HEA VY LOAD PAVEMENTS ON SOFT SOILS

RAYMOND S. ROLLINGS, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE.,

U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA

MARIAN E. POINDEXTER, B.S., M.S ., Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE,

U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA

KIERAN G. SHARP, B.E., Grad.Dip . HTE., M.E., M.I.E.Aust.,

Research Scientist, Australian Road Research Board

ABSTRACT

Heavy load pavements that must be build on soft soils face several problems. The existing soils are generally unsuitable and
some site improvement is needed. A consruction platform must be built to allow access to the site and provide a stable
platform on which to build. This paper reviews some of the techniques available to und~rtake these tasks and examines some
of the problems in designing a pavement for these conditions. Potential construction platforms withfabrics, gabions, or sand
confinement methods such as sand grids are not easily incorporated into existing pavement design methods.

INTRODUCTION large wheel loads, often exceeding 45,000 kg

(99,OOOlb). The pavement is a major invest-
1. Soft soils are found throughout the world ment in a marine terminal and can represent
in a wide variety of coastal, alluvial, and 25 percent of the cost of the facility
lacustine deposits among others. Such deposits (Meletious 1986). The soils upon which these
are avoided when possible or are replaced with pavements must be built are often soft clays
better materials when economically feasible. and silts, organic deposits, random, poor qual-
However, urban areas may lacK alternative ity fill, dredged materials, or a heterogeneous
development sites or project economics and mixture of two or more of these. Within the
requirements may preclude selection of a better scope of this paper a soft soil is defined to
site. Under these conditions the engineer has have an initial California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
to build on soils he would prefer to avoid . of 3 or less (undrained vane shear strength of
For example, in some areas of Norway and Sweden about 70 kPa ( 10 psi)) and will consolida te
8 to 11 percent of the roads are estimated to under the weight of any fill and pavement
be founded on marsh, bog, or soft marine clays structure placed upon it.
while in the Netherlands up to 50 percent of
the road network is on soft soil (Organization DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
for Economic Cooperation and Development 1979).
The problem of building on soft, poor qualit y 3. Conventional pavement des ign procedures
ground was recently the topic of a conference select materials and their respec t ive thick-
of the Institution of Civil Engineers (1987). nesses so tha t some level of failure, usually
defined in terms of cracking or rutting, does
2. This paper examines the problems of not occur within the s pecified number of passes
designing and building heavy load pavements on of the design vehicle. The pavement parame ters
soft soils. As an example, heavy l oad pave- normally checked in these design methods are
ments can be found in modern port facilities s ubgrade rutting and asphalt concrete fatigue
where cargo handling vehicles can h ave v ery cracking f or flexible pavements and portland

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS : The views and opinions presented here are those of the authors alone. The review and
comments of Dr Paul Hadala, Mr Harry Ulery, Dr Walter Barker, Dr John Potter, Dr Ray Montgomery, Mr Steve Webster
and Mr Ray Brady were of great assistance in preparing this work. The support of the Us Army Engineer Waterways
Experiment Station and the Australian Road Research Board in preparing this paper are gratefull y acknowledged. This paper
is published with the permi ssion of the Chief of En gineers and the Execu ti ve Director of the Australian Road Research
Board.

