CALIFORNIA BEARING RATIO (CBR)

OBJECTiVE
subgrade strcngth of roads and airficlds.
This test is performicd to evaluate the
the requircd thickness of the flcxible
Thc subgrade strength is the main factor in detcmining
tems of the Califonia Bearing Ratio
valuc. The CBR-valuc
pavements, and this is cxpressed in
is usually a requircment in the design of pavement materials of natural gravcl.
MAIN PRINCIPLES
depth by a standard
The CBR value is the resistance of a soil sample to penetration of 2.5 mm

as a pcrcentage of the known resistance of the

cylindrical plunger of 50 mm diamcter, expressed
as 13.2 kN).
plunger to 2.5 mm penetration in cnushed aggregate, (taken
APPARATUS
1. BS Test sicves of sizes 20 mm
atleast 50kN at a ratc of Imm/min.
2. A CBR compression machinc capable of applying
internal diamcter of 152mm, height of 127
mm
Cylindrical metal mould having a nominal
collar.
with a detachable bascplate and a removable
and fitted
4 A metal rammer of cither 2.5 kg or 4.5 kg
5. Annular surcharge discs
6. Spacer disc
7. A steel straightedge
to 25 kg
8. A weigh balance, capable of weighing up
9. Apparatus for moisture content determination.
10. Filter papers of 150 mn diameter.
11. Soaking tank

Fig I. CBR Testing nmachine

 PROCEDURE

20mm BS sieve
. Weigh 6Kg of soil samplc passing through divide the sample into 5
the required quantity of water and
2. Thoroughly mix the soil with
portions
Record the weight of the empty mould base plate (M)=
+
3. inside and attach
base plate after placing the spacer disc
4. Tightly assemble the mould with the
of the spacer disc
the collar then Put the first filter paper on top
determination of Moisture Content
5. Take a small portion of the mixed material for
and evenly give it 62 blows using the
6. Place the first portion of the sample into the mould of
the sample occupies about one-fifth of the height
2.5kg rammer such that after compaction
the mould.
such that the final level of the
7. Repeat using the otherfour remaining portions of soil in turn,
mould.
soil surface is not more than 6 mm above the top of the
the top of the mould with the scraper, checking
8. Remove the collar and trim the soil flush with
with the steel straightedge.
9. Record weight of the mould, soil and baseplate to the ncarest 5 g (M:) =.. * * * ' * * *

on top of the sample followed by

the
10. Attach the collar to the mould and Place a filter paper
of annular surcharge discs around the stem
on
perforated swell plate. Fit the required number
the perforated plate.
tank and mount the dial gauge supPport on top
11. Place the mould assembly in the empty soaking
and adjust the stem on the perforated
of the extension collar securing the dial gauge in place
plate to give a convenient zero reading.
12. Fill the soaking tank with water until the mould
is completely flooded and lcave it to soak for
is over.
4 days and record the dial reading after the soaking period
tank and allow the
13. Take dial gauge and remove the mould assembly from the soaking
off the
sample to drain for 15 minutes.
14. Remove the surcharge discs, perforated plate and extension collar. If the sample has swollen,
trim it level with the top of the mould
on the testing machine, place the
15. Place the mould with baseplate containing the sample
and fit into place the cylindrical
appropriate annular surcharge discs on top of the sample
plunger on the surface of the sample.
16. Reset the dial gauges to zero
uniform rate of
17. Start the CBR machine such that the plunger penetrates the soil sample at a
Imm/min.
intervals of penetration of 0.5 mm to a total
18. Record readings of the force dial gauge at
penctration not excecding 8 mm.
raise the plunger and level the surface
19. If a test is to be carried out on both ends of the sample,
of the sample by filling in the depression left by the plunger.
14- 17.
20. Invert the mould and carry out the test by repeating steps
21. Affer completing the penetration tests, determine
OBSERVATIONS AND RECORDINGS
Compaction method... ***** * ** ******

MDD..... ....
OMC.......... NMC....
Rate of plunger
penetration. * * * *

Proving ring stress factor ******** ***

Test recording shect

Swell Data
Initial dial gauge reading (divs)
Final dial gauge reading (divs)

Plunger Penetration Proving Ring Dial Reading

(mm) (divs)
Top Bottom
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
CALCULATIONS AND PLOTTING
.
Determinc the moulding
2.
Calculatc the bulk Moisture Content
density of the soil in kgm
M2 M1x 1000
Vm

where:
Pis the bulk density in Kg/m
M2 is the mass of soil, mould and baseplate in g
Mis the mass of mould and baseplate in g
Vm is the volume of the mould in
cm
3. Calculate the percentage swell

S= (K-)
127
x 100
where:
Sis the swell expressed as a percentage of the height of the moulded sample before
soaking
K is the final dial
gauge reading after soaking
L is the initial dial gauge reading before soaking
4. Plot cach value of force as ordinate against the corTesponding penetration as abscissa and
draw a smooth curve through the points.
5. Calculate the corresponding CBR values from the equation:
100
CBR Value (in %) =
PX
3.2
where
P is the plunger force in kN at 2.5mm penctration
6. Calculate the corresponding CBR values from the equation:
100
CBR Value (in %) = Px
20.0

where:
P is the plunger forcc in kN 5.0mm
at penctration