archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 622–629

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Original Research Article

Parametric study on cement treated aggregate panel

under impact load

Saima Ali a, Xuemei Liu a,*, David Thambiratnam a, Sabrina Fawzia a,

Yuantong Gu b, Jun Wu c, Alex Remennikov d
a
School of Civil Engineering & Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001
Australia
b
School of Chemistry, Physics & Mechanical Engineering in Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001
Australia
c
College of Urban Railway Transportation, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 200336, China
d
School of Civil, Mining & Environmental Engineering, Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia

article info abstract

Article history: The cement treated aggregate (CTA) is increasingly used as base or sub-base layer for pavement
Received 15 June 2017 to withstand various traffic and dynamic loads. Under extreme events, the CTA layer of the
Accepted 3 October 2017 pavement is expected to absorb significant amount of impact energies subjected to different
Available online loading conditions including accidents, mobile vehicles, heavy aircrafts, machinery, or even
terrorist attack. However, no research has been found on the resistance of CTA under drop
Keywords: weight impact load. To fill up this gap, a detailed study was carried out to investigate the impact
Cement treated aggregate resistance of CTA under impact loading through both experimental and finite element analysis
Deflection (FEA). Moreover, detailed parametric studies were carried out based on the validated model to
Drop weight determine the significance of selected key parameters on the impact resistance of CTA.
Impact © 2017 Politechnika Wrocławska. Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.
Finite element analysis

It is used as the stabilized base over the sub-base layer or

1. Introduction
Cement treated material such as like cement treated aggregate
(CTA) has been extensively used for infrastructure construc-
tions such as road, pavement and runway. Generally, 6–12%
cement of the total mix is added in the mix of cement treated
aggregate. Crushed gravel is usually used and sufficient water
(water cement ratio around 0.5) is used during the mixing of
cement treated aggregate. The recommended ranges of
aggregate sizes of CTA mix and proportion is given in Fig. 1.
directly the subgrade layer of roadway and runway pavement
[1]. One of the main reasons of preparing bound or treated base
layer is to reduce the thickness of the base layer in pavement
[2]. However, the increase in thickness of CTA layer is effective
in reducing the surface deflection of pavement [3]. Numerous
research investigations were carried out to explore the
properties and behaviour of such introduced treated material.
For example, Lim and Zollinger [4] conducted unconfined
uniaxial compression tests on cement treated base material
and measured compressive strength and modulus of elasticity

