Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 6, No.

3, 2012

Pavement Design for Rural Low Volume Roads Using Cement and
Lime Treatment Base

Swapan Kumar Bagui

General Manager, Pavement, Material and Geotechnical Division, Intercontinental Consultants and
Technocrats Private Limited, A8 Green Park, New Delhi, India

ABSTRACT
Quantity road aggregates have become rare and costly in many places in India due to massive construction
activities required for the development of new infrastructure facilities. The pavement industry looks for ways
of improving lower quality materials that are readily available for use in roadway construction. Cement/ lime
treatment has become an accepted method for increasing the strength and durability of soils and marginal
aggregates, reducing quantity of aggregates. Indian Roads Congress (IRC) developed a Special Publication
(SP) for mix design of lime/cement treated base/subgrade. No pavement design guideline is presently
available for cement/lime treated base. To overcome this problem, the objective of the present research work
is to develop a pavement design chart using cement and lime stabilized base for rural roads with light to
medium traffic (Traffic level up to 5 million standard axles). Based on this objective ,the scope of the present
research work is limited to develop a pavement design chart varying California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of
subgrade and thickness of stabilized material as well as axle load repetition up to 5 million standard axles
(MSA).Charts have been developed using FPAVE software. Results indicated that at known particular
resilient modulus of stabilized base and CBR of subgrade, thickness of soil-cement base and that of soil-lime
sub-base increase with increasing the allowable number of load repetitions. Thickness of soil-cement base
and that of soil-lime sub-base decrease as moduli of soil-cement base and soil-lime base increase. For each
modulus of soil-cement base and soil-lime sub-base, as CBR is increased, thickness of soil-cement base and
that of soil-lime sub-base decreased significantly. At a particular resilient modulus, CBR and N, the thickness
of soil-cement base is less than that of granular base. Finally, design curves have been developed to estimate
thickness of soil-cement base and that of soil-lime sub-base for different N-values and different values of
modulus of soil-cement and soil-lime mix.

KEYWORDS: Stabilization, CBR, Flexural modulus, Soil-cement base, Soil-lime sub-base, Low
volume road, Unpaved road.

INTRODUCTION wave action. This situation needs maintenance of these

roads every year/frequently. These adverse effects
Some portions of the existing rural roads in India together with inadequate compaction significantly
are unpaved/low volume roads. Heavy rainfall and impair the durability of these roads. The ultimate effect
floods affect almost all these roads frequently. The is comparatively low subgrade strength and eventually
roads are severely damaged due to flood, currents and higher pavement thickness if paved roads are to be
constructed. On the basis of this context, some
Accepted for Publication on 22/4/2012. treatment of locally available materials has become

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Pavement Design for… Swapan Kumar Bagui

necessary for satisfactory and economic construction of Ash. This publication is useful for selecting proper
roads in these regions. Cement stabilized bases or lime stabilized materials based on available local soil as
stabilized sub-bases may be provided for the stated below.
construction of rural roads for low volume/ light traffic. Some control over the grading can be achieved by
An increasing emphasis has been placed on the use of limiting the coefficient of uniformity to a minimum
stabilized pavement materials in recent years. Through value of 5; however, it should preferably be more than
the use of stabilizing agents, low-quality materials can 10. If the coefficient of uniformity lies below 5, the
be economically upgraded to the extent that these may cost of stabilization will be high, and the maintenance
be effectively utilized in the pavement structure. of cracks in the finished roads would be expensive. If
Stabilized pavement materials are generally the plasticity of soil is high, there are usually sufficient
incorporated into the pavement structure as base clay minerals which can be readily stabilized with lime.
courses and sub-bases. In a layered system of elastic Cement is more difficult to mix intimately with plastic
materials, where the overlying layers have higher materials, but this problem can be alleviated by pre-
moduli of elasticity than underlying layers, tensile treating the soil with approximately 2 percent lime.
stresses are developed at the interfaces between the Table 1 to Table 4 are the guidelines for selection of
layered materials. This layered system analysis is stabilized materials for subgrade, sub-base and base
commonly resumed to be applicable to a pavement course (IRC: SP: 89-2010).
where the stiffer materials are used in the upper layers.
Since many stabilized materials are relatively weak in LIMITATION OF IRC: SP: 89-2010
tension, any type of rational design procedure must This document recommends the guidelines for mix
take their tensile strength into account. design for Cement Treated Base (CTB)/Lime Treated
Indian Roads Congress prepared a Special Base (LTB)/Subgrade. Till date, there are no guidelines
Publication (IRC: SP-89-2010): Guidelines for Soil, for thickness design for CTB/LTB base. Conventional
Material Stabilization Using Cement, Lime and Fly pavement design is carried out using IRC: 37-2001.

