Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

CHAPTER THREE

Soil Stabilization and Compaction

Soil Stabilization 
Stabilization refers to any treatment that increases its strength. In engineering
construction, however, stabilization most often referrers to compaction of soil preceded by the
addition and mixing of an inexpensive admixture termed a stabilization agent, which alters the
chemical makeup of the soil, resulting in a more stable material.
Stabilization prevents the soil from differential expansion and shrinkage due to changes
in moisture content. Also soil movement and rutting under moving wheel loads is prevented.
Stabilization may be applied in place to a soil in its natural position or as it is placed in a fill.
Also, stabilization may be applied in a plant and then transported to the job site for placement
and compaction.

Methods of stabilizing soils include, but are not limited to, the following operations.
1. Blending and mixing heterogeneous soils to produce more homogeneous soils.
2. Incorporating lime or lime fly ash in to soils that are high in clay content.
3. Blending asphalt with the soil.
4. Incorporating Portland cement (with or without fly ash) in to soils.
5. Incorporating various salts in to the soil.
6. Incorporating certain chemicals in to the soil.
7. Compacting the soil after it is processed.

Blending and mixing soils 
Heterogeneous soils in their original states, such as in a borrow pit, may be mixed during
excavation by using equipment such as a power shovel to excavate through several layers in one
operation. When such material is placed on a fill, it may be subjected to further blending by
several passes with a disk harrow (Fig 1 and 2).

Fig1. A motor grader using rear rippers to scarify material.

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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

Fig2. Disk harrow used to scarify soil.

Stabilizing soils with lime 
Soil stabilization with lime involves a chemical process. Unless stabilized, clay soils
usually become very soft when water is introduced.
Lime, in its hydrated form [Ca (OH)2] , will rapidly cause cat ion exchange and flocculation
agglomeration, provided it is intimately mixed with the soil. The clay type soil will then behave
much more like a silt type soil.
Lime Stabilization Construction Procedure
Lime treatment can be characterized into three classes:
1. Sub-grade (or sub-base) stabilization includes stabilizing fine – grained soils in- place
or borrows materials, which are employed as sub-bases.
2. Base Stabilization include plastic materials, such as clay- gravels which contain at least
50% course materials.
3. Lime Modification includes the upgrading of fine- grained soils with small amounts of
lime i.e. 0.5% to 3 % by weight.
The distinction between modification and stabilization is that generally no credit is
accorded to lime- modified layers in structural design.
Basic Steps in Lime- Stabilization Construction
1. Scarification and Pulverization – To accomplish complete stabilization, adequate
pulverization of the clay fraction is essential which can be done with the help of disk harrow and
rippers as shown in fig 1 and 2.
2. Lime Spreading- Lime in specified quantity can be uniformly spread but never in
windy directions. It is better to prepare lime – slurry and then to spread it uniformly on the grade
using standard water distributor trucks.

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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

3. Preliminary Mixing and addition of water - During rotary mixing of lime with the soil
material, the water content should be raised to at least 5% above optimum. This may require the
addition of water.
4. Preliminary Curing – The lime- soil mixture should cure for 24 to 48 hours to permit
the lime and water to break down (or mellow) the clay clods. In the case of extremely heavy
clays, the curing period may be extended to 7 days.
5. Final Mixing and Pulverization – During final mixing, pulverization should continue
until all clods are broken down to pass a 25 mm screen and at least 60% pass through a No. 4
sieve.
6. Compaction – Soil- lime mixture should be compacted as per specifications.
7. Final Curing – Compacted material should be allowed to cure for 3 to 7 days prior to
placing subsequent layers, by light sprinkling.

