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California bearing ratio of an

unsaturated deformable pavement
material along drying and wetting paths
a

Ali Mirzaii & Meghdad Negahban

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,

University of Kashan, P.O. Box 8731751167, Kashan, Iran
b

Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch,

Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
Published online: 03 Aug 2015.

To cite this article: Ali Mirzaii & Meghdad Negahban (2015): California bearing ratio of an
unsaturated deformable pavement material along drying and wetting paths, Road Materials and
Pavement Design, DOI: 10.1080/14680629.2015.1067247
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2015.1067247

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Road Materials and Pavement Design, 2015

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2015.1067247

California bearing ratio of an unsaturated deformable pavement material

along drying and wetting paths
Ali Mirzaiia and Meghdad Negahbanb

Downloaded by [University of Exeter] at 09:02 03 August 2015

a Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, P.O. Box 8731751167,
Kashan, Iran; b Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Isfahan, Iran

(Received 3 December 2014; accepted 18 June 2015 )

This article presents the results of a careful laboratory programme aimed to examine the inuence of initial dry density, moisture content, degree of saturation, and matrix suction on the
California bearing ratio (CBR) of a pavement material along drying and wetting paths. To this
end, the CBR value of a sandkaolin mixture was measured in a range of initial void ratios
and initial water contents along drying and wetting portions of the soilwater characteristic
curve (SWCC). Wetting CBR tests were performed on the soil samples that were compacted
and wetted to dierent dry densities and water contents. For drying tests, soil samples were
prepared identically to the soil samples used in wetting tests, but after the compaction, they
were desaturated by using the air-drying technique. The general trends observed are discussed
and are compared in relation to some available data in the literature. Additionally, the experimental data appeared to show a distinction in the response of CBR along drying and wetting
paths. The hysteretic detected response of CBR was discussed with relation to the hysteretic
nature of the SWCC.
Keywords: unsaturated deformable soils; CBR; degree of saturation; matrix suction;
hydraulic hysteresis; soilwater characteristic curve

1. Introduction
Most of the road pavements are built on unsaturated compacted soils; therefore, a comprehensive
study on the performance of subgrade layers should be undertaken with regard to the behavioural
aspects of unsaturated soils, such as the degree of saturation (Sr ), matrix suction (s), or even the
distinct response of the soil along drying and wetting paths (i.e. hydraulic hysteresis).
California bearing ratio (CBR) is one of the most common and widely used parameters in
the design of road pavement materials. The extensive amount of past research on the CBR of
saturated soils led to the development of standards such as ASTM D1883 (ASTM D1883-07e2,
2007) or AASHTO T193 (AASHTO T193-10, 2010) for the determination of CBR in saturated geomaterials. In unsaturated soils, many of the experimental observations such as the early
contributions of Davis (1949) or Black (1962) or the recent studies of Snchez-Leal (2002) or
Cekerevac et al. (2009) were mainly conned to examine the inuence of soil moisture content () on CBR. Additionally, eorts were carried out to investigate the variation of CBR with
respect to the matrix suction or the degree of saturation of the soil. Among the notable contributions are the works of Paraire (1987), Sivakumar, Tan, and Graham (2002), Vogrig et al.
*Corresponding author. Email: ali.mirzaii@kashanu.ac.ir

2015 Taylor & Francis

Downloaded by [University of Exeter] at 09:02 03 August 2015

A. Mirzaii and M. Negahban

(2003), Ampadu (2007), Purwana, Nikraz, and Jitsangiam (2012), and Singh and Sharan (2014),
which all appeared to show an increase in CBR within the increment of soil suction or within the
decrement of degree of saturation.
Although previous studies have improved the fundamental understanding on the behaviour
of CBR in unsaturated soils, there is still a need for further experimental data to clarify the
dependencies of CBR on other practical aspects covered in unsaturated soils. For instance, many
of the road pavement materials are subjected to dierent drying and wetting hydraulic loadings,
and the bearing ratio and any deformation of the subgrade layers are highly aected by the
changes in degree of saturation or matrix suction of the soil. Another issue to be pointed out
is the signicant inuence of hydraulic hysteresis on the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated
soils, as already reported by Miller, Khoury, Muraleetharan, Liu, and Kibbey (2008), Khalili and
Zargarbashi (2010), Nowamooz, Chazallon, Arsenie, Hornych, and Masrouri (2011), and Mirzaii
and Yasrobi (2012), which has not received a level of attention in previous experimental studies
on CBR.
This paper presents the results of a laboratory test programme aimed to determine the inuence
of initial dry density ( d0 ), moisture content, degree of saturation, and matrix suction on the
CBR of a sandkaolin mixture along drying and wetting paths. Particular attention was paid
to render the eect of hydraulic hysteresis on CBR. The general trends derived from the test
results are discussed and their credibility is reviewed against some available data in the literature.
Additionally, it is suggested that the distinct response of CBR along drying and wetting paths
could be taken into account with respect to the hysteretic nature of the soilwater characteristic
curve (SWCC).

