R. H.
BOWERING
B.Sc., M.I.C.E., M.I.E.Aust., Chief Bitumen Engineer, Mobil Oil Australia Limited
SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN
INTRODUCTION
1. The foamed bitumen process has
been in use in Australia for some three
years, during which many different
types of 'soil' have been upgraded to
serve as sub-base and base course pave-
ment layers.
2. This paper is intended to summar-
ise developments made in the process
itself and to comment on those aspects
of making and handling foam stabilised
pavement materials which have proved
signficant in ensuring good service per-
formance.
3. Foamed bitumen stabilisation is a
specialised section of the art of road-
building, being a single specific method
of incorporating one type of additive
(namely bitumen) into marginal quality
soils. Although it is a specialised tech-
nique, the wide range of soils for which
it is fitted gives it extensive and varied
areas of application. Other more con-
ventional systems for the introduction
of bitumen into soils involve major pre-
treatment of the bitumen, or the soil,
plus critical timing of the various stages
of construction.
4. The foam process allows neat bitu-
men to be thoroughly mixed into un-
treated cold damp soils to produce slow
curing mixtures with non-critical hand-
ling characteristics. The advantage of
being able to work the soil or aggregate
July, 1973
at moisture contents close to optimum
for compaction of the untreated soil,
without the need for time consuming
and costly aeration of the finished mix-
ture before compaction is obvious.
THE PROCESS
5. The incorporation of neat bitu-
men into cold damp soil is achieved
by temporarily increasing the volume
of the bitumen by injecting water into it
immediately before it is mixed into the
soil. The water 'foams' the hot bitu-
men to give a large volume (10 to 20
times the original liquid volume) of low
effective viscosity 'foam'. Instead of
needing to disperse some 4 per cent of
bitumen by volume of the loose soil
through the soil, one now has a mini-
mum of 40 per cent of low effective
viscosity 'foam'. This presents a much
easier problem of dispersion and one
which is well within standard mixer
capabilities.
6. The bitumen in the foamed state
has increased adhesive and penetrating
properties, but its life as 'foam' is limi-
ted. Once deflated it reverts to its orig-
inal properties and can only be effec-
tively used as 'foam' at the point of
mixing.
7. The actual stable life of the highly
expanded foam, is short and depends
on the degree of expansion achieved
35
 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN

and the volume being observed. Fig. 1 23 -

indicates the typical relationship be-

tween expansion and stability, or 'life', 18 -

of the foam. Good results in soil stab-

ilisation have been achieved using 16 -

foams of high expansion, say 10 to 20

times the original bitumen volume. 14-

Lower expansion foams than this tend

to cause 'balling up' of the fines with
unmixed bitumen.
0 o

8. Foam expansion, therefore, must

be carefully and accurately controlled.
This in turn hinges on accurate control
of the ratio between the water used to
produce foaming and the amount of
bitumen being foamed. Fig. 2 illustrates
this point by relating foam expansion
and water/bitumen ratio. This figure
would apply to one specific piece of 2
equipment only, but serves to illustrate
the typically small volumes of water
used in the process of actually foaming Fig. 2— Foam volume/water content

the bitumen. For example, for a 3 per

cent bitumen mixture, the water add-
ed to the finished mixture by the actual
foaming process is only 2 per cent of
18 3 per cent, or 0.06 per cent of the total
mix weight.
9. Soil to be stabilised should ideally
be brought to its 'fluff' point (moisture
12
content to yield maximum loose bulk
of soil) . However, experience shows
that in practice this moisture content
can be regarded as the lower limit for
mixing, and moisture contents can be
selected and used for mixing which en-
able full compaction of the mixture to
be achieved without further addition
of water. For marginal road-building
soils such moisture contents are gen-
2 erally in the area of 2 per cent to 4
per cent below the OMC for the un-
O
treated soil. Mixing is therefore usually
OM 1M 2M 3M 4 WI
carried out at the optimum compaction
(Time to decrease to V. of maximum loam e)
(Minutes) moisture content established in the lab-
Fig. 1— Foam volume/ 1/2 life (2 gallon container) oratory by testing the freshly mixed

