soft aggregates(lt.le*-a's,nethodof .stabitization)
When hardvarietyof aggregatesis nol locallyavailabler, lhe localsoftaggregatesmay haveto
be used lor conslruclionin order to keep the ccxtstrur:tion cost as low as possible.The soft
aggregatehave low crushingstrengthand lo,war3gregette imparctvalue.Stillthey have been
adopted in the constructionof mechanicallystallilizerJ sub-lca:,;e,base course and even in
wearingcourselayers.Commonlyusedsoftaggregates {rx ncadcc}nstruclion
are kankar,moorum,
latedteandbrokenbrickaggregates.Becauserlfll'ielou,s;lrength, theseaggrcgatesare likelyto
break downat theirpointsof conlact.lf thesezrggregatr..r;;aremilledwith surtableproportionof
soil so thateacirparticleof sotl aggregateis ervek>pedby soil,therewouldnot be any problem
of crushingof theseaggregatesduringcompaotion or unCrertrafl'ric
load.
Mehra'srnethoclof construclioncan be adoptedforcons':ruction ol lowvolumeruralroads.ln this
method,basecoursernaterialconsisisof conrpa,c;ted soilwith s;,and content(of size less than
0.425mm andgreaterthan0.075mm)beingnotl,sssthan150 p'ert.:ent
and plasticigindex5 to 7.
Wearing coursematerialmnsistsof brickaE;reglatesandsoil mixedin the ratio of 1:2. The
sand contentin the soil shouldbe lesslhan 3il p€rrcenl:ilnd ptas;ticilyindex 9 to 12. However,
when biluminoussurfacetreatmentis required/de:;ired, !ne pl:rsticityindexs;houldbe limitedto
8 lo 10.Thismethod,proposedby Prof.S.R.Mehra, giivern
is br:iefly below:
1) Soilis collectedfrom approvedborrovv
pitsaLrxlslackedorrroadside.
2) Wateris added upto OMC and soil is rrrixec|
a.rrdspreadto desired camber
andgrade.
3) 11,5cm thickloosebasecoursermateriai (sandysoil)is spreadand rolledby
8 tonnesrollerto a compacterJ
ilricknessof 7.St;m.
4) Surfacecoursemalerial(briclkaglgregatc'anrJs,cilin the ralio 't:2) mixedwith
adequalewateris spreadto 11.{icm lcos,alhiicknessand tl"relayeris rolledby
I tonnesrollerto a compacterJ
thicknessof 7.5 r::m.
5) Afterrolling,the surfaceis wraterred
anrj left ol'ernight.The surfaceis again
rolledand finished.
6) Theroad is closedto trafficlor 4-15days:urdkepr:sprinkledurithwater. For next
fewdays,onlyrubber-tyred traflicis allolvr:dand afterabout2 weeks,the road
is openedto alltraffic.Mehra's; nrelhodol constructioncan carryS0 tonnesof
trafficper day in placesof liglrtrainfalrl.With biluminoussirrfacing,the road
givessatisfactoryserviceupto2{)0tonnesper cl,ayeven in placeswith hearry
rainfall.
tL2-2 DesiEn of mechanically stabilized mi.res: c'ombining two materials based on
plasticity
L-ettherebe two soilsA and B which are to be nrirerrJ
to gerta soil cf requiredplasticityindex p.
fitep-l Deterrninethe plasticityindexol lhe lwo soiis.Lelllhesr.-be Poanri p, for soilA and
SoilB respectivety.
 IRC:SP:89-2010
pa:;sing425
Step2 Determinefrom sieveanalysisfor eachsoil'th'ep']rcentttlleof nlaterial
micronsieve.Lei lhese be Soand S, for the SoilA and SOilB rerspectively. Thenlhe
percentageof SoilA to be miied witn SoitB to gel the desiiredprlasticityinclexi.e" P,
is givenby the relation:
e /p-.p'
A%= ss(p;hqi=il
Materiat

2.2.3 Rothfutch methodfor design of soil-aggregalerrixes;:

Rothfutcfrrnethodis adoptedwhen a numberof materials,arelo be mblerJtogetherlo obtaina

'these
combinedmaterialconforming1o a desired gradalion.lt is to b€rnoliedthat noneiof
individualconsliluentsof combinedmaterialwouldbe abrleto satisl/ the d'r'siredgradation' The
ratioof mixingthese individualconstituentsis determinedbiasedon methodology pnrposed by
de::ireclgradation.
In this process,thefirstslepwouldbe to detenninerthe
Rothfutcl"r. Tlrismaybe
based on the specificationlimits or as per theoretical gi'uen
erquatiorr by Fuller or other
research,ers. The procedureinvolvesdrawingthe gradaiion
curve:ion graph paper and then
{indingorrtoptimurnmix proportionas describedbelow:
. On a graph sheet percentpassingis rnarlreclon Y iaxisin a suir;ablelinear
nrrhichis to tre rnarked,
scale.X axis representslhe particlesize Cistribuilpn,
basedon desiredgradation.

" The comerO andO' arejoinedby straigiitline.

. OO'representsrequiredgradationlinet'
. Sieve sizes are marked correspondinglo percent ;:assing of required
gradation.This can be done by locatingthe averagepercentagespecifiedlor
any particularsieve,locatingthatpoint,cntlreY axir;and tlnenproceedingto cut
the lineOO'.Atthe pointof intersection and OCI,a vertical
of iltis horizcrntalline
line is drawnto cut X axis. This intersalion poitrtorr ,l.iaxis representsthe
sievesizeselectedfor.thedesiredgrachlrion. In thismanner,all the .sieve
sizes
-aremarlcedone by one on the X axis.
o Gradatkrndistributionof matorialsA, B and C arerthrendrawn, by usingthe
. sievesizesmarkedon the X axisandllheroercenl,age finer rnarkedon Y axis.
. Balancinglinefor rnaterialsA, B and C a,redrrawrr in such a way that areaon
eithersitjeof balancinglineand gradationcurveale a1ui,tl,Balancinglinesare
straightlines which representthe paniiclersizer distri.rutionof respective
. materialin a best possiblemanner.'[his;can be acccmplished by using a
, lransparenlplaslicscale, movingit on eithersiderof tf re material gradation
curveandcountingthe numberof square's enclo,sed betweenbalancingline
. and materialgradationcurve.The balarrr;ing line :;houlrJbe drawn in such a
mannerlhatnumberof squares (area)on eithersicleof balancinglineandlhe
selectectaradation curveshouldbe equat.
l|:lC:SP:89-2010
"Th€oppositeendsorthetwoadjoiningba|ancirrg|itresareltrerrjcined.:
cThepoiintsvyherethesejoining|inescutoo'representtheper(;entageofthat
materialinthemix'
Them'ethodis illuslratedin Fig' 1 below:

BAS 8F E GO
ORICINAL C1JRVE
OH GO
OASHED CURVE
Dl-t: BOT-IOMOF OH wlTH IOPGO:
,olN UoTIOM oF l',c; wlTH TOP OF AxlS
NTERSECTING C'T A T M & L : P R O J E C T F R o MM . 8 L c ) \ Y -

t
t
I

I
u g)
z
G
Cnx;hed
Stff€
F
2
u
d,
U

l0

O H75 600 235 4.

l1m mh
Mict6 Micrc.
SIEVE SIZE

ltilixers
Frig-1 Rothfutch Method ol Designing soil-Aggregate

10
 IRC:Sit):BSl-2tl)]0

CHAPTER 3
.CUIOT'IIruES
MATERIALSSTITBILIZANON
FOR SOIUGRANULAR
GENERAL

3.1 Factorsto be Considered

consideredarerthr:type'lf Soiltr: be
ln the selectionof a stabiliz{lr,the taclorsthal mustbe
cesireclthe
the purposeliorwhichthe statlilizedlayeris used,the soil imSrrovement
stabilized,
layerandthecostanden"rirg'rmenlal conditions'
requiredStrength ancldurabilltyof thestabilized
r:f
whileselectingthe type S;labiliz'ilr'
The followingparametersare requiredtObe considered
a) soit types and additive.s: Theremay be morethan ornecandidaleslabilizer
therearesorn(|gener(rl gui&riines
applicablefor particularsoiltype.However,
grarrularity,
thal rnakespecificstabilizersmore effeclivebaseldtln soil
plastbity,ortexture.Portlandcement forexample can tie used witlr a varir*yof
soiltypes;ho,wever, sinceil is imperativethat the cement be nrrxed intinrately
with the Jines;fraction(lessthan0.075mm size),the mcre plastiic nrattrrials
well-gradedgranularmalerials ti^ralpollsess
shouldbe avoidetj.Generally,
sulticient{inesto producea floatingaggregatematrix(h,cmogen':,us rni:rlure)
arebestsuitedforcemenfstabilization. Limewillreacl,withsoilsof mediurnto
highplasricityto producedecreased plasticity, reduced
increasocl',vorlr:abrlity,
swelland increasedstrength.Limeis usedto stabilize a variety rofmatilrials
inclurling weak subgradesoils,transforming thenrintoil "workingtah"e"or
''61t1t'
suFtrase;and wirhrnaroinal granularbasematerials,i'e', clay'gravelrs'
gravt:ls,to {orm a strong,highqualitybase course.Fly'otn is a po:zzr::rlanic
material,i.e-it react$withlimein powderedformin prcs€nceof ruaiera:rrrd is,
therefore, alrnostalways use.d in combinationwilhlimein soilstiralltave lillJeor
no plasticfines. lt has oftenbeenfounddesirableto us;r:a s;rnall arnottnt of
Portlnndcementwithlimeand{lyashfor addedslrent3thThiscorttbirra of lron
Lime-cernerrt-Fly Ash (LcF)hasbeenusedsuccesslfully in suhrbasocr:)urse
slabiization.
b) GeneralGuidetines.The followingare generalguidelineswhenconsirJering
withdifferentadditives.
stabilization
3.1.1 Lime stabihization
soilsincludingheavyclays,moorumandotherso ls metvvithin
Clay,ey erlluvial
treated
plainscan be effectively wilh lime. For effectiver a soil
stabili:lation,
muSl,havea fractionpassing425 micronSieve not lerss:han | 5 and
;len-rerrt
'10percent.
Plasticitylndex(Pl)shouldbeal least
it b desirablethatthe percentageretainedcttl425
For effectivestabilization,
micr,lnsievetshquldbe wellgradedwithuniforrnity rtol.lesr;than5'
coeflir:ienl

11
 IRC:SP:89-2O10

" Organicmatterin thesoilselecledfoi'src,ilstirbilization

shouldnotbe morethan
2 percent
andsulphatecontent shoulcl notexceed0.2 percent.

" pH valueol 10 or 11is desireclior po:zolanic,

reaclionto take placebetween
claymineralsand limefortfrel'ormation oJcenrentitiouscompounds.
o Soils havingorganicmalterand s;oh.rble contenlsin
carbonate/sr.rlphate
excessof 2.0 percentand 0.2 percenlrespecltively
requirespecialstudies.

