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SOIL

 Soil consist of mass of weathered mineral particles of various

shape and sizes, air, and water/liquid.

PAVEMENT DESIGN Week 04 –

Material
 Generally, soil contain organic matter (decomposition of
vegetation). In poorly drain areas, strata consisting almost
entirely of organic material – loosely described as peat,
present many problems to road engineers

 Soil is generally specified in terms of the particle size

distribution

 The normal procedure is by sieving for particles larger than

0.06 mm, and sedimentation for smaller particles. However,
silt and clay are generally assessed by plasticity test

SOIL CLASSIFICATION - SOIL CLASSIFICATION - USCS -

CONTINUE
USCS
 The basic reference for the Unified Soil Classification System is ASTM D  Coarse Sand:
2487. Terms include: Material passing a 4.75-mm sieve (No. 4) and retained on a 2.00-mm (No. 10)
 Coarse-Grained Soils: sieve.
More than 50 percent retained on a 0.075 mm (No. 200) sieve  Medium Sand:
 Fine-Grained Soils: Material passing a 2.00-mm sieve (No. 10) and retained on a 0.475-mm
50 percent or more passes a 0.075 mm (No. 200) sieve
(No. 40) sieve.
 Gravel:
 Fine Sand:
Material passing a 75-mm (3-inch) sieve and retained on a 4.75-mm (No. 4) sieve.
 Coarse Gravel: Material passing a 0.475-mm (No. 40) sieve and retained on a 0.075-mm
Material passing a 75-mm (3-inch) sieve and retained on a 19.0-mm (No. 200) sieve.
(3/4-inch) sieve.  Clay:
 Fine Gravel: Material passing a 0.075-mm (No. 200) that exhibits plasticity, and strength
Material passing a 19.0-mm (3/4-inch) sieve and retained on a 4.75-mm when dry (PI ≥ 4).
(No. 4) sieve.  Silt:
 Sand:
Material passing a 0.075-mm (No. 200) that is non-plastic, and has little
Material passing a 4.75-mm sieve (No. 4) and retained on a 0.075-mm (No. 200) sieve. strength when dry (PI < 4).
 Peat:
Soil of vegetable matter.

SOIL CLASSIFICATION – AASHTO -

SOIL CLASSIFICATION - AASHTO
CONTINUE

 AASHTO soil terminology comes from AASHTO M 145,  Fine Sand:

“Classification of Soils and Soil- Aggregate Mixtures for Material passing a 0.475-mm (No. 40) sieve and retained on a
Highway Construction Purposes”. Aggregate terminology 0.075-mm (No. 200) sieve.
comes from AASHTO M 147, “Materials for Aggregate and  Silt-Clay:
Soil- Aggregate Subbase, Base and Surface Courses”. Basic
Material passing a 0.075-mm (No. 200) sieve.
terms include:
 Silt Fraction:
Material passing the 0.075 mm and larger than 0.002 mm.
 Boulders & Cobbles:
 Clay Fraction:
Material retained on a 75-mm (3-inch) sieve.
Material smaller than 0.002 mm.
 Gravel:
 Silty:
Material passing a 75-mm (3-inch) sieve and retained on a
Material passing a 4.75-mm (No. 4) sieve with a PI ≤ 10
2.00-mm (No. 10) sieve.
 Coarse Sand: .
Material passing a 2.00-mm sieve (No. 10) and retained on a
0.475-mm (No. 40) sieve.

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SOIL CLASSIFICATION – AASHTO -

CONTINUE

 Cl ayey:
Material passing a 4.75-mm (No. 4) sieve with a PI ≥ 11
 Co ar se A g g regate:
Aggregate retained on the 2.00 mm sieve and consisting of
hard, durable particles or fragments of stone, gravel or slag. A wear
requirement (AASHTO T 96) is normally required.
 F i ne A g g regate:
Aggregate passing the 2.00 mm (No. 10) sieve and consisting of
natural or crushed sand, and fine material particles passing the
0.075 mm (No. 200) sieve. The fraction passing the 0.075 mm (No.
200) sieve shall not be greater than two-thirds of the fraction
passing the 0.425 mm (No. 40) sieve. The portion passing the 0.425
mm (No. 40) sieve shall have a LL ≤ 25 and a PI ≤ 6. Fine aggregate
shall be free from vegetable matter and lumps or balls of clay.