36 Swan Hill Proceedings

 BOWERING - SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN

material as if it were simply another EQUIPMENT DEVELOPMENT

variety of gravel. 13. Equipment used in the process
10. The extended period of gravel-like comprises standard static pug-mills and
behaviour and handling properties mix in situ travel plants with outputs
shown by foamed bitumen soil mixtures from 30 tons/hour to 400 tons/hour,
is a useful characteristic assisting in modified by the addition of a foaming
easy and uniform compaction. In fact, system and bitumen storage, heating
all handling, placing and compaction of and pumping facilities. The latter must
such mixtures can be carried out as for be able to pump at a predetermined
gravel pavements. variable controlled rate. The foaming
11. Drying out during placing is mini- system originally adopted was that used
mised due to the presence of the bitu- in North America and Canada, and was
men in the mix, but should this occur, invented by Professor L. Csanyi of Iowa
ripping, re-watering and re-compaction State University. This consists of a
is possible for several days after mix- series of special nozzles which allow
ing. On completion of the compaction wet steam and hot bitumen to be
process some curing is essential before brought together at the nozzle tip.
covering with the succeeding layer or (Fig. 3). The system requires a steam
seal, since the mix does not gain design
strength immediately.
12. Curing consists of losing moisture
to the atmosphere and developing the
final bond between bitumen and soil
particles. This, of course, is progres-
sive from the top of the pavement layer
down, and takes time. Experience so
far indicates that an open curing period
of one or two weeks is sufficient to
allow curing to progress to a safe point
for covering the layer. After this the
mixtures continues to gain strength
steadily over several months and is
therefore gaining strength as its service
use, and its need for stronger proper-
ties, increase. The extent of each of
the three main factors affecting the rate
of curing (temperature, loss of moisture
and time) is not known, but in labor-
atory evaluation, where time is import-
ant, temperature has been used to
accelerate the curing of specimens for
testing. They have been oven-cured in
the moulds at 140 degrees Fahrenheit
for three days to produce an equilibrium
moisture content within the specimen
for these particular conditions. Fig. 3 — Foamed asphalt nozzle, 2 to 4 gal/min capacity

July, 1973 37
 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN

\/

Temp/ Pressure
Return Line to Tank
Controlled flow
of Bitumen

Water Supply
Check Valve

Water Injection Nozzle

Filter J
\/

Water flow \
LI Mixing Chamber
rate Controller.
(Variable settings)

Single, or Series of, Spray Nozzles

Fig. 4 — Values 'A' and 'B' are linked to operate simultaneously. Single lever or signal rotates both the dotted
positions to stop production of 'foam'. Foam quality is determined by adjustment of the water/bitumen
ratio. (A typical ratio is 2 per cent water.) Clear passageway, non-adjustable spray nozzles

supply to carry the water for foam pro-
duction to the nozzle tip. Nozzles have
an adjustable orifice for the bitumen
flow and a constant orifice for the wet
steam.
14. Flow rate and foam quality are
controlled by adjusting:
(a) the pressure of the two supply
streams, wet steam and hot bitu-
men, and
(b) the bitumen orifice setting in the
nozzle itself.
15. This system is currently being re-
placed in Australia by one designed,
developed and patented by Mobil Oil
Australia Limited, requiring less oper-
ator attention and skill, and eliminating
the entire steam system. The improved
system is shown diagramatically in Fig.
4. It uses fixed orifice open-type noz-
zles. The foam is made inside the
pipe-work before the spray bar, and
each nozzle automatically receives the
same quality foam at the same pres-
sure.

