Geotechnical Special Publication No.

218 © ASCE 2011 85

Geotechnical properties of cement-based dredged marine sediments as a new

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of California, San Diego on 09/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

pavement material

DongXing Wang1, Nor Edine Abriak2, Rachid Zentar3, WeiYa Xu4

1
Doctor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Ecole des Mines de Douai, 941, rue Charles
Boursel, B.P. 838, 59508 Douai, France; College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hohai
University, 1 Xikang Road, 210098 Nanjing, China. E-mail: dongxing.wang@mines-douai.fr
2
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Ecole des Mines de Douai, 941, rue
Charles Boursel, B.P. 838, 59508 Douai, France. E-mail: nor-edine.abriak@mines-douai.fr
3
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Ecole des Mines de Douai, 941, rue
Charles Boursel, B.P. 838, 59508 Douai, France. E-mail: rachid.zentar@mines-douai.fr
4
Professor, College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hohai University, 1 Xikang Road, 210098
Nanjing, China. E-mail: wyxu@hhu.edu.cn

ABSTRACT: In France, a large number of sediments which contain various pollutants

are dredged each year to maintain navigation in waterways and access to ports.
Traditional solutions such as ocean dumping and inland deposit are unsatisfactory, due
to the harmful influence on environment. Cement-based treatment used in the pavement
as a solution is widely accepted due to its ability to increase the mechanical performance
of sediments and to reduce the adverse impact on environment. Therefore, the influence
of cement on the geotechnical properties of treated sediments such as Atterberg limits,
compaction and strength properties is important to investigate.
An identification of physical characteristics of dredged sediments is firstly
undertaken. Secondly, cement is mixed with sediments to explore the effect of cement
on Atterberg limits. According to the results, it can be found that the liquid limit and
plasticity index decreases with cement content, while the plastic limit increases. Finally,
different percents of cement are chose to improve the compaction and strength
characteristics of sediments, and the potential of treated sediments as a pavement
material is evaluated.

1. INTRODUCTION

Dredging is the underwater excavation of sediments in sea, rivers, lakes and estuaries
for navigable purposes, environmental remediation, port expansions and cleaning up
contaminated sediments. This operation generates not only a considerable amount of
sediments with various geotechnical properties, but also various contaminants polluting
the environment. The contaminants encountered most frequently in these sediments are
heavy metals (copper, chrome, zinc, nickel, mercury cadmium, etc.), polychlorinated
biphenyl (PCB), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and tributyltin compounds (TBT).
In France, about 50 million cubic meters of sediments are dredged each year (Alzieu,
1999). More than 400 million cubic yards of sediments are dredged annually from U.S.

Emerging Technologies for Material, Design, Rehabilitation, and Inspection of Roadway Pavements
 Geotechnical Special Publication No. 218 © ASCE 2011 86

waterways, and close to 60 million cubic yards of this dredge material is disposed in the
ocean (Amiran et al., 1999). Therefore, the demand to protect the marine environment
against the undesirable effect of pollutants is attracting more and more attention from
the public and government.
According to Europe directive n°2002-540 (Décret n°2002-540, 2002), the dredged
sediments could be classified as waste. Traditional solutions such as the ocean dumping
and the inland deposit are increasingly unpopular, mainly due to the adverse effect on
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of California, San Diego on 09/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

environment. Combined with a shortage of construction materials in civil engineering

and public works, a novel solution to treat the dredged sediments is being elaborated:
produce a special road material based on dredged marine sediments in road engineering.
This solution must comply with construction standards, environmental requirements
and human health requirements. Meanwhile, the potential use of dredged sediments
treated with cement as a road material has been investigated in laboratory by several
authors (Dubois, 2006; Zentar et al., 2008; Thanh, 2009). So it is necessary to research
the effect of cement content on geotechnical properties of marine sediments in order to
provide the better parameters for road design and construction.
This study is aimed at: (1): investigating the basic characterization of dredged marine
sediment; (2): studying the effect of cement on Atterberg limits; (3): researching the
compaction and mechanical characteristics of untreated and treated sediments and then
evaluating their feasibility for sub-base and subgrade material.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials

The sediments in this study were dredged in 2008 from Dunkirk harbour, which is the
first big harbour in the North of France and the third big harbour in France. Once being
dredged from the harbour, the sediments should be stored in hermetic containers of
0,054 m3 in volume.
In order to improve the mechanical properties of sediments, the cement CEM I 42.5R
HSR LA has been chose and it is a classic cement with rapid setting and a resistance to
sulphate attack.