" Somematerials containamorphous wihichalthoughhaslowplasticitybut

r;ilir:,a
reactswithlimeto lorm thernecesszriry(:iemr3nilation
productsand shouldthus
be consideredfor stabilization
withlinre,.
o Materialscontaining highKaclrnite clay mirreralusuallyhave a
al;the lba*;ic
fairlylourPl with a high liqrridlinritand ir such cas;eslirneshould be
consideredfor stabilization.
n In case of highlyplasticsoils,h,voslagestabiiizationis adopted.In this case
soilis firsttrealedwitha sm;rllqlantityof linre.Lateron lhr:soilmay be treated
withremainingquantityof limeorwilhcem()ntto achievothe desiredstrengih
andstabitity.
3.12 Cetmentstabilization
c Generallygranularsoils freerof frighconct:nlralionof organicmatter or
deleterioussalts are suitablefor r;t:nrentstabilizaliorr.For checkingthe
suilabilityof soils,it would be ;ldvanlageouslo keep the followingcrilerion
inview:
a) PlasticityProduct(PF'r,exprr.ssedas product of Pl of soil and
percentage fractionp,as,siing
7tinnicrr:nsieveshouldnot exceed60.
b) Uniformitycoefficienlof soil shr:uldbetgreaterth;an5 and prelerabty
grealerlhan10.
c) Highlymicaceous
soilsarenotsuitatlle
for cementstabilization.
d) Soilsthat are havingor$anic<:onlerrtlrigherthan 2 percenland also
thosesoilshavingsulphateanJ r:arbonaleconcerrtralion greaterthan
0.2percentare nol suitat,lefor cermentr:;tabilization.
e) Siltyor fine sandymarterials
may exhibit a high liquidlimitbecauseof
the high surfacearea ol'the partrcles.-l'hisrnaterialgenerallywill not
reactwith lime becauseof lar:h:
of cleryparticlesarrdcan be stabilized
wilh cement.However,c€rmenl s;tabiliiz:rtion
with hi,3hdosesof cement
maytendto makestabilization uneconon'ical.
3.1.3 umelly ash (LF)and lime-cement-lty,ash
(LC'F)sta',ricilization
Stabilizationo1'coarse-grained
soilshavinglittlecr no lirrers
ciln oftenbe accomplished
by the
use of i-F or LCF combinations.
Fly ash,alsotennedr:oailas,h,is a mineralresidual{romthe
 IRC:SP:89-20.10

combustionofpulverisetlcoal.ltcontainsreactivesi|icaancalurriniunr<lrrmpoundsthat,w
m i x e d w i t h l i m e a n c j w a r e r , f o r m a h a r d e n e d c e can
m e n t i t i c r t t s m ; ] | ; S c € l p a t bin| e o f o b t a i n i n g h
cornpres;sive ,rrung,n".'t-ime andfty ashin combination cflen belt,**6 sucrlesslully
tn. fly ashactsas an aiQ€fit"ryith wfrichthe lirnecanreact'
stabilizing granulart"i"ti"it
"in..
is oftenappropriate forbaseandsub-basecoursenuterials'
ThusLF or LCFstabilization

3.2DesirablePropertiesofLime,Cementand|F|yAstr|orStab|lization

3 . 2 ( a ) u m e : L i m e l s i ; b r o a d t e r m w h i c h i s u s e d t oan'J
d ecalcium
scribre r 0 o x i-d e ( c a o ) - Q u i c
{ l a l c r i uCaCot
carbonate
rrydroxidJ 6"'to*1, - tr"k"o or hydratedline
rime; catciunr by the
carbontrte of lime.rne retation n6tweentheset'hreetyp,esof lirneciln be represented
following equations:
1) CaCO.r- heat = CaO + CO,

2) CaO'r-H.O = Ca (oH). + heat

3) * QO,
Ca (tlP11, = CaCO.+ HrO

The|iffitreactionwhichisreversibledoesnotoccurmucl.tbelcr',r,5009C)andisthebasis|orlhe
as a resuttof the
HyCmtedlim': is prrc'duced
manufactureof quicklintefrom chalkor limestone.
(by tl'rereversal of equation1) anc
reactionol quicklimewfth water (equation2). Quicklimer
cai'bonattlwhicl'ris nol usecllorstabiliza-
hydratodlinre(byequation3) willbothrevertto calciunr
tc ;adjus;t
i:H.
tion' atthoughit is usedin agricultureas a soil additir];e
These types ol limescar
ln dolc,miticlime,some of the calciumis substitutedby ntagnes;iurn'
Hydrauliclimealso l<nownas gre/ lim,ei:rproducecl lrom impure
also br; usedfor stabilization. 'availablelime'
clay.Tfrey, thereJc're,conl.ainless
formsof calciumcarbonatewhi*r abo contain
to con'penrsat'e for this, they contair
i" i^iti.t* rtf*15 on ftasticity and strengith.Howev'sr,
found rn Porlletnd cerment' Thus, whilsttheir
reactir,re silicalesand aluminatessimilarto those
lirnes in lhe lonp term they maydevelog
immediateeffectmay be lessthanthat <-ri highcalciurn
ctlnsidet'ed suitirble'
higherstrengths.Generally,useof dolomiticlimeis nr:t
rcfers 1:othe additionof calcitit
Consequenlyin the contextol lhis guidelines,limeslabilization
available,stareoat site,or pre-:slaked lirnerlellveredat sile in suitablt
Jry linre,commercially
pa&inSi.Hydrated/Slaked limecomesin theformof a fiinedry powder
vir:lentlywith 32.p^ercent
It rc:t,tcls
prrwcler- o
euicklimersavailableeitherin granularformor as a
r-rfheat (i:rpprox 17 x 10s Joule:
its own weight of water to prJduceconsiderablean'lotlnts
per kglofquicklimeare released).

limeandquicklimearebothusuallyaddedb scil in the":olitllrrrffI'l butthey mayalsobt

Hydrarted
and dir:;advantagr:s o{the threr
mixeclwitrr walerand addedto thesoilas sluny.The adveintar;es;
methodsof applicatiolt aresummarised below:
n lime
Dryltydrated .h
a) Advantages:Can be two
applied to thrr:,rr slurryandir
tirne:iitasterlhan
outsoils;.
indrYing
veryeffective
IJ
IRC:SP:89-2010
Disadvantages-.producesa dustproblenrlhat make{,; it undesirablefor
b)
lime requiresan
use in urban areasand the tast dryingactionof tl"rer
excessamountof waterduringhot,dryweather
. Quicklime
a)Advantages..Moreeconomica|than|ryc|ratec||inreastcontirins
action
approximalely25 percent-moreavailatrlelime' Fir:;lerdrying
' thanhydratedlimeon wetsuils'

b)Disadvantages:Fie|dhydralionis|esseffer:tive,prt:ducirrrJacoarser
in soilnus;s,quir:klime
with poorerdistribution
rnateria.l requiresnrore
v'rhiichmay presentel
waterthan doeshydratedlime for stabilization,
problemin dry areaand greatervulnerabilily of sit': persorrnelto skirr
andeye bums.
. Slurrylime
a)Advantages;Dustfreeapp|icationis|norei{:,Sirahr|efronrart
standpoint;
environmental isachk;vedwilh theslurry;
betterdistribution
spreadingand sprinklingoperationaLrecombined,thursredr;cinq
.processingcostsandduringhotandrJryweathers|urryappliciation
pre-wetsthe soilandminimizesdryingacilon'
b) Disadvantages;Applicationralesaresbw'er.Highr:apacil'/pumprsare
requiredto achieveacceptableapplicatiorrates;extril equipmernt is
requiredandcostisthereforehigher;e)tran.lanipu|ationmaybe
requiredfor dryingpurposesduringcool,wel, humi<jvieather;nc't
quiclilim':
practicalfor use wih very wet soils ai'rdif preparc! f;srrTl
are largely
of quicklirnrl
any benefitsarisingf romthe heatol.hyrlra,tion
lost-

The purityof linreaffectsthe strengthof lime-soilstabilization. llte effectivenessof lirnein

reactionwilh its clay mineralsis dependentto a good extenlorrits chemicral compositioni'e''
purityof limeis exprressed a s lhrl prr:tcentage of
amountof calciumoxidepresentin thelime.The
thirtthe lime used for
avatlablecalciurnoxide presentin the lime.lt is generallyrecomrn,snded
soilstabilization should have purity of 50 percent or above. The addition of lime shouldbe
coneSprondingly increasedwhoneverthefieldtestsshowa lesserr pruri$'Caiciurn oxidecontent
in limeshouldbt;delemtinedas specifiedin lS 1514or lS 712.Slerked limesuprplied in airtigltt
bagsshouldnol be storedfor more thanthreemonths.Sincelimed{}teriorales wiliristoragelhe
puritynrustbe checkedat site before use.

Foreffective
stabilization and the:degreeol nrixing
witfilime,unilormmixingis a pre-requis'te
'nrilllcea quicliand
depenclson the finenessof lime. Whenusingline powderedlime,there

14
 ' IFIC:SF:89-2010

withglsryminerals
reaction
eftective toforrncementitious
compounds. stabilizittiorrshall
Limel.fc,r
of classC hydratedlimeas specifiedin lS 1514 r:rlSi7:l2,
conformto the finenessrr:quirement
whichis as underrflable 2):

Table2 Requirementol Finenessfor Lime Stabilization

S.No SieveSize (Micron) PercentageP'assing

1) 850 100

2) 300 99 (Minintttm)

3) 212 95 (Mini
(Mininrum)

of
shouldcomplywith tfre requireme,nb
3.2 (b) Cement:Cementfor cement,slabilization
lS 269.455or 1489.
3.2 (c) FIya:;h:Flyashmaybe fromanthracitic coalor ligniticcoal.Flyaslhto be trsedforLhe
purpose.ofsoil-1lime-lly shouldconformto the requirement;givenin Terbtr::3
ash stabilizalion
and 4.

Tlable3 Ghemical Requirements for Fly Ash as a Pozzoll;rna

Sl. No. Characteristics Requirernents lor I ttllethocl

Fly Ash I of Tr:st
Anthracitic Llgniric
fly ash flyas;h

1) SiO.-r-AlrO.,f:erO.in percentby IU 50 I l:S'1i2,

mass,Min
2l SiO,in percenlby rnass,Min 35 25 | l:311'2-,7
e\ MgOin percerfby mass,Max 25 5.0 | t:3t;'z;t
4) SO.in percentby mass,Max 2.75 3.5 | ilS17'27

5) Availablealkaliesas NarO/KrO 1.5 1.5 I lts4cl3i1

in percentby mass,Max
6) in percentby mass,
Total,chloridesi 0.05 cr.0l5 .l ili1i'27
Max
7) Losson ignitionin percenlby nass, 5.0 5.rl I lS 1i'27
Max

16
IRC:SP:89-20'10
Table4 Physicat Recluirementfor Fly ltsh a$ a Pozzolona
Requirement
prernrei:rbilitY 250

40
, Max
Particlesretainedon 45 micronlS sieve:
Min
in NVrnm'z, 3.5
Ljme reaclivitY
in 0.8
Soundnessby autoclavetestexpansicrtol spr:cimern
percent,Max
10
Soundness by Lechateliermethod-elxpanslolin mrn, lVlax

3.3 Selection of Stabilizer .

:sizedistributionof the material
The selectionof thestabilizeris basedon plasticilyand piirlic,le
to thercriterionshown in
to be trealed.'rhe appropriatestabilizercan be selectr;cJacccrding
Table5. Some conlrotoverthe gradingcan be a:hievercl by lirnitingihe coetficientof uniformity
ll the coefficiento{
to a minimumvalueof 5; however,it shouldpnrierablybe rnore than 10'
willbe hrgfrandll^rernaintenarnce
lies below5, thecostol stabilization of cracksin the
uniforrnity
finishedroadwouldbe expensive.li the plasticitlof scil ir;high fiere are usually sutficientclay
is more to
ditficult mix intimatelywith
mineralswhich canbe readilystabilizedwithlime,.Cerrent
plasticmaterialbuf this problemcan be alleviat,ed by pn;'treraling:the soil with approximately
2 percentlime.
Tabte5 Guideto the Typeof titahilizationlikelyto be Effective
SoiilProperrties
Type of More lhan 25oloPassing tl"re Lel;s than 25!/opassing the
Slabilization 0.075 mm sieve 0-075mrn sieve