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: x51.liu@qut.edu.au (X. Liu).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2017.10.002
1644-9665/© 2017 Politechnika Wrocławska. Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 622–629
Fig. 1 – Gradation curve of aggregates.
of few mixtures. Furthermore, Lim and Zollinger [4] developed
a single equation to establish a relationship between the
compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of the mixture
which was not dependent on the aggregate types or sizes.
Furthermore, field investigation using several devices was
carried out by Guthrie [5] to measure the early-age strength of
cement stabilized material.
Again, Davis et al. [6] identified the significance of
components of CTA in varying its compressive strength. Davis
et al. [6] found the effect of mineralogy and pH of the aggregate
and also the fine content as significant in increasing the
compressive strength of CTA mixture. Xuan et al. [7] reviewed
the influence of components of CTA on tensile strength of CTA
where the tensile strength was in correlation with compres-
sive strength. Few research works were also conducted to
study the influence of the cement content and coarse
aggregate content in the CTA mix to improve the properties
of CTA base layer. For instances, Wang et al. [8] found the
minimum shrinkage when 3–4% cement was used in the CTA
mix. Shrinkage of CTA was found to increase with the increase
of cement content and consequently the probability of the
cracking increases [8–10]. Li-qun and Ai-min [11] also inferred
that large amount of coarse aggregate in the CTA mix is
favourable in reducing the shrinkage. However, excessive
coarse aggregate content reduces the optimum moisture
content and thereby reduce the compressive strength of
cement treated aggregate. Moreover, studies [12,13] were also
carried out to understand the effect of using recycled aggregate
in CTA mix and effectiveness was found in enhancing the
mechanical properties of CTA by introducing recycled aggre-
gate. On the other hand, the use of crushed clay brick as
aggregate in the CTA mix was found to reduce the compressive
strength and tensile strength of the mix [14,15]. In addition, the
introduction of steel fibre (maximum 1.5%) was found effective
in reducing the crack and increasing the fatigue life of CTA [16].
As mentioned above, the studies were conducted on CTA to
explore its mechanical properties and to find the influence of
aggregate type, aggregate content and cement content in
varying the mechanical properties. The information helps to
understand the behaviour of CTA under static load condition.
However, the main use of CTA is in the pavement structure
which frequently subjects to dynamic loading like from the
traffic. To serve as the base layer of road or runway pavement,
CTA layer is expected to be able to absorb significant amount of
623
impact energies under different impact loading conditions like
accidents, vehicles, heavy aircrafts, machinery, or even
terrorist attack. The general performance of the pavement
under impact load depends not only on its individual layer but
also the composite actions.
Therefore, this study aims to investigate the performance
of CTA under impact loading and to find out the key
parameters to affect its impact resistance. The research
outcome can provide knowledge on the dynamic behaviour
of infrastructures using cement treated aggregate, on further
improvement of the safety and service life of the infrastruc-
tures, and also facilitate future research by using accurate
finite element model.
2. Experimental investigation
2.1. Materials and specimens
Experimental investigation was carried out on a CTA panels
with a dimension of 490 mm  490 mm  300 mm. The panel
was prepared with crushed aggregates by adding 9% cement of
the total mix and cured for 28 days before testing. The
maximum aggregate size used in the mix was 20 mm. The
different aggregates used in the mix of CTA with maximum
size is given in Table 1. In addition, Fig. 1 shows the gradation
curve of the aggregates which remains in the standard
gradation range [10] for CTA material. Gradation curve was
used to assess the particle distribution size of the CTA mix. The
upper limit and lower limit implies the maximum and
minimum percent passing at corresponding sieve size as
per [10] and test curve is the gradation curve of the aggregates
used in the CTA mix.
Before conducting impact test at 28 days, the compressive
and flexural tensile strengths of the CTA were tested
accordingly. Fig. 2(a) and (b) show the test set-up of uniaxial
compression test and third point bending test respectively.
Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on five CTA
cylinders at 100 mm in diameter and 200 mm in height as
per AS1012.2:2014. The cylinders were tested using hydraulic
compressive machine at a loading rate of 1 mm/min (Fig. 2(a)).
Two linear variable differential transformers (LVDT's) were
use at the opposite two sides of the cylinder to measure the
average displacement under the applied compressive loads.
Digital data acquisition system was used to record load and
displacement data. The stress strain curve (Fig. 3(a)) was
plotted based on the measurement. The average scattering or
deviation of result was found around 2%.
Table 1 – Aggregates in the mix of cement treated
aggregate.
Aggregate Amount Maximum aggregate size
(kg/m3) (mm)
W3 gravel 1.65 20
10 mm gravel 1.25 10
W6 gravel 0.5 2.36
W6.5 sand 0.5 1.18
W9 sand 1 0.425
624 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 622–629
Fig. 2 – Tests on cement treated aggregate (CTA) for
mechanical properties, (a) uniaxial compression test and
(b) third point bending test.
Fig. 3 – Stress–strain curve of cement treated aggregate, (a)
compression and (b) tension.
Fig. 4 – Schematic diagram of drop weight impact test on
CTA panel.
Third point bending tests were conducted on three CTA
beams with cross-sectional dimension of 100 mm  100 mm
and at a length of 350 mm as per ASTM C78/C78M-16 (Fig. 2
(b)). The loading rate was 1 mm/min. The load and
displacement results were recorded by the digital acquisi-
tion system. The tensile stress strain curve (Fig. 3(b)) was
obtained and the average scattering or deviation of result
was at about 5%.
With the properties of materials obtained from the above
tests, the panel specimens were tested under drop weight
impact load after cured for 28 days. Fig. 4 illustrates the set-up
of the drop weight impact test. It can be seen a rectangular
drop mass of 590 kg with an indenter at the bottom was used to
exert the impact. The dimension of the drop mass was 1 m by
0.9 m and the diameter of the indenter was 100 mm. The drop
height of the mass was fixed at 1.5 m and the impact velocity
was 5.42 m/s.
2.2. Test results
The obtained average compressive strength and tensile
strength was 19 MPa and 0.82 MPa, respectively. The average
scattering or deviation for the compressive strength and
tensile strength was at around 2% and 5%, respectively.
After the drop weight impact load, the panel specimen was
crushed instantly after the impact and divided into several
pieces when the drop mass hit the top surface of the specimen.
The obtained maximum deflection of CTA panel before failure
from the experiment was found to be 13 mm under the impact
load with an impact velocity at 5.42 m/s. The crushed core
resembled the shape of cone and panel was broken into pieces
after the formation of major cracks throughout the specimen.
Fig. 5 illustrates the failed CTA panel after the drop weight
impact test.
3. Finite element model
Finite element model was established for the CTA panel using
ABAQUS to simulate its dynamic behaviour under impact load.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 622–629 625

