The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test

The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test was developed by the

California Division of Highways as method of classifying soils for
suitability for use in highway construction for the classification of
base course materials for the support of flexible pavements.

Actually the CBR is a measure of shearing resistance of the soil

under controlled density and moisture conditions, therefore the test
cannot be considered as a classification test since the results are
not constant for a given soil but depend on such as density and the
moisture content as well as size and shape of grains. It has been
found that certain soils are very sensitive to such variables as slight
changes in moulding moisture, compactive effort and soaking of the
specimen.

In the US, the CBR value is obtained by getting the percentage of

the unit load required to force a piston to penetrate 0.10 inch into
the moulded soil to the value of 1000 pounds per square inch which
is required to effect the same depth into a standard crushed rock.

The CBR test can be made in the laboratory on undisturbed or

compacted samples.

THE BASIC CBR TEST

This consists of causing a plunger of standard area to penetrate a
soil sample, (this can be in the laboratory or on site). The force
(load) required to cause the penetration is plotted against measured
penetration, the readings noted at regular time intervals.

This information is plotted on a standard graph, and the plot of the

test data will establish the CBR result of the soil tested.

In the British Isles, the test is fully covered in B.S.1377: Part 4:

1990: Soils for civil engineering purposes: Compaction related
tests.

THE REASON FOR THE CBR TEST

It sounds complicated, but the basis behind it is quite simple. We
are determining the resistance of the subgrade, (i.e. the layer of
naturally occurring material upon which the road is built), to
deformation under the load from vehicle wheels. Even more simply
put: ''How strong is the ground upon which we are going to build
the road?''.

The CBR test is a way of putting a figure on this inherent strength,

the test is done in a standard manner so that it is possible to
compare the strengths of different subgrade materials, and then
these figures can be used as a means of designing the road
pavement required for a particular strength of subgrade.

The stronger the subgrade (i.e. the higher the CBR reading) the less
thick it is necessary to design and construct the road pavement, this
gives a considerable cost saving.

Conversely if CBR testing indicates the subgrade is weak (i.e. a low

CBR reading) we must construct a suitable thicker road pavement
to spread the wheel load over a greater area of the weak subgrade
in order that the weak subgrade material is not deformed, causing
the road pavement to fail.

Road pavement design manuals and publications using CBR

values.
The CBR in spite of its limited accuracy still remains the most
generally accepted method of determining subgrade strength, and,
as such, this information, along with information on traffic flows and
traffic growth is used to design road pavements.

The "Transport and Road Research Laboratory Report 1132: The

Structural Design of Bituminous Roads" is the current basic design
document for road pavements involving highly trafficked roads i.e.
mainly motorway and trunk roads.

Recently published excellent documents on road foundation/design

and including CBR information are:
D.Tp. DESIGN MANUAL HD 25/94, ROAD FOUNDATIONS
D.Tp. DESIGN MANUAL HD 26/94, ROAD PAVEMENT DESIGN.

These manuals are included in: Volume 7 of the D.Tp. DESIGN

MANUAL FOR ROAD AND BRIDGES (“DMRB”).

It is still possible to use “Road Note 29: A Guide to the Structural

Design of Pavements for New Roads", for lesser trafficked roads.