P t <1 0 1o <Pl<20 Fl>:20 Pl<$, P l. : 1 0

pp < rcO

Yes;
Yex; Nb
Nln Ygs;

3.4 UsingLime{ollorredby Cement

Two StageStabitization
-t1te are thosethat
Cernentcan lre used to stabilizemostol thi3s;oils. principalsx,3gptions
containort;anicmalter in a torm which retards1.he
lrydration'cf cament and soils which are

1a
 lFlC:SP:89-2O10

contertrt'In competri:*on withcement'ihe

difficultto rnixwith cementon accountof theirhighclay
is morerestricled; us'edin equrivalerlt amotlntil gendrally
potentialuse{or limein soilstabilization
is for ursewitlrcleryeysoils
produceslowerslrenglhsthandoescementand its mainapplicatiorr
rlf
lhe usr: a two slagerlime/cement
whicharerjifficultto stabilizewithcement.Forthesereasons
as it otfersthe possibility of externdingthe ran'geof soil
slabilizationprocessappearsattraclive
To achievethe maxirrrurn effeclilhelimr: and cementwould
whichcan be effectivetyslabilized.
trrst beradded t'o modify the
not be blended but would be added ssparately.Lime w,culd
'cf centr:rnt to hring out a longterm
propertiesof soil and this;wouldbe followeclby the addition
1;s6€rrtl
increaseirrstrength,when limetreatedsoil is slabilized*'15

3.5 Modification and Cementation

-l.here {or s'Libgracleimpr'cvemenland
is a dislinctionbetweena stabilizedsoil "modifierJ''
,1:emented.(a cementerJsoil in this contextcan be ontl stiebilizedwith lime as the clay{ime
'ior
p,ozzolanic reactionproductscanbe regardedas a cement) use';ls a'srlb-baseor base'The
term"moditicaUon'. are usedin speciticatitlns
and cernenlation to oerscribethe degreeandtype
of lrealmelnt.
plasticityand ermarginal
1-herapiclaction of lime on soil, which brings abouta rerjrlctiotrirr
increasein CBR is re{erredto as Modification.lf conditions; are fttvourablefor the pozzolanic
soilwilldevelopsignifica conrPtessivr:and ternsile
rrt strengths
,,"1ionto proceed,tirelimestabilized
and it is tlren regardedas a "cemented"material.
quantityof cementis addedlo a soil,thepropertieirnayalso be modifiedwithout
li a veryS;rnall
muchhadenilg or thedevelopment of significantcomprerssi'te strength.ln suchcases
or lerttsil€r
poor,butthe
of r:ementalionis relatively of
propertie,s a trraleriarcan nelverthelessbe
lhe degr€re
as modificalionin the
r:onsiderirblyimprovedin this way.This trealmenlis arlstlrefern:d to
specifications.
rdy'hen
a rnaterialhasdevelopedsufficienttensilestrength,il is reganlecjas a cementedmatenal
and tl'leclivisionbeniveenthe lwo
5utthereis no cleadydefinedboundarybetweenmodificatron
is arbitrirry.However,it has been suggested(NAAtiR4 198€;) thal a7 day unconfined
r;ompressive strengthof 0.8 N/mmzcouldbe set asthe bourrdarybertweler the two.

1'l
IRC:SP:B9-201(t
CHAPTER4
FOHSIAI]ILIZED
ANDTESTBEQUIREMENTS
SPECIFICATIONS MATERIALS

4.1 GeneralRequirement

Tfrcpavementperrforntance roadwillbe largelygovemedby ihe gradattion

of a stiabilized and the
nraterialused for the purposeot stabilizalion.
typeof s;oiligranular 1-hequalityof milterialto be
stabiliz€rdshouldmeet the minimumstandardset out in specificatiorrs. Stabilizedlayers
construr:ted from such malerial is likely to performsatisfactorilyr even il', it is affected by
cafionalionduringits lifetime.Materialswhichdo notcomplywitlr lh€rrequirements givenin the
canbe stabilizedbut moreadditivewillbe required
speciliciltions ianrltheriskfrontcrackingand I
L
cadronalion willincrease.Thestrengthof slabilizedmaterials canlbeeryaluaterJ in ma,nyways,ol !

whichthemostpopulararelhe UnconfinedCompressive Strength(tj,3S)tr:slancltlreCalifornia

BearingRatio(Cl3R)test.

4.2 Stabllizationwith Cement

4.2.1 RequircmantforsoilmodificatiordsuDgqadeimprovemerll
Cementstabilize(lmaterialscan be usedfor soilmodification
or improven:ent of subgradesoil.
It is recommenderdfrom economicconsideration that mixin-placernethorJs rlf construclionbe
used{or subgracieimprovementand only granularmaterialsand s lty cofrrlsivrlrnaterialsbe
used.(Theassurnptionbeingthat moreclayeymalerialswouldbe rnoreeff,ectirrely stabilized
withlimer).The mainrequirementsfor cementmodilication or stabilization
of subgrildesoil are
summarised in Table6.
Table6 Soil Characteristicsfor CementModifiedSilliUlmprroved
Subgrade/CappingLayer
-S"*ifEJ
Properties
--si--:---
Grtu;
Liquid Limit (%) _---
Plasticitylndex <2tJ
Organric
conlent(/") <2:
TotalSiO.
conlent 0.2 % Ma:r
MinimumLaborratory
CBR at specifieddensity(%) 15
Minimum content(%)
cement tz"
Degreeof pulverisation("/") >60
for mixing
Ternperrature l\ilorethan1ffC
llme for completingcompaction 2 hrs lilax
In case bettat m€ohanical oquipment lor spreading ot cemenl, tor breakingotodsaod tfenclinr; is usod, the
mlnimumpercanlageolcenlent for $tabilization couldbe 0.5 percenl.Howeverextensivolab tesling must be
doneto atriveat this minimumprercentage. Sampleat site of blendedloosesol be collectedarrdr"emoulded in
lab to contirmlhal lhe desiredCBR can be achieved.

18
 lF;0:SP:89-20'10

4.22 for bound sub-baseVbases

Re,guireme,nt

Granularmaterials,gravel,sand, lateriticsoils,sandysilty material,crushedsllag'crrushed

concrete,brir:kmetaland kankar,etc. stabilized with eithercementor linre-flyztsh-cr3rtent or
lime-flyash,etc.maybe allowedfor useas cappinglayerover weak subgrade, as s,ub-lcase and
base layerof pavenrent.The main requirements layetsol a
of stabilizedlayersfcr differerrrt
pavementstructureas indicatedaboveare sumnrarised in TableT and Il. The grtrdationsindi-
cated in TatrleI arr: inlendedas tentativespecilications. Gradarticrn fof cernentbound
materialsas per MoFtTHspecifications can alsobe adopted.Flowever, i:hickness ol different
of a padiculargradingarrdstrengthrequirements
for acJoption
slabilizedlayers,seler:tion/choice
of lheselayersareto lbedecidedon thebasisof pavementdesignandwilflspecificaSprtcval of
theEngineer-in-Char1;e.
Table7 MatcrialCharacteristicsfor CementModifiedGr:rnularMatelrials

sr"n:i"*:-]_:.--]
SpecilieclValue

- <4,5 I

3i -_-:-l
._-_ -l
<i!
<i!

TotalSO"content("1') rt--_--__--
of ':oarseaggregates
Waterabsc'rption 4% (X the is vaiue is >296the I
soundnesste:;tslrallt:'tr I
carriedoul r)nthe materials I
1"*"*59i:ryi::'::L-J
10 percent
finesvaluewhentestedas > 50ldl t
per8S812(lll)
___--J
I
4-3 Stabilizationwith Lime
4.3-1 Requirementforsoilmfiification/subgradeimprovement

The properliesof soil-limemixes is usuallyassessedon the basis;of strengthtestr;made

on the materialsal'terthe stabilizerhas been allowedsutficienttime to har,len.The
strengthof stabilizedsoils can be evaluatedin many ways, o, which the most popularis
CalifomiaBearingFlatio(CBR) lest for lime stabilizedsoils. Limestalrilizationis generally
recornmentJed to irnprovethe subgradesoils which are cohersiv€, in nalure. l.irne is
recommended workabilityand
for such soils becauseol rts beneficialeffectson plarsticity',
strengthgain.Themrainrequirernents forlimestabilized
improvedsubgrirCe in
are sLrrnrnarised
the Table9-

19
IRC:SP:89-2010
for Cemernt Bsund Materialsfor
Table B GradationRequirernenl
Base/SuFbas€'s'/CappingLaYer
lll GradinglV
Sieve size GradingI Gradiingll Grading
100 100
75.0mm
100 tlrl-l00 100
53.0mm
,{.5.0mm s5-100
95-100
37.5mm
s5-90 l'0-100 55-75
26.5mm
2.4 mm ry49
1 1 . 2m m 40€0
9.5mm
3{i-65 3tg 10-30
254Cr 25"55 4G65
4.75 mnt
15-3(l 2t::t-40 30-50
2.36 mnl
0.600P
B-22 1r:)-35 1*25
0.4251t
0300u
0-8 " -3-10,.-,. .&10.. Q:..10-.
0.075Y
7",14.5" J-l I,3 1.5'/0.75"
7 days lJnconfinedComPressive
12'16
Strength(MPa)lor cementbound
materialsor 28 days strengthfor lime-fly
ash & lirnecment-tly ash bound materials

.. fi"ffi;:1[il1f":,xtilffi:mbe wilhirr F,c,r

rhebarch lvrheunconfined
Grirctins strensth
compressive
alt'anatives
areequallyacceptable
andCBRrequirernent
Soils
lor li-inne/Moditied
Table 9 Material Characte'ristic-q'
Value
1m%
Passinq26.5 mm sieve -
15- 100%
210
< 204
< 0.2o/"

c,onlirntthat the desired CBFI can be achieved'

,n
 lllC:SP:89-2010

ol linreshall be the sameas givenin Section3'i2'

