Chapter 2 - Soil Engineering For Highway Design

10/15/2014
CE 442
Material and Pavement Design
Madhar Taamneh, Ph.D .

Assistant Professor
Email: mtaamneh@yu.edu.jo
Yarmouk University Hijjawi for

Engineering Technology
Fall 2014
Chapter II: Soil Engineering for

Highway Design
2 Yarmouk University
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Outline
 Introduction
 Soil Characteristics
Basic Engineering Properties of Soils
Classification of Soils for Highway Use
Soil Surveys for Highway Construction
Soil Compaction
Special Soil Tests for Pavement Design
Frost Action in Soils
Introduction
 Soils are used extensively in highway construction.
Selection
S l ti off suitable
it bl soils
il is
i off primary
i importance
i t
in the design and construction of any highway.
Use of unsuitable material will often result in
premature failure of the pavement surface and
reduction of the ability of the pavement to carry the
design traffic load.
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Introduction…
 Highway engineers are interested in the basic
engineering
g g properties
p p of soils.
Soil properties are of significant importance when:
 A highway is to carry high traffic volumes
 A high embankments are to be constructed
Soil Characteristics
 The basic characteristics of a soil may be
described in terms of its:
 Origin and Formation, and
 Surface Texture
 It will be seen later that the principal
engineering properties of any soil are mainly
related to the basic characteristics of that soil.
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Soil Characteristics…
Origin and Formation
 Soil can be defined as the loose mass of mineral and organic
materials that cover the solid crust of granitic and basaltic
rocks of the earth.
 Soil is mainly formed by weathering and other geologic
processes that occur on the surface of the solid rock at or
near the surface of the earth.
 Weathering is the result of physical and chemical actions,
mainly due to atmospheric factors that change the structure
and composition of the rocks.
Origin and Formation…
 Weathering occurs through either physical or chemical
means.
 Physical weathering (mechanical Weathering) causes the
disintegration of the rocks into smaller particle sizes by the
action of forces exerted on the rock. These forces may be due to
running water, wind, freezing and thawing, and the activity of
plants and animals
animals.
 Chemical weathering occurs as a result of oxidation,
carbonation, and other chemical actions that decompose the
minerals of the rocks.
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Origin and Formation…
Soils may be described as residual or transported.
 Residual soils are weathered in place and are located
directly above the original material from which they were
formed.
 Transported soils are those that have been moved by
water, wind, glaciers, and so forth, and are located away
from their parent materials.
materials
Soils also may be described as:

 Organic soil (contains organic matter)
 Inorganic soil (contains mineral materials)
Surface Texture
 The solid part of the soil mass consists of mineral and
organic
i matter
tt ini various
i sizes
i andd amounts.
t
 The texture of the soil depends on the relative sizes and
shapes of the particles, and the distribution of those
sizes.
 Based on the size ((and distribution)) of p
particles
differentiate coarse textured and fine textured soils
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Surface Texture…
 Fine-textured soils:
 Soils consisting
g mainlyy of silts and clays
y with veryy small
particle sizes
 Coarse-textured soils:
 Soils consisting mainly of sands and gravel with much
larger particles
 The
Th soil
il texture
t t has
h relation
l ti tot the
th soils
il engineering
i i behavior.
b h i
 For example, the presence of water in fine-textured soils
results in significant reduction in their strength, whereas this
does not happen with coarse textured soils.
Soil Types Based on Texture
 Based on the textures the soil can be divided into two
main categories:
X> #200
 Coarse grained soils (individual grains are visible to the
naked eye, particle sizes greater than 0.075 mm).
X< #200
 Fine grained soils (not able to see the particles separately,
particle sizes less than 0.075 mm).
We can define these two groups based on the plasticity

or cohesion of the soils too:
 Cohesive soils
 Non-cohesive soils
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Testing methods of soil classification
 Coarse Grained Soils
 Mechanical analysis of soils: determination of grain size

distribution
 Sieve analysis (particle sizes larger than 0.075 mm)
 Hydrometer analysis (particle sizes smaller than 0.075 mm)
Fine Grained Soils