PROCEEDINGS 14th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 5 219

 ROLLINGS , POINDEXTER , SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

cement concrete fat i gue cracking for rigid action must be taken to improve the site before
pavements. If stabilized or bound layers are construction.
used in the pavement structure, some design
procedures also perform a fatigue analysis of 8. The pavement surfacing should be selected
the bound layers. These basic design conside- on the basis of traffic and operational
rations are applicable to heavy load pavements requirements, site characteristics, and econo-
on any soil, but the soft soils covered in this mics. Table I compares some of the character-
paper introduce some additional problems that istics of potential pavement surfacings.
must be addressed in the design. Gravel surfaced pavements would be appropriate
for a facility with low speed traffic and a
4. One problem occurs because soft, fine- minimum initial investment and whose operation
grained soils will intrude into any granular would all ow frequent maintenance of the sur-
material placed directly upon them thereby fac e. Additional gravel could be placed to
weakening the structural capacity of the gran- correct settlement at a minimal cost . Asphalt
ular layer. Either this weakening must be concrete offers a higher speed pavement with
recognized during the design stage or the reduc ed maintenance requirements, but resis-
intrusion must be prevented by a membrane, an tance to concentrated loads such as steel
effective filter layer, or a bound material. wheels or container supports and resistance to
chemicals such as fuel or hydraulic fluid is
poor. Some settlement correction can be made
5. The softness of these soils can also pose with periodic asphalt concrete overlays. Con-
very diffic ult construction problems. Equip- c re te block pavements are a high initial cost,
ment may not be able to operate on the soil low maintenance pavement with very good abra-
without leaving large ruts or bogging down. sion, point load, and chemical resistance.
Also, any materials placed on these resilient They are acceptable for vehicle speeds up to
soils may prove impossible to compact due to about 60 km/h (40 miles/hr), and because of
the give or springiness of the underlying their modular nature they can be taken up and
layers. If pavement materials are i nadequately reused to correct settlement problems. Port-
compacted, they may not achieve the strength land cement concrete pavements (conventional,
assumed for them in desi gn resulting i n struc- roller compacted, or precast) are a high qual-
tural inadequacy, or they may densify under ity, low maintenance pavement, but they have
traffic resulting in undesirable surface very poor tolerance for differential settle-
rutting. Under these conditions a construction ment. Roller compacted concrete and precast
platform is needed to allow construction opera- concrete slab construction will not provide as
tions and proper compaction. smooth an initial surface as conventional con-
struction (Rollings 1988; Rollings and Chou
1981) so these construction methods would, like
6. The low strength of the s e soils may also blocks, be suitable for lower speed traffic.
lead to a be ar ing capacity failure as the pave-
The acceptable surfacings should be selected
ment structure is placed on them. Conse- from operational requirements (e.g. traffic
quentl y, a conventional soil mechanics bearing speed or acceptable interference with opera-
capacity analysis must be made although that
tions for periodic maintenance), traffic char-
topic lies outside the scope of this paper.
acteristics (e.g. frequent fuel spills or con-
centrated loads), and site characteristics
7. The soft soils covered in this paper will (e.g. long term settlement is anticipated).
require thick pavement sections to support the Economics should then decide which of the
loads, and the soils are capable of extensive acceptable surfacings should be built.
settlement under the load of the pavement
structure. In some cases this settlement might 9. The soft soils covered in this paper
be four or five meters (13 or 16 feet) over introduce several special problems in pavement
many years. Because of the heterogeneous design. In general, soils of this kind are not
nature of some of these soils, there might also suitable for construction so some site improve-
be large differential settlements at different ment will be necessary. Some type of construc-
points rather than a general subsidence. These tion platform will be needed, and steps will
large settlements would disrupt the pavement have to be taken to prevent intrusion of the
surface and continuity between the pavement and soft soils into the overlaying· pavement struc-
fixed structures such as piers or buildings ture. Finally the site conditions, traffic,
founded on piles driven below the consolidating and operational needs of the facility must be
soils. Under these conditions some kind of evaluated to select the final design.

TABLE I

RELATIVE SURFACING CHARACTERISTICS

Resistance to
Traffic Point Settlement Maint. Init.
Surface SEeed Loads Chemical Abrasion Tolerance Cost Cost
Gravel Low Good Good Good Good High Low
Asphalt High Poor Poor Moderate Moderate Medium Medium
Block Medium Good Good Good Moderate Low High
Concrete High Good Good Good Poor Low High

220 PROCEEDINGS 14th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 5

 ROLLINGS, POINDEXTER , SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

SITE CHARACTERISTICS indicates, the effective stress changes by at

least four orde r s of magnitude at any given
10. Even though the material properties of void ratio. Note that the void ratios encoun-
soft soils vary widely and are dependent upon tered in soft soils are much highe r than the
the type of deposit, these materials have a typical values less than 3 or 4 that are nor-
universally high water content which causes mally found in geotechnical engineering. The
engineering and construction problems. The higher void ratios, combined with low effective
specific problems related to high water content stresses, indicate that these materials will be
are low shear strength and high extremely compressible and will therefore
compressibility. undergo large strains under relative l y small
loadings. Many of these materials will consol-
11. Some of the ex tremely high water contents idate to less than fifty percent of their ini-
which are often encountered in soft soils are tial thickness under self-weight alone. Conse-
documented in Table II. These data show that quently, one must plan for large settlements in
the water content in deposits of peat and pho- these deposits.
sphatic clay may exceed 1,000 percent; even
more conventional soils such as organic soils
and some clays may have water contents exceed- 14. When consolidation of soft soils involves
ing 100 percent. Table II also gives common large strains, the conventional Terzaghi theory
ranges of other material properties for some of consolidation is not technically applicable
soft soils; for comparison, properties for since it is based upon the ass umption of small
several recognized natural clays are also strains. The proper analytical approach
presented. The wide variation in plasticity involves use of a finite strain consolidation
between these materials is illustrated in theory. The most general and least restrictive
Figure 1. of the many one-dimensional primary consolida-
tion formulations is the finite strain theory
developed by Gibson, England, and Hussey
12. As noted earlier and shown in Table II, an
(1967). This theory has recently been expanded
increase in soil water content leads to a cor-
and applied to various soft soil analyses
responding decrease in shear strength. In some
(Gibson, Schiffman , and Cargill 1981; Cargill
extreme cases , the strength of the deposit is
1985; Poindexter 1988).
so low that it is impossible for a person to
walk on the mat er ial. Obviously, in this state
the site is unsuitable for any type of 15. In thick deposits of soft material, secon-
construction. dary compression can be significant. Although
classical consolidation theory (including
13. High water contents in a soil deposit also finite strain consolidation theory) is based
indicate high compressibility. Figure 2 shows upon primary consolidation, secondary compres-
typical ranges of compressibility which can be sion can comprise the bulk of field settlement
expected in some soft soils. As t his figure in peats and other highly organic soils. When

