| Subgrade soils of southeast Arlington, Texas exhibit high PI characteristics; low strength properties and high swell characteristics. All these poor properties of subgrade soils often affect the long-term performance of the pavement infrastructure built on such soils. Annual maintenance and repair costs of the distressed pavements are quite high. Additionally, the pavement distress result in pavement ponding problems, riding discomforts and possible traffic delays due to repair jobs. Hence, it is necessary to review and explore new and alternate stabilization methods for providing better stabilization of soft and expansive soils, which will provide better foundation subgrades for pavements.; A laboratory research study was designed and conducted to investigate the effectiveness of four stabilizers (Class F Fly Ash, Sulfate Resistant Cement Type V, Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag or GGBFS and Lime with Fibers). As a part of the research, four different subgrade soils from Walnut Creek, Quail Creek, South Cooper Estate East, and South Cooper Estate West locations in Southeast Arlington were used as control soils. Both stabilizer dosage levels and curing periods were studied for providing optimum stabilization to the soils.; Strength, swell and shrinkage as well as Atterberg tests were conducted on both raw and stabilized soil samples. Test results were statistically analyzed to assess the effectiveness of stabilization methods in enhancing soil strength and reducing swell and shrinkage characteristics. All stabilizers provided statistically significant improvements. Also, analyses were conducted to rank these four stabilizers for providing best stabilization: Sulfate resistant cement, followed by lime with fibers and GGBFS stabilization methods were ranked as top three performers in the present laboratory evaluations. Cost details of the four stabilization methods, and future research studies including field studies are discussed. |