 Analysis based on plasticity of soils
Sieve Analysis
 The soil sample is shaken through a set of sieves that
have progressively smaller openings.
 Non cohesive soils:
1. Oven-drying the soil sample, breaking all lumps

2. Shaking the soil through the set of sieves with openings of
decreasing size from top to bottom
3. The mass of soil retained on each sieve is determined
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Sieve Analysis
 Cohesive soils:
Cohesive soils (breaking the lumps may be difficult):
1. The soil may be mixed with water
2. Washing this slurry trough the sieves
3. Soils retained on the sieves are collected, oven dried
aandd measured
easu ed separately
sepa ate y
 Smallest sieve size is: 0.075 mm (No. 200)
Set of Sieves
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Grain size distribution curve
#200
Hydrometer Analysis
 Hydrometer analysis is based on the principle of sedimentation
off soil
il grains
i ini water.
 When the soil is mixed with water the particles settle at
different velocities, depending on their shape, size, weight and
viscosity of the water.
 The velocity of soil particles can be expressed by Stokes’ law.
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Hydrometer Analysis – Testing Procedure
1. The hydrometer is placed into the soil suspension.
2. The time is measured from the start of sedimentation.
3. The hydrometer measures the specific gravity of the
suspension.
4. When the particles are settling down the specific gravity of
the suspension is decreasing
5. The changing of specific gravity depends on the amount of
the particles settled down.
 (the more particles settled down, the less the specific gravity is)
Hydrometer Analysis – Testing Procedure
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Grain Size Analysis Example
Required : A grain-size distribution

21 curve for this soil sample. Yarmouk University
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Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

 Phase Relations
 Naturally occurred soils always consist of solid particles,
water, and air,
water air so that soil has three phases: solid,
solid liquid and
gas.
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 Phase Relations…

 Phase Relations …
 The volumes of air, water, and solids are Va, Vw, and Vs,
respectively, and their weights are Wa,
respectively Wa Ww,Ww and Ws,
Ws
respectively.
 The volume Vv is the total volume of the space occupied by
air and water, generally referred to as a void
 Porosity: the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume
of the soil
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 Void Ratio: the ratio of the volume of voids to the volume of
solids.
solids
Porosity
 Moisture Content: the ratio of the weight of water W in the

soil mass to the oven dried weight of solids Ws expressed as
a percentage.

 Degree of Saturation: the percentage of void space
occupied by water.
water
 Density of Soil :the density is the ratio that relates the mass
side of the phase diagram to the volumetric side.
 Three densities are commonly used in soil engineering: total

or bulk density γ, dry density γd, and submerged or buoyant
density γ'.
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 Total Density. The total (or bulk) density is the ratio of the
weight of a given sample of soil to the volume
(Saturated Density)
 Dry Density. The dry density is the density of the soil with
the water removed.

 Submerged Density. the density of the soil when submerged
in water and is the difference between the saturated density
and the density of water.
1000
 Specific Gravity of Soil Particles: is the ratio of density of

the soil particles to the density of distilled water.
 Other Useful Relationships
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 Phase Relations - Example

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 Atterberg Limits
 They are used in the classification of fine-grained soils and are extremely
useful, since theyy correlate with the engineering
g g behaviors of such soils.
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 Liquid Limit (LL)
 The liquid limit, or LL, is defined as the moisture content (%) required
to close a 2-mm
2 mm wide groove in a soil pat a distance of 12
12.77 mm along
the bottom of the groove after standard LL equipment has been
dropped 25 times.

 Atterberg Limits- Liquid Limit
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 Plastic Limit (PL)
 The plastic limit,
limit or PL,
PL is defined as the moisture content at which the
soil crumbles when it is rolled down to a diameter of one-eighth of an
inch (3.2 mm).

 Atterberg Limits- Plastic Limit
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 Shrinkage Limit (SL)
 The shrinkage limit (SL) is the water content where further loss of
moisture will not result in any more volume reduction.

