Assessment of ordinary Portland cement impact on the compressibility of laterite soil for road and railway subgrade application

• Published in: AIP Conference Proceedings
• Main Author: Wahab N.A.; Yunus N.Z.M.; Rashid A.S.A.; Roshan M.J.; Ismail M.Z.; Razali R.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: American Institute of Physics 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85188341644&doi=10.1063%2f5.0193067&partnerID=40&md5=9f90641cfca9d9850ba9074e1ed2ce20

The stability of the subgrade layer has a significant impact on how efficiently pavement systems and rail tracks operate over time. This study investigates the influence of traditional stabiliser which is CEM I 42.5N Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and the curing periods on the compressibility of laterite soil for road and railway subgrade application based on Malaysian standards. The experimental study of several laboratory investigations including unconfined compression test (UCT) and conventional oedometer has been conducted to evaluate the physical properties, compressive strength, and compressibility characteristics of the natural soil and soil-cement mixtures at few cement contents (3%, 6%, 9%, 12%) for different curing periods (3, 7, 14, 28 days). Based on their 800 kPa UCS values, the study recommended 6% cement and 7 days of curing period as the optimum cement content and curing period, respectively, in accordance with Malaysia Public Work Department (MPWD) requirements. The conventional oedometer tests indicated an increment in preconsolidation pressure with both cement contents and curing periods. However, the reduction in compression index and recompression index is discovered with an increased in cement contents and curing periods due to the fact that cement addition gave positive influences to the laterite soil. Hence, it is deduced that cement-treated laterite soil has a huge potential to be applied as road and railway subgrade material. © 2024 Author(s).