The CTA was modelled with 8-node linear brick elements

(C3D8R) with reduced integration and hourglass control.
Concrete damage plasticity model available in ABAQUS/
Explicit was used to simulate the elasto-plastic behaviour of
the specimen. The stress strain curves (Fig. 3) of the material
were used as the constitutive model of the material. Dynamic
impact load usually imposes high strain on materials and so
strain rate effect was considered in the simulation steps.
Table 2 shows the mechanical properties of the CTA which was
used in the FE model.
The overall mesh size of CTA was selected as 10 mm. The
steel impactor was also modelled as solid body and was
Fig. 5 – Failure of cement treated aggregate panel after composed of 8-node linear brick elements (C3D8R) with
impact test. reduced integration and hourglass control. Standard elastic
and plastic properties of steel was provided and overall mesh
size was selected as 5 mm. The total number of finite elements
Table 2 – Mechanical properties of cement treated and nodes were 204,756 and 226,886 respectively. Fig. 6(a) and
aggregate.
(b) shows the symmetric three-dimensional finite element
Parameters Value model of the CTA panel.
Young's modulus, E (Gpa) 1.2 The mesh size at impact region of CTA (Fig. 6(c)) had
Poisson's ratio, [ 0.24 significant effect in predicting the accurate deflection. There-
Density, r (Kg/m3) 2400 fore, grids were used to make partition and to separate the
Compressive strength, fc (Mpa) 20 loading zone. Mesh convergence study was also conducted
Tensile strength, ft (Mpa) 0.85 and 5 mm mesh size with 8-node linear brick elements
Dilation angle 36
(C3D8R) was found to be appropriate for the impact region
Eccentricity 0.1
of the specimen.

