Characterization of Cement-Polymer-Treated Soils under Repeated Loading
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 4
Abstract
The mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (M-EPDG) recommends the use of resilient modulus () for characterization of subgrade soils. Subgrade soils may not always have enough strength and stiffness to support the pavement structure. Therefore, a certain type of soil improvement method using cement, lime, or other stabilization techniques is often needed to enhance the strength and stiffness properties of weak subgrade soils. The cement-stabilized soils show brittle behavior under compression loading, which can induce cracking in overlying pavement layers. In general, polymer-treated soils show a semiductile or ductile behavior. It is important to look for combined cement and polymer treatments to address brittle behavior issues as well as moisture susceptibility while maintaining strength and moduli properties. A research study was conducted to understand the strength, resilient, and ductile behaviors of sandy soils treated with cement and a combination of cement and vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) copolymer. Engineering tests such as unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and resilient modulus tests were conducted on both control and treated soil specimens cured for 7 days. Tests were conducted on specimens before and after immersing in water bath for 4 h to investigate the moisture susceptibility. In these tests, an increase in UCS was observed after cement and cement-VAE treatments as compared to control soil specimens. Results showed that cement-VAE-treated soils exhibited an increase in the axial strain at failure, indicating the semiductile behavior compared to cement-treated specimens. An improvement in the resilient moduli was observed after treatments. Subsequently, two of three-parameter models were used to analyze resilient modulus formulations with stress conditions and determined the regression constants. In conclusion, the study revealed that the use of VAE copolymer improved the stress-strain responses of cement-treated soils and imparted closer to the semiductile behavior, which will reduce cracking in overlying pavement structures.
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Data Availability Statement
All data generated or used during the study appear in the form of figures and tables in the published article. Some or all data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi for granting the funds for Research project #W912HZ 20P0090. Also, the authors would also like to acknowledge Mr. Zoheb Faisal, a graduate student for his help during experimental works.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 4 • April 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 1, 2023
Accepted: Sep 13, 2023
Published online: Jan 26, 2024
Published in print: Apr 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jun 26, 2024
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