Lime fly ash stabilization 
Fly ash is a byproduct in the production of electricity using coal. The resulting fly ash is
extremely fine in size (often finer than Portland cement) and contains the silicates and aluminates
necessary to combine with the lime in the soil stabilization. Laboratory and field results indicate
that fly ash, of suitable quality; can replace a portion of the lime necessary to stabilize a clay type
soil.
Asphalt Soil stabilization  
When asphalts, such as an emulsion or a cut back, are mixed with granular soil, usually in
amount of 5 to 7 percent of the volume of the soil, this treatment will produce a much more
durable and stable soil.
The moisture content of the soil must be low at the time the asphalt is added. Also, it is
necessary to allow the volatile oils to evaporate from the bitumen before finishing and rolling the
material.
Cement Soil Stabilization 
The use of Portland cement has been found to be effective for soils predominantly
granular with only minor amounts of clay particles. A good rule of thumb is that soils with PI
less than about 10 are likely conditions for this type of stabilization.
The terms “soil cement” and “cement treated base” are often used interchangeably, and
generally describe this type of stabilization. The amount of cement in the soil is usually 5 to 7
percent by dry weight of the soil.
Like lime stabilization, fly ash can be effectively utilized to replace a portion of the
Portland cement in soil cement. Replacement percentages on an equal weight basis or on a 1.25:
1.0 fly ash / Portland cement replacement basis have been used.

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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

Fig 3. Fly ash spreader being used to uniformly apply cement during a soil- cement stabilization
project.

Soil- Cement Construction Procedures

The construction method involves scarifying the grade, spreading the Portland cement,
uniformly over the surface of the soil, then mixing it into the soil, preferably with the pulverize
type machine, to the specified depth, followed by compaction, fine grading and curing. If the
moisture content of the soil is low, it will be necessary to add water during the mixing operation.
The material should be compacted within 30 minutes after it is mixed, using either tamping foot
or pneumatic- tired rollers, followed by final rolling with a smooth- roller. A seal of asphalt or
another acceptable material may have to be applied to the surface to retain the moisture in the
mix.

Soil Compaction 
Soil for use as a sub grade under a pavement structure or other foundation is strengthened
by compaction at optimum moisture. Typically, a uniform layer, or lift, of from 100 mm to 300
mm. of soil is compacted by means of several passes of heavy mechanized compaction
equipment.

Many types of compacting equipment are available, including the following:

1. Sheep-foot rollers
2. Tamping rollers
3. Smooth-wheel rollers
4. Pneumatic-tired rollers
5. Vibrating rollers, including tamping, smooth wheel, and pneumatic

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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

Types of equipment suited for compacting soils

Type compactor Soil best suited for Maximum effect Density Maximum
in loose lift, mm gained in lift weight, kN
Sheep’s foot Clay, silty-clay, gravel Nearly
175 to 300 200
with clay binder uniform
Steel tandem Sandy silts, most granular
two-axle material with some clay 100 to 200 Average* 160
binder
Steel tandem Same as above
100 to 200 Average* 200
three-axle
Steel three- Granular or granular- Average* to
100 to 200 200
wheel plastic material uniform
Pneumatic, Sandy silts, Sandy clays,
Average* to
small-tire gravely sand and clays 100 to 200 120
uniform
with few fines
Pneumatic, All types
250 to 600 Uniform 500
large-tire
Vibratory Sand, silty-sand, silty-
75 to 150 Uniform 300
gravel
Combinations All 75 to 150 Uniform 200

Sheep‐foot rollers 
These rollers are found as towed drum models. The Sheep-foot roller is suitable for
compacting all fine-grained materials, but is generally not suitable for use on cohesion-less
granular materials. They are steel wheels equipped with cylindrical pegs normally 250 mm in
length. Varying the weight of the roller by the use of ballast in the drum will vary the foot-
contact pressure. For required compaction of the soil the sheep roller is moved a number of times
over the surface which is known as the number of passes. One such sheep-foot roller is shown in
Fig 4.
The depth of a layer of soil to be compacted is limited to approximately the length of the
300mm.