TABLE II

TYPICAL RANGES OF SOFT SOIL PROPERTIES

Engine ering ProEerties

Shear
Strength
W G (kPa)
Material Tlpe c, % s LL PI
Peat 100-1,800 1.5-1. 75 250- 500 150-400 <4
Marsh/organic soil 100-500 1. 7-2.5 50- 200 100-165 <4
Dredged material 50-400 2.4-2.8 0-270 0-185 0-50
Phosphatic clay 300-1,000 2 .8 76-245 45-175 <1
London clay 20-40 na 65-95 35-65 50-500
Norwegian marine clay 18-45 na 20-44 4-23 3- 50
Boston blue clay 32-42 na 40-52 18-32 40-80
Mexico City clay 100-55 0 na 150-500 100-400 25-175
Coode Island silt 23 -130 2 .4 37-90 20-53 7-120

W water content.
c
na not available, generally about 2.7.
LL liquid limit.
PI plastic limit.
Coode Island s ilt is a s ilty clay deposited throu gh phases of sedimentation
and e r os i on associated with changes in sea level in the Yarra River delta
at the northern end of Po rt Phillip Bay , Melbourne, during the Quaternary
Period.

PR O C EEDI N GS 14th A RRB CON FERE NCE, PART 5 22 1

 RO LLINGS, POINDEXTER, SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

200

/
LEGEND /
180 /
PEA T /
ORGAN IC SOIL/MARSH
/
/
160 LONDON CLAY /
/
NORWEGIAN MA RI N E CLAY /
/
BOSTON BLUE C L AY
140 MEX ICO CI T Y CL AY

A - LINE
c;: 120 PHOSPHA TIC CLA Y - - - I
X'
w
0
~
>- 100
t: 1000
u
f: CL CH
Vl
«
...J 80
"-
800

tiO
600

40
400
DREDGED MA TERIA L

20

1000 1200

o 20 40 60 80 100 1W 1~ 1~ 1~ 200 220 240 260 280 300

LIQU I D LIMIT, LL

Figure I. Plast ic ity ranges fo r soft soils and some recognized na tural clays

t hese deposits must be used as a foundation is removal of excess water f r om the dep osit
soil, the ultimat e settlement cannot be made by prior to construction . Red uction of the water
theoretical calculations. Instead, local content allows densification of the soil
experience and/or precompression to cessation deposit to occur, which in t urn results in
of s ett l ement should be used. lower compressibility and higher shear
strength. Reduction of future potential s e t-
16. An additional problem that is often tlement decreases the possibility of future
encountered in natural deposits and non-select pavement distress or failure from excessive or
fills is the h e t e rogeneous nature of the mate- differential settlement. By improving the
rial . In such situations, the material pro- strength of the soil which is to function as
pertie s and even the depth of the deposit may the subgrade, the required thickness of the
vary significantly across the site. When this structural pavement components is reduc ed.
situation exists, considerable differential
settlement must be expected . This can cause 19. The degree of success attained during site
severe distre ss of the pavement surface and
improvement determines whether construction can
disruption of utility s ervices.
proceed directly upon the site or whether a
construction plat f orm must be used. In cases
17 . In situ conditions at potential soft soil
where site condit i ons are not as severe, site
construction sites vary widely depending upon development may be possible by using a con-
the type and nature of the particular deposits,
struction platform without prior site improve-
but conditions often are very poor. Because of
ment. The use of construction platforms is
unsatisfactory characteristics at many sites,
discussed in the next section of this paper .
site improvement must often occur before con-
struction can begin. Various methods which may
be used to improve the shear strength and to 20 . Numerou s me thods of site improvement are
control post-construction settlement are dis- available, but the effectiveness of individual
cussed in the following section. techniques varies with different soil types. A
listing of several techniques is presented in
Table III, which is a modified version of
SITE IMPROVEMENT information presented in a U.S. Department of
the Army Manual ( 198 3). This table also pre-
18. Soil improvement techniques hav e been sents information on the type of site and soil
developed through the years a s more undesirable to which the method is applicable, required
sites have, of necessity , been used for con- materials and equipment, and the relative cost
struction projects. The basic underlying prin- of each method. The relative c ost of a site
ciple of all soft soil improvement techniques improvement method will v ary depending on the