38 Swan Hill Proceedings

 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN
16. Control of foam quality and pro-
duction rate in this equipment is re-
duced to two operations:
(a) adjustment of water-flow rate, and
(b) adjustment of bitumen pressure or
flow-rate.
Because of the need in travel plants
to split the bitumen flow, and so keep
return lines hot, pressure has been used
to control the flow of bitumen. For
static plants with rigid bitumen pipe-
lines suitable for permanent controlled
heat tracing, the flow rate can be more
readily controlled by pump speed (posi-
tive displacement pumps) .
17. In this new system it has been
found that variations in the volume
expansion achieved in the foam have
a measurable effect on the foam noz-
zle discharge rate at any given bitu-
men pressure. Thus, although good
mixing can be obtained at various high
levels of foam volume expansion, it is
essential to calibrate and work the
equipment at a constant foam expan-
sion level in order to achieve good
quantity control. Since foam expan-
sion is directly related to the amount
of water used in producing it, quantity
control can be made very precise and
reliable in this type of plant by using
efficient flow rate control systems. This
radical simplification of the actual
method of foaming represents a major
development in the process in recent
years.
PROPERTIES OF FOAMED BITUMEN
STABILISED MIXES
18. One major characteristic of all
foamed bitumen mixtures is that they
handle, in the loose state, like a wet-
mix or normal granular pavement mat-
erial. However, the change in moisture
content during working, and the degree
July, 1973
of segregation, are diminished by the
presence of the bitumen, thus render-
ing the operation of placing and finish-
ing material much less critical with re-
gard to time and weather conditions.
As with other stabilisation practices, a
wide range of materials can be pro-
duced, depending on the untreated soil
selected.
19. A non-cohesive, uniformly graded
sand would produce an easily mixed and
easily handled strong base course, but
would be extremely difficult to finish
off for priming, as the curing at the
extreme surface will be too slow to pre-
vent progressive loosening, and the sand
itself could not prevent this occurring.
At the other end of the scale, graded
crusher products and pit run gravels
will generally possess sufficient inher-
ent strength to carry them through the
initial curing period without significant
displacement or movement of the sur-
face particles. This allows the stabil-
ised strength to develop undisturbed
right at the surface.
20. In the cured state, the mixtures
have a very different set of character-
istics. They are, in fact, low order
black bases and can be designed to give
high Marshall values (stabilities of 500
to 3,500, and flows from 6 to 18) .
21. The slow curing process provides
an extended working period for a poten-
tially strong material. Most mixes may
be disturbed and adjusted for moisture
density or shape up to one or two weeks
after production of the mixture. Den-
sities in the field of the order of 94 to
102 per cent modified maximum dry
density have been achieved using a con-
tractor's normal compaction plant. As
with other forms of stabilisation, full
compaction is essential to obtain the
benefits available from the additive.
39
 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN
Dry density is one of the main deter-
minants of the level of stiffness of the
finished pavement layer. A well-mixed
and compacted, foamed, bitumen stab-
ilised material possesses a high degree
of permanent cohesion throughout the
layer depth. This develops first and is
especially valuable immediately beneath
the seal, where it prevents loss of co-
hesion due to drying out which some-
times occurs in untreated gravels after
a period of service.
22. As mentioned above, the slow de-
velopment of the full strength of the
compacted mixtures necessitates the
use of artificially accelerated curing of
test specimens for laboratory evalu-
ation. Provided such curing is carried
out, any standard test procedure for
gravel will reflect the effect that varying
the amount of bitumen incorporated
will have on the material's perform-
ance. This allows the best or optimum
bitumen content to be established for
a given soil. It also allows an assess-
ment of the value of the compacted
cured mixture as a structural part of
a pavement, although further evidence
is needed from actual field perform-
ance before firm test limits can be fixed.
Evidence from the first three years'
work indicates that the tentative cri-
teria shown in TABLE I are adequate
for satisfactgry base courses under
single seal treatments.
23. Other tests used so far in estab-
lishing the strength of this type of mix-
ture are: Californian Bearing Ratio,
capillary absorption and the Marshall
Test. However, the volume of results
available is too small and the range
of these results too large to suggest
any special test limits for use speci-
fically with this type of material at this
stage.
40
TABLE I
CRITERIA FOR SATISFACTORY BASE
COURSES UNDER SINGLE SEAL TREATMENT
Unconfined compressive
strength (cured) 100 min.
Unconfined compressive
strength (cured and soaked) 75 min.
Free swell 0.03 in max.
Modified 'R' value (cured) 80 min.
Modified 'R' value (cured and 80 per cent
soaked) of cured
strength
Modified relative stability
(cured) 20 min.
Modified relative stability
(cured and exposed to mois-
ture vapour at 140 degrees
Fahrenheit) 15 min.
Cohesion (cured and exposed
to 140 degrees Fahrenheit
moisture vapour) 50 min.
24. Fig. 5 shows a typical set of test
results obtained using the test methods
referred to above and described in Mobil
Technical Bulletin No. 5. These test
procedures are based on the use of the
Hveem stabilometer and cohesiometer.
The effect of the addition of bitumen can
be traced on the individual property
graphs. The change in properties
caused by simulated adverse service
conditions is shown at the various bin-
der levels. This particular sand clay
had physical properties as shown in
TABLE II in the untreated state. One
peculiarity of this type of mixture is its
ability to retain a portion of the added
bitumen, securely held in the 'fines'
of the material, even after nor-
mal extraction procedures have been
carried out. This results in the grading
of the washed soil (after extraction)
showing a measurable decrease in minus
200 mesh sized particles. These have
been shown under the microscope to be
securely bonded into irregular, surface-
shaped, sand-sized particles. Measure-
ments taken on the materials stabilised
Swan Hill Proceedings
 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN

