AN INVESTIGATION OF CRACKING IN SOIL-CEMENT BASES FOR ROADS

LABORATORY AND PILOT SCALE STUDIES WERE MADE OF SOME FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE CRACK SPACING IN SOIL-CEMENT BASES. TWO LENGTHS OF PILOT SCALE SOIL-CEMENT BASE WERE CURED FOR 7 AND 11 DAYS RESPECTIVELY BEFORE WHEEL LOADS WERE APPLIED. A THIRD CONTROL-LENGTH OF SOIL-CEMENT BASE WAS LEFT UNTRAFFICKED. FROM MEASUREMENTS OF TENSILE STRENGTH, SHRINKAGE AND SUBGRADE RESTRAINT, THE CRACK SPACING THAT SHOULD OCCUR IN THE UNTRAFFICKED LENGTH WAS ESTIMATED. A SIMILAR CRACK SPACING WAS OBSERVED IN THE EXPERIMENT. THE CRACKING IN THE OTHER TWO LENGTHS WAS MORE EXTENSIVE AND WAS RELATED TO THE TIME THAT HAD ELAPSED BEFORE THE WHEEL LOADS WERE FIRST APPLIED. THE CRACK SPACING IN THESE LENGTHS WAS SIMILAR TO THE SPACING WHICH HAS BEEN OBSERVED IN THIS TYPE OF BASE IN THE FIELD, AND WHICH IS USUALLY ATTRIBUTED TO SHRINKAGE STRESSES. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE CRACK SPACING IN SOIL-CEMENT BASES IS CONTROLLED BY THEIR STRENGTH AT THE TIME TRAFFIC IS FIRST ADMITTED. A KNOWLEDGE OF THE SHRINKAGE, STRENGTH, STIFFNESS AND SUBGRADE RESTRAINT OF SOIL- CEMENT BASES SHOULD ENABLE CRACK SIZE AND SPACING TO BE CONTROLLED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OPERATION. /RRL(A)/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Rrl Report LR 379, 25 PP, 5 FIG, 4 TAB, 7 PHOT, 13 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  Road Research Laboratory /UK

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Bofinger, H E
  • Sullivan, G A
• Publication Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Base course (Pavements); Cracking; Shrinkage; Soil cement; Soil cement tests; Spacing; Stiffness; Strength of materials; Stresses; Subgrade (Pavements); Tensile strength; Testing; Wheel loads
• Old TRIS Terms: Bases; Shrinkage cracks
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00232351
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Road Research Laboratory /UK
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 1 1971 12:00AM