Use of Locally Available

Materials and Stabilisation

Technique
VIJAYKUMAR N
Assistant professor

Civil Engineering Department

SJBIT-Bangalore

Soil Stabilization
The soil stabilization means the improvement of
stability or bearing power of the soil by the use of
controlled compaction, proportioning and/or the
addition of suitable admixture or stabilizers.

Basic Principles of Soil Stabilization.

Evaluating the properties of given soil
Deciding the lacking property of soil and choose
effective and economical method of soil stabilization
Designing the Stabilized soil mix for intended stability
and durability values

Need for Soil Stabilization

Limited

Financial Resources to Provide a

complete network Road System to
build in conventional method
Effective utilization of locally available
soils and other suitable stabilizing
agents.
Encouraging the use of Industrial
Wastages in building low cost
construction of roads.

Methods of Soil
Stabilization

Mechanical Stabilization
Soil Cement Stabilization
Soil Lime Stabilization
Soil Bitumen Stabilization
Lime Fly ash Stabilization
Lime Fly ash Bound Macadam.

Mechanical Stabilization

This method is suitable for low volume roads i.e.

Village roads in low rainfall areas.

This method involves the correctly

proportioning of aggregates and soil,
adequately compacted to get mechanically
stable layer

The Basic Principles of Mechanical Stabilization

are Correct Proportioning and Effective
Compaction

Desirable Properties of SoilAggregate Mix

Adequate Strength
Incompressibility
Less Changes in Volume
Stability with Variation in water content
Good drainage, less frost Susceptibility
Ease of Compaction.

Factors Affecting Mechanical

Stabilization

Mechanical Strength of aggregates

Gradation
Properties of the Soil
Presence of Salts
Compaction

Mechanical Strength
When the soil is used in small proportion to fill
up the voids the crushing strength of aggregates
is important

Gradation
A well graded aggregate soil mix results in a mix
with high dry density and stability values

Properties of soil
A mix with Plasticity Index, results poor stability
under soaking conditions. Hence it is desirable to
limit the plasticity index of the soil

Presence of Chemicals
Presence of Salts like Sulphates and mica
are undesirable
Presence of Calcium Chloride is Beneficial

Compaction
Effective Compaction is desirable to
produce high density and stability mix

Soil Cement Stabilization

Soil Cement is an intimate mix of soil,

cement and water, compacted to form a
strong base course

Cement treated or cement modified soil

refers to the compacted mix when cement is
used in small proportions to impart some
strength

Soil Cement can be used as a sub-base or

base course for all types of Pavements

Factors affecting soil cement

stabilization

Soil
Cement
Pulverisation and Mixing
Compaction
Curing
Additives

Soil
THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Particle Size Distribution
Clay content
Specific Surface
Liquid limit and Plasticity Index

Cement
A increase in cement content generally
causes increase in strength and durability

Pulverisation and Mixing

Better the Pulverisation and degree of mixing,
higher is the strength
Presence of un pulverised dry lumps reduces
the strength

Compaction
By increasing the amount of compaction dry
density of the mix, strength and durability also
increases

Curing
Adequate Moisture content is to be retained in
order to accelerate the strength

Additives
There are some additives to improve properties

Lime

Sodium hydroxide

Sodium Carbonate

Calcium Chloride

Design of Soil Cement

Mix

Soil Cement specimens are prepared with

various cement contents in constant volumes
moulds

The compressive strength of these specimens

tested after 7 days of curing

A graph is plotted Cement content Vs

compressive strength

The Cement Content Corresponding to a

strength of 17.5 kg/cm2 is taken as design
cement content

Soil Lime Stabilization

Soil- Lime has been widely used as a
modifier or a binder
Soil-Lime is used as modifier in high plasticity
soils
Soil Lime also imparts some binding action
even in granular soils

Soil-Lime is effectively used in Expansive

soils with high plasticity index.

Factors affecting Properties of SoilLime

Lime Content

Generally increase in lime content causes

slight change in liquid limit and considerable
increase in Plasticity index

The rate of increase is first rapid and then

decreases beyond a certain limit

The point is often termed as lime fixation

point
This is considered as design lime content

Type of Lime

After long curing periods all types of limes

produce same effects. However quick lime
has been found more effective than hydrated
lime
Calcium Carbonate must be heated at higher
temperature to form Quick lime calcium
oxide( CaO)
Calcium oxide must be slaked ( by the
addition of water) to form Hydrated lime

Compaction

Compaction is done at OMC and maximum

dry density.

