Abstract
The California bearing ratio (CBR) value greatly influences the strength characteristics of soil subgrade, hence, is an important parameter to understand the soil behavior pertinent to pavement design. The CBR value, along with the empirical curves, is used to determine the thickness of a pavement and its component layers, thus aiding in the design of flexible pavements. If the naturally occurring local soil subgrade has low strength in terms of CBR and poor engineering properties, improved soil subgrade has to be provided by way of lime/cement treatment or by mixing locally available cheap alternative materials or by mechanical stabilization and other similar techniques. In the present study, an attempt has been made to review the soil behavior in terms of CBR characteristics for two methods of soil properties enhancement, viz. addition of lime and rice husk ash to soil and the method of improvement of soil subgrade overlain by compacted fly ash with geotextile at soil–fly ash interface. Using the data obtained from the review study, design of a bituminous pavement with granular base and sub-base layers and an alternative pavement with RAP layer with CTSB sub-base have also been attempted using the IRC 37:2018 guidelines and IITPAVE software to find out the adequacy of the two subgrade improvement methods with respect to reduction in pavement thicknesses. Further, some design charts have also been developed for the stabilized soil subgrades for traffic intensities of 5, 15, 30, 50, 80 and 100 msa for both pavement types.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chakraborty S (2014) Some studies on improvement of soft soil by stabilization with different materials for use in sub-grade of flexible pavement. PhD Thesis, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Sengupta A, Mukherjee S, Ghosh A (2017) Improvement of bearing ratio of clayey subgrade using compacted flyash layer. Geotech Geol Eng 35(4):1885–1894
Vorobieff G, Murphy G (2003) A new approach to pavement design using lime stabilized subgrades. In: Proceedings of 21st Australian road research board conference, pp 1–10
Siddique A, Rajbongshi B (2005) An analytical study on design and analysis of stabilized rural roads. Proc Eastern Asia Soc Transport Studies 5(8):13–28
Ziari H, Khabiri MM (2007) Interface condition influence on prediction of flexible pavement life. J Civil Eng Manage 1(7):1–6
Ekwulo EO, Eme DB (2009) Fatigue and rutting strain analysis of flexible pavements designed using CBR methods. African J Environ Sci Technol 3(4):12–21
Bagui SK (2012) Pavement design for low volume roads using cement and lime treated base. Jordan J Civil Eng 6(3):293–303
Selvi P (2015) Fatigue and rutting strain analysis on lime stabilized subgrades to develop a pavement design chart. Transp Geotech 2:86–98
IRC: 37–2018: Guidelines for the design of flexible pavements, (Fourth revision)
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the cooperation and contribution of Dr. Ashimanta Sengupta and Dr. Saibal Chakraborty. Sincere thanks are also extended to colleagues and staff of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering Division of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, for their constant encouragement and help in conducting the experiments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mukherjee, S., Ghosh, P. Soil Behavior and Characterization: Effect of Improvement in CBR Characteristics of Soil Subgrade on Design of Bituminous Pavements. Indian Geotech J 51, 567–582 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-021-00533-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-021-00533-8