2. Materials and test programme

The tested material included a mixture of 60% sand and 40% kaolin. This soil was previously
used in Mirzaii and Yasrobi (2012) to examine the void ratio dependency of SWCC elements
along drying and wetting paths.
The index properties of test material were again measured, and the results, summarised in
Table 1, appeared to be consistent with the data in Mirzaii and Yasrobi (2012). The variation
of degree of saturation versus matrix suction of test material, already obtained by Mirzaii and
Yasrobi (2012), is presented in Table 2 for a range of initial void ratios (e0 ) along wetting paths,
and they are utilised in the current study.
The CBR of the test soil was measured with a CBR apparatus made by IMPACT Co. which
was equipped with a plunger with a constant penetration rate of 1.27 mm/min according to
ASTM D 1883 (ASTM D1883-07e2, 2007).
Table 1. Index properties of test soil.
Liquid limit (%)
Plastic index (%)
Specic gravity
Percentage < 4.75 mm
Percentage < 75 m
Percentage < 2 m
Optimum water contenta (%)
Maximum dry unit weighta (kN/m3 )
Soil classication
a Attained

from Standard Proctor Test.

23.5
9.5
2.66
100
40
14
9.6
19.71
SC

Road Materials and Pavement Design

Table 2. Variation in degree of saturation versus matrix suction in wetting paths for the tested material
(Mirzaii & Yasrobi, 2012).
e0

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s (kPa)
Sr (%)

0.32
40
98

120
92.7

250
77.8

0.52
400
68.1

40
77.8

120
55.6

250
47.6

0.72
400
39.6

40
60.4

120
44.5

250
36.4

400
31.7

Wetting CBR tests were performed on 12 samples compacted to the initial void ratios and
degree of saturations shown in Table 2. To this end, the dried sandkaolin mixture was initially
moistened to target water content and then was passed through a sieve (no. 8) to reduce the
dimensions of the clods. Subsequently, it was kept for 24 h inside a sealed plastic bag for moisture
equalisation. The soil samples were then compacted in three equal layers inside the modied
Proctor compaction mould (ASTM D689-12e1, 2012) with the internal diameter of 152.4 mm
and sample height of 116.4 mm. This was experimentally achieved by compacting a known
mass of pre-prepared soil to a target height for each layer using a 2.5 kg standard Proctor rammer
(ASTM D689-12e1, 2012). After compacting the nal layer, the mould was opened and inversed
to use the smoother end surface of the sample for CBR measurements.
During the compaction stage, the degree of saturation within the soil increased; therefore, the
compacted soil samples were located on the wetting portion of the SWCC (Mirzaii & Yasrobi,
2012). Finally, 4.54 kg surcharge weights were placed above the compacted specimens and they
were appropriately installed inside the CBR apparatus. The CBR of the test material was then
measured with a plunger penetration speed of 1.27 mm/min according to ASTM D1883 (ASTM
D1883-07e2, 2007).
Drying CBR tests were performed on 12 samples identically compacted to the initial void
ratios and degree of saturations utilised in the preparation of wetting CBR specimens, as shown in
Table 2. The compression method used for drying CBR specimens was analogous to the method
used for the preparation of wetting CBR specimens, except that they were compacted inside
the CBR compaction mould (ASTM D1883-07e2, 2007) which had identical dimensions to the
mould used in the wetting CBR tests, but according to ASTM D1883 (ASTM D1883-07e2,
2007), it had 28 uniformly spaced holes with the diameter of 1.6 mm at its bottom face.
The compacted soil samples were then air-dried at room temperature for 7 days using the
procedure shown in Figure 1. A perforated metallic plate with 42 uniformly spaced 1.6 mm
diameter holes (ASTM D1883-07e2, 2007) was installed on the top of the specimen to maintain
uniform evaporation of water from the soil, and the 4.54 kg surcharge weights used in CBR tests
were placed above the perforated plate. As shown in Figure 1, the compressive volume changes
due to air drying were measured with respect to the change in the height of the specimens,
which were 0.8, 1.2, and 1.8 mm for samples with the initial void ratios of 0.32, 0.52, and 0.72,
respectively. The void ratios of the samples after the air-drying stage (e1 ) are summarised in
Table 4. The amount of water evaporated from the specimens during the air-drying process was
measured by means of weighting the compaction mould before and after the air-drying stage,
which was about 42, 28, and 35 g for samples compacted to the initial void ratio of 0.32, 0.52,
and 0.72, respectively. This reduction in the degree of saturation places the soil specimens on the
drying portion of the SWCC.
3. Results
The results of the CBR tests along wetting and drying paths are summarised in Tables 3 and 4,
respectively. Also included in these tables are the moisture content of the samples which are the
average of the moisture content in the top, middle, and bottom of the samples at the end of the

A. Mirzaii and M. Negahban

22.27 kg
surcharge weights

Downloaded by [University of Exeter] at 09:02 03 August 2015

Perforated plate

1.6 mm holes

Figure 1.

