Stabilization Of Natural Sand With Cement And Bitumen And Sulfur For Base Course

Absence of sound natural road construction materials, within the vicinity of the projectrncompound, makes road construction in that area very expensive. The best alternative inrnthose areas, where there is scarcity of suitable construction materials, is upgrading thernlocally available materials so that they can be used for the proposed construction. Soilrnstabilization by adding additives is one of the oldest methods of upgrading substandardrnmaterials.rnIn the south western part of Ethiopia, in Gambella region, rock and natural gravel, whichrnare the necessary ingredients for construction of pavement structural components, are veryrnscarce. The vast flat land of the region is covered by black clay soil which is underlain byrnsand deposits within 0.5m – 3m depth.rnThe focus of this study is to stabilize the natural sand, found underneath the black clay soil,rnwith bitumen and cement so that it can be used for road base construction. Additives like,rnsulfur and cement were added to the sand-bitumen mixture to increase the Marshallrnstability of the mix. The sand-bitumen mixtures were designed according to Marshallrnmethod of mix design and the respective properties were assessed based on the Marshallrnmix design criteria. The sand-cement mixtures were, on the other hand, designedrnaccording to the Joint US Army and Air Force methods and the mixture quality wasrnevaluated based on the specifications, developed by the same agencies.rnIt was found out that the natural sand underneath the black clay soil can be used forrnroadbase construction by stabilizing it either with bitumen or ordinary portland cement. Inrnbitumen stabilization 15-20 percent sulfur has to be added so that the mix gain sufficientrnstability. The sand stabilized with 10% ordinary portland cement fulfilled all of thernrequirements set for base course materials.rnEconomically, cement treated natural sand is the most feasible alternative as compared tornthe crushed stone base course and bituminous (sand-sulfur-bitumen) base course.rnKey words: sand-bitumen, sand-sulfur-bitumen, stabilization, sand-bitumen roadbase,rncement stabilization, cement treated sand.

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