Effect of cement on the engineering properties of pavement materials

It is well known that cement stabilization of granular materials is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technique for the highway construction. However, the testing and design methods for these stabilized materials have not been sufficiently advanced scientifically, which hinders their full potential application. The proper characterization of the stabilized pavement materials is vital for the successful pavement design and construction. This paper presents the results from an experimental study on the effect of cement stabilization on pavement materials in terms of engineering properties essential for use in mechanistic design of road pavements. The test results from this study revealed that the index and shrinkage properties of the pavement materials are significantly influenced by cement content, and the tensile and compressive resistances of a cement stabilized pavement base layer increase significantly with the increasing cement content and increasing curing period. Based on the test results, it is concluded that the flexural modulus/UCS and the flexural strength/UCS ratios of the cement stabilized pavement materials depend on the material, age of curing, initial stage of the compacted material and laboratory testing practices.