222 PROCEEDINGS 14th A RRB CONFERENCE, PART 5

 ROLLINGS, POINDEXTER , SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

25

SODIUM MONTMORILLONITE

20

PHOSPHA TIC CLA Y

15
6
f-
«
((
0
6
>
10

ONDONCLA Y
o L-~~~~-L~~~~~~~__~~uuL-~~~~~WU~ll--L~~~~~~~~~~~

10- 3 10 '
EFFECTIVE STR ESS, 0', PSF

0 ,0005 0.05 5 500

EFFECTIVE STRESS (kPa i

Figure 2. Compressibility of various soft soil s

site location and the depth of the deposit. then be employed to provide the required load
Figure 3 shows the Swedish experience on rela- carrying capability for the proposed project.
tive costs of several site improvement techni-
ques for different depths of soft soil. Most 22. Some of the commonly used site improvement
of the site improvement techniques in Table III techniques rely upon surcharge loading of some
are familiar; some of the more unusual ones and type to cause consolidation of the soft soil
ones with special considerations for applica- prior to project construction. Many of the soil
tion to soft soil sites are discussed below. deposits have low initial permeabilities, while
others will consolidate rapidly near the drain-
age boundaries forming a cake of low permeabi-
21. When extremely poor site conditions are
lity material which will then inhibit further
encountered, some remedial site improvement may
drainage. In either case, the low permeability
be required before access to the site can be
material may prevent the surcharge from causing
gained and more conventional improvement tech-
sufficient consolidation within the time-frame
niques can be used. The US Army Corps of Engi-
of interest. In fact some deposits might
neers and the phosphate mining industry in the
require tens of years (30 to 100 years) to con-
Unites States have f ound th~t progressive sur-
so lidate. In such cases, vertical drains are
fa c e trenching of very soft soils such as
often employed to facilitate consolidation.
hydraulic fills can s u ccessfully be used to
remove surface water and fa c ilitate crust for-
mation by drainage and evaporative dry ing 23 . In the past, vertical sand drains were
(Haliburton 1978; Poindexter 1984). Progres- commonly used to allow lateral drainage of soil
sive trenching involves creating a network of deposits. Within the past 10 years, sand
interconnected trenches that are periodically drains have been replaced to a large extent in
deepened as the shear strength of the soil the United States by vertical geosynthetic
increases. After formati on of sufficient crust strip drains. These drains, sometimes incor-
thickness (which usually occurs within 1 to rectly referred to as wick drains, are composed
2 drying seasons), access to the site is pos- of a 100 mm (4-in wide) semi-rigid s t rip of
sible and other s i te improvement techniques can plastic encased in a stocking of geot extile

PR OCEEDI N GS 14th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 5 223

 TABLE III

SOIL IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES (MODIFIED FROM DEPARMENT OF THE ARMY 1983)

Maximum
Mos t Suitable Effective Economical Special Special Properties of Special Relative
Soil Conditions/ Treatment Size of Materials Equipment Treated Advantages Costs
Method Principle Types Depth Treated Area Required Required Material And Limitations (1976)
2
Heavy Tamping Repeated Cohesionless soils 15-18 m >3400 m No ne Tamper of Can obtain high Simple, rapid, <Vibroflo t ation
(Dynamic application of high best, other types 10-40 tons relative densities, suitable for some :::IJ
Consolidation) intensity impacts
at surface
can also be
improved
high capacity
crane
reasonable
uniformity
soils with fines;
usable above and
or
below water; r
requires contro l , Z
must be away from G)
existing structures (f)