Therquality

4,4 Slabitizationwith Llme Fly Ash (LF)

pulverisedf uelash (pFA)or fly ash has been recognisedfor rnanyyeausas iavaluablernalerial
tor modifyinganclenhancinglhe propertiesof soils.Stabili::aiion of collrse grainedsoils;having
liltlgor no finescan be accomplishedby the use of LF or LCI: Combinartion. F:lyash alsotermec
as r:oalashis a mineralresdual oblainedfromthe cr:mbusliorr coal' lt contains
of thelprulverris;ed
silir:onand aluminiumcompoundwhich,aftermixingwith lirre and water lorms a hardenec
cementitious mass capableof obtaininghigh compressiiv(; strenglhs-Lime and fly' ash ir
cornbination can oftenbe usedsuccesslully irrstabilizinggranttlarmaterialssincethe ily asl'
providesan agent with which the lime can react.Thus LF or l-CF stabilizationis ofter
appropriateforbaseandsrrb-basecoursematerials.Ftyas;hfti'r ilr3eitherfromanthraciticcoa
in
or ligniticcoal. Fly ash to be used lime and tly asfr shall confomrto the
stabiliz:ation
re<;uirements given in Table 3 and 4. Lime shall conforntto ttto requirementas given ir
Section3.2.
withlimeo
:stabili:zation
-PS,qi.g-n-9f Ti* i" somew_hat
llng:flyglh 9!?9!!i199 lifetenljSm
givencombination
Fc,r.a
cement. (aggregaie,lty
ofmalerials riSfraiiit
lim,a) c,ffaCtbir
li-nuintiei
canbe varir:din themixdesignprocesssuchas percentageof lime-flyash, rnoisturecontentan(
thatenginerering
th<lratjool lime-tlyash.lt is generallyrecognised suchas strengll
cfiara,cterislics
-fhe
and durabilityare directlyrelatedto the qualityol the matri:xnr,aterial. m,atrixrnaterialis tha
part,whichconsistsof flyash,limeandpassing10 mm aggrqgitesfirres.Bztsioally, higherstrengtl
and improvedclurabilityis achieved,whenthe matrixmalerialisableto f ill the coarsea$gregat(
particles.Foreachcoarseaggregatematerial,thereis a quanlityof rnatrixrequiredto ellectivel'
frlrmalimum dry densityolthetote
filltheavailablevoidspaces'The quantityof matrixrequire'c
mixtureis rcferredto as the optimum{inescontent.In LF mi}lure{iit is rracommended that'tht
oi matrix be approximalely2
- qr"rantity percenl above the optintum fines conteni:. At tht
reoommended finescontent,thestrenghdevelopment's by the ratioof ilmeto fI'
alsc'influr:ncrld
of sttengthand clurabilit'
as;h.Adjustmentof the lime{ly ash ratiowill yieldditferernt'ralues;
properties.The mix designprocessis describedbelow:
' 'fhe lirst step is
Step 1: to determinelhe optimumfinesccntentthat will give the rnaximun
dernsity.This is done by conductinga series of moirsture-density tests using rlifferen
perrcentaEes ot tly ash and dplerminingthe mixlevelthatyieldsmaxinnunrdensity.The initialfl'
as;hconterrtshouldbe about10 percentbasedon dryweightof the rrrix.lt is recommerrded tha
materiallarger than 20 mm be removed and the test conducl:ed
on rninus
tlre. 20 mm fraclion
uptoa'tot;alr:f about20 percenl
are rr:nat increasingincrementsof ily ash,e.g.2 peir,ce,rt,
Tersts
Moisturerlensitytests should be conductedfollouringpnlceduresirndicatedin lS 2720

21
IBC:SP:8$'2010
2 percental:rrvelhat yielding
part 7 or flart B. Tne designfly ash contenlis then 3electedat
maximumdensitY.
fly ashthat lvil|yieldhighestslrengttrandj,,^:l']L.y.
Step 2: Determinethe ratioof lirneto
watercontentdeterntinedin step 1' prepare
Usingthe designfly aslrcontentand theoptinum
LFratiosof 1:3'1:4and 1:5'll desired
slpecimenatlrrreedifferentlimeflyashratio'Llse
triplicate
addedat thistime'
aboul1 per cenl ol Portlandcemenlmaybe
unconlined
Step 3: Conductdurab,ilitytest alsperASTMD 559andcompare|hetesultt;o| the
shorun irrTabliei8'
Tlhe lowestLF
r:ornpress1ve strent3thanddlrability testswiththe requiremenls urrconfined
contentwhich rneets the required
ratiocont,enl,i.e., ratio with the lo.westlime is tlre rlesiEnLF
requirement and demonslrates the requirecldurability'
compressivesverrgth it is
requirements butnotthestft)ngthrequirement5'
contenl.ll the mixliuremeetthe Ourafiitity teslleddo nol meet boththe
o{ the specimens
consideredto be il modifiedsoil. lf the results
LF contenlma'ytn selertledrcradditional
strengthand durerbilitv,"qrit"."nts, a dilferent
to ascertainstrength arnddurability
porilandr:ement ne used ano steps 2 to 4 repeated
requirements as per stipulatedspecilicalions'
for stabilizedsulr-bas'e'trase:srnaybe as
Gradatio.Requirementsfor LF or LCFstabilization
indicated in Table8.

4-5 Stabili::ationwith Linre, Cementand Fly Ash

withLFlor improverJ strengtlrandclurability'lf
portlandoemenrnrayatsobe usedin combination
in'JiCntedfor LF design
cementintothemixture,thesamepro@durers
lo incorporale
it is desirerd
beginning at step 2, the cement:;h:rllbe include'd'Generally'
shouldbe followedexceptlhar, to lime'
may be usedin placr:of ttt ;n 26llJilirln
about1 to 2 perc,entcementis used.cement lesls must be
Strengthand durability
however,the totalfines contentshouldbe maintained' lhat gives best
to delerminethe r:ombinatiorr
conductedon sampl; at various LCF ratios should
for LF or LcF stabilization sub-base/ba:ses
{orstabilizeij
results.G radationrequirernents
be as indicatedin TableB'

4.6 Cement StabilizedFIYAsh

base/basrlcourseof tly ash as treated
Thiswork shallconsistof layingandcompactinga sub-
in accordancei with requirementsof the
with cement on preparedsubgrade/sub-base,
of po<rsubgradeak;o'Fly Ash
This technique o" adopted{or improvement
specificalions. ".n shallconformto Table and 4 Pondilsft or bottom
to be usedlor cernenlfly ash stabilization
i3
ash,whichdo notmeett"herequirernents of Table3 and 4 canalsobe use'l for cenrentstabiliza-
lryash/bottornash/pondash mixshould
tionwork.However,in all casesthe cemehtstabilized
developzrdequaterslrength'
havingthe re'
is to providea pavemr:nt'nraterrial
Theobjectivesof the mixdesignprocedures,
quireO proportionsof lly ashand cemenlto meetthefollowingrequirerrnetrls:
1) and durability
Provrdeadequatestrengrth
zz.
 IFC:{l[':89-2010

2\ Be easilvPlacedanclcornpacted
3) Be economical
notgerierally amenable to propermixingartdlrenr;enot
Amountof cementlessthan2 percenlis
r e c o m m e n d e d . A f t e r d e r c i d i n g c e m e n t a n d f l y " ' n " o n(Part-7
t u t ' t f oor
r t tl)'
r i aTht:
l n l i xunconfined
rnoistur'edr:nsity
has to ne dr:terminedin accordance witfrlS 27?-0
relationship all'Coptirnum
at nraximumdrl'derrsity
compressive strengthtes,tis cloneon sarnplescompacied
moisturecontent'Themixproportionshou|dbedesignec|toobtainminimurrrurrconfined
compressivestrengthoflT'5kg/cmzafterTdaysmoistcuringinahumidi\'chrrnberf<lrsamp|es
witha|engrhtodiame|r:rratioof2:l.Curingmaybecanied ol, fly
o uash
t i n anrJ
l | r e'}0ment'
t r - ' m p ebul
raturerange
mixshouldnotonlyinOicaie
The rJesigrt tneproportions
30eCto 3BeC. densit'/hat is;sequired to
specifiedcompacted
alsomentionquantityoi warerrobe mixedanda
ied strength.
satistysPecif
can be used' Portlandpozzobrac:enlenl
cement:cementcon{ormingto ts 269 or ls 8112
shouldnotbeusedforstabi|ization,whenf|yashisusedasarrinetredienl.
for stabilizedmixesshallbe cleanarxlfrerel'rom
waten water usedficrmixing and curing reqr'tiremc:nt as lls 456'
. injuriousamountsof oits,sattand acidetc.lt shallmeetthe
for stabilizatron r'vorks' The
Potablewateris generallyconsidered to be acceptable
permissib|e|imitsforso|idsinwatershou|dbeasgiveninTalr|er10.
Tablel0Permissib|eLimitforSolidinWaterforSoi|Stabllizauort
PermissibleLimit (Maxirnum)
200 mg/litre
3000mgllitre
400 mg/litre
Sulphales (as SO)
2000mg/litre,
2000 mgilitrer
Suspendedmaller

4.7 TestRequirements
4.7.1 lJnconfinedcompressivestrengthtesl
preparedby mr>ling the soilat il pre-
Thistestis carriedoul on cylindricalor cubicalspecimens into a
the nrixedmatenial
determined noisture contentand stabilizerconientandcompacting of
a given cornpactiveefforl"l-he choice
rhouldat either a pre-determineddensityor al to
desinilcte keep
gradingof tne soit;it is clearly
specimensize and shapedependson lhe of lhe
the ratio of the nraximum pariclessizeto the snrallgstdinternsion
as smallasp,ossible
group of matL'riiilare r8lsrnmended
mould.The lfollowingsizes of Specimenfor diflerenl
fiable 11].
a.)
lFlC:SP:89-2010
Tabltt11 Suggested Size of Mouldlsfot Ca:stingMaterials Samples
Finegrainedmaterial CyfinCti""r 100mm frighqnd50 mm'diameter'
speci;ntens
or 150mmcubicrspecimens
Mediumgrainedmaleria 100mm highand50 mm diameter'
Cylindricalspr:cinten3
or 150mmcubic;sPecimcrns

Coarsegrainedmaterial 1t;0mm cubicsPr=cimeru;

frcnrstrrgngth testson cubicalspecimens

Oompressivestrengthresultson identicalmaterials
specrimens; and cylindricalspecimenswith
wr:uldbe higfrerthanthoseobtainedfromcylindrir;al
ratio of 2'.1;have lowerstiengththan specirnenswith a heighU
cylincJrica.l
a FreighVdiarneter
be miadeforthiewherrcomparingresults
diameterratio of 1:'1.Allowancethereforef,aslt
low Strengthsencorlnteredin
relatil'el1t
obtainedwith specimensof differentshapes.For the by the
srzedlesl'spr-'cimens
soils the resullson differerrt may be multipliect
cement-stabilized
strengthof a
conectionfactors given in Table 12 to calculiatelhe approximatelequirralent
betw,3en lhrsstrengthsof sppcimens of lhe
150 mm cube.However,lhere is no uniquerela'tion
:;trengthof the material'
two shapesas the ratiodependsprimarilyon the levelof
Specimens
Correction Factors for Varlor:sSia: snd Shape of Ter;t

150mm'cube
100 mm cube

200mmx 100mmdiameter
rylirnd'ar
'115.5mm x 105mm diamelercylincler

127mmx 152rnmdiametercYlind'er

4.72 Durability of stabi\zed materials

forsub'batse/base, the followingtwo methods
In ordertocheckthedurabilityof theslabilizeclni:x
for nrocJerate temperature and climatic
are recommended.Method 1 is recommraflced,
l,orthoser regioitswheretl^ereis large variation
*"j'i.^r,il;; method2 is recommenced
in ternperatureand climaticcondi[ons.The decisionreganlingt the adoplionof a particularmelhod
shouldbeas directedby the Engineer-in-Charget' I

of tJCs specimenwhich
Mefrlod 1: Preparetwoidenticalset (contiining3 specimenseach)
arecuredin a normalmannera1c\-)tritantmoisture contentforT days.Atthe end of
7 daysperiodone set is immersecl in waterrrvhilelhe others€rtis continuedto cure
ihey are tesledfor
at constantmoisturecontent.lVhen boths'etsarr-'14 daysolcJ
ucs. The strengthoJthe set imrnr:rsed in urlter as a percentageof the strengthot