Curing
The strength of soil-lime increases with curing
period upto several years. The rate of
increase is rapid during initial period
The humidity of the surroundings also affects
the strength

Additives
Sodium metasilicate, Sodium hydroxide and
Sodium Sulphate are also found useful
additives

Soil- Bituminous
Stabilization

The Basic Principles of this stabilization are

Water Proofing and Binding
By Water Proofing inherent strength and
other properties could be retained
Most Commonly used materials are Cutback
and Emulsion
Bitumen Stabilized layer may be used as
Sub-base or base course for all the roads

Factors affecting properties of soilbitumen

Soil
The particle size, shape and gradation of the soil
influence the properties of the soil-bitumen mix.

Types of Bitumen
Cutbacks of higher grade should be preferred
Emulsions generally gives slightly inferior
results than Cutback.

Amount of Mixing
Increasing proportion of bitumen causes a
decrease in dry density but increases the
stability after a certain bitumen content
The optimum bitumen content for maximum
stability generally ranges from 4 to 6%

Mixing
Improved type of mixing with low mixing period
may be preferred

Compaction
Effective Compaction results higher
stability and resistance to absorb water
Additives
Anti stripping and reactive chemical
additives have been tried to improve the
properties of the mixes
Portland cement can also be used along
with the soil bitumen

Use of Locally Available

Materials in Road
Construction

Necessity

Scarcity of good quality

aggregates / soil for road
construction

Production and accumulation of

different waste materials

Disposal and environmental

problem

Economical and gainful utilization

Limitations of Using Waste

Materials

Quality of waste is not controlled by

their manufacturers
Characteristics of by-products vary
in a wide range
Road construction practice is
accustomed to traditional materials
of steady quality
Specifications of layers compaction
of traditional materials are not
suitable for waste materials

General Criteria for Use of Waste

Materials

Amount of yearly produced waste

material should reach a certain lower
limit
The hauling distance should be
acceptable
The material should not have a
poissonous effect
The material should be insoluble in
water
The utilisation should not have a
pollutional effect to the environment

Special Requirement for Using

Waste Materials

Free from organic matter

Should not swell or decay as
influenced by water
Should not be soluble in water
Particles should be moderately
porous

Industrial wastes

Thermal Power Stations

*
*
*

Fly ash
Bottom ash
Pond ash

Steel Plants
*
*
*

Blast furnace slag

Granulated blast furnace slag
Steel slag

Utilisation of fly ash

Thermal power -

Major role in power

Indian scenario -

Use of coal with high

generation

ash content
- Negligible utilisation

of ash produced
Bulk utilisation Civil engineering
applications like
construction of roads &
embankments

Utilisation of fly ash

Can be used for construction of

Embankments and backfills

Stabilisation of subgrade and sub-base
Rigid and semi-rigid pavements

Fly ash properties vary widely, to be

characterised before use

Major constituents - oxides of silica,

aluminum, iron, calcium & magnesium

Environmentally safe material for road

construction

Possesses many favourable properties

for embankment & road construction

Favourable properties of fly ash

Light weight, lesser pressure on sub-soil

High shear strength
Coarser ashes have high CBR value
Pozzolanic nature, additional strength due to selfhardening
Amenable to stabilisation
Ease of compaction
High permeability
Non plastic
Faster rate of consolidation and low
compressibility
Can be compacted using vibratory or static roller

Engineering properties of fly ash

Parameter

Range

Specific Gravity

1.90 2.55

Plasticity

Non plastic

Maximum dry density (gm/cc)

0.9 1.6

Optimum moisture content (%)

38.0 18.0

Cohesion (kN/m2)

Negligible

Angle of internal friction (j)

300 400

Coefficient of consolidation Cv (cm2/sec)

1.75 x 10-5 2.01 x

10-3

Compression index Cc

0.05 0.4

Permeability (cm/sec)

8 x 10-6 7 x 10-4

Particle size distribution (% of materials)

Clay size fraction
Silt size fraction
Sand size fraction
Gravel size fraction

Coefficient of uniformity

1 10
8 85
7 90
0 10

3.1 10.7

Differences between Indian & US

fly ashes
Property
compared

Indian fly ash

US fly ash

Loss on ignition
(Unburnt
carbon)

Less than 2 per

cent

5 to 8 per cent

SO3 content

0.1 to 0.2 per

cent

3 to 4 per cent

CaO content

1 to 3 per cent

5 to 8 per cent

Increase in
concentration of
heavy metals

3 to 4 times in
comparison to
source coal

10 times or more in
comparison to
source coal

Rate of leaching

Lower

Higher

Fly ash for road embankment

Ideally suited as backfill material for urban/ industrial areas

and areas with weak sub soils
Higher shear strength leads to greater stability
Design is similar to earth embankments
Intermediate soil layers for ease of construction and to
provide confinement
Side slope erosion needs to be controlled by providing soil
cover
Can be compacted under inclement weather conditions
15 to 20 per cent savings in construction cost depending on
lead distance