Table 1. Selection of Stabilizer for Soil

Soil Properties
Stabilized Material 75 Micron Passing > 25 % 75 Micron Passing < 25 %
PI<10 10<PI<20 PI>20 PI<10 10<PI<20 PI>20
Cement Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes
Lime - Yes Yes No - Yes
Lime Pozzolana Yes - No Yes Yes -
Note: PI refers to Plasticity Index.

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE rural roads using CTB/LTB.

Based on the present needs, the scope of the study
Based on the limitation of present codal provisions has been limited to develop pavement design charts for
in India, the objective of the present study is to develop rural roads for design axle load repetition up to 5
comprehensive guidelines for pavement design for Million Standard Axles (MSA) with CBR 3,5,7 and 10.

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Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 6, No. 3, 2012

Charts have been developed using FPAVE software methodology is reported herein.
and checked by other software. Detail pavement design

Table 2. Material Characteristics for Cement Modified

Granular Materials
Property Specified Value
Liquid Limit <45%
Plasticity Index <20%
Organic Content 2%
SO4 Content 0.2%
Water Absorption <2%
Ten Percent Fine Value ≥ 50 kN

Table 3. Gradation Requirement for Stabilized Materials

Passing (%)
Sieve Size
Grading I Grading II Grading III Grading IV
75 mm 100
53 mm 100 80-100 100
45 mm 95-100
37.5 mm 95-100
26.5 mm 55-90 70-100 55-75
22.4 mm 60-80
11.2 mm 40-60
9.5 mm 35-65 50-80
4.75 mm 25-40 25-55 40-65 10-30
2.36 mm 15-30 20-40 30-50
0.6 micron
0.425 micron 8-22 10-35 15-25
0.3 micron
0.075 micron 0-8 3-10 3-10 0-10
7 Days
Unconfined
6 4.5 1.5 0.75
Compressive
Strength (MPa)

APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY (i) Selection of a trial pavement including the number
of layers and thicknesses of all layers overlying
The basic design procedures for developing charts the subgrade.
are stated below (IRC: 37-2001): (ii) Selection of design loading (traffic) and

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Pavement Design for… Swapan Kumar Bagui

determination of vertical stress (i.e., tire contact loading. The design is based on the criteria that strains
pressure) and radius of the tire contact area. at three critical locations do not exceed certain values.
(iii) Determination of the elastic parameters of asphalt These limiting strains, shown in Fig. 1, are as follows:
which include flexural modulus and Poisson's • The horizontal tensile strain ε1 at the bottom of the
ratio. asphalt layer.
(iv) Determination of the following elastic parameters • The horizontal tensile strain ε2 at the bottom of the
of the subgrade: elastic modulus and Poisson's cemented layer.
ratio. • Vertical compressive strain ε3 at the top of the
(v) Determination of the elastic parameters of the subgrade.
unbound granular sub-layer as mentioned in step The critical responses within the pavement will
(iv) and stabilized materials (e.g., cement and lime occur on the vertical axis directly under one wheel or
stabilized layers) which include elastic modulus on the vertical axis located symmetrically between a
and Poisson's ratio. pair of dual wheels. The contact stress is related to the
(vi) The minimum allowable number of load tire pressure and is assumed to be in the range 560 kPa.
repetitions before unacceptable rutting/ cracking The thickness and properties of granular layers are to
occurs. be such that tensile stresses will not be generated in
The design procedures are based on the structural such materials. Wheel load is taken as 20400 N.
analysis of a multi-layered pavement subject to traffic

Figure 1: Different Layers of Pavement

Analysis and Design of Soil-Cement and Soil-Lime • Unpaved soil-cement roads; i.e., continuous soil-
Rural Roads cement base supported over untreated granular
Analyses were carried out for low volume /rural sub-base of 150 mm thickness for subgrade CBR
roads with light traffic. Then the following types of of 5 % and above; and 200 mm granular sub-base
pavement structures have been modeled. for subgrade CBR < 5%.

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Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 6, No. 3, 2012

• A 20 mm thin surface in the form of premixed protection of layers from environmental and
carpet as asphalt wearing surface at the top for climatic condition.