Cured

Cohesion (f/gms)
100
-4r
80
O
O
60
Cured and Soaked

CC
40
A
- Cured and exposed
20 to 140° F. Moisture
Vapour 3 days
O

Permeability (mis in 24 hrs)

500
Relative stability %

80- Cured 400-

60 300-

40- "74 200

Cured and exposed

20 - 100-
to 140° F. Moisture
Vapour 3 days
O o

250-'
Swell (ins 10 /24hrs)

1000 -
C Cured
a' 800 - I 200-
3

600 - 150-
2
a'
a 400 Cured and Soaked 100-
E
O
0
200- 50-
g
0
0
C O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

% Bitumen (by dry wt. of soil)

Fig. 5—Sample no. 131, description: sand clay, dry density at 5 percent MC untreated is 128 pcf, dry density
at 5 percent treated is 130 pcf

TABLE II
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A PARTICULAR SAND CLAY IN THE UNTREATED STATE

Liquid limit 20.9 Plasticity index 8.2

Plastic limit 12.7 Linear shrinkage 2.5

Particle size distribution:

Sieve size (BS) 7 14 36 100 200 0.0135u
Per cent wt passing 100 97 59 30 20 13

July, 1973 41
 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN
on one sand/loam foamed bitumen
stabilisation job showed a decrease in
percentage of particles passing the 200
mesh sieve from 15 per cent before
stabilisation to 4 per cent after stabil-
isation and standard extraction proced-
ure.
25. Bitumen extraction for control pur-
poses should therefore be carried out
using samples of mixture taken immed-
iately after mixing and still in the loose
state. Extraction should be carried out
without delay. Monitoring the bitumen
volume used, against weighed or meas-
ured volume of mix produced, appears
to be a more accurate system for field
control.
SUITABILITY OF SOIL TYPES
26. The process is suited for use with
soils requiring improved cohesion, or
waterproofing of water-susceptible
fines. In either case this treatment re-
sults in a change in 'stiffness' of the
material layer, and hence in load
spreading ability.
27. Perhaps the best indicator reflect-
ing this, apart from repetitive load test
results, is the 'measured cohesion' of
the finished mixture, which defines the
tensile property of material. It is ob-
tained by clamping one half of the test
specimen securely and applying a bend-
ing moment to the other half in a stan-
dard apparatus at 140 degree Fahren-
heit.
28. The results of this test have been
used as a basis for establishing layer
equivalency of materials. Using the
Californian approach to design of com-
posite pavements (Highways Research
Board Record No. 37) one obtains a
range of gravel equivalents (thickness
of good granular pavement material
equivalent to 1 in of the stabilised or
42
TABLE III
GRAVEL EQUIVALENTS FOR COHESION
VALUES MEASURED FOR FOAMED
BITUMEN MIXTURES
Measured cohesion Gravel equivalent
100 1.00
200 1.12
300 1.25
400 1.32
500 1.38
600 1.43
700 1.48
treated material) from 1.0 to 1.48 for
the range of cohesion values measured
for foamed bitumen stabilised mixtures
(see TABLE III) .
29. Cohesions used should be those
obtained from specimens which have
been subjected to exposure to moisture
vapour. The resulting factors should
only be applied to layers of 4 to 5 in
thickness or greater. It can be seen
that soils lacking reasonable levels of
cohesion, or possessing cohesion of a
type too readily lost if the moisture
content changes, are particularly suit-
able for strengthening by this process.
30. The process does not effectively
coat coarse particles above sand sizes
and so is not well suited to treating
clean coarse, open-graded materials.
31. At the other end of the scale, soils
with large (say greater than 30 per
cent) percentages passing the 200
mesh sieve and/or high plasticity (say
greater than 15) , generally require a
large quantity of bitumen to coat the
large surface area. By the time ade-
quate waterproofing of the fines is
achieved, this quantity is usually high
enough to result in loss of stability in
the finished mixture.
32. The soils for which foam is most
effective and economic as a modifier
Swan Hill Proceedings
 BOWERING - SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN
DISCUSSIONS