2.2 Methods

The preliminary study will reveal the physical characteristics of dredged sediments
according to the French norms, such as water content (NF P 94-050), particle size
distribution (NF ISO 13320-1), organic matter content (XP P 94-047), absolute density,
methylene blue value (NF P 94-068), liquid limit and plastic limit (NF P 94-051, NF P
94-052-1).
In France, Proctor test and compression tests are two important experiments
recommended to determine the feasibility of a specific material to be used as a filling
material in road construction. The recommended I-CBR values used for evaluating
granular materials for different road layers specified in the French norms (NF P 98-115,
1992) are declared below: for a sub-base material, higher than 35% with a minimum
value of 25%; for a base-course material, higher than 45% with a minimum value of
35%.

Emerging Technologies for Material, Design, Rehabilitation, and Inspection of Roadway Pavements
 Geotechnical Special Publication No. 218 © ASCE 2011 87

3. Results and Discussions

3.1 Basic characteristics of studied materials

The main physical characteristics of dredged fine sediments are reported in Table 1.
The initial water content measured by the oven drying method is about 106.5% at 40°C
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of California, San Diego on 09/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

and 106.8% at 105°C. It shows that the marine sediment has relatively high water
content. The methylene blue test is carried out to check the activity of clay fraction, and
the methylene blue value measured is about 2.2. According to the methylene blue value,
the studied sediments could be classified as sandy soils.

Table 1. Characterization of dredged sediments

Parameters Values
Initial water content 40°C 106.5
(%) 105°C 106.8
Specific density (g/cm3) 2.58
Methylene blue value (g/100g) 2.2
Organic content (%) 450°C 4.4
Grain size< 2µm 17.2
Particle size distribution (%) 2µm< Grain size< 63µm 72.1
Grain size> 63µm 10.7
Liquid limit (%) 51.4
Plastic limit (%) 25.6
Liquidity index (%) 25.8

The organic content can influence the physical and mechanical properties of marine
sediments. It is about 4.4% at 450°C by the ignition method, respectively according to
the norm XP P 94-047. The specific density of the dredged materials, measured with a
helium pycnometer, is 2.58 g/cm3. Using the percussion-cup method and rolling test
method, the liquid limit and plastic limit have been determined, and they respectively
equal to 53.4% and 25.6%. The grain size distribution is determined by the laser
technique method. The studied materials are mainly composed of silt, which accounts
for more than 70%.

3.2 Immediate effect of cement on Atterberg limits

The Atterberg limit tests are carried out on mixes based on fine sediments sieved in a
400μm diameter sieve (NF P 94-051, 1993). The cement contents are fixed at 0%, 3%,
6% and 9% (by the weight of dry sediments). Before performing the Atterberg limits
test, cement-sediment mixes should be conserved hermetically for 0.5 hours at room
temperature to investigate the immediate effect of cement on Atterberg limits. The
liquid limit, plastic limit and plasticity index of treated sediments are shown in Fig 1.

