Effects of method of preparation on the compaction and strength characteristics of lateritic soils | |
| Author | Medhi Hongsnoi |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. 256 |
| Subject(s) | Soils Laterite Strength of materials |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in the Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok, Thailand. |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Lateritic soils are abundantly available in Thailand where they are extensively used as borrow material for highway construction. It is common practice to specify the standard of field compaction from the results of laboratory compaction tests and often to determine the pavement thickness by laboratory strength tests on the compacted material. Prior to a compaction test, soil samples obtained from the field are usually dried, each compaction sample being prepared by adding water to the dry, pulverized soil. However, experiments have shown that drying of some soils can greatly alter their compaction and resulting strength characteristics. Hence, the effects of drying could lead to the over or under design of embankments and flexible pavements where the conditions of testing of the soils in the laboratory and of compaction in the field are not the sane. Representative lateritic soils from eleven sources in Thailand were investigated to measure the effects of different methods of preparation on the compaction and strength characteristics of the soils. The tests employed to study these properties were the Modified AASHO compaction test and the C.B.R. test on both soaked and unsoaked samples. An examination of the general properties of the soils at different pretreatments shows that the Atterberg limits are affected most because decreases in the clay contents on heating cause changes in the classifications of the soils. The soils compacted at natural moisture contents give higher optimum moisture contents and lower maximum dry densities than soils compacted in the oven-dried condition. The strength/moisture content relationships of the compacted soils indicate that they behave in the same way as compacted clays. Generally, higher unsoaked G.B.R, values are obtained from the samples compacted without preying as long as heating does not cause great changes in the Atterberg limits and clay content of the particular soil. The strengths of the soils in the soaked condition are higher in nearly every case where the soil has been dried prior to sample preparation: these higher strengths are usually accompanied by low water absorptions and swellings during soaking. Although the differences in the test results for different methods of preparation are not significant for all the soils tested, they could have important implications to the application of laboratory compaction results and strength measurements to field conditions for some of the soils. The results of this study show, however, that the only way of predicting with certainty the effects of method of preparation on the compaction and strength characteristics of a lateritic soil is by direct determination in the laboratory. For design purposes, the soil should be tested in the laboratory without preying, the moisture content being varied by wetting or drying from the natural moisture content condition. |
| Year | 1969 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | Student Research Before 1980 |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Thesis (Year <=1979) |
| Chairperson(s) | Brand, E.W. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Moh, Za-Chieh ; Nelson, John D. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1969 |
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