24
 IRC:SP:89-2010
s€|tcuredatconstantmoisturecontentiscalculated. T'hisindex the
isa measureof
resistance
to theeffectof wateron strenglh. thanB0percerlit
tfthisvalueis lovver
is cpnsidered contentis lowanditsvalueshourld
thatlhestabilizer beincreasr:d.
Method2: Tlristestis doneas perASTMsbndardNo.ASTMD 559,lt is;generallyrknown as
WettingandDryingtestfor dete'rmining durability soilmixes,wtrich
ol stabili:zed
determines theweightlosses,moisturechanges anclvolurne changes(swelland
strrinkage) produced stabilized
by repeatedwettinganddryinr;of l'rardened soil
specimens. The otheris a freezingandthawingtest wtrichfollows:a sirrrilar
procedure exceptthatwettingand dryingis replacedby cy'clesof lreezingand
thawing.
In thewettingand dryingtest,thetest specimens aresubjectedlo 111r;ycles of wettingirnd
drying,consistirrgofimmersioninwaterfor5hoursfollowedbyrJry'ingatl''l0Cfor42hours'After
eachcyclelhe s;pecimensarebrushedin a standardised manner vritha tryine brush(18-
screttch
20strokesonthesidesand4 strokesat eachend).Thelossinweir;ht of ttrobrushedspecimelns,
aftereachcyck;are determined. In a parallelteslthevolumeilnd moisturtlchangesof the
specimens aftereachcycleis recorded.
Thefreezing testis similarto thewettinganddryingtestbutlttr:testcrlclesconsistof
an,dthawing
to freezingconditions
the i;pecimens
subjecting at -234Cfor 124froursfollowedby thawingat
21eCfor23/24 hours.Thespecimens arebrushed, asinthew,etting andclryirrgtest,aftereach
thawingryde.F:orclimatic
conditionsprevailing under
in India,durabilily welting dryingwould
arrd
haveto betakenintoconsideration
anddurability underfreezelthavrrconditircn notgenerally
cloers
apply.
Theprincipal setbylhe PCAis thatthelossin weight,oflttespecimens
criterion afler12 cy,3ls3
of bothfreezing
& thawing andwetlinganddryingshouldnotexcesJcerterin dependinl;
limrits, on
soiltype.Granularsoilsol lowplasticity
arepermitted to loseupto 14 percontof theirorigiinal
massandcohersive claysoilsarepermitledto loseonly7 percentol theiroriginalmass.The
reasonof thedifferenceisthalgranularmaterialsabrademorelreadilylha,ncr:hrxivesoilsand
thewirebrushingrernoves somematerial irraddition by lhealtematecyclesof
to thatlooserred
freez-ingandthiawingandwettinganddryirrg.However, as pers,rmeothbrshtdies,theabove
requirements werefoundlo betoostringent andlollowing valueshaveber:rn relcommended:
Base:Lessthan20 percenl
Less;than30 percent
Sub-base:
Lessthan30percent
Shoulder:

25
IRC:SP:89-2010
CHAPTER5
OPEHATIOI{S
CONSTRUCTION

5.1 Frrocedure of Stabilization

Theconstruciionof stabilizedroadpavement layersfollowthe-fsiameL'asicprocedureswhether

in
be divi'Ced
agent is cernenl,limeorotherhydouti. binder. :lepr''x'6urescan
the sfabilizirng
to twomaingroups:
1) slabilization
$Iix-in-Place
2) Plant-mixstabilization

5.2 lJlix-in-PlaceStabilizltion
procedureis its relatives,irnplicit/and henc;e-it is
The rnainadvantage of the mix-in-place
suitablelorworkin remoteareaswhereptantrnixirrgcouldprrovelogistically
particularly difflcr:lt'
mixing
efficient
are nol obtaining i.e. good distrfbutionol the stabilizer,
Its disadvarntages
constructingthicknessesol morethan200mm andol poorlevr:ls.
in-siluwhichrequirestne slabilizingagentto be spread
In thisprocessthe materialis stabilized
beforeor duringthe pulverisation Tltis isigenerallyr:anied
andmixingof the soilan,Cst.abilizer.
agricultural
out witha purpose made machlnealthougtifor smallscalework in rcmc'teareas
machinerycan be adaptedfor use. In-situslabilization inrrohres following
-r;,:nerzlll'7 lhe
operations:

InitialPreparation
nrateriaj
excavatingctownto thein-situmaterialtobe slabilizedor placingimported
Thisinvolvrrs
has to lre gracledto approximately lhe
on the forrnation.The materialto be stabilizedthen
1oplougthto looserlthe one
material' or two
requiredlevels.After whichil is usuallynecessary
passesis rormallYsufficient.

Spreadingthe Stabilizer

Spreadingrhe stabilizingagentat the requireddosagerale can be ci;rniedout manuallyor by

machine.lVhen manualrnethodsareusedbagsof slabilizer€rrespotl,edirt atsel spacang, they
the raked
stabilizer acres the as
surfatxl rrnnly;s
unif possible.
Where
arethenbr,lkenopen and
quicklimeirsbeing used,necessaryprecaution to prorcctlheroperators'Thisis
needto be trakr:n
rvhenthe stabilizeris beingspreadby manualrxethod.
especially,lrue
Limehasa muChlowerbulkdensitythancementandit is p'Cs;rble,lherefore,to achievea rnor€
arespreadmanually.Tho
uniformdislributionwithlimewhenstabilizers uniformityofthelayerof
delernrinestheuniformiiy ol the
slabiizerspreadoverthesurface,beforethemixingoperaliiorr,
mixedmat,3rialOrOduced.
26
 lR0:SP:B9-it0l0

amountof stabi|i:zerto belspreadon

spreaders llutomaticai|y monitorthe required crverthe
Mechanica| rrt
o| the soi|' rn"i, ,," resultsin a muchrnoreuniformspread stabilizer before
the surface lo tre calilrralecl
n-ono,pr"uuin!. rne eqrinlelt nged
surfacelhancan o" u"'.,,"iui[i and subsequentlv checfredat rer,ular
to ensure that the ,;;;;;i ,,i, oiipitto is alhieved
use
remainswithinspecifiedtoleranc;es'
intervalstoensuretnu,in"iuiu of spread

Additionof Water
moisture\$ntentto the requirecl valuethiscaneitherbe
it is necessaryt' add waterio bringthe
lf
tF malerialhasbeenpreparecl priorto theaddition
doneas partof rhemixingoperation.orStlg,r J'the addedwater'if is;prerferabkl to a'cdwaler
oflhe stabiliz"r. to ensrrEairrorougnoistriolriln a
the mixinqprocessr;houldb9 through
as partof the rnixingoperation".Walglid::,J"ing,;'unnu,,oveiithe requiredar€:zr and rnixecl
ln u{orm
spraysystemzucfrtni it is add^ed 1
uniformlytolnerequ|reddepth.Wheretremixingplanldoesnrlienable\vatertObeaddedor the prepared
to add enough orriii*i"ing it sl,':rrldbr: acldedto
whereit is not pgssibt,a ""6rthe;oint to bi cotrtrolled r:vt."the wfnle are;a'The
enables
materialusinga spraysystemthat ol the to
s'tabilizer erlsLrre lhe
mareriarto shourdrhenbe mixed;;;;i;il;diti,in
be stabirize,d
layer'
Oi"tinutionof lhtl waterrthroughoulthe

Mixing Soil, Water and Stabifizer i

RobustmixingequipnlentO{suilab|epowertorthe|ayerbeingp,rocessedis;requirtx!topulverlse available
anO*at"r. ine tnostliticienlol tlr'amachines
the soiland blendit vriinttre stabilizer quickly and nrinimislng
carryouttheoperarion-in un"pu*, enanfingth; layerto be compaclexJ pass rnachirres are
uv unv o"ruvin compaction'Mu'fti
the losso{ densityarrdslrenglhcaused is not excessive 'and ear:h
satislactory, prrrvidedthe length of p"u"rnrit u"[ig pr*"ssed
pricessed within an acceplable time'
;;;"t ;;vemenl can be
the soilwith
factorin theabilityof mixingplantto rnix
Theplasticilyof the rnaterialis overriding satisfact.dlymixed withr:ement
A revieworwoi* snowedthattll pruJi"*ir "outO'ne of the soil multipliedby the
stabilizer.
orinn plasticityindex
usingthe plant.For conesiuesoilsa tu"to,. dramelermay Lle
+2'5micronirrp;article
percentage of thefrar:tionof the soilwrricnwal tinetttun whrch are l]ivenIn
ifpes of mixingplanlavarilatrle'
usedto suggesttne vatuesforthe ditferent
Table13.
Using DifferentTypes of.l'lant
Table13 Soil PlasticitY Limits for Srabilization
imrunr
rnaxi (mm)
draPth
Type of Plant' PlasticitYInder x Percentag€ Nonnal
ol fraction finer than capabll€'ot beinE
I Processed
425 micron in one layer
Lesshan 1000 r 20-1e'0
AgriculturalDisc harrows'
DiscPloughs'rolavators
(< 100hP) Lesslhan2000 150
rotiavatons
f-ighiOrtY on soil
200-3$ (, deperrCiryl
de
HearrydutYrotavat()rs Lessthan3500
fpel andhorsernwetr
hot of mixer)
(> 100hp)
o{ the Engineer-irr-charge'
leltlo tre decisiorr
selectionof the apt)roprhreplanl shoutdbe
27
IBC:SP:89-2010
br.rtthey are inefficientfor pulverising
rmerlerial
Graders have been use<Jto mix stabilized
a largenumberof passesare neededbe{ore
cohesivesoil andevenwilh granularmalerials is not
thes;ereasons,th€ruse o| gradr:rfor mixing
the qua|ity of mixingis acceptaote.For
suggested.

ComPaction

Compaclionis carriedoul in two stages:

followedby a final
dt An initialrollingand trimmingrvhichmay be carriedout
mixingpassof the rotovalor.
material,must
b) Finalcompactionandlevellingin theca:seof cementstabilized
are less
s;labitization
be completedwithintwo hoursof mixirrg.Delayin lime
even be beneiitsin completingthe
therer'{nay
criticaland for soilmodiiicaliort
final mixing,levellingandcompraction one and sevendaysafterthe
bretvl'een
the limeand clay
inilialmixing.Thistrmegapallows{or th'ereactionsbetween
However' for lime
to take plac.eand lhus providea nlore workable soil'
llne aim should be to complete
stabilizationas distinctlrom rnodification,
withinthreehoursafterrnixinglimewith soil. This is particularly
compaction
are more
true in hotclimateswhereproblernsof evapotalionand carbonation
|ike|ytooccur'|ncaseolcenrentstabi|iz:ation,thistinreperiodshoul
reducedto hlrohours.