Emerging Technologies for Material, Design, Rehabilitation, and Inspection of Roadway Pavements
 Geotechnical Special Publication No. 218 © ASCE 2011 88

80
Liquid Limit
70 Plastic Limit
Plasticity index
60

Water Content (%)

50
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of California, San Diego on 09/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

40

30

20

10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Cement Content (%)

FIG. 1. Effect of cement content on Atterberg limits of marine sediments

All treated samples show an increase in liquid limit at the addition of 3% cement,
followed by a gradual increase with subsequent addition of 6% cement and a decrease at
the addition of 9% cement. The liquid limit of sediments treated with 6% cement almost
does not change, comparing to the sediments treated with 3% cement. But the addition
of 9% cement in sediments results in a sudden decrease in liquid limit. A possible
explanation for the above mentioned phenomena is connected with cement, which could
aid the flocculation and aggregation of clay particles.
Fig 1 shows that cement causes an appreciable increase in plastic limit when the
cement content ranges from 0% to 9%. The increased plastic limit results in a reduction
of plastic properties of sediments. Osula (1991) considered that this property change is
mainly due to the alteration of water film surrounding the clay minerals in sediments.
The decrease in liquid limit and the relatively great increase in plastic limit
consequently lead to the decrease in plasticity index.

3.3 Effect of cement on compaction properties

To explore the suitability of sediments for road construction materials, I-CBR index is
an essential parameter which defines the bearing capacity of a compacted material. The
Modified Proctor test is preceded to determine the index according to the French norm
NF P 94-078 and NF P 94-093. The fine sediments can reach their densest condition by
wetting and rearranging the particles by water molecules and compaction effort. The
Modified Proctor test consists of applying a static load with a piston and to follow the
penetration of this piston into the target material.
The cement content is fixed at 0%, 3%, 6% and 9% of dry mass of dredged sediment.
The samples should be prepared at the specified water content and then conserved for 24
hours in an ambient room for better humidifying sediments. The humidified samples
should be mixed with the specified quantity of cement and then conserved in a sealed

Emerging Technologies for Material, Design, Rehabilitation, and Inspection of Roadway Pavements
 Geotechnical Special Publication No. 218 © ASCE 2011 89

container for 10 minutes in the same condition. The obtained test results are presented in
Fig 2: (a), (b), (c) and (d), and the saturation curves (Saturation: 80% and 100%) are also
drawn in Fig 2.

2.4 70 2.4 70
Dry density I-CBR Dry density I-CBR
2.2 60 2.2 60

Dry density (g/cm³)

Dry density (g/cm³)
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of California, San Diego on 09/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

2.0 50 2.0 50

I-CBR (% )
I-CBR (%)
1.8 40 1.8 40
1.6 30 1.6 30
1.4 20 1.4 20
1.2 10 1.2 10
1.0 0 1.0 0
12 14 16 18 20 22 24 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Water content (%) Water content (%)
(a): Untreated sediments (b): Sediments + 3% Cement

2.4 70 2.4 70
Dry density I-CBR Dry density I-CBR
2.2 60 2.2 60
Dry density (g/cm³)
Dry density (g/cm³)

2.0 50 2.0 50

I-CBR (%)
I-CBR (%)

1.8 40 1.8 40
1.6 30 1.6 30
1.4 20 1.4 20
1.2 10 1.2 10
1.0 0 1.0 0
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
Water content (%) Water content (%)

(c): Sediments + 6% Cement (d): Sediments + 9% Cement

FIG. 2. Compaction curves of untreated and treated sediments

Fig 2 shows the effect of cement, which is used as a stabilizer for the stabilization of
sediments, on the compaction properties of sediments. For the untreated sediment, the
maximum dry density (ρdopt) is 1.743 g/cm3, and the corresponding optimum water
content (ωopt) is 17.4%. After treatment with 0%, 3% and 6% of cement, the maximum
dry density of sediment decreases from 1.743 g/cm3 to 1.667 g/cm3, while the optimum
water content increases from 17.4% to 19.9%. For the sediment treated with 6% and 9%
of cement, the maximum dry density almost does not change, although the optimum
water content continues to increase from about 19.5% to 19.9%.

