27/4/2015

TOPICS
EAT 360
HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION
ENGINEERING
MATERIALS AND PAVEMENTS
(Soil Engineering)

Soil characteristics
Basic engineering properties of soils
Classification of soils for highway use
Soil surveys for highway construction
Soil compaction
California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test

LECTURER : MR. ZUHAYR BIN MD. GHAZALY

H/P : 014-7170838

INTRODUCTION

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

Soil properties - importance when a highway is to

carry high traffic volumes with a large percentage
of trucks.
Importance when high embankments - constructed
and when the soil is to be strengthened and used
as intermediate support for the highway pavement.
Origin and formation of soils, soil identification, and
soil testing methods.

Origin, formation, grain size, and shape.

Loose mass of mineral and organic materials that
cover the solid crust of granitic and basaltic rocks of
the earth.
Weathering and other geologic processes that
occur on the surface of the solid rock at or near the
surface of the earth.
Physical and chemical actions, mainly due to
atmospheric factors that change the structure and
composition of the rocks.

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS (CONT.)

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS (CONT.)

Physical weathering - the disintegration of the rocks

into smaller particle sizes by the action of forces
exerted on the rock.
Chemical weathering - result of oxidation,
carbonation, and other chemical actions that
decompose the minerals of the rocks.
Residual soils - weathered in place and are located
directly above the original material from which they
were formed.
Transported soils - moved by water, wind, glaciers,
and so forth, and are located away from their
parent materials.

The texture of a soil - mainly on the shapes and sizes

of the soil particles and their distribution in the soil
mass.
The individual particles of fine-textured soils invisible to the naked eye, whereas those of coarsetextured soils - visible to the naked eye.
The distribution of particle size in soils - sieve analysis
on a soil sample if the particles are sufficiently large.
For soils containing particle sizes smaller than the
lower limit, the hydrometer analysis is used.

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BASIC ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF SOILS

BASIC ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF SOILS (CONT.)

Influence their behaviour when subjected to

external loads.
Three-phase systems that consist of air, water, and
solids.

Porosity, n
Void Ratio, e
Moisture Content, w
Degree of Saturation, S
Density of Soil,
Specific Gravity of Soil Particles

BASIC ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF SOILS (CONT.)

BASIC ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF SOILS (CONT.)

Atterberg limits - water content levels at which the

soil changes from one state to the other.
Shrinkage limit (SL), plastic limit (PL), and liquid limit
(LL).

Permeability - how water flows through the soil coefficient of permeability (K).
Relationship between the flow velocity and the
hydraulic gradient between two points in the soil.
Shear Strength - depends on the cohesion and the
angle of internal friction - type of soil.
Triaxial test, the unconfined compression test, or the
direct shear test.

CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS FOR HIGHWAY USE

CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS FOR HIGHWAY USE

Systematically categorized according to their

probable engineering characteristics.
Identifying suitable subbase materials and
predicting the probable behavior of a soil when
used as subgrade material.
Most commonly used classification system for
highway purposes; AASHTO.

AASHTO Soil Classification System

o based on the Public Roads Classification System.
o determining the relative quality of soils for use in
embankments, subgrades, subbases, and bases.
o seven groups, A-1 through A-7, with several subgroups, as
shown in Table 17.1.
o classification of a given soil is based on its particle size
distribution, LL, and PI.
o group index (GI) of the soils;

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CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS FOR HIGHWAY USE

CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS FOR HIGHWAY USE

Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
o developed during World War II for use in airfield
construction.
o modified several times to obtain the current version which
also can be applied to other types of construction such as
dams and foundations.
o the system classifies coarse-grained soils - grain size
characteristics and
fine-grained
soils - plasticity
characteristics.

CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS FOR HIGHWAY USE

CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS FOR HIGHWAY USE

SOIL SURVEY FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

Investigation of the soil characteristics on the
highway route and the identification of suitable soils
for use as subbase and fill materials.
First step - collection of existing information on the
soil characteristics of the area in which the highway
is to be located. (geological and agricultural soil
maps, existing aerial photographs)
Obtain and investigate enough soil samples along
the highway route - identify the boundaries of the
different types of soils so that a soil profile can be
drawn. (Auger boring or from test pits for laboratory
testing)

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SOIL SURVEY FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

SOIL SURVEY FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

(CONT.)

(CONT.)
Geophysical Methods of Soil Exploration
o Resistivity and seismic methods.
o Resistivity method - the difference in electrical conductivity
or resistivity of different types of soils.
o An electrical field is produced in the ground by means of
two current electrodes and the potential drop between the
two intermediate or potential electrodes is then recorded.
o Data for the soil profile are obtained by moving the
electrode along the center line of the proposed highway.

SOIL SURVEY FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

SOIL SURVEY FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

(CONT.)

(CONT.)
o Seismic method - identify the location of rock profiles or
dense strata underlying softer materials.
o Inducing impact or shock waves into the soil. (either striking
a plate located on the surface with a hammer or
exploding small charges in the soil)
o Listening devices known as geophones then pick up the
shock waves.
o The time lapse of the wave traveling to the geophone calculate the velocity of the wave in the surface soil.
o Some of the shock waves can be made to pass from the
surface stratum into underlying layers and then back into
the surface stratum by moving the shock point away from
the geophone.

SOIL SURVEY FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

SOIL SURVEY FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

(CONT.)

(CONT.)

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SOIL COMPACTION

SOIL COMPACTION (CONT.)

Proper compaction of the soil will reduce

subsequent settlement and volume change to a
minimum - enhancing the strength of the
embankment or subbase.
Achieved in the field by using hand-operated
tampers, sheepsfoot rollers, rubber-tired rollers, or
other types of rollers.
Maximum
dry
density
achieved
through
compaction.
At low moisture content, the soil particles are not
lubricated - friction between adjacent particles
prevents the densification of the particles.

SOIL COMPACTION (CONT.)

SOIL COMPACTION (CONT.)

SOIL COMPACTION (CONT.)

SOIL COMPACTION (CONT.)

Field Compaction Equipment

o two main categories ; spreading the material to the desired
layer or lift thickness - compact each layer of material.
o Spreading equipment - spreading of the material to the
required thickness is done by bulldozers and motor graders.
(Figure 17.14)
o Compacting equipment - rollers are used for field
compaction and apply either a vibrating force or an
impact force on the soil. (Figure 17.15)
o The equipment used - depend on the size of the project.

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SOIL COMPACTION (CONT.)

California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test

Special soil tests that are sometimes undertaken to
determine the strength or supporting value of a
given soil.
Determination of the load-deformation curve of the
soil - standard CBR testing equipment.
Samples of soil compacted to required standards immersed in water for four days - samples are
loaded with a surcharge that simulate the
estimated weight of pavement material the soil will
support.
Determine the relative strength of a soil with respect
to crushed rock.

California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test (CONT.)

California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test (CONT.)

It does not correctly simulate the shearing forces
imposed on subbase and subgrade materials as
they support highway pavements.

EXAMPLE
The table shows results obtained from a standard
AASHTO compaction test on six samples, 4 in.
diameter, of a soil to be used as fill for a highway.
Calculate the maximum dry density and the
optimum moisture content of the soil.