 Plasticity index (PI)
 The plasticity index (PI) is a measure of the plasticity of a soil.
soil
 The plasticity index is the size of the range of water contents where
the soil exhibits plastic properties.
 The PI is the difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit
(PI = LL-PL).
 Soils with a high PI tend to be clay, those with a lower PI tend to be
silt, and those with a PI of 0 (non-plastic) tend to have little or no silt
or clay.
 The plasticity index PI is used to classify fine-grained soils
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 Plasticity index (PI)

 Liquidity Index (LI)
 The liquidity index,
index or LI,
LI is used to reflect the properties of the
natural soil.
A soil with an LI less than zero will have a brittle fracture when sheared,
and a soil with an LI between zero and one will be in a plastic state. When
LI is greater than one, the soil will be in a state of viscous liquid if sheared.
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Permeability
 The permeability of a soil is the property that describes how water flows
through the soil
soil.
 It is usually given in terms of the coefficient of permeability (K), which

is the constant of proportionality of the relationship between the flow
velocity and the hydraulic gradient between two points in the soil.

Permeability …
 Clays and fine-grained soils have very low permeability; thus hardly any
flow of water occurs in these soils
soils.
 Coarse-grained soils, such as gravel and sands, have high permeability,

which allows for water to flow easily in them.
 Soils with high permeability are therefore generally stable, both in the
dry and saturated states. Thus, coarse-grained soils make excellent
subgrade materials.
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 Shear Strength
 The shear strength of soils is of particular importance to the

highway engineer, because soil masses will usually fail in
shear under highway loads.
 The shear strength of a soil depends on the cohesion and the
angle of internal friction and is expressed as:

 Shear Strength
 The degree of importance of either the cohesion or the angle

of internal friction depends on the type of soil.
 In fine-grained soils such as clays, the cohesion component
is the major contributor to the shear strength.
 In coarse-grained soils such as sands, the angle of internal
friction component is the major contributor to the shear
strength.
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Classification of Soils for Highway Use

 Soil classification is a method by which soils are systematically
categorized according to their probable engineering
characteristics.
 Therefore, it serves as a means of identifying suitable subbase
materials and predicting the probable behavior of a soil when
used as subgrade material.
 The classification of a given soil is determined by conducting
relatively simple tests on disturbed samples of the soil; the
results are then correlated with field experience.
 Classifying the soil should be considered as a means of
obtaining a general idea of how the soil will behave if used as a
subgrade or subbase material.
The most commonly used classification system for

highway
g y purposes
p p is:
 the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Classification System.
 The Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
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 AASHTO Soil Classification System.
 The AASHTO Classification System developed by Federal
Highway Administration (FHA) .
 Used for determining the relative quality of soils for use in
embankments, subgrades, subbases, and bases.
 Soils are classified into seven groups, A-1 through A-7, with
several subgroups, as shown in Table 17.1.
 The classification of a given soil is based on its particle size
distribution, LL, and PI.

 AASHTO Soil Classification System...
 Under the AASHTO system, granular soils fall into classes
A-1 to A-3.
 A-1 soils consist of well-graded granular materials,
 A-2 soils contain significant amounts of silts and clays, and
 A-3 soils are clean but poorly graded sands.
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 AASHTO Soil Classification System…
 In general, the suitability of a soil deposit for use in highway
construction can be summarized as follows
 Soils classified as A-1-a, A-1-b, A-2-4, A-2-5, and A-3 can
be used satisfactorily as subgrade or subbase material if
properly drained.
 Materials classified as A-2-6, A-2-7, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-7-5,
and A-7-6 will require a layer of subbase material if used as
subgrade.
 The soils value as subgrade material decreases as the GI
increases.