Fig. 6 – Finite element model of CTA panel with impactor (a) three-dimensional model, (b) FE meshing, (c) FE meshing at
impact region.
626 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 622–629
General contact algorithm was used to define the interac-
tion of impactor and the CTA panel. Pinned support condition
was applied at the bottom of the model. Symmetric support
condition was provided on two sides of the panel model and
the other two sides were not restrained. Two vertical faces of
the quarter of drop mass or impactor was also provided
symmetric boundary condition. The total surface of the
impactor was assigned an impact velocity of 5.42 m/s to
simulate the real test condition. The impact velocity was
applied by using predefined velocity option which is available
in ABAQUS/Explicit.
The maximum top surface deflection obtained from the FE
analysis using the model established above was found to be
14.4 mm, which is slightly higher than the experimental
results. With the difference at 10.8%, it can be concluded that
the finite element model can accurately predict the deflection
performance of the CTA panel under impact load. In addition,
the failure mode of CTA panel from FE analysis at 0.01 s shows
the crushing of the panel at the impact zone. And dispersion of
the stress in diagonal direction was found from the centre
throughout the panel (Fig. 7(b)).
The failure mode obtained from FE analysis (Fig. 7(b)) was
found similar with the test result obtained from high-speed
video camera footage (Fig. 7(a)). The stress dispersed in the
drop-weight impact test in diagonal direction from centre and
similar trends were found from the FE analysis. Therefore, it is
confirmed that the FE model developed in this study was in
good agreement with the test results and such validated model
was then used to conduct intensive parametric studies.
Fig. 7 – Failure modes of CTA obtained by (a) experiment,
and (b) FE analysis.
4. Parametric study
Parametric studies were conducted using the above validated
model to evaluate the effects of different parameters on the
response of CTA model under impact loading. More impor-
tantly, the parametric studies were conducted to understand
the significance of different parameters in influencing the
maximum deflection of layers composed of light cementitious
material. The selected parameters include impact drop height
(h), width to thickness ratio (b/t) of CTA panel (dcta), percentage
of cement in the CTA (r), boundary condition (b/c) of the
specimen.
4.1. Effect of drop height (h)
The drop height (h) of the impactor as shown in Fig. 2 was
selected as 1 m, 1.5 m and 2 m for the 3D model of CTA with
constant impact mass (M) of 590 kg to investigate the influence
of h on the deflection of CTA under impact load. Fig. 8
compares the deflection time histories of the CTA panel under
impact load from the impactor falling down from different
drop heights (h).
Fig. 8 shows that deflection of CTA panel increases with the
increase of h varying from 1 m to 2 m. The maximum
deflection also occurred earlier with minimum h due to short
travel time of impactor. The maximum deflections were
10 mm, 16 mm and 22 mm for drop height of impactor 1 m,
1.5 m and 2 m respectively. The maximum deflection was
increased by 37% when h was varied from 1 m to 1.5 m whereas
an increase of 27% was found when h was increase from 1.5 m
to 2 m. Therefore, the effect h in accelerating deflection can be
considered as significant.
4.2. Effect of width to thickness ratio (b/t)
Different width to thickness ratios (b/t) of the CTA panel
dimension was selected to study the significance of geometry
on the performance of CTA under drop weight impact load.
The thickness of CTA panel was fixed at 300 mm following the
standard base thickness of pavement and the area of the
square panel was varied. The width to thickness ratio (b/t) for this
study was selected as 1.63, 3.33 and 6.67. The compressive
Fig. 8 – Effect of drop height (h) of impactor on the deflection
of CTA under impact load.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 622–629
Fig. 9 – Effect of b/t of CTA on the deflection of CTA under
impact load.
strength of CTA was 20 MPa and modulus of elasticity was
1.2 GPa. The mass density (Md) of the impactor was 7650 kg/m3
and the applied impact velocity was 5.42 m/s as obtained in the
experimental study. Fig. 9 shows the variation of the deflection
time history of different panel with different width to
thickness ratio (b/t).
From Fig. 9, it was found that the effect of width to
thickness ratio of the panel was found significant in influenc-
ing the deflection of the panel. With b/t at 1.63, much higher
deflection was found on the panel and the deflection increase
rate was also higher than other specimens. Similar trend in
displacement history was found for the b/t of 3.33 and 6.67. The
graph shows that the rise and then drop down of the deflection
happened quickly with these two b/t of the modelled panel due
to more surface area and better resisting capability of the panel
compared with the one with low b/t at 1.63. However, it needs
to be noted that with b/t increased from 3.33 to 6.67, a slight
increase in deflection was obtained. The maximum deflections
were found as 16 mm, 9 mm and 10 mm for b/t of 1.63, 3.33 and
6.67 respectively. The maximum deflection was reduced by
44% when the b/t was varied from 1.63 to 3.33 whereas an
increase of 10% was found when the b/t was increased from
3.33 to 6.67. The results indicate that there could be an
optimum b/t ratio for the CTA to resist impact loads, and the b/t
could be around 3.
4.3. Effect of cement content (r)
Cement was added in CTA in three different percentages (6%,
9% and 12%) and mechanical properties were measured to
understand the influence of cement percentage on the impact
resistance of CTA under drop weight impact load. The
thickness of CTA was 300 mm for all models. Fig. 10 presents
deflection time histories of CTA panels with using different
cement content ranging from 6% to 12%.
