MATERIAL AND PAVEMENT

Part 1

CONTENT

Soil Characteristic

Soil Characteristiccontd

Causes the disintegration of the rocks intoother smaller particle sizes by the action of forces the exe e.g Result of oxidation carbonation and chemical actions that decompose

Surface Texture

The texture of a soil can be described in terms of its

appearance, which depends mainly on the shapes and sizes of the soil particles and their distribution in the soil mass.
For example

-soils consisting mainly of silts and clays with very small particle sizes are nown as fine-textured soils, -soils consisting mainly of sands and gravel with much larger particles are nown as coarse-textured soils.

Basic Engineering Properties Of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties Of Soils..contd

Atterberg limits

Shrinkage imit !S "

!hen a saturated soil is slowly dried, the volume shrin s,

but the soil continues to contain moisture.

"ontinuous drying of the soil, however, will lead to a

moisture content at which further drying will not result in additional shrin age.
The volume of the soil will stay constant, and further

drying will be accompanied by air entering the voids.

The moisture content at which this occurs is the shrin age

limit, or #$, of the soil.

Plastic limit !P "

The plastic limit, or PL, is defined as the water content

that caused the soil to change from a plastic to a semisolid state.

i#$id imit !
the soil will flow Plasticity &ndex 'P&(

"

The li%uid limit, or $$, is defined as the moisture content at which

The range of moisture content over which the soil is in the plastic

state is the difference between the $$ and the P$ P& ) $$ * P$ !here,

$$ li%uid limit P& plasticity index P$ plastic limit

i#$id imit !

"..contd

AAS%TO Soil Classification S&stem

AAS%TO Soil Classification S&stem

&n general, the suitability of a soil deposit for use in

highway construction can be summarized as follows. 1. #oils classified as +-1-a, +-1-b, +-,--, +-,-., and +-/ can be used satisfactorily as subgrade or subbase material if properly drained. &n addition, such soils must be properly compacted and covered with an ade%uate thic ness of pavement 'base and0or surface cover( for the surface load to be carried.

,. 1aterials classified as +-,-2, +-,-3, +--, +-., +-2, +-3., and +-3-2 will re%uire a layer of subbase material if used as subgrade. &f these are to be used as emban ment materials, special attention must be given to the design of the emban ment. 3. !hen soils are properly drained and compacted, their value as subgrade material decreases as the 4& increases. For example, a soil with a 4& of zero 'an indication of a good subgrade material( will be better as a subgrade material than one with a 4& of ,5 'an indication of a poor subgrade material(.

#oils are evaluated within each group by using an empirical formula to

determine the group index '4&( of the soils,

given as

4& ) 'F - /.(65., 7 5.55.'$$ - -5(8 7 5.51'F - 1.('P&- 15(

!here

4& ) group index F ) percent of soil particles passing 5.53. mm '9o. ,55( sieve in whole number based on material passing 3. mm '/ in.( sieve $$ ) li%uid limit expressed in whole number P& ) plasticity index expressed in whole number