Fly ash for road embankment

Typical cross section of fly ash road embankment

Approach embankment for second

Nizamuddin bridge at Delhi

Length of embankment - 1.8 km

Height varies from 6 to 9 m
Ash utilised - 1,50,000 cubic metre
Embankment opened to traffic in
1998
Instrumentation installed in the
embankment showed very good
performance
Approximate savings due to usage of
fly ash is about Rs.1.00 Crore

Approach embankment for second

Nizamuddin bridge at Delhi

Spreading of pond
ash

Second Nizamuddin bridge approach embankment

Compaction of pond
ash

Stone pitching for

slope protection

Second Nizamuddin bridge approach embankment

Traffic plying on the

embankment

Utilisation of fly ash

Four laning work on NH-6 (Dankuni to Kolaghat)
Length of stretch 54 km
Height of embankment 3 to
4m
Fly ash utilisation 2 Million
cubic metres
Water logged area
(soft ground conditions)

Compaction of fly ash over layer of

geotextile

Reinforced fly ash embankment

Fly ash - better backfill material for

reinforced embankments

Polymeric reinforcing materials

Geogrids, friction ties, geotextiles

Construction sequence similar to

reinforced earth structures

Okhla flyover approach embankment

First geogrid reinforced fly ash
approach embankment constructed
in the country
Length of embankment 59 m
Height varied from 5.9 to 7.8 m
Ash utilised 2,700 cubic metre
Opened to traffic in 1996
Performance has been very good

Okhla flyover approach embankment

Filter
mediu
m

Facing
panels

Geogrids

7.8 to
5.9 m

Reinforced foundation mattress of bottom

ash

Erection of facing
panels

Okhla flyover approach embankment

Rolling of pond
ash

Support provided to
facing panels during
construction

Okhla flyover approach embankment

Laying of geogrids

Hanuman Setu flyover approach embankment

Geogrid reinforced fly ash approach

embankment
Length of embankment 138.4 m
Height varied from 3.42 m to 1.0 m
Opened to traffic in 1997

Sarita Vihar flyover approach

embankment

Length of embankment 90
m
Maximum height 5.25 m
Embankment opened to
traffic in Feb 2001
Polymeric friction ties used
for reinforcement

Laying of friction
ties

Sarita Vihar flyover reinforced approach

embankment

Arrangement of
friction ties before
laying pond ash

Compaction of pond
ash using static and
vibratory rollers
Sarita Vihar flyover reinforced approach
embankment

Compaction using
plate vibrator
near the facing
panels

Fly ash for road construction

Stabilised

soil subgrade & subbase/base courses

Mixing with soil reduces plasticity
characteristics of subgrade
Addition of small percentage of lime or
cement greatly improves strength
Leaching of lime is inhibited and
durability improves due to addition of fly
ash
Pond ash & bottom ash can also be
stabilised
Lime-fly ash mixture is better alternative
to moorum for construction of WBM /
WMM

Fly ash for road construction

Construction of semi-rigid/ rigid

pavements
Lime-fly ash concrete
Dry lean cement fly ash concrete
Roller compacted concrete
Fly ash admixed concrete pavements
Lime-fly ash bound macadam
Precast block paving
High performance concrete

Bituminous concrete 40
mm
DBM 100
mm
BM 75 mm
WBM Gr III/WMM 75 mm
WBM Gr II/WMM 150
mm
GSB 350 mm

Typical cross section of flexible

pavement conventional section

Bituminous concrete 40 mm
DBM 100 mm
BM 75 mm
WBM Gr III/WMM 75 mm
Fly ash + 6% cement
stabilised layer 150 mm
Pond ash 350 mm

Typical cross section of flexible

pavement using fly ash

Fly ash admixed PQC 300

mm
DLFC 100 mm
Pond ash 300
mm

Typical cross section of rigid

pavement using fly ash

Demonstration road project

at Raichur

Total length of the road 1 km

Five sections of 200 m each with different
pavement sections
Pond ash has been used for replacing moorum
in sub-base course
Stabilised pond ash used for replacing part of
WBM layer
One rigid pavement section using DLFC and
RCCP technology was laid
Performance of all the specifications is good

