Subgrade stabilization for road pavement application: A Review

Hidalgo, Khyrwin O.
College of Engineering, Adamson University, Manila, Philippines;
khyrwin.hidalgo@adamson.edu.ph

Abstract: In infrastructure projects such as road construction, problematic soils are frequently
encountered. These problematic soils result in poor road pavement construction, resulting in a
short service life. Soil stabilization through ground improvement techniques is used to remedy
bad soil in road construction. According to recent research, admixtures are often employed to
improve soil quality, while geosynthetics and grouting are other choices. Recent studies have
revealed a growing trend in the use of recyclable materials as stabilizers or components used in
geosynthetics. This proposed research project will fill a research gap and show that there are
several eco-friendly and sustainable choices for subgrade stabilization as additives or
geosynthetics. The most recent articles are summarized and analyzed using the data analytics
toolbox in Matlab software to identify potential areas of development and future research in
subgrade stabilization.

Keywords: Geotechnical Engineering, Subgrade Stabilization, Text Analytics, LDA

1. Introduction

Given the increasing number of developments worldwide, infrastructure projects, such as

road projects, are bound to encounter problematic soil. Problematic soils such as expansive soils,
known for swelling while absorbing water and shrinking when evaporating, soils with low
bearing capacity such as peats and clay, and other moisture-induced distress are all major causes
of early pavement issues. Pavements tend to exhibit signs of degradation and have a shorter
service life if problematic soils are not addressed properly. Subgrade preparation is critical in
road construction. The subgrade of a pavement must be properly prepared because it provides
good support for pavement placement and compaction, limits pavement deflections, minimizes
differential movement caused by frost and shrinking/swelling soils, and ensures consistency of
support, all of which are critical for long-term pavement performance.

Soil stabilization is generally recognized as a way to improve the durability, engineering

properties, and mitigate volume change behavior of problematic soils. Various techniques of
stabilization have been used, including mechanical and chemical. By eliminating air from the
spaces, mechanical processes densify the soil. Additives are used in chemical methods to
enhance the qualities of problematic soils. (Pooni et al., 2019) Geosynthetics, a well-established
family of geomaterials utilized in a wide range of civil engineering applications, is another
alternative for ground improvement. Geosynthetics contain several polymers (plastics) that are
often seen in everyday life. Polyolefins and polyester are the most popular, though rubber,
fiberglass, and natural materials are also utilized. Geosynthetics can serve as a separator, filter,
planar drain, reinforcement, cushion/protection, and/or a liquid and gas barrier. (Handbook of
Geosynthetics, 2011) By using ground improvement techniques on subgrade stabilization, it is
possible to solve problematic soils while taking into account in-situ conditions, economic
variables, environmental impact, and locally accessible materials on a given site.

In practice, road construction will always need a level of maintenance and repair. However, it
is unavoidable that road construction sites may face weak soils that are unsuitable for use as road
subgrade materials. As a result, numerous ground improvement solutions for subgrade
stabilization are available. There is a need to undertake a comprehensive review of recent studies
on the various methods, techniques, and materials involved in the subgrade stabilization process
in order to further investigate the ground improvement strategies on subgrade stabilization. This
proposed research study could look at further ground improvement alternatives to help mitigate
the degradation of road pavements caused by poor subgrade materials. The latest articles are
compiled and evaluated using the data analytics toolbox in Matlab software to identify potential
areas of development and future study in the field of transport geotechnics.

2. Methodology

To collect current and high-quality articles, the following strategies were used: Conduct a
publication search on Sciencedirect using the phrases "subgrade stabilization" AND
"geotechnical engineering."; (ii) The journal search was narrowed down by limiting the articles
by publish date, which ranged from 2016 to the present; (iii) SCIMago was used to further refine
the papers, and Q1 journals were chosen.; (iv) Matlab software categorization based on LDA
findings; and (v) Exploration of potential future research paths.
Articles in this review were
No. of retrieved documents by year limited to those published
10 during the last five years. Thirty
9
articles were selected and saved
8
as text files. This study focused
on recent studies on ground
7
improvement solutions for
6
subgrade stability, as well as its
5
future development based on the
4
output generated by MATLAB.
3 By reading the abstract,
2 highlights, and key scope of the
1 articles, the screening process
0 may be limited to ten (10)
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
journal articles in order to
No. of retrieved documents by year construct a framework structure
of an integrative manner and
summarize the data in table format

Figure 1. Number of retrieved documents by year

 Year Number of
papers
2016 4

2017 3

2018 6

2019 9

2020 2

2021 6

Total 30

Table 1. Number of published documents from 2016 to 2021

Figure 1 and Table 1 indicate a significant increase in the number of articles published
between 2016 and 2021, showing that these themes (keywords) would become concerns in the
future and may be evaluated as a possible research subjects. However, the number of articles are
still low in numbers, the data extracted may be limited.