Reduction of the degree of saturation by air drying.

Table 3. CBR values along wetting paths.

e0
d0 (kN/m3 )
(%)
s (kPa)
Sr (%)
CBR (%)

0.32
19.77
11.78
40
98
32.3

11.15
120
92.7
59.6

9.36
250
77.8
97.7

0.52
17.17
8.19
400
68.1
106.3

15.21
40
77.8
3.9

10.87
120
55.6
22.2

9.30
250
47.6
25.3

0.72
15.17
7.74
400
39.6
25.9

16.35
40
60.4
2.2

12.05
120
44.5
5.1

9.85
250
36.4
5.8

8.58
400
31.7
7.02

Table 4. CBR values along drying paths.

e0
d0 (kN/m3 )
e1
(%)
s (kPa)
Sr (%)
CBR (%)

0.32
19.77
0.31
9.48
243
81.4
33.9

9.03
288
77.5
61.3

7.24
624
62.2
98.6

0.52
17.17
0.50
6.27
1038
53.8
106.6

13.64
127
72
9.7

9.51
552
50.2
24.8

8.65
810
45.7
26.3

0.72
15.17
0.69
7.44
1499
39.3
27.4

14.16
148
54.2
4.9

9.95
571
38.1
8

8.12
1243
31.1
8.6

6.84
2396
26.2
9.27

CBR tests. The compressive volume changes and the loss of water content due to the air-drying
process were considered in the determination of the degree of saturations reported in Table 4.
The matrix suction values mentioned in Table 4 corresponds to the soil suction after the airdrying stage. Mirzaii and Yasrobi (2012) showed that, for all the void ratios in the tested soil,
the plot of ln(Sr ) versus ln(s) appears to show a linear pattern of variation along both the drying

Road Materials and Pavement Design

and wetting paths. To this end, the soil suction values after the air-drying stage were evaluated
by assuming a powerlaw relationship between degree of saturation and matrix suction:

Sr =

s
sae

d
,

(1)

Downloaded by [University of Exeter] at 09:02 03 August 2015

where sae is the air entry value and d is the slope of drying curve.
According to Mirzaii and Yasrobi (2012), the values of d for the sandkaolin mixture were
measured to be 0.280, 0.245, and 0.261 for samples with the initial void ratio of 0.32,
0.52, and 0.72, respectively.
Mirzaii and Yasrobi (2012) also suggested that the dependency of the air entry value of the
understudying soil on the initial void ratio t a powerlaw relationship
Sae = 5.996 e2.614
.
0

(2)

3.1. Influence of initial compaction

The variations of CBR with the initial dry density are plotted in Figure 2 and appear to show an
increase in CBR with the increment of initial compaction density along the drying and wetting
paths. This behaviour is consistent with the trend observed by Snchez-Leal (2002) on saturated
soils and with the trend observed by Davis (1949), Leung, Wong, and Wan (2013), and Ampadu
(2007) on unsaturated soils.
Figure 2 also reveals that, at a given initial dry density, the drying CBR value is higher than
the wetting CBR value, and the plot of CBR versus initial dry density is not identical along the
drying and wetting paths. This hysteretic behaviour is more signicant in samples with lower
initial matrix suctions.
3.2. Influence of moisture content
Figure 3 examines the eect of soil moisture content on the CBR of the sandkaolin mixture and
shows an increase in CBR with the reduction of the soil moisture content along both the drying
and wetting paths. This trend is more evident in soil samples compacted at the lowest initial void
ratio (i.e. samples with e0 = 0.32). These results appear to be consistent with the observations of
Davis (1949), Sivakumar et al. (2002), Snchez-Leal (2002), Ampadu (2007), Cekerevac et al.
(2009), and Purwana et al. (2012) for the variation of CBR with water content in incompressible
geomaterials.
Further investigation of Figure 3 also emphasises that, at a given initial void ratio, the soil
samples located on the drying curve possess lower water contents; therefore, they appear to have
higher CBR values. As a result, the plot of CBR versus water content follows a hysteretic pattern
for the range of initial void ratios considered in this practice. This hysteretic behaviour is more
evident in soil samples compacted at the lowest initial void ratio.
3.3. Influence of matrix suction and degree of saturation
The plot of CBR versus matrix suction is demonstrated in Figure 4 and shows an increase in
CBR with increment of the matrix suction along both the drying and wetting paths. The abovementioned trend is in agreement with the observations of Paraire (1987) and Ampadu (2007) for
the soil samples examined along the wetting paths.
The experimental results in Figure 4 also appear to show that the increment of matrix suction
due to the air-drying process has increased the CBR of air-dried specimens. Consequently, the

