University of Guyana

Faculty of Technology
Department of Civil with
Environmental Engineering
CIV4105 ASSIGNMENT
1

Name: Jonathan Hohenkirk

USI: 1012950
Lecturer: Mr. R. Roberts
Date: 24th October

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 0
Pavement types and factors affecting performance...................................................0

Question 1............................................................................................................... 0
Flexible Pavements.............................................................................................. 0
Rigid Pavements................................................................................................... 0
Question 2............................................................................................................... 0
Sampling and testing techniques done on road making materials:......................0
Soil and Base Improvement........................................................................................ 0
Question 1............................................................................................................... 0
Question 2............................................................................................................... 0
References.................................................................................................................. 0

Introduction
Aggregate is a collective term for the mineral materials such as sand, gravel,
and crushed stone that are used with a binding medium (such as water, bitumen,
Portland cement, lime, etc.) to form compound materials (such as bituminous
concrete and Portland cement concrete). By volume, aggregate generally accounts
for 92 to 96 percent of Bituminous concrete and about 70 to 80 percent of Portland
cement concrete. Aggregate is also used for base and sub-base courses for both
flexible and rigid pavements. Aggregates can either be natural or manufactured.
Natural aggregates are generally extracted from larger rock formations through an
open excavation (quarry). Extracted rock is typically reduced to usable sizes by
mechanical crushing. (Mathew & Krishna Rao, 2007)

1 | Page

Pavement types and factors affecting performance

Question 1
Flexible Pavements

Figure 1: Layers of a flexible pavement (Yoder & Witczak, 1975)

(Note: The project location determines base layer selection)

Flexible pavements are layered systems with the better materials on top. The
sum of various layers cannot be represented as a homogeneous mass. Each layer is
assumed to be homogeneous, isotropic, and linearly elastic with an elastic modulus
E, and a Poissons ratio . Each layer has a finite thickness except the lowest layer is
infinitely thick, and all layers are infinite in the lateral directions. (Georgia
Department of Transportation, 2005) Full friction is assumed to develop between
each layer at its interface. The load-carrying capacity of a flexible pavement is
brought about by the load-distribution characteristics of the layered system.

2 | Page

Rigid Pavements

Figure 2: Layers of a rigid pavement (Yoder & Witczak, 1975)

(Note: The project location determines base layer selection)
Rigid pavements are constructed of PCC (Portland Cement Concrete) and may
or may not have a base course between the pavement and subgrade. The concrete
pavement, because of its rigidity and relatively high modulus of elasticity, tends to
distribute the applied load over a relatively wide area. The slab itself supplies the
major portion of the structural capacity. (Georgia Department of Transportation,
2005)

Question 2
Sampling and testing techniques done on road making materials:
i.

Gradation
The gradation and size test is used to determine aggregate particle size
distribution. Size distribution is perhaps the single most important aggregate
quality associated with the control of HMA mixtures. Aggregate gradation and
size affect HMA volumetric properties as well as mixture permeability and
workability. In a gradation and size analysis, a sample of dry aggregate of
known weight is separated through a series of sieves with progressively
smaller openings. Once separated, the weight of particles retained on each
sieve is measured and compared to the total sample weight. (Georgia
Department of Transportation, 2005)

3 | Page

ii.

Strength
In pavement design, the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) is a very commonly
used laboratory test for predicting the strength of a subgrade layer. It has
been used for some time as a semi-empirical approach towards predicting the
bearing capacity of subgrade layers. The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test is
a simple strength test that compares the bearing capacity of a material with
that of a well-graded crushed stone (thus, a high quality crushed stone
material should have a CBR @ 100%). It is primarily intended for evaluating
the strength of cohesive materials having maximum particle sizes less than
19 mm (0.75 in.) (American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials 2000)

iii.

Hardness
The aggregates used in the surface course are subjected to constant rubbing
or abrasion due to moving traffic. The aggregates should be hard enough to
resist the abrasive action caused by the movements of traffic. The abrasive
action is severe when steel tyred vehicles moves over the aggregates
exposed at the top surface. (Mathew & Krishna Rao, 2007)
Abrasion test is carried out to test the hardness property of aggregates and
to decide whether they are suitable for different pavement construction
works. Los Angeles abrasion test is a preferred one for carrying out the
hardness property and has been standardized in India (IS:2386 part-IV). The
principle of Los Angeles abrasion test is to find the percentage wear due to
relative rubbing action between the aggregate and steel balls used as
abrasive charge. (Mathew & Krishna Rao, 2007)

iv.

Flakiness Index
The particle shape of the aggregate mass is determined by the percentage of
flaky and elongated particles in it. Aggregates which are flaky or elongated
are detrimental to higher workability and stability of mixes. The flakiness
index is defined as the percentage by weight of aggregate particles whose
least dimension is less than 0.6 times their mean size. Test procedure had
been standardized in India (IS:2386 part-I) (Mathew & Krishna Rao, 2007)
The flakiness Index of an aggregate sample is found by separating the flaky
particles and expressing their mass as a percentage of the mass of the
sample. The test is applicable to material passing a 63mm sieve and
retained on a 6.3mm sieve.

v.