Table 4. Material Characteristics for Lime/Modified Soils

Property Specified Value

Passing 75 mm sieve 100%
Passing 26.5 mm sieve 95-100%
Passing 75 micron sieve 15-100%
Plasticity Index >10 %
Organic Content 2%
SO4 Content 0.2%
Minimum Lime 2.5 %
Degree of Pulverization >60%
UCS As per contract specification

Input Parameters for Pavement Layers For each CBR of subgrade and modulus of soil-
All the pavement interface layers have been cement base, a number of analyses were carried out
assumed to be rough. The asphalt wearing surface, soil- with varying thickness of the soil-cement base.
cement base and soil-lime sub-base have been assumed
to be homogeneous, elastic and isotropic. In all the Fatigue Criteria for Cemented Materials
analyses, the values of flexural modulus of asphalt and Fatigue relationships have been derived for
Poisson's ratio were set at 500 MPa at 35 0 C and 0.4, cemented materials for various moduli and may be
respectively. The thickness of the asphalt wearing used to give an indication of fatigue life for cemented
surface has been kept constant at 20 mm in all analyses materials. Austroad (2004) reported fatigue
with soil-cement base and soil-lime base. Soil-cement relationships for cemented materials. The relationship
base analyses were carried out with elastic modulus between the maximum tensile strain in cemented
values equal to 300 MPa, 400 MPa, 500 MPa, 600 MPa materials produced by a specific load and the allowable
and 700 MPa. For the analyses with soil-lime base, number of repetitions of that load is given by the
elastic modulus values of soil-lime base have been set following expression:
equal to 150 MPa, 300 MPa,400 MPa and 500 MPa. 12
( 11300 / E 0.804 + 191 )
The natural subgrade materials and unbound Nf = RF { } (2)
granular materials have been assumed to be µz 12
homogeneous, elastic and cross-anisotropic.
The vertical modulus (Ev) of the subgrade was where,
estimated from its respective CBR-value which is Nf = Fatigue life of the cemented material.
based on the following empirical relationship: RF = Reliability factor for cemented materials for
The relation between resilient modulus and CBR is failure against fatigue.
given as: = 1 for expressways, national highways and other
E (MPa) = 10*CBR for CBR < 5 and … heavy volume roads;
= 176*(CBR) 0.64 for CBR > 5 (1) = 2 for other roads carrying less than 1000 trucks
E = Resilient modulus of subgrade soil. per day.

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Pavement Design for… Swapan Kumar Bagui

E = Elastic modulus of CTB. considered in-designed .Only E-values of cement

µz = Tensile strain of CTB. treated base amounting to 10% of the initial value have
Many researchers reported that the equation been considered for the design to develop the pavement
overestimates fatigue life. Hence, fatigue life is not design charts.

340
1 MSA 2 MSA 3 MSA 5 MSA
310
CTB Thickness(mm)

280
250
220
190
160
130
100
300 400 500 600 700
E Value of CTB (Mpa)

Figure 2: Design Curves for CBR = 3%

280
260 1 MSA 2 MSA 3 MSA 5 MSA
240
CTB Thickness(mm)

220
200
180
160
140
120
100
300 400 500 600 700
E Value of CTB (Mpa)

Figure 3: Design Curves for CBR = 5%

Subgrade Rutting Criteria pavements was collected and analyzed during several
Large amount of field data for rutting in asphalt research projects of the Ministry of Surface Transport

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Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 6, No. 3, 2012

(MOST), and the vertical elastic subgrade strain was when rutting data were collected and most of the
developed for different repetitions of standard axle rutting took place in the subgrade and the granular
loads and subsequently adopted in IRC-37:2001. A layers only. The equation for rutting is given as
similar approach was used by Asphalt Institute, (MOST 2000):
Austroads and Shell for the design of flexible
pavements. The bituminous layers were not very thick N= 4.1656 x 10-08 [1/εv] 4.5337. (3)
in India in the eighties and nineties of the past century

250
1 MSA 2 MSA 3 MSA 5 MSA
225
CTB Thickness(mm)

200

175

150

125

100
300 400 500 600 700
E Value of CTB (Mpa)

Figure 4: Design Curves for CBR = 7%

190
1 MSA 2 MSA 3 MSA 5 MSA

170
CTB Thickness(mm)

150

130

110

90

70
300 400 500 600 700
E Value of CTB (Mpa)

Figure 5: Design Curves for CBR = 10%

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Pavement Design for… Swapan Kumar Bagui

Table 5. Thickness Comparison

CBR(%) Cement Treated Base Conventional Design(IRC:37-2001)
CTB* Granular Sub-base Granular Base Granular Sub-base
3 200 200 225 435
5 140 150 225 205
7 115 150 225 150
10 95 150 225 150
* E-value of CTB is taken 500 MPa; Design MSA = 1.