Vibro fl ot a tion Densific a tion by Cohesion less soils 27 m Granular Vibroflot, Can obtain high Useful in saturated $12.00- ""'CJ
vibration and with less than 20% backfill crane relative densities and partly saturated $30 .00 ~m o
compaction of fines good uniformity soils, uniformity $1. 2/m Z
backfill mater i al may be about o
half compaction m
piles or X
concrete piles -l
m
:u
Terraprobe Densification by Saturated or dry 20 m None Vibratory pile Can obtain Relative Rapid, simple, good Moderate
vibration; clean sand (Ineffective driver and Densities of 80% or underwater; soft $1. 80 $3. 90 (f)
liquefaction above 4 m 750 mm dia more underlayers may damp per m 3
3 I
""'CJ
induced settlement depth) open steel vibrations, ($2 .40/m »
:::IJ
under overburden pipe difficult to average)
:::IJ ""'CJ
penetrate, stiff
o
()
overlayers, not good I
in partly saturated I
m
m soils m
o »
Z
Remov e and Foundation soil Inorganic soils 10 m Small None, unless Excavating and Increased strength Uniform, controlled High <
G)
Replace (with excavated, improved admixture compaction and stiffness, foundation soil when -<
or without by drying or stabilizers used equipment, reduced replaced; may r
(f)
admixtures) admixture, and dewatering compressibility require large area o
:e recompacted system dewatering »
:r 2
o
Surface Interior and Very soft 2-3 m >50,000 m None Rotary Reduced water Easy, significant Low ""'CJ
» trenching perimeter trenches fine-grained soils ditcher, low content, void ratio, surface improvement »
JJ
:::IJ rapidly remove and hydraulic ground- and compressibility; in very soft soils; <
m
OJ surface water and fills pressure increased surfac~ improvement limited
shorten drainage towing strength to upper 1-3 m ~
()
paths within the vehicle m
o soil; evaporative
Z
-l
Z drying of surface (f)
"TI
m oc curs
:::IJ
m Vertical Shortens drainage Fine-grained, 30 m Small to Geosynthetic Crane Reduced excess pore Reduces time for High
Z Drain s path length t o compressible soil moderate strip drain and water pressure, void consolidation; use
() speed consolidation deposits base plates, or ratio, and with preload or
m sand for drains; compressibility surcharge
sands for col -
""'CJ
»
:::IJ
lector drainage
blanket
-l
(]'I Note: Costs quoted in US $. (CONTINUED)
"'tl
:D
o
o
m
m
o TABLE III (CONCLUDED)
Z
G)
(f) Maximum

-
.j::.
:::T
::t>
:D
Method
Pre loading and
Principle
Load is applied
Most Suitable
Soil Conditions/
Types
Normally
Effective
Treatment
Depth
Economical
Size of
Treated Area
> 1000 m
2
Special
Materials
Required
Earth fill or
Special
Equipment
Req uired
Earth moving
Properties of
Treated
Material
Reduced water
Special
Advantages
And Limitations
Easy, theor y well
Relative
Costs

Low to
( 1976)
:D
or
r
:D surcharge fills sufficiently in consolidated soft other material equipment; content and void deve l oped , moderate
advance of clays, silts, for loading the large water ratio, increased unif ormity, requires Z
OJ G)
o construction so organic deposits, site; sand or tanks or strength long time (vertical (f)
o that compression of
soft soils is
completed sanitary
landfills
gravel for
drainage blanket
vacuum drain-
age systems
drains can reduce
consolidation time) "'tl
Z
." completed prior to sometimes o
m development of the used, Z
:D
m
site; any excess settlement o
Z
fill then removed markers, m
piezometers X
o -l
..m Dynamic High energy impacts Partly saturated 20 m >15000-
2
None Tamper of Reduced water Faster than <preload fills m
:D
"'tl Consolidation compress and fine grained 30000 m 10-40 tons, conten t, void ratio preloading, with s and
::t> dissolve gas in soils, quaternary high capacity and compressibility; economical on large drains (f)
:D pores to give clays wi th 1-4 gas crane increased strength areas; uncertain I
-l immediate in micro bubbles mechanism in clays, ::t>
01 settlement; less uniformity than :D
increased pore pre loading "'tl
pressure gives
subsequent drainage
I
I
Electroosmosis DC current causes Normally 10- 20 m Small Anodes usually DC power Reduced water No fill loading High m
water flow from consolidated silts rebars or supply , content and
::t>
required, can use in <
anode towards
cathode where it is
and silty clays aluminum),
cathodes (well
wiring, compressibility, confined area, -<
metering increased strength, relatively fast; r
removed pOints or systems electrochemical non-uniform o
rebars) ha rdening properties between ::t>
electrodes, no good o
in highly conductive "'tl
so11s ::t>
<
Compaction Densification by Loose sandy soils, 18 m Small to Pile material Pile driver Can obtain h igh Useful in soils with High m
Piles displacement of partly saturated moderate (of ten sand or densities, good fines, uniform ~
pile volume and by clayey sails; soil plus cement uniformity compaction, easy to m
vibration during loess mixture) check results, slow Z
driving limited improvement -l
(f)
in upper 1-2 m
 ROLLINGS, POINDEXTER, SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

28. Dynamic compaction involves dropping a

6 weight of 9-30 tonnes (10-32 tons) from heights
up to 34 m (110 feet). Specially equipped
5 cranes are used to lift and drop the large
fo-
weights onto the soil deposit at regularly
o'" 4
u spaced intervals, usually 6-10.7 m (20-35 ft)
w on centers. Typically at least two coverages
> 3
i=
<{
of a site are used with the secondary drop
;ti 2 points be ing located at the center between drop
a: points on the primary grid.