Curing

Propercuringisveryimportantfor threereasons:
a) in the layer :;o that the hydration
lt ensuresthat sufficienlwateris rcrtrlinecl
reactionsbetweenthestabi|izelr,wal€lrai"|clthesoi|cancontinue
- b) - ll reducesshrinkage,and

c) fronrlhetop layer'
11reducesthe riskof carbonation
carried out by sealingthe
ln temperateclirnatecuring presenisfew prob'lems'll is usually
period(usuallyseven days)
compactedsurfaceto prevenlescapeof wetterdurirrgthe r:udng
material'Beforespraying
duringwh'rchtimeail constructiontra{ficmustberkeptollthe stabilized
areasshouldbe free
is starledthe surtaceshouldbe sweptfreeoi loosematerialraniJanydamp
ol standingwater.The followingmethodsolcuringaresuggesled:
a)coveringwithanimpermeab,|eshe€)tingvuithjointsoverlappingalIe
'c{tvatelr'
300 mm and sel to preventinr3ress
b) sealingcontpound'
sprayingwitha bituminous

2ttl
 tllC:SP:89-2010

c ) s p r a y i n g w i t h a r e s i n b a s e d a l u m i n o u E c u r i n g c o m p o u n d s i m i l a r t o the
thoseused
torconJrete.This has particularapplication whtlreit ir;<lesirableto reduce
underlhes'urfdcer lvhich'wouldresultfrorn
increasein temperatureimmediately
ttreuse ot a black(bituminous) seal'
mostimportantbuttheprevenlionof moistureloss
ln a hotdryclirrate,ths ngs{ for goodcuringis
sprayedand keptdarnpday ancl night the moisture
is very diflicult.lf the surfaceis bnstanily is |ike|yto leach
remain brut|he o1:.arrati<ln
contentin the main po,-,io,.o| the layer will "136tg
stabilizerlromthetoppo,tionofttretayer.l.fthespmyingoperirlionisintr:tmittenltandthesurface
I tnis metrgd is r'sed) the curing lvill be
dries frgm tinneto time (a common occurrence
crmpletelYinrrffective.
zl0mm
moreetficientif a riayerof sarrd 30 mm lo
Curirrglhroughsprayingwater can be much
on top o{ the layer.ln this case,ills nurnberr Qlsprayingcycles per daycan be
thickis firstsp,rearJ used.
verymurch le:;sandthereis a considerab|e savingin the amoui.io| wa.ielr

Whenthesrabi|izedlayerisrobecoveredbyotherpavement|ayrlrsthr:cons;tn:ctionolthetupper work
carehasto brtltaken10ensure that this
sectlonswill rprovidea very goodcuringseal but time prior to the
layer.Duringthe perrod of
doe:snot damage the lop of the stabilized tl-risis thg mct critical
coru;truction of thB next layersomesystemof curingis requinecl.becau:;{9,
peri,rdin terrnsof shrinkagein the layer'
resultshaveshownllhata prime coatbreaks
Primercan a.lSoServeas a curingmembranebut,
downwhenitpenetralesintothesurface'andcompletelylorse:sanyab'ititytosealit-Aportionof
lo achieve'arr effectir/e:;eill if the top of the
any curing rnemDranemust sit on the Surface
an applicationof 'a viscous t;utback
la,yeris sprayed lightlywith water followedby
statliliz.ed layer
reducedto zero'similarlytre top of the stabiliT]:d
bitumen,the lossof moistureis effectively ihat ajltraffa
the sameresurt.r*s esse.ti*r, however,
can be spnayedwith an emursionto achieve
daysat whichtinre€)xcess lriturnencan be absorbed
is keptoffthe curingmentbranefor several
by the sudace.

5.3 Plant-Mix Stabilization

Inthisprocerss'themateria|sareseparate|ybarchedandmixelrlatarnixingp:Iant.Theyllrelhen
pav'3rancl compacted'The
transportecl to the sile where they are laid by a bituminous
ol lhe processare the gooctconrroionproportiorring of lhe materials' multi-layer
ad,rarrtages; disadvantages
levelsare readilyoblainrablel""lhe
work can bB sxecutedand goodcompacted usuallybe
placeprocess,c'lhesivemar'lerials; cannot
are that oUtputis towerfhan in the mix in clo:;eto the
the mixingplanthas to be relatively
mi;<edand rnthe case of cementstabilization, two-hour
withinthe stipulated
mixing,layingand compactioncan all be completed
sitr:so that-l-he
to p'rojerctsunless lhere is a
srnal;l-scale
tinre limit. processis nol' lherelore,applicable
mixingPlartnearat hand'
of the relativelysmallquantitiesof st'abilizer'mixingshouldbe
To ensure(:omplete clislribution
freelall
granular rnaterials,
lor non-c;ol'resive
carriedout in a lorcedactionmixerand except
29
IRC:SP:89'2010
iitie a mii6r
ior miiing concrbtesf,ouldnotbe used.tt it is proposedtc'
mi*"_.of tn" ryp" r.rsecl
trialsshouldbemacle 10 ensure thatsatisfactory
otherthanonewitlra forcedactionpreliminary
mixingis achievecl.
the mixed materialshor.rtdbe of sufficientnr':nrtrer and capacityto meet
Vehiclestransporling
operations'. lnternational standards
bolhtheouput ol thernixerand spreadingandcompaciion by a
spread'
and specificationr;, for plant mixed cementstabilizedmaterialrequireit to ie
paverand spreadingby graderis not permitted. lf gra'den;aie ustldfrlr spreading'
biluminous
is lost as it is 6ilficuhto crrntrollevelsand
muchoithe advantageof plant-.mixstabilization
thicknesses of construclion'

5.4 ComP:rctlon
the rnellhods used
whalevermethod is ursedformixingthesoilwithwaterandstahilizerrnaterial'
matedals, onc'e the.cemenl has
ti arethrtsame.ln the caseof cementstabilized
"orpu6ton disturM; hence'th'a requir'ernent that
begunt0 harden,it is;importantthat the matrixis not
wilhin two hours o{ mixing'The r:omper:tedrlerrsityol the
compactionmusl be completed
of compaction and fienceol its strenglh'The
stabilizedlayeris a measureOfthe etfectiYeness
irrtlvoways;'ln an erndproduct
degreeof mmpaclionto be achievedin lhe tieldcanbe specified
the densityof lhe layer'inthe fieldis delermined and.comparedwith a specified
speciticatior-r,
is greaterlharnor etlualto tlnislimitthe
targetdensity.Prr:vioedihatthe measuredfielddensity
is deemedto be satisfactoryThemaindisadvilntages o{ an erndproduct
compaction in therfietrj
ljre nretlrodsin use
arelihata largeamountof sitetestingis requiredand nt;anyol
specification
in time to
are timeconSuming. This means that the resultsof the teslsmay rrotbe a'ailabl|a
remedyanydeficiencies in compaction'

30
 lFlC:SP:8lt-2t110

CI-SAPTER6
OUAUTYASSURANCE

6.1 Gen,eral
to
Duringthe construction processregularchecksare lo be made on the'stabilizerjrmaferiirl
arebeingmet' ManV o115e sh6rr;ks carried
ensurethalall therequiremr:nts of the specificalion
i.e. supeMsion
continual to ensur'stlnatlho corstruclion
out are merely'goodhousekeeping"
processallowsthedesignot4ectives to Oeachievedin full'ln additionto tlristlrereareprorCuction
lh;rtlhe comect
control'tesls ceuried oui'tonionitorthe workin progressto ensure,for examllle,
produci is bei'ng piodur:ed' Firnally
thicknessof slabilizedlayeris beinglaidandtr"t ".on.istent
productto demonstrale, that it nleetsall the
compliancete$tsareto ne carriedJut on rhe finished
requirements of thespecification'
olt the
This Chapter,theretorer, desbribesthe teststhat may needto be cani'adtlut tOu-hecl'l
the r:hoice of a
quality of the material.tt ;rlso discussesthe variousfactorsthat inlluence
sucttzr:smoistilre contenl'
particulartest thal is usedto establishlhe valuesfor paramdterS
compacleddensity,strenglin, etc.,sel oulin the specification'

6.2 PreliminaryTrial
decisionorr nroistureconlentand
As part of therqualityr;onlroland in orderto makea final
testsshouldbetrerlated
gainedin thelaboratory
theinfomration lo a[prerlirnrinary
stabilizercont,ent,
a trialarea be
shor'ld laidusingthe
fieldtrial.Al krast10 claysbeforetne mainworkbegins,
mixing,laying and compaction planl to be used, tr'l chreckthe
materials,mix propol[ionsi,
suitabilitYof thernethoJs,ertc.

6.3 SamplingerndTestingFrequency
llhernoisturecontenl,strenqlh,etc'aremostconveniently trl<enfromthe
Sampleslor clhecking
Frequencyof tesingdependson the size of the pn{ect tl:
laidmaterialhrefore compa,ction. "n9
be madeon llre moislure content;
facilitiesavailableon sitebut regularchecksshould,al least,
the trequency, sampling shouldbtl sp:ieadourlowr thesite
strengthand in-situdensitywhatever
so as to givea representative indicationoflhe qualityol the materialwithina givenarea' ln order
bases,it is suggestecl lhat sarnples
to achievethe sp*ificltion for stabilizedsub-basesand road
may tn k&en' For
at equallyspetced locationb alonga diagonalthatbisectstheareato be leshld
road,strictqualitycontrolmeasuresam €'Ss€ntial' ltis
satisfactory perlormancec,l soilstabilized
testingdr:ringConstruclion to confirmthattf]lepropertie:s of lnaterials
prudenttoconductperiodir:
during the design' i:or 'eachctrrsignmenl of
beingusedarewithinthe rangeof valueanticipated
quality.Qualityc:onlrol te:stsanrltheir
cement,limeandfly ash;tesilngshor:ldbe doneto check
area:i givenin Table14.Strictcontrol should be erCistf rJuring
minimumder:irable frequerncy

31
tRrl:sP:89-2010
Tttiscanbe doneby
thc!mlxinalaceoperations, withfrequentchecl(son mixingefficiency' streaks
Unmixed
thecolourof themixture'
trenching throughthein-place andinspet;ting
rnaterial ol
inthi a'eashoul'd beremixed uniformity
until
or layersindicatepoormixingandthematerial
colourisachieved.
Ash and
Table14 QualityControlTes'ts{or Cerment-Fly
Lime-flyAsh Iilabiliailion

Test Test Method um Drx;iredFrequency

Mi;nirn -----.--
ol
forapproval
Orrceinilially thesourceof supply
OualitYof As per relevant
cl the matedal
(kntent lS Specifications .^.t l,tto, r.rrr,r,ch consiqnmenl
ls 1514 Oncerinitially f,orapprovalof the sourceof su;ply
OualitYol lime
and l;aterfol (lachconsignmentof the material
ot ttme
subitntto nrirtimum'cf1 test per 5 tonnes
the sourceof supply
for selerction'of
Orce initiatly
QualilYof l=lY r s3812
arrdhter{ort:acfrlot of 10,000 kg
Ash
a.sconsiderednecessary
lSn20 (Part-4) Pr:riorJically
Degreeol
pulverisation
lS2720 (Part-2) sq.m
OnetestPer1150
Moisturecontent
DensitYol |s2720 Onelest Perli00 sq.rn
oompacledlayer or29)
{Part-28
Deleterious tS2720 (Part-Z7) A:srr:quired
constituents
ts2720 ciunrofmix
1 ter;lPer30(:10
CBRor
unconfined (Part-16)
compressive ls 4332
teston
strength (Parl-5)
asetof3
'specimensi
'fhickness Fegr.lartY
of
layer
througlr
Fegrrlarly c;hecks
procedural
LimdCement
conlent

6.4 Storageand Handlingof the Statrilizer

the qualityo{ the
Llnlesscernentand limeareproperlystoredandusedin a freshcondition
pavgment be substantially
layer\^/.ill cemenlmurstlf,estoredin.asoundwater-tight
reduced.
Doorsarnd
asposs;ible windows sihould anlybeopened
andthebagsstacked
building astightly
tirstshouldbe usr:dfirsl-According1oa
necessary.
il absolutely Thecementwhichis<Jelivered
3i2
 ;s
lflC:SP:89-2O10

studyit wastc,undthatevenif cementis properly.

storedtherfollowinglosser;in strengthwill
stilloccut:
Aget PercentageBeduction
After3months 2A
After6months 30
Afterl year 40
After2 y,ears 50

Limeshouldb,estoredin sealedbags,liglrtlystackedand coveredwilh erwarterpro0f tarpaulin.

The nraterialvyhichhas been storedfor morethanlhree weerkishorild be lested for available
limecontentbeforeuse. Limewhichis olderlhan6 monthsshouldbe rjis;carde'd.

