Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Pavement Materials Part 1

(Subgrade Soils)

Dr. K. Sudhakar Reddy

Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
India
Email: ksreddy@civil.iitkgp.ernet.in
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Components of Pavements

embankment

Typical Flexible Pavement

Embankment Subgrade Subbase Base
Wearing course (surfacing) shoulder (treated/untreated)
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Components of Pavements

embankment

Typical Concrete Pavement

Embankment Subgrade Subbase Concrete slab
shoulder (treated/untreated)
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Pavement Materials
Different materials are used in different
types of pavements
Soil
Aggregates (natural, artificial)
Bitumen, tar, emulsion, cutbacks
modified bituminous binders (polymer and
rubber)
Bituminous mixes
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Pavement Materials (continued)

Cement
Cement concrete (plain, reinforced, pre-stressed)
Stabilised materials
Recycled materials
Geotextiles/ geomembranes
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Study of Pavement Materials

Necessary to understand the behaviour of the
materials individually and in combination with
other materials.
Characterization of materials
to classify/grade
to obtain necessary inputs for design of new
structure (pavement)
to obtain inputs regarding the condition of the
materials in an existing pavement
to ensure proper quality during construction
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Study of Pavement Materials

Pavement material properties are evaluated by
Conducting laboratory experiments on
representative samples
by field evaluation
by estimation
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Parameters to be considered for

characterization of Pavement materials

Loads
Stationary/moving, heavy/light, application mode
(normal and shear, impact)
Climatic conditions
temperature, rainfall, moisture
Weathering action
wetting/drying, chemical action, freeze-thaw
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Material Properties

The material properties to be considered

should be relevant to the design approach
adopted

The properties should also reflect the

performance of the pavement structure
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Material Behaviour
Fundamental material behaviour is
usually characterized in terms of
Stress-strain relationship
Ability of the material to recover after
release of load
Time dependency
Temperature dependency
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Material Behaviour (Stress-strain relationship)

Stress

Linear
Non-linear
Strain
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Material Behaviour (Recovery)

Release of load
deformation

time
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Material Behaviour (Time Dependence)

Stress = Constant
strain

time
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Material Behaviour (description)

Linear/Non-linear
Elastic/Plastic
Viscous/Non-viscous
Combination of the above terms
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Material Behaviour (description)

Depends on
The magnitude, time/frequency and nature of
load
Temperatures to which the material is
subjected to
Moisture levels
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Approximate Loading time
Depends on
Speed of the vehicle
Size of tyre imprint (load contact area)
Load spreading capability of pavement layers
Position of the element under consideration
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Loading time and magnitude
Length of tyre imprint
Speed
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Loading time and magnitude

Vertical Stress

Time
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Test Conditions for Pavement material
Evaluation
To obtain properties that are relevant for a given
situation, the following aspects should be
considered for field or laboratory evaluation

The magnitude, time/frequency and nature of load

Temperatures to which the material is subjected
Moisture levels
Degree of compaction
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Soils
Used in
embankment portion
Subgrade
shoulders
Used in its natural form or in a processed or
stabilized form
Properties of interest Index (for
classification) and mechanical properties
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Soils - Classification
Usually classified on the basis of particle
size distribution and index properties

Indian Classification
Coarse grained > 50% larger than 0.075 mm IS Sieve
Fine Grained > 50% smaller than 0.075mm
Gravel 80mm to 4.75mm
Sand 4.75mm to 0.075mm
Silt and Clay < 0.075mm (0.075 to 0.002mm silt
and < 0.002mm clay subdivision is done
usually on the basis of LL and PL)
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Soils Index Properties

Atterberg Limits
Liquid Limit (LL)
Plastic Limit (PL)
Shrinkage Limit (SL)

Solid Semi-solid Plastic Liquid

SL PL LL
Water content
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Soils Index Properties

Liquid Limit (LL)
Min w.c. at which soil will flow when
subjected to a very small shearing force
Determined by cutting a groove in the soil
paste placed in a cup. The moisture content
corresponding to the trial in which the
groove closes after 25 drops of the cup is
the Liquid Limit
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Soils Index Properties

Plastic Limit (PL)
Min w.c. at which the soil remains in a
plastic state
Stage at which the soil can be rolled into a
thread of 3mm dia without crumbling

Plasticity Index (PI) = LL PL

Range of water content in which the soil
remains in a plastic stage
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Soils Index Properties

Shrinkage Limit (SL)
w.c. required to saturate the soil when the
total volume remains unchanged
Max. w.c. at which further reduction in
water content does not cause reduction in
volume
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Soil Classification Systems

Textural Classification
Unified Classification
BIS Classification
HRB or AASHTO classification
Detailed methods of classification will be
learnt in Soil Mechanics Class next year
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Soil Classification Systems