The papers are sorted and narrowed down by removing repetitive topics, duplicates, and
irrelevant studies. To provide a summary, this review provides the searched articles using the
MATLAB program to generate word clouds, showing the topic trends, and LDA. The numbers
below depict the most likely topic families based on the availability of relevant information.
.
 Figure 2. Topics developed with MATLAB

Figure 3. Probabilities of Document Topics 1 to 10

Figure 4. MATLAB generated Topic Mixtures

 Figure 5. Verious MATLAB generated topics

As shown in Figure 2, the subjects generated by MATLAB are mostly focused on

improving soil properties and subgrade performance. The following articles have been obtained
and will be reviewed to demonstrate how they relate to the desired area of study, and will be
addressed in the next section:

List of Related Articles

1. Durability of enzyme stabilized expansive soil in road pavements subjected to

moisture degradation

2. Evaluation of engineering properties and environmental effect of recycled waste tire-

sand/soil in geotechnical engineering: A comprehensive review

3. Expanded polystyrene geofoam in pavement construction

4. Geocell reinforced foundation beds-past findings, present trends and future prospects:
A state-of-the-art review

5. Geosynthetics with enhanced lateral drainage capabilities in roadway systems

6. Improving the strength of weak soil using polyurethane grouts: A review

 7. Soil and clay stabilization with calcium- and non-calcium-based additives: A state-of-
the-art review of challenges, approaches and techniques

8. Stabilization of expansive soil using hydrophobic polyurethane foam: A review

9. Sustainable utilization of biomass waste-rice husk ash as a new solidified material of

soil in geotechnical engineering: A review

10. Utilization of red mud in road base and subgrade materials: A review

Subgrade stabilization for road pavement applications is critical for ensuring road
pavement quality and prolonging its service life. Through various techniques available, it is
achievable. Pooni et al. (2019) treated expansive soils with stabilizing additives and evaluated
the long-term effectiveness of enzyme-based soil stabilization in expansive soil that is prone to
moisture deterioration Mohajerani et al. (2017) addressed the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS)
geofoam in pavement construction, discussing the benefits of utilizing EPS and evaluating its
performance. According to Hedge's (2017) review, geocells are used in foundations,
embankments, earth retaining structures, and pavements, and they are cost effective,
environmentally friendly, durable, and easy to use. There are other environmentally friendly
subgrade stabilizing solutions. Recycled materials such as tire chips and waste rice ash are used
as subgrade stabilizers.

It is possible to have outputs that can further improve the quality of the subgrade, be cost
effective, and have a positive influence on the environment because some of the materials used
are recyclable. This is achievable employing various ground improvement techniques for
subgrade stabilization. The following are most commonly utilized subgrade stabilization
methods; (1) Admixture Soil Improvement, (2) Geosynthetics, (3) Grouting

Table 3. Improvement techniques for subgrade stabilization for road pavement

applications

Author Method Material(s) Used Soil Type Key Findings

CBR increased by
Admixture Soil Enzyme based
Pooni et al. (2019) CL 48% (unsoaked)
Improvement stabilizer (Eko Soil)
58% (soaked)
Marine Silty Clay,
Better elastic
Weak Marine Clay,
deformation,
Admixture Soil Recycled Waste Black Organic
Liu et al. (2020) improves shear
Improvement Tire Topsoil, Plastic
strength, increases
Clay, Soft Marine
permeability
Clay
Lightweight
Expanded material, low
Mohajerani et al.
Geosynthetics Polystyrene (EPS) Varies thermal
(2017)
Geofoam conductivity, good
dampening material
Hegde (2017) Geosynthetics Geocell Sand, Peat, Soft Soil 50% reduction in
 vertical stress, 15%
reduction in
deflection of road
section
Unsaturated fine-
Enhanced Lateral grained soil layer
Zornberg et al. Improvement in
Geosynthetics Drainage (ELD) underlained by a
(2017) drainage
Geotextile coarse-grained soil
layer
High penetration
ability, soil
improvement
Saleh et al. (2019) Grouting Polyurethane grout Marine Clay without additional
overburdening
pressure, optimum
cost
Shows significant
improvement in soil
Calcium-based and
Admixture Soil properties
Behnood (2018) non-calcium-based Various soil types
Improvement (depending on
additives
additive type and
soil type)
Good energy
absorbing material,
reduces swelling
Al-Atroush and Admixture Soil Hydrophobic Problematic
potential and soil
Sebaey (2021) Improvement polyurethane foam expansive soils
heave, cost efficient
and environmentally
friendly
Reduces shrinkage
cracking,
significantly
Clayey soil,
Admixture Soil Rice husk ash and enhances
Chen et al. (2019) expansive soil,
Improvement other additives compressive
black cotton soil
strength, shear
strength and CBR
Value
Admixture Soil Red mud + other Best use of Red
Mukiza et al. (2019) Various soil types
Improvement additives mud as a road base