 Soils are evaluated within each group by using an empirical
formula to determine the group index (GI) of the soils, given as
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The Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)
 The USCS is used for airfield construction, dams, and

foundations.
 The fundamental premise used in the USCS system is that the
engineering properties of any coarse-grained soil depend on its
particle size distribution, whereas those for a fine-grained soil
depend on its plasticity.
 Thus,, the system
y classifies coarse-grained
g soils on the basis of
grain size characteristics and fine-grained soils according to
plasticity characteristics.
Soil Surveys for Highway Construction
Identification of suitable soils for use as subbase

and fill materials.
An integral part of preliminary location surveys,
since the soil conditions may significantly affect
the location of the highway.
 A detailed soil survey is always carried out on the
final highway location.
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Soil Surveys for Highway Construction…
Soil Survey
 Step I: collection of existing information on the soil characteristics
characteristics.
Such information can be obtained from:
 Geological and agricultural soil maps,
 Existing aerial photographs, and
 An examination of excavations and existing roadway cuts.
 Step II: obtain and investigate enough soil samples along the
highway route to produce a soil profile
profile.
 Samples obtained by auger boring or from test pits for laboratory
testing.
 Samples are usually taken at different depths down to about five feet.
Soil Compaction
 Definition: Soil compaction is defined as the
method of mechanically increasing the density of
soil by reducing volume of air.
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Soil Compaction…
Why Soil Compaction: Water is added to
1- Increase Soil Strength lubricate the contact
2- Reduce Soil Settlement surfaces of soil particles
3- Reduce Soil Permeability and improve the
compressibility of the soil
4- Reduce Frost Damage
matrix
5- Reduce Erosion Damage
Factor Affecting Soil Compaction: The degree of compaction

11- Soil Type is measured in terms of its
2- Water Content (wc) dry unit weight.
3- Compaction Effort Required (Energy)
Soil Compaction…
 When soil is to be used as embankment or subgrade
material in highway construction, it is essential to be placed
i uniform
in if layers
l andd compacted
t d to
t a high
hi h density.
d it
 Soil Compaction in Types of Compaction :

the Lab: (Static or Dynamic)
1- Vibration
1- Standard Proctor Test 2- Impact
22- Modified Proctor Test 3- Kneadingg
4- Pressure
Laboratory maximum dry density
is used for the specification of field
compaction.
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Soil Compaction…
Soil Compaction in the Lab:
1- Standard Proctor Test
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Soil Compaction in the Lab:
Effect of Energy on Soil Compaction
Increasing compaction energy Lower OWC and higher dry density
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Field Soil Compaction

Because of the differences between lab and field compaction methods,
the maximum dry density in the field may reach 90% to 95%.
It is better to compact at the higher moisture content—that is, the wet side of optimum
moisture content—if a given dry density other than the optimum is required.
Field Soil Compaction…
The first step in the construction of a highway embankment is the identification

and selection of a suitable material (Based on AASHTO classification system).
Having identified suitable materials, their optimum moisture contents and

maximum dry densities are determined.
Highway embankments are formed by spreading thin layers of uniform

thickness of the material ( 6 to 12 inches for each layer )and compacting each
layer at or near the optimum moisture content.
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Example:
The laboratory test for a standard proctor is shown below. Determine the optimum water
content and maximum dry density.
Example:
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Checking Soil Density in the Field:
Sand Cone (ASTM D1556-90)

A small hole (6" x 6" deep) is dug in the
compacted material to be tested. The soil is
removed and weighed, then dried and weighed
again to determine its moisture content. A
soil's moisture is figured as a percentage. The
specific volume of the hole is determined by
filling it with calibrated dry sand from a jar and
cone device. The dry weight of the soil
removed is divided by the volume of sand
needed to fill the hole.
hole This gives us the
density of the compacted soil in lbs per cubic
foot. This density is compared to the maximum
Proctor density obtained earlier, which gives us
the relative density of the soil that was just
compacted.
Field Compaction Equipment
Spreading of the material to the required thickness is done by bulldozers