Unified Classification
Based on Gradation and Atterberg limits
Coarse grained Soils (> 50% retained on 0.075mm sieve)
G Gravel, S- Sand, M-Silt, C Clay, W Well graded
P- Poorly graded

Ex: GW Well-graded gravels

SP Poorly graded Sand
SC Clayey Sand
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Soil Classification Systems

Unified Classification
Fine grained Soils (> 50% passing 0.075mm sieve)
M-Silt, C Clay, O Organic, L Low plasticity, H High
Plasticity

Ex: ML Silts of low compressibility

CH High compressibility Clay
GC Clayey gravels
SW Well graded Sands
Indian system (BIS) of soil classification is very
similar
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Soil Classification Systems

HRB or AASHTO Classification
Based on gradation and Atterberg limits
(represented by Group Index GI)

Soil Grouping from A-1 (with subgroups as A-1-a

and A-1-b) to A-7-6

A-1 group with a GI value of 0 are coarse grained,

low plasticity soils considered excellent for
subgrade
A-7 group fine soils with high plasticity (GI values of
upto 20) Poor material for subgrade
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Soil Strength Parameters

Factors influencing soil strength

Soil Type
Granular soils usually have better strength
compared to fine grained soils

Particle Size Distribution

Determines the internal friction and cohesion

Degree of Compaction
greatly influences the strength
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Soil Strength Parameters

Factors influencing soil strength

Moisture content
affects density, cohesion and internal
friction
Confinement
Granular materials are stronger when
confined
Permeability
Effectiveness of drainage affects shear
strength
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Soil Strength Parameters

Determination of Soil Strength
Shear Tests
conducted on laboratory samples under
specified conditions (loading, compaction,
drainage)
Bearing Tests
Usually conducted in field (plate loading)
Penetration Tests
measure resistance of soil sample (prepared
to standard conditions) to the penetration of
a standard plunger
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Soil Strength Parameters

Shear Strength (Shear box Test)
One frame is fixed, other frame is moved
horizontally

C-phi

Specimen Shear Stress

Normal Stress
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Soil Strength Parameters

Shear box Test

Conducted on remoulded or undisturbed

samples

Undrained or drained condition

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Soil Strength Parameters

Triaxial Shear Test
Specimen subjected to three normal
compressive stresses
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Soil Strength Parameters

(Triaxial Shear Test)
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Soil Strength Parameters Shear Parameters

Triaxial Test Results are used for

Stability Analysis of embankments
Settlement analysis
Design of retaining walls
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Soil Strength Parameters Bearing Strength
Plate Load Test
to determine the modulus of subgrade
reaction used in design of concrete
pavements
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Soil Strength Parameters Bearing Strength
Plate Load Test
Bearing Pressure

750mm plate
Correction for
moisture

Settlement
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Soil Strength Parameters Penetration Test
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
Standard Plunger (50mm dia) penetrates the specimen at
standard penetration rate (1.25mm/minute)
Soaked and
Selection of
Unsoaked test
Density and
moisture content Annular surcharge disc
for test
Specimen 152mm
dia, 127mm height
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Soil Strength Parameters Penetration Test
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
Load Applied

CBR = (Load Carried by the

specimen) / (load carried by
standard crushed stone
specimen) X 100
2.5 mm 6.895 MPa
5 mm 10.343 MPa
Penetration
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Soil Strength Parameters Penetration Test
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
2.5mm CBR value > 5mm CBR Value
Most Commonly used parameter for pavement design
Drawbacks empirical, fundamental behaviour not
evaluated, presence of coarse materials affects results
(>20mm)
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Soil Compaction
Soils with greater degree of compaction have greater
strength
Compaction reduces the possibility of settlement in an
embankment
It is normally desirable to compact the soils to the
maximum degree
The degree of compaction attainable varies with soil
The degree of compaction is a function of moisture
content and the compactive effort used.
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Soil Compaction
For a given soil and for a given compactive effort, there
is an optimum moisture content which yields maximum
density

Proctor Compaction Test

Variation of dry density with moisture evaluated to
determine optimum moisture content and the
corresponding maximum dry density
Soil specimens of a fixed volume are prepared
using a standard compaction effort (fixed number
of drops of a standard hammer)
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Soil Compaction

Max. Dry Density

Dry Density

OMC
Moisture content
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Soil Compaction
Standard Proctor Compaction Test
1000 cc mould volume, 2.6kg rammer dropped from
a height of 310mm, soil placed in 3 layers with each
layer being applied 25 blows of the rammer

Modified Proctor Compaction Test

1000 cc mould volume, 4.5kg rammer dropped from
a height of 457mm, soil placed in 5 layers with each
layer being applied 25 blows of the rammer
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Selection of Compaction effort and moisture
content for Tests

Representative of field conditions

New or existing pavements