Advanced characterisation of cement-stabilised lateritic soils to be used as road materials

ABSTRACT

Laterites or lateritic soils are located in tropical and subtropical regions. Identifying the conditions under which these local materials could be used as part of road infrastructure projects is particularly critical in regions where high-quality unbound aggregates are limited or unavailable. Previous works conducted on this material have suggested that hydraulic cement stabilisation improves its properties, making it suitable for the construction of low-volume roads. This work investigates the impact of cement stabilisation at three different doses (i.e. 2, 4 and 6% by weight of soil) on a Colombian laterite granular material located in the Orinoquia region. The study included the characterisation of the basic properties of this laterite (e.g. gradation, Atterbergh limits, specific gravity and Los Angeles abrasion test), and the advanced characterisation of the cement-stabilised material through the determination of its resilient modulus at different partial saturation conditions, and its compressive and tensile strengths. The impact of stabilisation was further studied through the determination of the mechanical properties and fatigue degradation of cement-stabilised lateritic mortars, which were fabricated at equivalent cement doses and tested under torsional conditions using a rheometer. The results suggest that cement stabilisation at doses ranging between 2 and 6% by weight of soil efficiently improves the mechanical properties of this laterite, allowing its used as part of low- and eventually medium-volume roads.

KEYWORDS:

• Laterite
• lateritic soils
• cement-stabilisation
• laterite mortars
• low-volume roads

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the funding provided by Gobernación del Vichada, through contract 069-2014, which was used to develop most of the experimental testing presented in this work. The authors also appreciate the funding provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research at Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) through the call for proposals “Research Program 2012”. The contents of this work are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the any of the sponsor institutions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Gobernación del Vichada Contract 069-2014 and by the Office of the Vice President for Research at Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) Research Program 2012.