72 and motor graders. Yarmouk University
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A smooth wheel or drum roller

applies contact pressure of up
to 55 lb/in.2 over 100 percent of
the soil area in contact with the
wheel.
This type of roller is generally

used for finish rolling of
subgrade material and can be
used for all types of soil
material except rocky soils.
The rubber-tired roller is

another type of contact roller,
roller
consisting of a heavily loaded
wagon with rows of 3 to 6 tires
placed close to each other.
The pressure in the tires may be

up to 100 lb/in.2.
They are used for both granular

and cohesive materials.
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 The drum wheel has several

protrusions which may be round or
protrusions,
rectangular in shape, ranging from
5 to 12 in.2 in area.
Contact pressures ranging from

200 to 1000 lb/in.2
The sheepsfoot roller is used

mainly for cohesive soils.
Soil Tests for Pavement Design
The following are the most commonly used tests to

determine the strength
g or stiffness value of a given
g
soil if used as a subgrade or base/subbase material:
California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test, and
Hveem Stabilometer Test.
 Resilient Modulus Test
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California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test

 A penetration test for evaluation of the
mechanical strength of road subgrades and
base/subbase courses.
 The objective of the test is to determine the
relative strength of a soil with respect to
crushed rock, which is considered an
excellent coarse base material.
 Determination of the load-deformation
curve of the soil.
 The test is conducted on samples
p of soil
compacted to required standards and
immersed in water for four days, during
which time the samples are loaded with a
surcharge that simulate the estimated
weight of pavement material the soil will
77
support. Yarmouk University
 The test is performed by measuring the pressure required to

penetrate a soil sample with a plunger of standard area. The
measuredd pressure is
i then
th divided
di id d by
b the
th pressure required
i d to
t
achieve an equal penetration on a standard crushed rock material.
Pressure / Pressure
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Take load readings at penetrations of:

“the result”
0.025” ……………70 psi
0.05”……………...115 psi
0.1”……………….220 psi
0.2”……………….300 psi
0.4”……………….320 psi
“A hi
“Achieve OM &MD”
Penetrations of 0.05” per minute

350
300
250
Load on Piston (psi)
200
150
100
50
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
Penetration (inches)
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350
300
250

200
150
100
50
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
Penetration ((inches))
“The Gold Standard” for CBR

Example above:
for 0.1” of penetration, 1000 psi
The standard material for this test is
crushed California limestone

350
300
Example psi = CBR

250
Standard psi
200
220 psi = .22, or 22%

150
1000 psi
300 psi = .20, or 20% 100
1500 psi
50
CBR of material = 22%

0
or “22” 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45
Penetration ((inches))
“The Gold Standard” for CBR Example above:

for 0.1” of penetration, 1000 psi for 0.1” of penetration, 220 psi
for 0.2’ of penetration, 1500 psi for 0.2” of penetration, 300 psi
Use 0.1” of penetration, unless 0.2” is the greater value.
•If so, then rerun the test, taking the higher of the two values from this second trial
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Well
Poor
The main criticism of the CBR test is that it does not correctly
simulate the shearing forces imposed on subbase and subgrade
materials as they support highway pavements.
Soil containing rough or angular coarse material and some

amount of troublesome clay may has relatively high CBR.
However, when such a material is used in highway
construction, the performance of the soil may be poor. This is
due to the lubrication of the soil mass by the clay,
clay which
reduces the shearing strength of the soil mass.
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Hveem Stabilometer Test

 Determining the Resistance R-Value for a
compacted soil or aggregate sample is a
testing requirement of ASTM D2844, and
AASHTO T190.
 The purpose of the test is to determine the
suitability of the material for use under
paved roads and airway surfaces.
 This test is used to determine the resistance
value R of the soil to the horizontal pressure
obtained by imposing a vertical stress of
160 lb/in. on a sample of the soil at a speed
of 0.05 in./min.
 The value of R may then be used to
determine the pavement thickness above the
soil to carry the estimated traffic load
Hveem Stabilometer Test…
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Resilient Modulus (MR) Test