Table 2. Effect of cement content on I-CBR index

Parameters 0% Cement 3% Cement 6% Cement 9% Cement

I-CBR (%) 30.2 43.0 45.7 46.3

Emerging Technologies for Material, Design, Rehabilitation, and Inspection of Roadway Pavements
 Geotechnical Special Publication No. 218 © ASCE 2011 90

Table 2 shows the improvement effect of cement contents on the I-CBR index of fine
sediments corresponding to ωopt. In the beginning, the I-CBR index increase rapidly, but
the improvement effect of I-CBR isn’t evident in the case of cement content greater than
6%. So 6% of cement could be considered to be the best percent determined from the
economical point of view, and the I-CBR index could almost arrive at the potential
maximum at this percent.
For the sediment treated with 3%, 6% and 9% cement, the I-CBR value is respectively
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of California, San Diego on 09/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

43%, 45.7% and 45.5%, which is near to 45% (prescribed I-CBR value for base-course
material). So the sediments treated with cement in this study could be preliminarily
evaluated as the base-course material.

3.4 Improvement in strength

Fig. 3 (a) and (b) shows the comparison of unconfined compressive strength and
indirect tensile strength of cured samples with different binder contents at the curing
time of 28 days and 90 days. The compressive and tensile strength of sediments mixed
with cement could be effectively improved with curing time in the case of cement
content from 3% to 9%, comparing to the untreated sediments. Similar behaviour was
also observed in other studies in the case of volcanic ash and fly ash (Kolias et al., 2005;
Hossain et al., 2007). According to French norm (Boutouil, 1998), the compressive
resistance should be higher than 1.0 MPa for road construction. From Fig.3 (b), the
unconfined compressive strengths at 28 days and 90 days of treated sediments are
higher than 2.0 MPa. With the increase in cement content in mixes, the quantity of
C-S-H gel formation increases inevitably. The C-S-H gel which possesses cementing
properties could not only fill the void space, but also bind the sediment particles. This
will contribute to the increase of compressive and tensile strength.

0.5 4.0
Compressive strength (%)

Rt at 90 days 3.5
Tensile strength (%)

0.4 Rt at 28 days 3.0

0.3 2.5
2.0
0.2 1.5
1.0 Rc at 90 days
0.1
0.5 Rc at 28 days
0 0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Cement content (%) Cement content (%)
(a): Tensile strength (b): Compressive strength

FIG. 3. Strength development of dredged fine sediments

Emerging Technologies for Material, Design, Rehabilitation, and Inspection of Roadway Pavements
 Geotechnical Special Publication No. 218 © ASCE 2011 91

4. CONCLUSIONS

The management of marine sediments is a challenging task to protect the environment

and to promote the sustainable development in the world. The utilization of dredged
sediment in road engineering, which is a method favored by a great number of
researchers and governors, not only could save resources, but also could protect the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of California, San Diego on 09/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

marine environment by means of consuming lots of contaminated and no-contaminated

sediments.
After researching the physical characteristics of sediments, the immediate effect of
cement on Atterberg limits has been studied. The liquid limit and plasticity index of
sediments decreases with cement content, while the plastic limit increases. The
potential of fine dredged sediment to be used as a base-course material or sub-base
material is evaluated. The maximum dry density decreases with the increase in cement
content, while the optimum water content and I-CBR value increases. When the cement
content is greater than 6%, the increase level of I-CBR value is not evidently. The
unconfined compressive and tensile strengths increase with the cement content due to
the formation of C-S-H gel. The sediments treated with cement could be preliminarily
evaluated as the sub-base or base-course materials. On the basis of the obtained test
results, the proposed methodology could constitute a starting point for the investigation
of the beneficial use of dredged sediments in road construction.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors appreciate the support of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Laboratory. Their support is gratefully acknowledged, as is the help provided by the
technicians and the collaboration of Dunkirk Port.