Moisture Content
The main aim is to determine the amount of total water present in a
sample of aggregate and is expressed as a percentage of the dry mass. The
oven-drying method provides a measure of the total water present in a
sample of aggregate. (Georgia Department of Transportation, 2005)
Moisture content plays a very important role in pavement design since it

4 | Page

contributes to pavement distresses by influencing material properties such

as modulus and shear strength.

5 | Page

Soil and Base Improvement

Question 1
In general, soils with poor loading-bearing characteristics and/ or
groundwater are reliable indicators of a potentially unstable construction
environment. (Georgia Department of Transportation, 2005)If either of these
conditions is encountered during the subsurface field investigation (Soil Survey),
then the use of stabilizer materials is an option for improving the subgrades
strength, as may be recommended in the Soil Survey Summary.
Subgrades can be stabilized mechanically (by adding granular materials),
chemically (by adding chemical admixtures), or with a stabilization expedient (sandgrid, matting, or geosynthetics). Stabilization with chemical admixtures (lime, portland cement, fly ash, and such) is generally costly but may prove to be
economically feasible, depending on the availability of the chemical stabilization
agent in comparison with the availability of granular material. (Georgia Department
of Transportation, 2005)
Reasons for the use of Soil Stabilization:
i.

Increased Water Impermeability A substance that can absorb water and

then freeze can split road surfaces within a matter of days; treated surfaces
do not face these issues.

ii.

Reduced Water Sensitivity A material with high water sensitivity, such as

untreated natural soil, is very vulnerable to natural processes such as
erosion.

iii.

Reduced Shrinkage Factor Shrinkage is another factor which can

dramatically impact the lifespan and quality of a road surface.

iv.

Reduced Plasticity Index Higher index ratings have more characteristics of

silt or clay, both undesirable when it comes to road surfaces.
(Mathew & Krishna Rao, 2007)

6 | Page

Question 2
1. Lime Stabilized Subgrades
Lime is often an excellent choice for improving unfavourable roadbed materials to
form a base, subbase, or subgrade. Lime stabilization is the modification of
inherently weak or excessively plastic soils that may also be wet, into a muchimproved material whose engineering properties are significantly altered. Lime
reacts with clay minerals resulting in increased strength and a reduction of soil
plasticity, moisture content, and volume change with moisture variation. Lime will
have a positive effect on a broad range of soils, but is most effective with clay soils,
with which it can react both chemically and physically to produce a fundamentally
new material. Provided sufficient clay is present, the remainder of the soils can be
gravels, sands, or silts. (Georgia Department of Transportation, 2005)
While any amount of lime may provide some benefit, mixing 4% to 8% lime (by
weight) with subgrade soils typically provides the desired result. Percentages
greater than about 8% generally do not result in significant additional improvement.
2. Fly Ash Stabilized Subgrades
Fly ash stabilized base course is suitable for both flexible and rigid pavements.
Pozzalanic-stabilized mixtures (PSM) can use several materials and material
combinations to construct stabilized aggregate bases. Class C (AASHTO M 295) fly
ash can be used as a stand-alone material. Class F fly ash can be used when
blended with lime, Portland cement or cement kiln dust (CKD). The stabilization of
aggregate bases provides several advantages:
Adds significant strength and durability
Allows the use of marginal or low quality aggregates
Permits better use of open graded base courses
(Georgia Department of Transportation, 2005)
Closely controlled curing conditions are important as both time and temperature
significantly affect strength and durability. Also, a high degree of compaction is
crucial to performance of PSM. Final density should be achieved as quickly as
possible to achieve the highest ultimate strengths.

3. Stabilization Utilizing Man-Made Stabilizers

A stabilization expedient may provide significant time and cost savings as a
substitute to other means of stabilization or low strength fill. The most popular of
the man-made stabilizers are sand grid, roll-matting, and various types of
geosynthetics, especially geotextiles. Matting and sand grid are expedient methods
of stabilizing cohesionless soils such as sand for unsurfaced road construction.
Geotextiles and other geosynthetics are primarily used to reinforce weak subgrades,
7 | Page

maintain the separation of soil layers, and control drainage through the road or
airfield design. The availability of these materials must be weighed with the
considerable time savings for use of expedients in combat construction. Separation
of soil subgrades is accomplished by placing a flexible porous geotextile between
dissimilar layers so that the integrity and functioning of both layers can remain
intact. Stabilization (reinforcement) is accomplished by the improvement of a
systems total strength created by the introduction of a geotextile (good in tension)
into a soil (good in compression but poor in tension) or into other disjointed and
separated materials. The filtration function of a geotextile involves the movement of
liquid through the fabric. (Georgia Department of Transportation, 2005)
Hydraulic Conductivity (permeability, subsurface filtration or drainage) must be
considered in problematic soil environments, i.e., fine-grained soils, silts and clays.
The soil-to-geotextile system must allow for adequate fluid flow with limited soil loss
across the plane of the geotextiles over its service life. (Georgia Department of
Transportation, 2005)

8 | Page

References
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, 2000. Standard
Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing.
Washington, D.C: American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials.
Georgia Department of Transportation, 2005. Pavement Design Manual, Georgia: US
Office of Materials & Research.
Mathew, T. V. & Krishna Rao, K. V., 2007. Pavement materials: Aggregates. In:
s.l.:NPTEL, pp. 22.1-22.7.
Yoder, E. J. & Witczak, M. W., 1975. Principles of Pavement Design. 2nd ed. New
York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc..

9 | Page