 Resilient Modulus is an essential
engineering property for determining the
stress-strain characteristics of pavement
structures.
t t
 The resilient modulus is the elastic
modulus under repeated loads.
 It is a measure of material stiffness and
provides a mean to analyze stiffness of
materials under different conditions,
such as moisture, density and stress
l l
level.
 Both AASHTO and MEPDG use the
resilient modulus of each pavement layer
in the design process.
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=0
Typical Values:
Subgrade: 3,000 to 40,000 psi
Crushed rock: 20,000 to 50,000 psi
HMA: 200,000 to 500,000 psi at 70°F
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Resilient modulus test is a nondestructive test. (the
same sample can be used for many tests under different
loading and environmental conditions).
conditions)
Loading Waveform
Should simulate that actually occurring in the field.
Haversine or triangular loading waveform.
Duration of loading depends on vehicle speed and the depth of the
point below the pavement surface.
Equipment
The resilient modulus of granular materials and fine-grained soils can be
determined by the Repeated Load Triaxial Test.
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Sample: 4 in. in diameter and 8 in. in height.
Air should be used as the confining fluid.
Two Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDT) are
used to measure the deformation .
The load is typically applied for 0.1 seconds along with a rest
period of 0.9 seconds.
Repeated load unconfined compression test can be used to
determine the resilient modulus of asphalt mixtures.
mixtures

Granular Materials
AASHTO (1989): T274-82 Resilient Modulus of Subgrade
S il
Soils.
Sample conditioning (to free the sample from any plastic
strain) accomplished by applying various combinations of
confining pressure and deviator stresses.
 Set the confining pressure to 5 psi and apply a deviator stress of 5 psi
and then 10 psi each for 200 repetitions
repetitions.
 Set the confining pressure to 10 psi and apply a deviator stress of 10
psi and then 15 psi each for 200 repetitions.
 Set the confining pressure to 15 psi and apply a deviator stress of 15
94 psi and then 20 psi each for 200 repetitions . Yarmouk University
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Granular Materials
1. Set the confining pressure to 20 psi and apply deviator stresses of 1, 2 ,
5 10
5, 10, 15
15, andd 20 psi.
i
2. Reduce the confining pressure to 15 psi and apply deviator stresses of
1, 2, 5, 10, 15, and 20 psi.
3. Reduce the confining pressure to 10 psi and apply deviator stresses of 1
,2, 5, 10, and 15 psi.
4. Reduce the confining pressure to 5 psi and apply deviator stresses of 1
,2, 5, 10, and 15 psi.
5. Reduce the confiningg ppressure to 1 ppsi and apply
pp y deviator stresses of 1 ,
2, 5, 7 .5, and 10 psi. Stop the test after 200 repetitions of the last
deviator stress level or when the specimen fails .

Granular Materials
The resilient modulus of granular materials increases with the
increase in the first stress invariant, as indicated by the following
equation ( K-θ model, Constitutive Relationship)
M R  K1 K 2
Where,,
Mr = resilient modulus 6d / Er
k1 and k2 = regression coefficients
θ = bulk stress (σ1 + σ2 + σ3)
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Granular Materials
K2 = (log m2 - log m1 ) / ( log 100 - log 1 )

Granular Materials
1/ 0.000264
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Granular Materials

Granular Materials
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Fine-Grained Soils
 Sample conditioning: use of a confining pressure of 6 psi
followed
follo ed by
b 200 repetitions each of deviator
de iator stresses of
1,2 , 4, 8, and 10 psi.
 After conditioning the following sequences of stress are
applied to find the resilient modulus.
1. Apply a deviator stress of 1 psi under confining pressures
of 6, 3, and 0 psi.
2. Apply a deviator stress of 2 psi under confining pressures
of 6, 3, and 0 psi.
3. Continue the constant deviator stress–decreasing confining
pressure sequence for the deviator stresses 4, 8, and 10 psi.

