Table Of ContentTechnical Report Documentation Page
1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
FHWA/TX-08/0-5179-1
4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date
October 2007
DEEP SOIL MIXING TECHNOLOGY FOR MITIGATION OF Published: August 2008
6. Performing Organization Code
PAVEMENT ROUGHNESS
7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No.
Anand J. Puppala, Raja Sekhar Madhyannapu, Soheil Nazarian, Deren Yuan, Report 0-5179-1
and Laureano Hoyos
9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019-0308 11. Contract or Grant No.
Project 0-5179
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Texas Department of Transportation Technical Report:
Research and Technology Implementation Office September 2004 – August 2007
P. O. Box 5080 14. Sponsoring Agency Code
Austin, Texas 78763-5080
15. Supplementary Notes
Project performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway
Administration.
Project Title: Deep Mixing Technology for Mitigation of Pavement Roughness
URL: http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-5179-1.pdf
16. Abstract
The effectiveness of Deep Soil Mixing (DSM) treatment method was evaluated in terms of reducing heave
movements of underlying expansive soils. Several binder types were used to treat expansive soils and these
methods are considered in a laboratory investigation to select the appropriate binders for field DSM studies.
Laboratory studies indicated that a combined binder treatment approach of using lime and cement was the
appropriate method for field studies. Two pilot scale test sections were then designed and installed on DSM
soil columns. Anchor rods were used to fasten a biaxial geogrid to the DSM columns. Surcharge equivalent
to loads from base and surface layers was placed on top of the DSM-geogrid sections through a fill
placement. These treated test sections along with control sections on untreated soils were instrumented and
monitored. Monitored results showed that soil shrink-swell related movements and pressures in both vertical
and lateral directions were considerably less than those recorded in the untreated soil sections. Non-
destructive studies using seismic methods showed the enhancements of shear strength in the treated zones.
Overall, this research resulted in the development of a design methodology for stabilizing expansive clayey
soils at considerable depths using DSM column treatment.
17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement
Deep Soil Mixing, Expansive Soils, Transverse Cracking, No restrictions. This document is available to the public
Longitudinal Cracking, Pavements, Cement, Lime through NTIS:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, Virginia 22161, or http://www.ntis.gov
19. Security Classif.(of this report) 20. Security Classif.(of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price
Unclassified Unclassified 342
Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized
DEEP SOIL MIXING TECHNOLOGY FOR MITIGATION OF
PAVEMENT ROUGHNESS
by
Anand J. Puppala, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor
Raja Sekhar Madhyannapu
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019
Soheil Nazarian, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor
Deren Yuan, Ph.D.
Research Engineer
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968
and
Laureano R. Hoyos, Ph.D., P.E.
Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019
Technical Report 0-5179-1
Project Number 0-5179
Project Title: Deep Mixing Technology for Mitigation of Pavement Roughness
Performed in cooperation with the
Texas Department of Transportation
and the Federal Highway Administration
October 2007
Published: August 2008
The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas 76019-0308
DISCLAIMER
The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the
facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the
official view or policies of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or the Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT). This report does not constitute a standard,
specification, or regulation. The researcher in charge was Anand J. Puppala, P.E., Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas.
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project is currently being conducted in cooperation with TxDOT and FHWA. The
authors would like to acknowledge Mr. David Head, P.E. (Project Coordinator); Mr. Richard
Williammee, P.E., Project Director (Project Director); Dr. German Claros, P.E.; Mr. Stanley Yin,
P.E.; and Dr. Zhiming Si, P.E., TxDOT for their interest and support of this study. The authors
would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the TxDOT Fort Worth District personnel for
their help in the construction of test sections.
vi
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Expansive soils are well known for their cyclic shrink-swell behavior due to seasonal
moisture changes. These cyclic movements of expansive soils are due to physico-chemical
changes at particle level that are dependent on mineralogical composition of these soils. The soil
depths susceptible to moisture changes are known as active depths and based on previous studies
vary from shallow to deep depths. Movements from these depths reflect to the surface leading to
considerable damage to overlying infrastructures. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the
expansive soils prior to any construction activity. However, the available methods are found
ineffective for deep soil stabilization due to lack of appropriate design methodology. Since the
chemical modification is a preferred method for stabilizing expansive soils, the researchers
proposed deep soil mixing (DSM) technique using chemical binders.