range from low plasticity sand clays
through sands and sandy gravels to pit-
run, natural gravels and crushed pro-
ducts containing adequate natural fine
sand and filler to ensure thorough dis-
persion and mixing of the bitumen. Of
these, the cleaner sands may require
addition of some filler, both to promote
good mixing and to increase the 'stiff-
ness' of the mix still further. The fil-
ler in this situation will result in a
stronger mix than can otherwise be
obtained for a given grade of bitumen,
due probably to its effect on the binder.
The stiffness of the binder in its service
situation has been shown to be a major
factor in determining stiffness of the
mix and hence load spreading ability of
the pavement layer.
33. Problems have been found in pro-
ducing good, intimate, well-coated
mixes from some particular sands. It
is not known to what extent this is
due to particle shape, particle surface
characteristics, mineral type or contam-
inating salts. However, the addition of
filler has improved the test results in
some of these cases. At present there
appears to be little alternative to test-
ing each material with actual foam in
the laboratory, even though sand of
similar grading may have performed
well from other sources.
CONCLUSION
34. The foaming of bitumen provides
a practical and effective method of pro-
ducing intimate, soil/bitumen mixtures
at low cost. The mixtures produced
over the past three years in Australia
have performed well in a wide variety
of situations from car parking areas to
main roads, functioning as various lay-
ers from improved subgrades to base
courses.

DISCUSSIONS

K. ALTMANN
Country Roads Board, Victoria

35. In his paper, Mr Bowering makes several statements which require

verification by testing or further clarification by him. He states that
`drying out is minimised due to the presence of bitumen in the mix' and
that, 'it (bitumen) prevents loss of cohesion due to drying out'. I do not
dispute either of these statements but wish to indicate the relevance of
these to practical achievement of adequate curing in the field.
36. Curing, if successful in lowering the initial compacted moisture con-
tent, will usually result in a strength gain in the stabilised material when
tested at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. However, if for reasons related to
either the excellent moisture retention property stated above, the material
grading or prevailing weather, no significant moisture loss occurs during
curing, the stabilised material is likely to be weaker than the unstabilised
material. This trend has been fairly general on materials tested by the
Country . Roads Board and which are being used in conditions which appar-
ently prevent adequate curing.
July, 1973 43
 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN
DISCUSSIONS/AUTHOR'S CLOSURE

37. The use of foamed bitumen stabilisation is questioned except under

the following conditions.
(a) Mild to hot, drying weather for construction, and a relatively open
graded material, e.g., sand, which has the possibility of achieving a
low moisture content by curing under field conditions.
(b) The use of bitumen for waterproofing or moisture retention in wet
and dry areas respectively.
(c) To provide a degree of cohesion in a low cohesion non-plastic material
which may otherwise present construction and performance difficul-
ties.
38. Mr Bowering also claims that 'after this (curing) , the mixture con-
tinues to gain strength steadily over several months and it is therefore
gaining strength as its service use and its need for stronger properties
increase'.
39. Assuming that the strength gain is only due to the intrinsic pro-
perties of the bitumen stabilised material, what evidence is there to sup-
port this assertion, and to what materials and conditions can it be applied?
Furthermore, is the strength gain significant?
R. SCOTT
Carrathool Shire, New South Wales

40. What limitations has the author found in treating various materials,
that is, which materials don't you think suitable for this treatment?