400
1 MSA 2 MSA 3 MSA 5 MSA

350
LTB Thickness(mm)

CBR 3%,LTB

300

250

200
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
E Value of LTB (Mpa)

Figure 6: Design Curves for CBR = 3%

350

1 MSA 2 MSA 3 MSA 5 MSA

300
CBR 5%,LTB
LTB Thickness(mm)

250

200

150

100
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
E Value of LTB (Mpa)

Figure 7: Design Curves for CBR = 5%

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Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 6, No. 3, 2012

300
1 MSA 2 MSA 3 MSA 5 MSA

250 CBR 7%,LTB

LTB Thickness(mm)

200

150

100
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
E Value of LTB (Mpa)

Figure 8: Design Curves for CBR = 7%

250
1 MSA 2 MSA 3 MSA 5 MSA
225
10%,LTB
200
LTB Thickness(mm)

175

150

125

100

75
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
E Value of LTB (Mpa)

Figure 9: Design Curves for CBR = 10%

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION been determined using equation 2. Finally, pavement

design charts have been developed for design purposes.
Using FPAVE software, strain at the top of sub- For a particular CBR of subgrade and resilient
grade level has been determined and pavement life has modulus of soil-cement base and soil-lime sub-base, a

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Pavement Design for… Swapan Kumar Bagui

number of analyses were performed with varying for different CBR-values of 3, 5, 7 and 10.
thickness (t) of soil-cement base and soil-lime sub- It is observed from Table 5 that the thickness of
base. Using the rutting criteria as shown in Equation 3, cement lime base with granular sub-base is
the allowable number of load repetitions, N for each considerably lower than that of the conventional
thickness of soil-cement base and soil-lime base was design. There is a shortage of aggregates and many
determined to develop the pavement design charts. stone quarry areas are banned by the Government. To
The relationships showing thickness of soil-cement solve the shortage of aggregates, stabilized
base versus allowable number of load repetitions, N for materials/marginal materials with CTB/LTB shall be
CBR-values of 3, 5,7 and 10 are plotted and shown in used, and charts developed are useful for thickness
Figs. 2,3,4 and 5. The relationships showing thickness design.
of lime treated base versus N for subgrade CBR-values
of 3, 5, 7 and 10 are plotted in Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9. CONCLUSIONS
It is found from Figs. (2 to 5) that for each resilient
modulus, the thickness of soil-cement base increases Analyses were carried out with soil-cement base
with increasing the allowable number of load and soil-lime base. The major findings and conclusions
repetitions. At any particular value of N, the value of obtained from the present study may be summarized as
thickness of soil-cement base reduces as the modulus follows:
of soil-cement base increases. Comparing the curves in • Thicknesses of soil-cement base / soil-lime base
Figs. 2 and 5, it is found that for each resilient increase with increasing the allowable number of
modulus, as CBR increased from 3 to 10, the thickness load repetitions for known resilient modulus of
of soil-cement base reduced markedly for any stabilized material and known CBR.
particular value of N. • Thicknesses of soil-cement base / soil-lime base
For example, it has been found from the curves in reduce as modulus of soil-cement base /soil-lime
Figs. 2 and 5 that for an unpaved road with an elastic base increases for a particular number of repetition
modulus of 500 MPa and for N = 1 MSA and 5 MSA and CBR.
repetitions, as CBR is increased from 3 to 10,the • When CBR increases from 3 to 5/7/10, the
thickness of soil-cement base reduced markedly from thickness of soil-cement base / soil-lime base
200 mm to 95 mm and from 280 mm to 185 mm, reduces significantly for any particular value of
respectively. Similar results are also obtained from repetitions.
lime base for various CBR values. • Design curves have been developed for the roads,
and it has been found that, in general, at any CBR
Comparisons of Thickness of Cemented Layers for and N, the thickness of cemented layer reduces
Unpaved and Paved Roads with increasing the elastic modulus for known
Table 5 shows a comparison of the thickness of CBR and number of axle load application .
cemented layers and the conventional thickness for a • Aggregate consumption is less for the case of
particular allowable load repetition value of 106 and stabilized base compared to that of the
resilient modulus of cemented materials of 500 MPa conventional method.

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Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 6, No. 3, 2012

REFERENCES Delhi, India.

IRC: 37. 2001. Guidelines for Flexible Pavement
AUSTROADS. 2004. Pavement Design- A Guide to Design. New Delhi, India.
Structural Design of Road Pavements. Sydney, Ministry of Surface Transport. 2000. Research Scheme
Australia. R-56: Analytical Design of Flexible Pavements.
IRC: SP – 89. 2010. Guidelines for Soil, Material Government of India.
Stabilization Using Cement, Lime and Fly Ash. New

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