6.5 Control of the Moisture Content

Thror-rghoutthe stabilization abcrveits

work,the moisturecontentshouldtle merintrainelcl:slightly
valur:.Tlris
speciriied means thatrapid of
determination the in-sitr:
moisl.ure
contentis necessary
to all6wadjustmentsto be madeso as to bringthemoistureconllnl oi tlre stabilizedmaterialto
therequiredvalue.

Thecefinitiveovendryingmethodis, in general,toolime-con:;urringto be of rnuchpractic,al

use
in the lield and morerapid rneanshaveto be employed-Rapid l";eertirrg
rnethods may be used,
bul whereth$e areinappropriate, the calciumcarbidemethodrnaybtl usedto give rapidresult.
The rnethodrJependson the reactionbelweencalciumcarbiclean<i'waterin the stallilized
materialto produceacetyleneat the ambienttemperature acr:ordingto tlheelqttation:

CaC.+ 2Hp = Q2 (OH),+ C.H,

lf the reactionis allowedto occur under standardisedconrjitionsin a closed containerr, the

pressiure ol the acetylenegeneratedin lhe containeris a measun]ol the moisturecontentof the
stabilizedmalerial

Nucleardensityelaugesfor the determinationof the in-situdensity ofcompacted materials

usuallyincludea liaciliq,for the in-situmoistureconlentat the siamelinre.T'hismelhod can be
usedto delennine, moislureconlentwhenconstruction startsanclalsc duringthe processing.

6.6 Contrcilof the Slabilizer Corrtent

Whalevermgthodof spreadingthe stabilizeris employed,it is inrporturrtthttt etuni{ormsrpread

ol theslabilizetlnialeria!.tf therslabilizeris prlaced
raleirsachievedar:thiswillaffectthe uniformity
in bags andsprea.d by hand,theaccuracyof ihe spoltingof tlrebagsrrruslbe ,:heckedandthe
manualspreadingof the stabilizershouldbe visuallyassesis€d.lf a mechanicalspreaderis
used,metallraysor canvassheets,one melresquare,shoulcJ be placedat regularintr:rvals
alongthe to
roa,J checkthe application rate.

33
IBC:SP:8!)-2010
contenl'aflermixing'is in principle easyhr perfotrnbut in practice
Detenninalion o{thrast€tbilizer
be carriedoutwiti careif meaningfrrl rr;sultsare'to be 'rbtained'
is 1mecorsumingand needsto
B d t h t h e m e t h o d s d e s c r i b e d i n l h e c o d e s B s : 1 9 2the
4 : P a r t 2 a and
n d ithe
n l r material
STMDS in0an
6invo|vea
conlentsof lhe stabilized material' stabilizer
comparisc n of thecalcit.tm in BS:1924
thedeterminaticn of c;tlc;ium
un_stabilized condilion.However,the methodgivenfor un-:stabilized
cont'3nt of lite
is to be preferrecl. Nehher methrrdis applicabreif the calcium
lnaterialsis highorvariable'

6-7 RoutinerStrength Delerminations

that the
of processedmateria|is requiredto ens;urr]
Continuottsmonitrrrinl;o| the strength fr"rlldeplhcrlm'ixedmaterial
samplesof the
specifiedstrengthis oe,ingachieved.Representative the material'As stated
site immediatelypriorto cornpacling
shouldlhrlreforeue tat<enfromthe
to thesizeof theprocessedaireaandits
previousl'6thelrequerLf ol sanrplingshouldue rehred
stabilizedmaterials,preparationclf the test
structura imporrance.in lrre case of cement
.poi*"r,, shouHbe r:ompleted withintwohoursof mixing'
ol the testspeclrrenswillclearllrbe thatof
preparation
The moistureconlenlrobe usedJorthe
themixe(Jmateria|andprecarrtionsshou|dbetakentoensurellia.lnodryingcrulo,ft|rematerial
ot'thetasl specirmens'
completingthe preparaticn
occursbetweentzrkinglhe samplesand
Thedensityaturhichtheteslspecimensaretobecompa c t e.T,r.e
d d etest
p e :;pecimens
ntlL;onttredensity
requirerr|enls and variousmethodswhichare irruse'
o| the specificatiorr
lhe compacted materia|in thelk:|,d. l.his hassome
shouldbe preparr#u,.h" .u** densityas r>'rn to
be a'ttributed
thatthereshouldbe nodifferencesin strength'which
logicbecauseit mean:s in
material
betweenlhe laboratoryiest specimens andthestrengtfro{ the
differencesof derrsity, can
measureof thein-situ den:sityis requiredandthis
thefield.Thedi{ficulty islhataninrmediate
onlybe erchieved if nucleardensitygaugesareused'

34
 IRC:ll?:139-210l0

7
CHAPTEB
PRECAUNONSTOBETAKENWHILEU$INGSTASTUZEDMA:I'ERIALS;

7.1 General
materialsin roaclpavenrr:n1 layers
probtems that arise wilh the useol stabilizecl
Thetwo maior -fhe whicfreilherol lheseis a
anclthe longl-tern durabili\rotthe material' extentto
arecracking pavementas a
ret,atedto the puryose of the stabilizedlayerin tlrertuld
problemis intirrrately in this ()hapterthe
and it is',rhere{ori,e, lo
c|ifiicull divorcethe two lactors.l{owever,
whole
problemsthatcan arisearerliscussed'

7.2 Cracking in StabitizedLaYers

pavementla)'erssome
laclors ibute
contr to the andcrack-spacingof st:abilized
crackinq
Many
of themare lisledbelow:
-fensile
1) strengthof lhestabilizedmaterial;

2\ characteristics;
Shrlnl<ager
or moisturevanaticrn$;
3) Voluntechangesresullinglromtemperalure

4) The subgraderestraint;

material'and
5) Stif(nessrandcreepof thestabilized
by tra{fic'
6) Extemalloadingssuchas thosecaused
nraterials tirkestimeto
As in thes356'ol comp'ressiivestrength'thetensilesirengttrof stabilized
deve|op.ontheotherhanc]l,stabi|izerJmateria|inaroadpavemenllayerwi|lbesubimtklvtl|ume
crack:ingin
from al least of
oner the lactorslistedaboveas soonas it is conrpacted'
changes
contentcannot'therefori)'berarroided
due tc,changesin terrrpaatureor moisture
stabilizedlayerrs
stepscanbe takento reclucxr lhe efftrt' rlrcrcking
and mustbe accepreclas inevitablealthough an entirelysel)arate
tailuredue 1otratfickingand is
rnay also ocrluras a resull ol latigue
changes-
phenomenon, fromtherinitialcrackingdueto environmental
lo causesignificant
unXit(ely
Cracksin stabilizedletyer:;usedat cappingandsub'baselevelare -ftttl ol
cracksrnay be through
rellected lhe surfac:ing' existernce
oroblemsbultat baselev€'lthe
aq
lR0:SP:89'2010
The
ner:d lor remedialaction'
be assumedto incjica'te
cracks in a road surface may
coil'rsequencesolnotdoingso,mayrangef'on,''no.otol:nlt-:lall.tolossofinterlockorto'
lrlocks'Cracksmay
fo unconnected
layerhasbee'rlreducerC
when
eventualfailure lhe stabilized
ak;opermitingresso|water|eadingtoweathelingofmaterialsatcrack|aces,de.bonding
liryersbeneath the
oJ moistttre-:3ul;ceptible
b€,tweenpavementlayers, or deterioratiorn
stabilizedlaYer'

7.,3 Primary Cracking

and temperalure
materialsas a n::sultcrfshrinkage
Cracks appearin cernent-stabilized o{ the materialand the
The ini'alcrack patternis deperdenlon the,earlystrength
fluctuations,
whichtravelow:;trength'normallyalsocontaina higher
properties of themalerialused.Materials proportion
withlowerslrenglhand withhigh
rnateria'ls
proportionol plasticfines.The stabilized but line cracks
crar:ks'whehr:rror nottheselrequent
oi plaslicfines havefrequentbul narrow
provetobeaproblemdependstoa|argeexlentonthemechanica|inlerkrckatthetaceo{
cracks.l'theinter|oc*isgoodthemateriaipr-'r|rrrmssatisfac;totyandthecracksaresuflicient
However,the lowetstrengths
the pavetlentleyerabo',re.
fine{orlhemnotto be reflectedthrough layers
theyareelenerallyonlysuilablefor rJsein the lower
o,fthesestabilDedmaterialsmeanthat
a problemanywa)r'
c,fthe roadwherecrackingis lessof
have little'if any'
with hig;hstrefl{ilhr:riteriaand wltich
on the ofier hand,slabilizedmaterials lor them 1obe
fines have fewer but wide cracks. ttres': cracks;arelolitenwide enough
prlastic
to reslrainthe propraryrtion ol lateralrcflectivecracks'such
reflectedthroughthe surface. In order
materialthan
with a l3reaterthicl(nessof construction
rnaledalstheretorehaveto be covered
lvouldotherwisebe required'
that is
-the plays:rpartin the typei:f crackpattern
temperature ar whichthe materialis lairlalso
fewerand narrowercracksas lhere
IerL(lto deverlop
producod.Layersplacedin coolerweather
jslesslhermalshrinkage.Thestabilizedlayermaysubsequentlybeincompression'a
spells,so that{:rac;ks remafinclosedwilh go.d loadtransfer'Fewer
perhapsfromprotongeJcotd is
betweenday and nighlduringconstruction
r:racksdevelopwhenthe temperaturedilference
notlarge,as thermalwarpingis reduced'
I'orthesamereasons' However' me
materials
Ljme-stabilized rd tocracking
arealsosubiectt
lime in the,layerh^asbeen
occurbeforeunreacted
effectsare not so pronounced;if the cracks
lhe continuingpozzolanicreactionof
usedup,eitherin pozzolanicreaclionsor by cerrbonatit:n'
-
the|imecanresultin se|f healing(autogen,cus ) of thr:cracks.
lrea|ing

.to
 IRC:SP:89-2010

io have low earlys'trength

Givernthat crackingis inevitable,the idealcOnditionis {or nral,errials
whichleadto numerousfinecracksbul high long- term whir:h
strerrgtihs merargoodmecl'lanical
inlerlockatilre faceof thec,nacks.As limeis slowerto reactthancernent,llris is anotherreason
forfravouring lime,providedit canachievehigh long-termstrenl3lhs'

is to usesecondaryaddillvesto modifytfreh ardeningactionoi the cernentto

Anotherpos:sibility
reduceitseerrlys,trength withoutaflectingits long-termstrength.

7-4 Ttaffic Associated Cracks

Quitesepar,ately and muchmore importantlythan the printall'lran:;vrgrsecracks,cracksmay

spp,earin stabilizedbase:;of inadequatestrengthor inadsluate r:onstruclionthicknessin
'map" cracking
takesthe fornl of
to the tr;r{ficand thersub-gradestrenEh-Suchcrack.ing
rela.tion
which,in exlremecases,urusesthe stabilizedmaterialtocleleriorateinto snrallslabswith poor
loa,Jtransfer.Oncestarted,deteriorationis likelyto continueuntilthe :3tabilizedbaseb'3comes
tittlemoreelfectivethan granularsub-base.