AUTHOR'S CLOSURE
To K. G. ALTMANN
41. The author is basically in agreement with all but one of the views
given in Mr Altmann's first question, the exception being the view ex-
pressed that if curing does not occur then 'the stabilised material is likely
to be weaker than the unstabilised material'. The stabilised materials
produced by the foam process so far, including those referred to in the
question, have performed well, even in pavements where the recommended
amount of curing may not have been achieved. This suggests that any
performance defect that may occur due specifically to partial curing in the
initial construction phase, is a long term phenomenon, and in fact may
not be very significant.
42. As the questioner points out, the benefits of bitumen as a stabilising
agent lie in the fields of waterproofing and providing permanent high
levels of cohesion. Increases in the cohesion value due to the level of bitu-
men are usually accompanied by decreases in shear strength. Whether the
effect of one outweighs the effect of the other in determining ultimate
pavement performance depends largely on the physical charactristics of
the untreated material, and is part of the business of assessing the suit-

44 Swan Hill Proceedings

 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN
AUTHOR'S CLOSURE

ability of a soil for use in the process. However, if the specific test pro-
cedure selected predominantly reflects shear strength, then addition of
bitumen to a moist soil is certainly likely to give results indicating 'weak-
ening'. Similarly, tests reflecting tensile strength will, for the same
material and bitumen addition, indicate strengthening. The term 'weaker',
when applied to material test results, therefore requires considerable
qualification before being used in predicting variations in the performance
characteristics of a pavement material. In the case of foam stabilised
pavement materials, some decrease in shear strength can usually be
tolerated due to the more significant increases in other properties which
also occur; cohesion and impermeability.
43. Whilst unable to offer conclusive evidence on the precise effects
which variations and curing will have on pavement performance, the
author is encouraged by the continued good performance of the growing
number of these pavements (now up to three years old) and trusts that
further measurements will be made on these pavements in an effort to
further define their performance, and so improve the selection of suitable
design test methods.
44. The statement prompting Mr Altmann's second question was based
on a very limited number of cone penetrometer tests plus reported Ben-
kelman beam tests, both of which indicate progressive gain in strength
curing the early service life of the stabilised pavements. This appears to
be in line with the view that the stiffness of the binder is a major determin-
ant of the stiffness of the finished pavement layer. Hence ageing, espec-
ially early ageing of the bitumen, could be expected to affect overall per-
formance level. The amount of data available to date on gain in strength
with ageing is statistically insignificant and the question posed offers con-
siderable scope for researchers in the field.
To R. SCOTT
45. The limitations found in treating materials with foamed bitumen are
both economic and physical. On the physical side, it has been found diffi-
cult or impossible to produce good quality mixes from either clean,
coarsely graded materials or, on the other extreme, from very fine or
highly plastic materials. Three problems occur:
(a) difficulty in pulverising the untreated material,
(b) production of a very strong clay mass when water and bitumen are
added with attendant problems in obtaining a uniform mixture, and
(c) loss of stability in the finished material due to the very high percentage
of bitumen needed by some of the finer materials in order to coat the
extremely large surface area.
46. The materials then considered unsuitable for modification by this
process are those materials having greater than 30 per cent particles
passing the 200 mesh sieve and/or elasticities greater than 15, and clean
coarse graded aggregates with less than say 5 per cent particles passing
the 200 mesh sieve. The latter, although not producing good quality mix,
July, 1973 45
 BOWERING — SOIL STABILISATION WITH FOAMED BITUMEN
AUTHOR'S CLOSURE

does benefit to some extent by virtue of the 'fixing' effect of the very well
distributed minute particles of bitumen, even though the sand or aggregate
particles themselves have not been effectively coated. This type of bene-
fit does not show up in normal test procedure results but pavements of
this type already constructed show no signs of distress after two to
three years of traffic. Finishing of this type of mixture is extremely diffi-
cult, usually requiring a skin of some superior quality material to prevent
continual loosening of the top in during preparation. In this type of
mixture the 'foam' appears to be merely a placing aid.

46 Swan Hill Proceedings