EXPANSIVE BEHAVIOR OF SUBGRADE SOILS IN ARID AREAS

Crushed cemented sand from arid areas has been used as a road base material in highway construction in Kuwait owing to the lack of good granular soils. Following several problems of pavement heave and cracking and of ground floor slabs placed on those soils, an extensive laboratory testing program was carried out on samples from six sites to examine the causes of those problems and to focus on suitable remedial measures. The program consisted of classification tests, chemical and mineralogical analysis, swelling tests in the consolidation apparatus, and CBR tests. The tests were performed on crushed or remolded soils and on the fines and coarse fractions separately. Test results indicated that several environmental factors have contributed to the high swell potential: the low natural moisture content, large placement density, soil disturbance owing to the breaking of cementation bonds, and the presence of large amounts of fines in the soil matrix. Swelling increased sharply as the percent of fines exceeded 35%, although the clay minerals were rather scarce in the fines and the plasticity index was below 20 for all soils. Hydrated lime was found to be effective as an additive in reducing the swelling potential of the local soils and in increasing their bearing capacity.

• Record URL:
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• Record URL:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1288, Geotechnical Engineering 1990. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Ismael, Nabil F
  • Jeragh, A M
  • Mollah, M A
  • Al-Khalidi, O
• Publication Date: 1990

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 88-98
• Monograph Title: Geotechnical engineering 1990 - soils, geology and foundations
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1288
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Arid land; Bearing capacity; Calcium hydroxide; California bearing ratio; Chemical analysis; Density; Environmental impacts; Fines (Materials); Laboratory tests; Mineralogy; Moisture content; Pavement cracking; Plasticity index; Reduction (Chemistry); Sand; Subgrade (Pavements); Swelling; Testing; Tests
• Uncontrolled Terms: Heaving; Increase
• Geographic Terms: Kuwait
• Old TRIS Terms: Arid region; Cbr testing; Reduction; Swell test; Test results
• Subject Areas: Environment; Geotechnology; Highways; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00607754
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309050642
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 30 1991 12:00AM