The effectiveness of the DSM technique in minimizing shrink-swell behavior of
expansive soils up to considerable depths was verified in the present research by conducting
comprehensive laboratory and field studies. Results from laboratory studies revealed that all
combinations of lime and cement binders reduced shrink and swell potentials based on linear
shrinkage and free swell tests, respectively, to less than 0.5 and 0.1%, respectively. The strength
properties of soils treated with binder compositions containing more than 75% lime and those
with more than 75% cement are about 1.8 to 5.2 times and 5 to 12 times the untreated soil
strength, respectively. Simplified linear ranking analysis yielded that a binder combination of
3
lime (25%) and cement (75%) at a binder quantity of 200 kg/m and a water-binder ratio of 1
was one of the best performing stabilizers. Therefore, it was adopted in the construction of the
two pilot test sections.
vii
Quality assessment studies conducted during construction of the DSM test sections
indicated that both field stiffness and strength values are 40% and 20 to 30% lower, respectively,
than those obtained in the controlled laboratory treatment conditions on small scale specimens.
Non-destructive studies performed at both the treated test sections recorded average stiffness
properties of 1.3 to 1.5 times those recorded in the untreated sections. Field monitoring studies
revealed an overall vertical movement of less than 1 in. and more than 1.2 in. in the treated and
untreated sections, respectively. Overall, the performance of the DSM treated sections as
compared to the untreated sections was successful in minimizing shrink-swell movements due to
seasonal moisture changes.
The analysis of the test results with field monitored data indicated that the analytical
model provided reasonable predictions of soil movements for both control and treated soil
sections. Numerical methods using the existing material models did not capture the realistic
response of the treated sites. This might be possibly due to the limitations in the material models
available, which do not account for physical and chemical behavioral changes and unsaturated
soil response of treated expansive soils. Nevertheless, the present research has shown that the
deep soil mixing columns along with the use of grids and anchor rods have effectively stabilized
the expansive soils with active zones up to considerable depths at both test sections.
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... xiv
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... xxiii
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION . 1
1.1 General . 1
1.2 Research Objective ................................................................................. 3
1.3 Report Organization . 5
2. LITERATURE REVIEW . 7
2.1 General . 7
2.2 Expansive Soil Behavior and Associated Problems .................................. 7
2.3 Pavement Roughness in Expansive Subgrades .......................................... 11
2.3.1 Present Serviceability Index (PSI) .............................................. 13
2.3.2 International Roughness Index (IRI) .......................................... 14
2.4 Stabilization Methods for Expansive Soils ................................................ 15
2.4.1 Structural Alternatives . 16
2.4.2 Soil Treatment Alternatives ........................................................ 17
2.5 Background and Historical Review of DSM ............................................. 25
2.6 Laboratory Studies on DSM Technique .................................................... 30
2.6.1 Simulation of DSM Technique in Sample Preparation............... 30
2.6.2 Effects of Type, Characteristics and Conditions of Soil
to be Improved . 36
2.6.3 Effects of Stabilizer Type and Dosage Rate ............................... 40
2.6.4 Effect of Water-Binder Ratio ...................................................... 48
ix
2.6.5 Effects of Curing Conditions ...................................................... 55
2.6.6 Effect of Installation Parameters ................................................. 60
2.7 Design Aspects of DSM Columns ............................................................. 67
2.8 Summary . 68
3. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION AND MIX DESIGN PROGRAM ...... 69
3.1 General . 69
3.2 Site Selection, Characterization, Field Sampling and Storage ................. 71
3.3 Details and Procedures of Engineering Tests Performed ......................... 74
3.3.1 Sample Preparation .................................................................... 74
3.3.2 Atterberg Limit Tests ................................................................. 74
3.3.3 Determination of Linear Shrinkage Strains ............................... 75
3.3.4 Particle Size Distribution ........................................................... 76
3.3.5 Determination of Soluble Sulfates,
Organic Content and pH ............................................................. 76
3.3.6 Free Swell and Swell Pressure Tests ........................................ 77
3.3.7 Bender Element (BE) Test – Stiffness Measurement ............... 79
3.3.8 Unconfined Compression Strength (UCS) Test–
Strength Measurement . 82
3.4 Research Variables .................................................................................... 83
3.5 Specimen Notation .................................................................................... 85
3.6 Glossary of Laboratory DSM Practices and Terminology ....................... 86
3.7 Preparation of Treated Soil Samples ......................................................... 88
3.7.1 Procedures to Determine Material Quantities ............................ 88
3.7.2 Laboratory Deep Mixing Protocol ............................................. 92
3.8 Laboratory Testing on Treated Soils ......................................................... 99
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