Table 3 shows the ground improvement procedures to be used in subgrade stabilization

for road pavements, as well as the materials used for ten (10) articles considered in this study.
Pooni et al. studied the durability of enzyme-based soil stabilization in expansive soils subjected
to moisture deterioration. Different enzyme stabilizers and mix proportions can provide different
results, which are mostly determined by the field soil type/condition. Lui et al. (2020) stated that
reusing recycled waste tires in geotechnical engineering is promising, according to a new study.
The study looked at the engineering properties and environmental implications of recycled waste
tire-sand/soil mixtures. Mohajerani et al. (2017) explored the possibility of using Expanded
polystyrene, a flexible material with a wide range of geotechnical engineering uses. Its
lightweight nature allows it to be an excellent fill material. It has low thermal conductivity,
which makes it a suitable pavement insulator in cold climates. Hegde (2017) examined the latest
breakthroughs and state-of-the-art in geocell research and field practices. Previous research
shows that the geocell is emerging as a potentially sustainable ground reinforcement technique.
Zornberg et al. (2017) emphasized the advantages of ELD in a number of highway situations.
ELDs improved lateral drainage of moisture migrating upward from a highwater table. This
paper by Saleh et al. (2019) gathered information on the application of polyurethane chemical
grout for improving the properties of weak soils. As per the findings of the research, improved
polyurethane has the ability to improve poor soil types. Benhood (2018) discussed the effects of
various calcium-based and non-calcium-based additives on the engineering and geotechnical
properties. Al-Atroush and Sebaey (2021) proposed hydrophobic closed-cell polyurethane foam
as an environmentally acceptable, long-lasting, and non-toxic alternative stabilizer that may be
used to address the issues raised by traditional chemical additives. Chen et al. (2021) discussed
the fundamental precepts of rice husk ash and its use in geotechnical engineering. The results
demonstrated that the addition of RHA may significantly increase the compressive
strength, shear strength, and CBR value of the soil, indicating economic and environmental
benefits. Mukiza et al. (2019) stated that subgrade consumes more red mud than road base, it is
suggested to use red mud in road base constructions.
Based on the findings of the tabulated research method, it is possible to infer that there
are several methods for stabilizing subgrade for road pavement applications, with the majority of
ground improvement techniques involving admixture soil improvement. However, there are a
limited number of researchers who are tackling the development of new materials in subgrade
stabilization to be used as geosynthetics, and grouting materials.

Potential research and development in the field of subgrade stabilization for road
pavement applications would focus on the following topics: (1) Geosynthetics for subgrade
stabilization using recyclable materials (2) Environmental impact of recycled materials to be
used as subgrade stabilizers, and (3) Performance of geosynthetics under cyclic loading.
It is clear that experts in the field of transportation geotechnics are investigating
on sustainable and environmentally friendly materials by experimenting with recyclable
subgrade stabilizers. Many researchers are anticipated to support this idea in order to optimize
the available resources that are now neglected since they are regarded condemned materials and
unfit for any purpose. The majority of the papers retrieved are from Transportation Geotechnics
and Construction and Building Materials, with the majority of studies coming from the United
States and Australia, as well as some from Asian nations such as China, Malaysia, and India.
Several gaps and developing trends are also identified, with geosynthetics using recycled
materials perhaps being the better option for subgrade stabilization. However, there are still
issues and obstacles associated with the use of geosynthetics for subgrade stabilization, some of
which are as follows: (1) The majority of the tests are small-scale laboratory experiments; (2)
improved specifications and procedures for new materials for subgrade stabilization; and (3)
performance analysis for the models.
References:

1. Handbook of Geosynthetics, 2011. Www.Gmanow.Com.

https://geosynthetics.ifai.com/wp-ontent/uploads/sites/10/2016/06/gma_handbook.pdf

2. Mohajerani, A., Ashdown, M., Abdihashi, L., & Nazem, M. Expanded polystyrene
geofoam in pavement construction. Construction and Building Materials, 2017, 157,
438–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.09.113

3. Hegde, A. Geocell reinforced foundation beds-past findings, present trends and future
prospects: A state-of-the-art review. Construction and Building Materials, 2017, 154,
658–674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.07.230

4. Gomes Correia, A., Winter, M., & Puppala, A. A review of sustainable approaches in
transport infrastructure geotechnics. Transportation Geotechnics, 2016, 7, 21–28.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2016.03.003

5. Pooni, J., Giustozzi, F., Robert, D., Setunge, S., & O’Donnell, B. Durability of
enzyme stabilized expansive soil in road pavements subjected to moisture
degradation. Transportation Geotechnics, 2019, 21, 100255.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2019.100255

6. Liu, L., Cai, G., Zhang, J., Liu, X., & Liu, K. Evaluation of engineering properties
and environmental effect of recycled waste tire-sand/soil in geotechnical engineering:
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7. Zornberg, J. G., Azevedo, M., Sikkema, M., & Odgers, B. Geosynthetics with
enhanced lateral drainage capabilities in roadway systems. Transportation
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8. Saleh, S., Yunus, N. Z. M., Ahmad, K., & Ali, N. Improving the strength of weak soil
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9. Behnood, A. Soil and clay stabilization with calcium- and non-calcium-based

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2018.08.002
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polyurethane foam: A review. Transportation Geotechnics, 2021, 27, 100494.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2020.100494

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