When extensivecrackinghas developedas a resultof the combinerdacltiorrof lree waler and

f rom the underlying
tralfic,then it often resultsin the "pumping"to the surfaceof line merierietl
pavementhayercwhereit is depositedin the cracks'Thefinesdiscolourthe surfacealongthe
cracksmakinglhem clearl'/visible-

cracksis not inevitable'ltshould

theappearanceof lraffic-associatsj
Unliketheprimarycracking,
notoccurif the roadpavententhas beenproperlydesignedlo isks accountol the lrafficlikelyto
be encounteredduringthedesignlifeof the road'

7.a; Durability of Stabilized Materials

mirterialsby disinlegralionintoa |lorsemas;sis not common.lt is most

The failureof stiabilized
likelyto be due to deficaencyeitherin the amountof stabilizerr,delit;ienc;yin the qualityol lhe
compaction
or deificient
st€bilizer, or curing.Theseproblemss;houldnot occur if a good:;tandard
of preliminarytr:stingfor suitabilityanc of qualitycontrolare nnaintainerd'

It is repoded.th6tthe mostcommontypeof lailureof stabiliz.ecl.layen; rs;tlrc pr:eling-oflof surfac€

This ir;usuallydueto failureof top c,fthe layersitselfralherthan
dressingsf ronrstabilizedliayers.
any of the,sho1coming of the surfacedressing.The sudaceof therlayer terndsto disintegrate
undertraffi,c,the mostlikelycauseof whichis considered to b'eas a rt:sultof ,)verstressing of the
mdt,srial
of the slabilized
surlacelay'erduringlhe compaction This
at the tim{l of construction.

37
IRC:SP:{}9'2010
inducesaseriesofsnatlowshearplanesinthesur|acelayerandr{}su|linasllraq>fa||ing.otf wirhunirormry
is mrlstprevarlent
surface. overstressing
densityof themateriattowarosthe upper and il
trc'anbe avokJed if specialcareis talrenwilht"lecompaction
graded non-cohesiv" ,;;r.
usecl'
towedvibratingroller:;aie
ccnlirrnedth:rtthe mosl'
lack of durabilityol stabilizedlallersi
A surveyol l(nor,vn(lausesof ancl
was surlace disintegration ol the primedlayerrduringconstruction
comflron problem
scabbingofthesea|inserviceduetoaninadequatebondwiththerstabi|iz:e.dmatr;ria|.Thesel
problemsarearesu|tofirradeq,ratecompaclionandcuringandaremorelike|y.|ooccurinhot' nnayalsobt:
problenrof surfacedisintegration' lonq{ermdurrability
dryclimrltes.Ap.rrttrom the
by carbonation'
impairerl bYthe effeclsof sulphatesarrd

T.6ControlclfReflectiveCrackinginCementStabilizeclPaventr;nt:;
baso:is usedin a
vvhena cemenli-stabilized
crac{ting
the potental existslor reflection
Afthoueth
pavetnr:nlstructure,propercclnslructionanddesigntechniquesca.nrninirni:.lelhelrolentialthlat
to minimizedrying'
constructionpr€tctices
affected'Proper
the pavement'ruillbe adverserly allvalidrnethodsthat'\^'ill
{orstressrelie{are
soonafterconslructbn,anddasigning
pre-cracking
rgduceoreliminatelheformailono|re||ectioncracksincemc.nt-sti:biljzecll]as€,s.
in thepreviouschaptel
'rvhiDhconttjbutetcrlho crackhtg
Thereilre severalfitctorsas cli:scus-sed thr:type o{ soil'
base/slrb-base'wilh r.egardto materialcharacterisl'ics'
in a cement-sterbilizr,'d chang':s
and curing,and temperirtureanclmrlisl'ure
cemenlconlent,degree of cornpaction
shrirrkage'
direc$rinfluenoethe degreeo1
andriesigncor'cept.; to minimize
thatcaltlrc r'rserd
of prcventativemeasures
Therearea nurnDerr basecracks
crackingin thecernent'stabilized base'and to reoucethe potential'that
shrinkiage
Methodsof controlling cracki'g includeproper
rr:flex:tive
willrellectthrorjgh{he asphaltsurface' the use o{
base,reductionof cra'c|tsize thrrrugh
conslructionand curing of ttre stabilized lhe
.0recracking,,,anlJ reliefof lstressconcentralions throug|rt|re use of |]exib|e|ayers in

pavementslrutltur€)'
asphaltsurfaces.Th'asbbilized belse
A cement_stabilizedbaseprovidesexcellentsupportfor
base' Loads
morewaterresistantthanim un-stiabilizec
malerialis stronger,moreunilormand
and stressesin the $ubgretde are recluced'However'
are distributedorrera iargerarea
cement-stabilizedbasescanlalsobethesourceofshrinkagercracl'lsittthr:stabilizedbasela'/er'
of a
Tftecracksthaldevelopare rlotthe result
th€ asphaltsurfacer'
whichcilrrreflectLnrough

38
 lilO iiP:Bl)-2:010
oases"lhe:iurface
of cement-stabitiz:ecl
characteristic
structuraldeficiency,but railrera natturat
crackslendtofol|owtheSamepatt€|rnasthecracksinthebase,anc|arerelerreljt.f,as
'rellection"crar;ks.

|nmostcases,ref|ectioncracksarenarrow(lessthan3mm)andwillrrotaclverse|ya|{ectthe and
can resuliin a roughridirrgsurfacer
wder cracl<s
of fftepa!,emtrnt.l-lowever,
pertormance
for lvaier and
ittfrltrallion
The widecrackscreatean environment
of the pavemelrrt.
deterioration
ollthe undedyingsubgrade'
pr'rmping
subsequent

andcrackspacingin a cemenlslabiliz:ed bas;ewhich

severalfaciorscontributelo the crack:ing
constructionprocedures, trafflcanclrestrainlitnposedcrnthe
includematerialchara,oteristics,
the primaryl
characteristics causec'fcrilckirrgis
baseby the subgrade.with regardto material 'thrinkageis
stabilizedbase' The degreeof drying
due to dryingstuinknge()[ tlte ce-'nt,arlt
andcuring,(€menlcontelrtt and
, ternperatur€ls
affectedbythr;typeof soit,degreeof cornpaction
moislurechanges.

cementstabilizeld{rne'grainedsoilse:.g.claysexlribitgreaiershnnl':agetrtattc(''ntt}ttls;tal;ilizecl
tharrrlranularsoils'
granular Althougtr
soils,. slabilizedclerysoilsdevelophighertotalshrinkagrl
oftenol hairlinerrarietyspaced0'6 to
ttre cmcksare typicallyfiner and morecloselyspaced
r:racks
producelerssshrinkagebrrl develolclargrlr
3.0 m apart.The granulitrsoilsgenr:rally
typicallyspar;edat 3-01o6'0 nl apart'
ancltypicallyrequirehigher
Finegraingr;ained soils hilve large:;urfaceareathirngranularsoils
moistureconlentforcompactionpuPoses.lnatiditiorr.cementcontentforfiner:rraine<istlilsare
to achievearlequatedurabilityand
generaily2 to 5 percentirigherthan granularsoiisin order
strength.Boththeselractorcontribut€r to highermoistureconientsfotslatlilizedfinergraiintdsoils
higheroryingshrinkage'
andconsoquently
playsirtt
nratrrrial
ol cementste'bili;led
The effeclof compar:tiorlon shrilll(agecharaclerislics
redttceclshrinkagr:potential'betaus;ethesoiV
importantrole.Awellcornpactedmixtureexhibils
partctesare packedtightlytogetherresultingin red-cedvoicls;. fraslreenrtlported
11
aggregates
cementr;tabilizecl shrinkaqesignificanlly
srrilat modifiedpr<rtoretfort,reduc'es
thatcompacrtng
proctordensi\rTlre reasorrforlhesame
as cornparalt0 stabilizerlsoil compactedto standard
canbe attributedto llre ferctthattl're,rptimum moislurecontenlsol rnodiliedproct')rcDmpaction
whichhelpst0relcjtrceshrinfiage'1he least
le$sthanat sitandadproctorcompar:tion
aretypically
and lovrest
amountOfS;hrinKag(| iS oblainedlor the stabilizedmaterialat thehighe'stdensity
contenl.
moisture
 '
lR0:SP:89-2t110 , ,L ,^-^
-nc,reasing
cementhydrationcontributeslesstoshrinkagethancloesmanyotherfaclors'ln{act'forsoils I
cement, cementwill decre;rsetotal shrinkage'
chanl;ewithout
tha.texhibit volume
However,exc}essiveamountsofcementcanexa'cerbatecrackirrgintwowirys:First,increase
cementcontentscausegreaterconsumptionofwaterduringlhvdration,thusincreasingdrying
shrinkage.Also,highercement|eve|scausehigherrigidityandexcessivestrength(bothtensil
and comPressive)'
fallirrtotl^retwocategories:
of reflectivecrackingbasicrllly
controlling
Merthods

. Pre-crercking
inter{ace
base-s'urfzrce'
Providinglor stressreliefat llrrl

Prxrackirlg;Minimizing,]rackwidthwithF,roperconstructionandcuringprocedures'as Another
witle|iminat'amur:|rrlf rhrepolentiallor wide cracks.
discussedin lhe previousstlctions, called
'p/e-cracking"' where
width is a relativelrlnew Srrocedure
method to reduce crac;k
hundredso{linymicro-cracksdeve|opinsteadot|singletrans;versecracks'Themethodhasb
st.rccessfuIlytriedonsevera|proiectsintheUnitedSates.Theplrocedureirrvolvessevera|p
compaclion'
wer the cement-sli$itizedba;a one lo iwo daysatter{inal
of a largevibratoryroller material'
crercks;
croseryspacecrhrairrine intothe cement-slabilized
rTnisintroducesa nerw.rkof and providesa crack
stressesin the earl'lstagesof curing'
which acts to relievethe shrinkage
p a t t e r n t h a t w i | | m i n i m i z e t h e d e v e | o p m e n t o ] , w..micro.
i d e s h r i n ' k a g e cwil|
r a cnot
k s .impact
l n a d d ithe
tion,sinc
cracking.
is perlornredshortly after placo,nent,the
;>re'cracking
Pavemenl,sovera||structuralcapacityasthecrackswilIhealeindl|recentent-stabilizedmat
to gainstren$hwilh time'
'arillcontinue
cracking is to ielieve
Betief! method
Another of reducirrgthe pbtentialJclrreflection
slress base' The
concenlrationsthat tesult {rorn cracks;in the cement-stabilized
the stress rhatcause reflection
successfu*yusedtc,rercrucethe srress;es
forowingrhreemethod:;havebeen

cracks:

1)Abitr:minoussur|acetreatr€nt(chipsr:a|)betweenl'hestabi|izedbasean
theaspha|tsurlace,Theadciitionalllexibi|ityofthesurt|acetreatment|ayerw
he|ptoreduceStresscorrcelntrations'Tl^ris.surfacetreatmenta|soprovid
excel|enltemporarysurfaceduringconstructionlortrafficcontro|'

40
 IRC:SP:89-2010

2\ .Ageotexhlebetweentnestabi|izedbaseandsiurface'orbelweentheasphalt
bindeiandwearingcourses'Simi|arto thesL|r'ace ln?atmenl,the gecrtexti|e
cracks'i'rdthoul
flexibili$and€rctstointercept
provides urempasshrough
terttinlg
themaierial.
materieil
gran'ular thestarbilized
bertween
a\ A 50 mmto'!Oomm;ayerol unbound
'sandwich'or'in'verted"
traselayerand the asiphallsurface.Thisus,aof il
pavemenidesignadd:;additjonalstructure andwillSrrevent
t,cthe[tav'ernenl,
1othesurf;rce
ol crar:ksthrough
thepropaelation layr:r'

41