29. Dynamic compaction has been successfully

o 5 10 15 20m used on deposits of loose, granular material,
DEPTH OF SOFT 501 L non-cohesive and cohesive fills, mine spoil,
hydraulic fills of clayey/silty sand, and sani-
tary landfills. Because of the high excess
Figure 3 . Relative cost of several si te pore pressures created during this process,
improvement techniques for dynamic compaction is most effective in free-
different depths of so ft soil draining cohesionless materials. It has a max-
(Organization for Ec onomic imum depth of improvement of 15-18 m (50 to
Cooperation and Development 1979) 60 feet).

CONSTRUCTION PLATFORM
fabric. The plastic strip is usually formed
with considerable surface texture such as 30. Brush and logs have long been an expedient
grooves or protrusions that allow free and method of building a light-weight, structural
rapid movement of water within the drain. platform on marshy and swampy soils. Corduroy
roads made of transversely laid logs are also a
.24. Several drawbacks to vertical strip drains standard construction method on soft soils
have limited their use on large deposits of throughout the world. Along the Gulf of Mexico
soft soil. Because of the cost of installation and Atlantic Ocean in the United States,
of strip drains, their use has been limited to dredged oyster shell loose dumped 1.2 to 2.2 m
small sites or economically valuable larger (4 to 7 ft) thick is widely used t o build a
sites. Also when used in thick deposits of construction platform on soft coastal deposits
soft soil which will undergo large settlements, (American Society of Civil Engineers 1978).
the drains may be crimped, fol ded, or possibly This has provided a low-weight, flexible but
broken as consolidation occurs. Soil failure structurally strong platform for highway
during surcharge plac ement has caused sand embankments, industr ial yards, and warehouses.
drains to be sheared and rendered ineffective Research in the north central US has developed
in some past projects (e.g. Housel 1954). equipment to cut trees into 75 mm (3 in.)
chunks that are then used as embankment fill
25. Despite these potential problems, ver tical and road surfacing. Initial trials have been
strip drains have been used very effectively to promising and more work is planned. Using
expedite consolidation settlement in fi ne- lightweight fill material such as wood chunks,
grained deposits of soft soil. For instance, sawdust, expanded shale or clay, oyster shell,
strip drains were used to speed consolidation coral, and flyash in the structure is an
of the hydraulic fill upon which the Seagirt effective method of lowering the loads the
Marine Terminal (a container port facility) in subgrade must support and simultaneously
Baltimore, Maryland is to be constructed. Use providing a construction platform.
of the geosynthetic drains in conjunction with
surcharge loading decreased the time for pri- 31. Chemical stabilization with lime, flyash,
mary consolidation from 20 years to 9 mon t hs.* ground s l ag, or portland cement can provide an
improved soil upon which to build. However,
26. Although vertical drains can be very wet, cohesive soils are often very difficult to
effective in fine-grained materials, they are work, and achieving adequate mixing of the sta-
unnecessary and often ineffective in pervious bilizing agent into the soil may prove impos-
deposits such as peat and peaty soils. In such sible. Also, the weak soils may not be able to
deposits, primary consolidation is completed support the hauling and mixing equipment neces-
quickly because of the high permeability of the sary for the stabilization work . Lime or the
material and secondary compression may repre- more reactive quicklime can be very effective
sent the major portion of total settlement. for simply dry ing a soil so tha t it is more
Therefore vertical drains have a very limited workable. Chemical stabilization can be an
effectiveness with permeable deposits. effective method of improving a soft soil for a
construction platform, but many of the soils
27. Another technique of site improvement
covered in this paper will be too difficult to
which recently gained worldwide acceptance is
work and will not allow adequate mixing of the
dynamic compaction. Although this technique
has been used throughout h istory, it has won stabilizer.
acceptance in modern geotechnical engineering
only since the late Louis Menard of France 32. Tests conducte d by Webster and Wa tkins
patented the process in the later 1970's. ( 1977) illustrate the effectivene ss of several
concepts for building a structural system on
* Information provided courtesy of Mr. Thomas soft soils . They tested six test items each
Shafer, STV/Lyons and Associates, Baltimore, 3 . 7 by 9.1 m (12 by 30 ft) in plan. The test
Maryland. sub grade was 250 mm (10 in.) of clay with a CBR