Fig. 10 shows that the cement content incorporated into
CTA significantly affect the deflection of CTA panel. A sharp
increase in deflection with time was found when 6% cement
was added into cement treated aggregate. With further
increase the usage of cement content (r) to 9%, or even 12%
the increase of deflection with time became smoother or even
reduced. The maximum deflection was found to be 33 mm,
16 mm and 12 mm corresponding to 6%, 9% and 12% for r,
respectively. The maximum deflection was reduced by 52%
627
Fig. 10 – Effect of cement content (r) on the deflection of CTA
under impact load.
when r was varied from 6% to 9%, and it was further reduced by
25% when r was further increased from 9% to 12%. With high r
at 12%, the panel can soon achieve its peak deflection and then
the deflection starts to drop down. This could be due to the
increased impact resistance of the specimen because of the
high r which could improve the mechanical properties of the
CTA including the energy absorption capacity, by providing
the stronger bonds in-between the aggregates acting more like
to concrete.
4.4. Effect of boundary condition (K)
Different boundary conditions (K) of the CTA panel were also
considered to understand their influence on the deflection
time history of the panel under impact load to provide design
guidance in this regards. Three different boundary conditions
(K) were considered here including pin support at the bottom
(K1), pin support at bottom and four sides of the panel (K2), and
fixed support at bottom and four sides of the panel (K3) as
given in Table 3.
Fig. 11 presents the deflection time history of the CTA panel
with different boundary conditions (K) under drop weight
impact load. The curves in Fig. 11 indicate that the highest
deflection occurred to the CTA panels where only the bottom
was pinned (K1). A significantly fall down in deflection (about
43%) was found when the boundary condition was changed
from free sides support (K1) to pin (K2) and fixed sides (K3)
support. It is also found that the deflection time history profile
for the panel with the other two boundary conditions (K2 & K3)
was very similar to each other, regardless pin support or fixed
support around the panel.
The obtained maximum deflection was found to be
16.5 mm, 10 mm and 9.5 mm for free side support (K1), pin
Table 3 – Type of selected boundary condition.
Type of boundary condition Sign
Bottom pinned K1
Bottom and side pinned K2
Bottom and side fixed K3
628 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 622–629
Fig. 11 – Effect of boundary conditions (K) on the deflection
of CTA under impact load.
side support (K2) and fixed side (K3) support, condition
respectively. The graph also shows that restraining the panel
specimen could quickly lead to the occurrence of peak
deflection and then gradually decrease the deflection on the
surface.
4.5. Summary
Based on the above analysis, the following considerations may
be taken to effectively employ CTA into infrastructures which
may be subjected to impact load. The potential impact load
needs to be carefully considered as this will significantly
influence the behaviour of the material under impact load. The
increase in drop height can increase the deflection of CTA
exponentially. The increase in the mass or falling object could
induce linear increase in deflection of cement treated aggre-
gate. The width to thickness ratio of CTA panel at around 3.33
could be considered to be the optimum dimension to achieve
the best performance to resist impact load. To design protective
infrastructures using cement treated aggregates, higher dosage
of cement content such as 12% of cement may be considered for
proportioning to achieve the higher resistance to impact load.
Appropriate construction methods could be considered in
order to obtain the optimum performance of the cement
treated aggregates in resisting impact load by providing
restraints on the sides and bottom of the CTA panel.
5. Conclusion
Through a combined experimental and numerical study, this
chapter also shows the investigation of dynamic performance
of cement treated aggregate (CTA) panel subjected to impact
load. Based on the validated finite element model established
using ABAQUS, parametric study was conducted to explore the
key influential parameters on the resistance of CTA panel to
drop weight impact load. Those parameters include the drop
height of impactor (h), cement content in the mix (r), width to
thickness ratio of the panel (b/t), as well as the boundary
condition (K). Based on the analysis, design guidelines were
provided for consideration and the below conclusions can be
drawn:
 The drop height (h) of the CTA panel can be considered as
significant within the selected ranges.
 The increase in the width to thickness ratio (b/t) of CTA
model was found effective to reduce the deflection up to
certain ratio (b/t = 3.33), above which with the further
increase of b/t ratio the deflection would increase.
 The increase in cement content (r) for proportioning CTA
was found to be effective in reducing the deflection of the
panel under impact load and could significantly improve the
impact resistance of the material.
 Providing certain restraints either pin (K2) or fixed support
(K3) around the specimen could improve the impact
resistance and decrease the deflection considerably under
impact load.
Ethical statement
Authors state that the research was conducted according to
ethical standards.
Funding
School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment of Queens-
land University of Technology and National Natural Science
Foundation of China.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank School of Civil Engineering
and Built Environment of Queensland University of Technolo-
gy (QUT) for providing scholarship for the first author. The
authors would also like to thank University of Wollongong and
National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51508294)
for providing support to carry out this work.
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