REFERENCES

Alzieu C. (1999). "Dragages et environnement marin." Ministère de l’aménagement du

territoire et de l’environnement, Ifremer, Paris, ISBN 2-84433-014-2.
Amiran, M., Wilde, C.L., Haltmeier, R.L., Pauling, J.D. and Sontag, J.G. (1999).
"Advanced sediment washing for decontamination of New York/New Jersey Harbor
Dredged materials." Nineteenth Western Dredging Association (WEDA XIX) Annual
Meeting and Conference and Thirty-first Texas A& M University Dredging Sediment
(TAMU 31), Louisville, Kentucky, May 15-20, 1999.
«Décret n° 2002-540». (2002). "Décret n° 2002-540 du 18 avril 2002 relatif à la
classification des déchets." J.O n° 93 du 20 avril 2002 page 7074 texte n°41.
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/.
Dubois Vincent. (2006). "Caractérisation physico-mécanique et environnementale des
sédiments marins. Application en technique routière." Thèse de doctorat, Ecole des
Mines de Douai, France.
Hossain, K.M.A., Lachemi, M., Easa, S. (2007). "Stabilized soils for construction
applications incorporating natural resources of Papua new Guinea." Resources,
Conservation and Recycling. 51: 711-731.

Emerging Technologies for Material, Design, Rehabilitation, and Inspection of Roadway Pavements
 Geotechnical Special Publication No. 218 © ASCE 2011 92

Kolias, S., Kasselouri-Rigopoulou, V., Karahalios, A. (2005). "Stabilisation of clayey

soils with high calcium fly ash and cement." Cement & Concrete Composites. 27:
301-313.
Mohamed BOUTOUIL. (1998). "Traitement des vases de dragage par solidification/
stabilisation à base de ciment et additifs." Thèse de doctorant, Université de Havre,
France.
NF P 94-050. (1991). "Sols : reconnaissance et essais – détermination de la teneur en
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by University of California, San Diego on 09/11/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

eau pondérale des sols – méthode par étuvage." Association Française de

Normalisation, Octobre 1991.
NF P 98-115. (1992). "Exécution des corps de chaussées - Constituants - Compositions
des mélanges et formulation - Exécution et contrôle." Association Française de
Normalisation, January 1992.
NF P 94-078. (1992). "Indice CBR après immersion, indice CBR immediate, indice
portent immediate, mesure sur échantillon compacté dans la moule CBR."
Association Française de Normalisation, December 1992.
NF P 94-093. (1993). "Détermination des caractéristiques de compactage d’un sol: essai
Proctor normal, essai Proctor modifié." Association Française de Normalisation,
December 1993.
NF P 94-068. (1993). "Sols : reconnaissance et essais – mesure de la quantité et de
l’activité de la fraction argileuse – détermination de la valeur au bleu de méthylène
d’un sol par l’essai à la tâche." Association Française de Normalisation, Novembre
1993.
NF P 94-051. (1993). "Sols : reconnaissance et essais–détermination des limites
d’Atterberg–limite de liquidité à la coupelle–limite de plasticité au rouleau."
Association Française de Normalisation, Mars 1993.
NF P 94-052-1. (1995). "Sols : reconnaissance et essais – détermination des limites
d’Atterberg – Partie 1 : limite de liquidité – Méthode du cône de pénétration."
Association Française de Normalisation, Novembre 1995.
NF ISO 13320-1. (2000). "Analyse granulométrique. Méthodes par diffraction laser.
Partie-1 : principes généraux.". Association Française de Normalisation, Septembre
2000.
Osula. D.O.A. (1991). "Lime modification of problem laterite." Engineering Geology,
1991, 30, 141-154.
Rachid Zentar, Vincent Dubois and Nor Edine Abriak. (2008). "Mechanical behaviour
and environmental impacts of a test road built with marine dredged sediments."
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2008, 52: 947-954.
Than Ngoc Thanh. (2009). "Valorisation de sédiments marins et fluviaux en technique
routière." Thèse de doctorat, Ecole des Mines de Douai, France.
XP P 94-047. (1998). "Sols: Reconnaissance et Essais - Détermination de la teneur
pondérale en matière organique -Méthode par calcination." Association Française de
Normalisation, December, 1998.

Emerging Technologies for Material, Design, Rehabilitation, and Inspection of Roadway Pavements