226 PROCEEDINGS 14th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 5

 ROLLINGS, POINDEXTER , SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

of 0.7 to 1.0 over 350 rom (14 in.) of 1 . 0 to and fabric showed considerable improvement over
2.3 CBR clay. One test item consisted of the crushed stone alone. The fabric was
350 mm (14 in.) of well graded , crushed lime- stretched and filled with clay particles, but
stone placed directly on the low strength clay. it was unbroken. The stiffer, heavier, and
Two other test items were identical to this stronger membrane performed better than the
except a membrane was placed between the fabric and also remained unbroken at the end of
crushed stone and clay in one and a fabric ,in the test. These products were both effective
the other. Properties of the fabric and mem- in preventing intrusion of the clay into the
brane are summarized in Table IV. A gabion crushed stone. Also the fact that they
filled with 150 mm to 175 mm (3 in. to 7 in.) remained unbroken despite the large magnitude
diameter rock was placed directly on the clay of rutting suggests that they must have been
subgrade in one test item and 50 mm (2 in.) of providing some load support through membrane
crushed stone was placed on top as a wearing action. The combination of protection against
surface. The gab ion was a standard commercial subgrade intrusion and positive load carrying
product made of galvanized steel, hexagonal reinforcing, at least after some level of
mesh. Each section of gabion was 300 mm rutting developed , combined to sig'n ificantly
(12 in.) thick and was made of three cells each improve the performance of the crushed stone
0.9 m by 0.9 m (3 ft by 3 ft) in plan. Indi- with these products over the test item with
vidual sections of gabion were wired together crushed stone alone.
with galvanized tie wires. A second gabion
test section was made by lining the gabion with 34. The rock filled gabion also performed
fabric and filling it with sand. The final ex ceptionally well. An excavation of the test
test item was made of 150 mm (6 in.) diameter, item after traffic found that the 50 mm (2 in.)
300 mm (12 in.) tall pipe placed on the clay surface wearing course of crushed stone had
subgrade. The pipe was then filled with sand, settled into the upper voids in the gabions and
and a 50 mm (2 in.) crushed stone layer was that clay had penetrated into most of the rest
placed on top as a wearing course. The pipe of the gab ion voids. None of the gabion wires
only had a 1.3 mm (0.05 in.) wall thicknes s and were broken. The sand filled gabions also per-
was very weak in compression. When filled with formed well in Figure 4, and both the fabric
sand, however, the con fined sand/pipe system and gab ions were unbroken at the conclusion of
load carrying capacity increased greatly. the test. The sand filled pipes performed very
well until the load was increased from
33. These six test items were trafficked with 11,364 kg (25,000 lb) to 15,909 kg (35,000 lb).
a dual wheeled, tandem axle truck. The load on Rutting increased rapidly, and pipes became
the rear tandem axles was progressively visible at the test i tem surface where their
increased from 11,364 kg (25,000 lb) to exposed walls rapidly crushed .
25,000 kg (55,000 lb). Figure 4 shows the rut-
ting that developed in each section under this 35. This test illustrates the effectiveness of
traffic. The crushed stone alone performed the fabrics or membranes to prevent sub grade intru-
most poorly. On this test item the clay pene- sion and to provide reinforcing to the pavement
trated approximately 75 mm (3 in.) into the structure. The performance under traffic of
crushed stone in the wheel path. In the center crushed stone with either fabric or membrane is
of the traffic lane between the wheel paths, greatly improved over that of crushed stone
the clay penetrated 250 mm (10 i~.) into the alone. Both products used in this test showed
crushed stone. The item with the crushed stone the ability to perform despite extreme rutting.

TABLE IV

COMPARATIVE MEMBRANE AND FABRIC PROPERTIES

(AFTER WEBSTER AND WATKINS 1977)

Property Hembrane Fabric

Description Neoprene-coated one - Spunb onded needle-

ply woven nylon punch polye s ter
membrane non-woven fabric

Permeability Impermeable Permeable

2
Weight (kg/m ) 0.627 0.407

Breaking strength (kPa) warp 3,158 Machine dir. 1, 6 15

fill 2 ,841 CroR s mach. dir. 1, 469

Tearing st ren gth (kPa) warp 331 Machine dir . 637

fill 358 Cross mach. dir. 686

Enlongation (%) warp 29 .0 Machine dir. 60 .4

fill 33 .0 Cross mach . diT. 5h . 6

PROCEEDINGS 14th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 5 227

 ROLLINGS, POINDEXTER , SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

o o

50 2

100 4

~ i
~
I-
£ f-
f- ()
"- 150 6 "-
w
w :0
0 c: 0
f-
::::>
cr:
'"
:t
."
f-
::::>
cr:
0

200
'"0
-;
8
<:
."