SOIL

 Inorganic Material
 Disintegration of rock by weathering
 Gravel, sand, and silt - roughly similar in all direction
 Clay – typically elongated in shape. Minerals in clay are forms of
kaolinite, montmorillonite, and mica
 Specific gravity generally between 2.6 and 2.8
 Lower values generally indicate the presence of organic matters
 Higher values generally indicate the presence of metallic ores
 Organic Material
 Mainly from plant residue
 Organic content of soil immediately below road structures should
not exceed 4 percent

SUBGRADE COMPACTION OF SOIL

 The soil immediately below formation level
 Specification for compaction usually distinguish between the
soil above closer or further away from the pavement layer
 The process by which air is excluded from a soil mass to
bring the particles closer together and thus increase the
dry density. The ef fect in general is to increase the
strength of the soil

 Proper subgrade compaction:

 Final preparation of subgrade should be closely linked to the
 Minimize settlement / volume changes
laying of the subbase to minimize the period when the soil is
 Improve strength
lef t exposed to weather

 Soil Compaction
 Standard Proctor Test
 Modified Proctor Test

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STANDARD AND MODIFIED TEST STANDARD AND MODIFIED TEST

SOIL SOIL

 The strength properties of soil are related to the manner in

which the particles are packed together (density) and the  Dry density
amount of water between the particles (moisture content) –  ρ d = (W s /V) = W s / (V s +V w+Va )
defines the state of the soil
 Moisture content
 The required state of soil may be expressed by limit of  Weight of water expressed as a percentage of the weight of dry
 Dry density solids.
 Moisture content  Weight of dry solids is defined as the weight of the soil after
drying for 24 hours at a temperature of 105° C
 ω = (W w / W s ) x 100%

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CLAY SOIL

 Plasticity of clay soil

 The moisture content at which the soil changes from the
plastic to liquid state is termed the liquid limit (LL)

 The moisture content when the soil becomes friable

(below the plastic range) due to the breaking of the
moisture bonds is referred to as plastic limit (PL)

 The moisture content range between the liquid and plastic

limits is terms as plasticity index PI.
 LL – PL = PI

STRENGTH OF SUBGRADE -
RESILIENT MODULUS (M R )
CBR

 California Bearing Ratio (CBR)  Is a basic subgrade soil stif fness/strength characterization
 Is a test to evaluate the mechanical strength of road
subgrades and base courses
 Is a measure of the elastic response of a soil (how well the
 Was developed to measure the load-bearing capacity of soil return to its original dimension under repeated
soils
load/stress) recognizing certain non-linear characteristic
 The test is performed by measuring the pressure required
to penetrate a soil sample then divided by the pressure
required to achieve an equal penetration on a standard  It measures the basic material properties that can be
crushed rock material
used in mechanistic analysis of multilayered system
for predicting roughness, cracking, rutting
(ASTM D1883, ASTM D4429, AASHTO T193)

AASHTO Test Method T274

STRENGTH OF SUBGRADE –
RESISTANCE VALUE (R-VALUE) MODULUS OF SUBGRADE REACTION (K)

 Similar to MR  Westergaard during the 1920s developed the k-value

 A test that expresses a material’s resistance to
deformation as a function of the ratio of
transmitted lateral pressure to applied vertical
pressure. It is essentially a modified triaxial
compression test. Materials tested are assigned an
R-value.
The R-Value is basically a measure of stiffness.
as a spring constant to model the support beneath
the slab
 Typically, the modulus of subgrade reaction is
estimated from other strength/stiffness tests,
however, in situ values can be measured using the
plate bearing test

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RELATION AMONG THE RELATION AMONG THE

PROPERTIES PROPERTIES
 The following formula can be used to convert Approximate relationship developed by the
CBR to MR for the subgrade. However, this is only Asphalt Institute for roadbed soil
an approximate relationship. It is recommended
to conduct the appropriate testing to establish
design values
MR (psi) = A + B x (R-value)
 Heukelom & Klomp reported the following
correlation A = 772 to 1155
B = 369 to 555
MR (psi) = 1500 x CBR
Typically used in the AASHTO 1993 guide is A = 1000, B = 555
reasonable for fine grained soil with a soaked CBR of 10 or
less Only for fine-grained non-expansive soils with R-values of 20 or less

RELATION AMONG THE

PROPERTIES

 Approximate relationship used in 2002 AASHTO

Design guide for CBR > 25

M R = 2555 x CBR ^(0.64)

H T T P : / / W W W . PA V E M E N T I N T E R A C T I V E . O R G /

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO PAVEMENT FOUNDATIONS

Source: Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular 150/5320-6