Effect of fines on the drying crack resistance of composite soil stabiliser-stabilised gravel soil

Abstract

The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of fines on the drying crack resistance of composite soil stabiliser-stabilised gravel soil (CSSSGS) using the following laboratory tests: indirect tensile strength (ITS), indirect tensile resilient modulus (ITRM), and drying shrinkage (DS). The indirect tensile failure strain (ITFS), which was calculated according to the ITS and ITRM, was used to replace the direct tensile failure strain (DTFS). The DS energy anti-cracking coefficient (DSEAC) and the ratio of ITFS to DS strain (R_ID) were used to estimate the crack resistance of CSSSGS with varying fines contents. This study showed that the values of these two indices decreased with the increase in fines content and water loss time, indicating that fines content and water loss adversely affect the crack resistance of CSSSGS.

Keywords:

• base course
• composite soil stabiliser
• gravel soil
• fines
• drying crack resistance

Acknowledgements

All the authors of the following references are much appreciated.

Abbreviations

CFLSM	=	Cement-fly ash-lime-stabilised macadam
CSSSGS	=	Composite soil stabiliser-stabilised gravel soil
DS	=	Drying shrinkage
DSEAC DS	=	energy anti-cracking coefficient
DTFS	=	Direct tensile failure strain
DTS	=	Direct tensile strength
GC	=	Clayey gravel
IDT	=	Indirect tensile test
ITFS	=	Indirect tensile failure strain
ITRM	=	Indirect tensile resilient modulus
ITS	=	Indirect tensile strength
LFSM	=	Lime-fly ash-stabilised macadam
MDD	=	Maximum dry density
OMC	=	Optimum moisture content
RID	=	Ratio of ITFS to DS strain
RH	=	Relative humidity
UCS	=	Unconfined compressive strength

ORCID

Yulong Zhao http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9615-4623

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 51108081].