00755133

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1611-02

http://scholar.google.com...rris&publication_year=1998

Three cement-treated base (CTB) pavements constructed around 1990 near Houston, Texas, showed severe pavement deterioration after 3 to 4 years. The unusual distress patterns included wheelpath alligator cracking and severe pumping. A forensic investigation was initiated to determine the cause and to recommend modifications to materials specification, design, and construction practices to avoid future problems. The primary cause was determined to be chemical deterioration that resulted in destruction of the cement matrix. In all cases water was trapped within the CTB layer. In two bases moisture flowed rapidly by capillary action through the CTB; these bases showed the most rapid deterioration. Water flow in one case was attributed to smectite clay contamination of the fine aggregate and in another to a highly absorptive sandstone coarse aggregate. Extensive ettringite was found in one material. In one case deterioration was caused by the growth of two phases exhibiting different morphologies: hydrated calcium aluminum silicate with a radiating needle morphology and ettringite, which showed a bladed morphology in these samples. Practical recommendations to prevent recurrence of the problem were (a) moisture absorption as acceptance testing for coarse aggregate and (b) elimination of designs placing different stabilized materials on top of one another. The laboratory suction test that was developed is recommended as a screening test for molded CTB specimens.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1611, Stabilization and Geosynthetics.

English

p. 10-18

1998

Transportation Research Record

0309064562

Figures; Photos; References (3) ; Tables (1)

Absorptivity; Acceptance tests; Alligator cracking; Base course (Pavements); Cement treated soils; Contaminants; Deterioration; Ettringite; Failure analysis; Fine aggregates; Prevention; Pumps; Sandstones; Silicates

Cement treated bases; Contamination; Suction

Houston (Texas)

Houston (Texas)

Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Pavements; Security and Emergencies; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Oct 28 1998 12:00AM

• BENEFITS OF USING GEOGRIDS FOR BASE REINFORCEMENT WITH REGARD TO RUTTING
• GEOGRID REINFORCING OF RECYCLED AGGREGATE MATERIALS FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION: FINITE ELEMENT INVESTIGATION
• LABORATORY INVESTIGATION OF COAL WASTES FOR SECONDARY ROADS
• OPTIMIZING MULTIAGENT, MULTI-INJECTED SWELL MODIFIER
• RESILIENT PROPERTIES AND FATIGUE DAMAGE IN STABILIZED RECYCLED AGGREGATE BASE COURSE MATERIAL
• STABILIZATION CHARACTERISTICS OF CLAYS USING CLASS C FLY ASH
• STABILIZATION OF SULFATE-CONTAMINATED CRUSHED CONCRETE BASE WITH TYPE V CEMENT AND FLY ASH
• STABILIZATION OF WEAK CLAY WITH STRONG SAND AND GEOGRID AT SAND-CLAY INTERFACE
• TENSILE PROPERTIES OF ASPHALT OVERLAY GEOSYNTHETIC REINFORCEMENT
• USING GEOGRIDS FOR BASE REINFORCEMENT AS MEASURED BY FALLING WEIGHT DEFLECTOMETER IN FULL-SCALE LABORATORY STUDY