Mixing of lime
stabilised pond ash

Demonstration road project using fly ash at

Raichur
Compaction of
stabilised pond ash
using road roller

Construction of
roller compacted
concrete pavement

Demonstration road project using fly ash at

Raichur
View of the
demonstration road
stretch after three
years

Demonstration road project using

fly ash near Dadri (U.P)

A rural road near Dadri in District

Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh was
selected
Total length of road 1.4 km
Bottom ash used as embankment fill
Base course constructed using fly ash
stabilised with 8% cement
RCCP Wearing course 10 cm thickness
RCCP Mix proportion 1:2:4
30 per cent of cement and 20 per cent
of sand replaced with fly ash in RCCP
Shoulders 8% cement stabilised fly ash

Demonstration road project using

fly ash near Dadri (U.P) Typical
section
RCCP wearing course - 0.1 m
Stabilised fly ash
base - 0.1 m

Stabilised fly ash

Shoulder

Soil cover
Bottom ash

Demonstration
road project
using fly ash
near Dadri (U.P)
Stabilised base course

Mixing & laying of RCCP

Compaction of RCCP

IRC Guidelines / Specifications

Guidelines available on pavement

construction

IRC 60 Tentative guidelines for use of lime

fly ash concrete as pavement base or subbase

IRC 68 Tentative guidelines on cement fly

ash concrete for rigid pavement
construction

IRC 74 Tentative guidelines for lean

cement concrete and lean cement fly ash
concrete as a pavement base or sub-base

IRC 88 Recommended practice for lime fly

ash stabilised soil as base or sub-base in
pavement construction

Guidelines for use of fly ash in

road embankments

Published recently by Indian Roads Congress

(SP- 58:2001)
Includes design aspects also
Handling and construction
Loose layer thickness of 400 mm can be
adopted if vibratory rollers are used
Moisture content - OMC + 2 per cent
Use of vibratory rollers advocated
Minimum dry density to be achieved 95 per cent of modified Proctor density
Ash layer and side soil cover to be
constructed simultaneously

Utilisation of steel slags

Total production of slag from steel

industries is about 8.0 million tonnes
Types of slags

Blast furnace slag

Granulated blast furnace slag
(GBFS)
Air cooled slag

Steel slag

Granulated blast
furnace slag
Contains reactive silica
Suitable for lime /
cement stabilisation

Air cooled
blast furnace
slag
Non reactive
Suitable for use

CRRI work on utilisation of

steel slags
Characterisation of slags produced
at different steel plants
Laboratory studies on Lime-GBFS
mixes
Semi-field studies on Lime-GBFS
concrete
Test track studies on usage of slags
in road works

Properties of air cooled slag

Property

Durgapu
r

Bhilai

Rourkela Delhi
Quartzit
e

Specificatio
n
requiremen
ts

Specific
gravity

2.78
2.82

2.82
3.33

2.97
2.99

2.67

Water
absorptio
n (%)

1.53
1.72

0.58
1.38

0.74
1.29

0.48

2% Max

Los
Angeles
abrasion
value (%)

18.80

25.00

14.28

34.00

40% Max

Impact
value (%)

15.79

14.80

16.90

24.50

30% Max

Soundnes
s value
(%)

1.66

1.17

0.33

0.17

12% Max

43.90

43.10

43.80

Percentag 46.40
e voids

Steel slags

Obtained as a waste product

during production of steel
Particle size varies from 80 mm to
300 microns
Compared to blast furnace slag,
steel slag contains lower amount
of silica, higher amounts of iron
oxide and calcium oxide
Due to presence of free lime, steel
slag should be weathered before
using it in construction

Road projects executed under

CRRI guidance using slags

Plant roads at Visakhapatnam

Test tracks in collaboration with AP
PWD using slags from
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
Test tracks in collaboration with
Orissa PWD using slags from
Rourkella Plant
Test tracks at R&D Centre for Iron &
Steel, Ranchi using Slags from
Bokaro Plant

Construction
of test track
using slag at
Orissa

Labour based
techniques for
construction of
stabilised layer

Lime
stabilisatio
n of iron
slags
(Orissa)

View of
finished
surface of
road
constructed
using slags at

Processed municipal wastes

Processed municipal wastes

utilised for construction of test
track on village road near
Delhi
Stabilised municipal waste
used for construction of subbase layer
Performance of stretch is good

Kimberlite tailings

Kimberlite tailings are waste produced from

diamond mining
Can be used in base or sub-base course by
adopting mechanical or cement stabilisation
High value of water absorption makes them
unsuitable for use in bituminous pavement

THANK YOU