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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

Fig4. A two- drum towed sheep foot roller

Tamping rollers 
These are sheep’s-foot type or modifications thereof. On the outer surface of the hollow
steel drum there are a number of welded projecting steel feet. A unit may consist of one or
several drums mounted on one or more horizontal axles. The weight of a drum may be varied by
adding water or sand to produce unit pressures under the feet up to 1.7 5 N / mm2 or more.
As a tamping roller moves over the surface, the feet penetrate the soil to produce a
kneading action and a pressure to mix and compact the soil from the bottom to the top of the
layer.
The specifications may prescribe one of the following as a means of attaining the desired
compaction:
(i) The number of passes of a roller, producing a specified unit pressure under the feet, over each
layer of the soil.
(ii) Repeated passes of a roller, producing a specified unit pressure under the feet, over each
layer of soil until the penetration of the feet does not exceed a stated depth.
(iii) Repeated passes of a roller over each layer until the soil is compacted to a specified density.

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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

Fig 5. Self-propelled tamping roller with blade.

Modified tamping rollers 
It is a modified tamping roller designed as a grid roller. When this roller is ballasted with
concrete blocks, it is capable of producing very high soil pressures, and when it is used to
compact soil containing rocks, the high concentration of pressure on rocks projecting above the
surface of the soil is effective in shattering the rocks and forcing the broken pieces into the soil to
produce a relatively smooth surface.
Smooth‐wheel rollers 
Classification can be based on type or weight.
The rollers are steel drums, which may be ballasted with water or sand to increase the weights.
Specifications governing these rollers may be of two types, one type simply designating the
weight, and the other type designating the weight per linear cm of roll.
When compacting cohesive soils, these rollers tend to form a crust over the surface,
which may prevent adequate compaction in the lower portions of a lift. However these rollers are
effective in compacting granular soils, such as sand, gravel, and crushed stone, and they are also
effective in smoothing surfaces of soils that have been compacted by tamping rollers.
Pneumatic‐tired rollers 
These rollers apply the principle of kneading action to effect compaction below the
surface. The small-tired units usually have two tandem axles with four to nine tires on each axle.
Complete coverage of the surface is ensured as the rear wheels are spaced to travel over the
surfaces between the front wheels. Usually the weight of a unit may be varied by adding ballast
to suit the material being compacted.
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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

Large-tired rollers utilize two or more big earth-moving tires on a single axle (Fig 6).
Because of heavy loads and high tire pressures, they are capable to compact all types of soils to
greater depths. These units are frequently used to proof roll sub grades and bases on airfields and
earth-fill dams.
Because of the variation of the contact area between a tire and the ground surface, a more
definitive method of designating the compacting ability is to specify the gross weight, the
number and sizes of tires, and the tire inflation pressure.

Fig 6. Pneumatic tire roller

Pneumatic‐tire rollers with variable inflation pressures   
Several manufacturers produce rollers that are equipped to permit the operator to vary the
tire pressure without stopping the machine. The first passes are made with relatively low tire
pressures. As the soil is compacted, the tire pressure is increased to suit the particular conditions
of the soil.
Vibrating compactors 
Certain type of soils such as sand, gravel, and relatively large stones respond quite well to
compaction produced by a combination of pressure and vibration. When these materials are
vibrated, the particles shift their position and nestle more closely with adjacent particles to
increase the density of the mass. Equipments include:
(i) Vibrating sheep’s-foot rollers
(ii) Vibrating steel-drum rollers
(iii) Vibrating pneumatic-tired rollers
(iv) Vibrating plates or shoes
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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

Vibrating sheep’s-foot, steel-drum, pad-type, and pneumatic-tired rollers are actuated by

separate engines mounted on the rollers, or in some cases by hydraulic drives which rotate
horizontal shafts on which one or more eccentric weights are mounted.
In general, better compaction efficiencies and economy are obtained by moving vibrating
compactors at relatively slow speeds, 2.5 to 4.2 kmph. Slow speeds permit a greater flow of
vibratory energy into the soil.

Fig 7. Smooth drum vibratory soil compactor.

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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

Fig Padded drum vibratory soil compactor with a leveling blade.

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Construction Equipment and Methods Instructor: Abdulaziz A.

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