Fine-Grained Soils
 The resilient modulus of fine-grained soils decreases with
the increase in de
deviator
iator stress σd .
The following figure shows the general relationship between
resilient modulus and deviator stress of fine-grained soils obtained
from laboratory repeated-load tests .
51
10/15/2014

Fine-Grained Soils
Resilient modulus tests were made on a fine-grained soil. The
distance between the LVDT clamps is 4 in. (102 mm). The
average recoverable deformation measured by the two LVDTs
after 200 repetitions of each deviator stress as shown in the
following Table . The unconfined compressive strength of the
soil is 15.5 psi. determine the coefficient K1, K2, K3. K4 and
the maximum and minimum resilient modulus.

Fine-Grained Soils
52
10/15/2014

Fine-Grained Soils
15.5
105 Max Yarmouk University
Min
Correlations with Other Tests
 Laboratory determination of resilient modulus can be

time and labor intensive.
These correlations are used to relate the resilient modulus
and other test parameters.
They can be used as a guide if other, more reliable
information is not available.
It should be noted that any empirical correlation is based
on a set of local conditions.
53
10/15/2014
Heukelom and Klomp (1962)
 Mr (psi) = 1500 (CBR)
 Mr (psi) = 2555(CBR)0.64 (used in ME-PDG)
A h lt IInstitute
Asphalt tit t EEquation
ti
 Mr (psi) = 1155 + 555R (used in ME-PDG)
54
10/15/2014
Frost Action in Soils

 When the ambient temperature falls below freezing for
several days, it is quite likely that the water in soil pores
will freeze.
 Since the volume of water increases by about 10 percent
when it freezes, the first problem is the increase in volume
of the soil.
 The second problem is that the freezing can cause ice
crystals and lenses that are several centimeters thick to form
in the soil.
soil
 These two problems can result in heaving of the subgrade
(frost heave), which may result in significant structural
damage to the pavement.
Frost Action in Soils…

 In addition, the ice lenses melt during the spring (spring thaw),
resulting in a considerable increase in the water content of the
soil.
 This increase in water significantly reduces the strength of the
soil, causing structural damage of the highway pavement known
as “spring break-up.”
55
10/15/2014
Frost Action in Soils…

 Three conditions must exist for severe frost action to occur:
1. Freezing temperature.
2 Shallow water table
2. Silt
3. Frost susceptible soil (critical grain size of 0.02 mm)
 Current measures taken to prevent frost action include:
 Removing frost-susceptible soils to the depth of the frost

line and replacing them with gravel material,
 lowering
l i theth water
t table
t bl by
b installing
i t lli adequate
d t drainage
d i
facilities,
 Using impervious membranes or chemical additives, and
 Restricting truck traffic on some roads during the spring
thaw.
56

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Chapter 2 - Soil Engineering For Highway Design

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10/15/2014

Madhar Taamneh, Ph.D .

Yarmouk University Hijjawi for

Chapter II: Soil Engineering for

Soils also may be described as:

We can define these two groups based on the plasticity

 Mechanical analysis of soils: determination of grain size

 Hydrometer analysis (particle sizes smaller than 0.075 mm)

Fine Grained Soils

1. Oven-drying the soil sample, breaking all lumps

Required : A grain-size distribution

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

 Moisture Content: the ratio of the weight of water W in the

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

 Three densities are commonly used in soil engineering: total

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

 Specific Gravity of Soil Particles: is the ratio of density of

 Other Useful Relationships

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

 It is usually given in terms of the coefficient of permeability (K), which

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

 Coarse-grained soils, such as gravel and sands, have high permeability,

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

 The shear strength of soils is of particular importance to the

Basic Engineering Properties of Soils

 The degree of importance of either the cohesion or the angle

Classification of Soils for Highway Use

Classification of Soils for Highway Use

The most commonly used classification system for

Classification of Soils for Highway Use

Classification of Soils for Highway Use

 A-2 soils contain significant amounts of silts and clays, and

 A-3 soils are clean but poorly graded sands.

Classification of Soils for Highway Use

Classification of Soils for Highway Use

Classification of Soils for Highway Use

Classification of Soils for Highway Use

 The USCS is used for airfield construction, dams, and

Soil Surveys for Highway Construction

Identification of suitable soils for use as subbase

Soil Surveys for Highway Construction…