Downloaded by [University of Exeter] at 09:02 03 August 2015

A. Mirzaii and M. Negahban

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 2. Variation of CBR versus initial dry density for samples with the initial matrix suctions of (a) 40,
(b) 120, (c) 250, and (d) 400 kPa.

Figure 3.

Inuence of moisture content on CBR.

variation of CBR versus matrix suction for the drying paths was plotted on the right side of the
similar curve for the wetting paths.
The variations of CBR versus the degree of saturation along the drying and the wetting paths
are plotted in Figure 5 and show that, for the range of initial void ratio considered in this study,
the value of CBR is increased in accordance to the decrement of the degree of saturation. This

Road Materials and Pavement Design

(a)

(b)

Downloaded by [University of Exeter] at 09:02 03 August 2015

(c)

Figure 4. Variation of CBR versus matrix suction for samples with the initial void ratio of (a) 0.32,
(b) 0.52, and (c) 0.72.

behaviour is in agreement with the observations of Vogrig et al. (2003) and Singh and Sharan
(2014) for the soils considered along the wetting paths.
Additionally, the evaporation of water during the air-drying procedure decreased the amount
of the degree of saturation, which, in turn, increased the CBR of air-dried specimens. The above
hysteretic pattern in the graph of CBR versus the degree of saturation, as illustrated in Figure 5,
is more evident for the soil samples compacted at the lowest initial void ratio.
Finally, the comparison of Figures 4 and 5 shows that, for the sandkaolin mixture, the reduction in the degree of saturation due to the air-drying process increased the matrix suction within
the soil, which in turn caused an increase in CBR along the drying paths. Conversely, the increment in soil suction in the air-drying stage reduced the degree of saturation of the soil, and
consequently the CBR of air-dried samples possessed higher values.
3.4. Influence of hydraulic hysteresis
According to the laboratory results presented in the preceding sections, the amount of CBR in
the drying paths appeared to possess dierent values than the wetting paths. This distinction in
the response of CBR suggests that the behaviour of CBR in unsaturated soils bears a hysteretic
nature. This response is identical to the hysteresis in the SWCC.
In a previous study, Mirzaii and Yasrobi (2012) reported a distinction in the SWCC response
of the sandkaolin mixture. Therefore, at a given initial matrix suction, the degree of saturation
within the soil possesses higher values on the drying path. Additionally, the experimental data
plotted in Figure 5 also reveal that the increment of the degree of saturation reduces the amount
of CBR. Consequently, for a soil sample of a given initial suction, the degree of saturation of the

A. Mirzaii and M. Negahban

(a)

(b)

Downloaded by [University of Exeter] at 09:02 03 August 2015

(c)

Figure 5. Plot of CBR versus degree of saturation for the samples with the initial void ratio of (a) 0.32,
(b) 0.52, and (c) 0.72.

soil on the drying path bears a higher value, and in this condition, it is expected that the drying
CBR measurements possess lower values than the CBR measurements on the wetting paths. The
above expected behaviour is in agreement with the trends observed in Figure 4 for the variation
of CBR with matrix suction along drying and wetting paths.
4. Conclusions
The results of a laboratory testing programme allowed to examine the hysteretic behaviour of the
CBR of a sandkaolin mixture along drying and wetting paths. It was observed that the increase
in initial compaction dry density and matrix suction or the decrease in initial moisture content
and degree of saturation can in fact increase the value of CBR along both wetting and drying
paths. This trend appeared to be consistent with other data available in the literature.
The experimental results also appear to show that the CBR response is dierent along drying and wetting paths. The hysteretic detected response of CBR was explained in relation to the
hysteretic nature of the SWCC. In fact, for a soil of given initial suction, the degree of saturation of the soil bears a higher value on the drying path, and consequently, the experimental
data appeared to show lower CBR values along drying paths. Indeed, more investigation of the
above aspects on other pavement materials can in fact lead to a further achievement of the above
understandings.
Disclosure statement
No potential conict of interest was reported by the authors.

Road Materials and Pavement Design

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