250 10

300 12
200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800
PASSES
11,364 KG 25,909 KG 21 ,364 KG 25,000 KG

25, 000 LB 3 5,000 LB 47,000 LB 55,000 LB

Figure 4. Development of test section rutting (from data

report ed by Webster and Watkins (1977)

Consequently they should prove effective in strong structural system capable of tolerating
situations where limited differential settle- settlement. If coupled with a fabric to pre-
ment is expected. The gabion test sections vent subgrade intrusion, this has the potential
both showed excellent load carrying capacity on to be a very strong system. Where rock is not
these soft soils and have a flexible structure available- or is expensive, sand filled gabions
that would allow them to tolerate some settle- (lined with fabric) are an alternative. How-
ment. The success of the sand filled pipes led ever, placing the fabric in the gab ions would
to the commercial development of sand grid s, an be time consuming and expens ive. The commer-
expandable, honeycomb, sand filled product cially available sand grids combined with a
capable of supporting traffic (e.g. Webster 1979, fabric to separate the sand grid from t he clay
1986). The gabions and sand confinement sys- subgrade would offer a more promising approach
tems all show considerable structural strength und er these conditions.
under traffic, but their performance could be
improved further if fabrics or membranes were
used in conjunction with them. DESIGN MODIFICATIONS

36. Stabilization, fabrics, membranes, 37. After the site h as been improved t o the
gab ions , and sand confinement systems such as extent that is economical and a construction
sand grids offer potential methods of con- platfo rm has been constructed so that acc ess t o
structing a construction platform on soft the site is possible, the site sub grade condi-
soils. Stabilization may prove difficult or tions may still be poor compare d to most pave-
impossible on soils too soft or cohesive to ments. For example, STV!Lyons Associat es
allow construction equipment or to allow proper et al. (1987) reported that design CBR values
mixing. Settlement at the site may result in for the Seagirt terminal after site improvement
cracking of the stab ilized material and a later including surcharging and vertical drains were
reduction to its contribution to the pavement 40 for granular fill adjacent to the coffer-
capacity. Fabrics and membranes offer a very dams, 10 for embankment fill, 4 for a he teroge-
effective method of improving the performance neous fill material, and 1 for dredged silty
of granular material and also will tolerate clay. Despite extensive and successful site
some site settlement. Drainage systems to imp r ovement efforts, over half the site has a
co llect and remove water from the pavement design CBR of 1, and the bulk of the remainder
structure will be needed if impermeable mem- of the site has a design CBR of 4. The higher
branes are used. Rock filled gabions prov ide a quality fills with CBR values - of 10 and 40 com-

228 PROCEEDINGS 14th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 5

 ROLLINGS, PO INDEXTER, SH A RP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

prise relatively small areas in comparison. As 41. Although fabrics have been widely used in
shown by this example, site improvement may construction and the technical literature on
still not provide a good pavement construction the topic is growing constantly, more con-
site. However, now conventional design proce- trolled, full - scale tests such as those by
dures for heavy load pavements can be used to Webster and Watkins (1977) are badly needed to
select the pavement structure with a few develop ad e quate design methods for fabric
limitations. reinforcing in pavements . Current pavement
design methods for fabri c s are bas e d on very
limited information. Figure 5 by Robnett and
38. Projecting facility traffic is often very Lai (1982) shows the range of pavement
difficult. The magnitude of loads to be thickness some of the cu rrent d esign methods
applied to the pavement is usually the dominant would suggest for pavements with and without
factor in design with repetitions of traffic a fabric. The value of the fabri c is most pro-
secondary factor. However, failure to recog- nounced for very soft soils where sizabl e
nize channelization of traffic can result in reductions in pavement thickness are possible.
accumulating the design life traffic repeti-
tions within a short period. This has been the 42. The d esign method s in Figure 5 are for
cause of a number of pavement failures. Wilson unsurfaced roads that can tolerate 70 t o 100 mID
and Hilliard (1986) describe an excellent exam- (3 to 4 in.) of rutting. Paved surfaces cannot
ple where traffic rerouting during phased con- tolerate t his magnitude of rutting. Since it
struction conc entrated seventeen times the is not clear t ha t fabrics will provid e load
design frequency of traffic on a portion of a carrying reinforcement until some rutting
marine terminal pavement for two years during develops, structural r einforc ement by fabr ic s
the terminal s t art-up operations. As might be probably should not be re lied upon f or paved
expected, pavements designed to last 6 to surfac es. In thes e cases the fabric' s primary
8 years began failing a fter one. role is as separato r or fil t er to prevent
i n trusion of soft subgrade soils into the base.
Al t hough th e current limited technical knowl-
39. The expectation for settlement depends edge of fabrics cannot include t hei r pot ential
primarily on the success of the site improve- reinforcing effect in the pavement thickne ss
ment efforts, and in many situations it may design, they are invaluable a s part of the con-
prove uneconomical to try to eliminate all struction platform allowing acce s s and con-
futur e settlement . Under these circumstances struction of t h e pavement structure .
the future settlement must be considered in the
design. As mentioned earlier, if settlement is
expected at the site after paving, a surfacing 43. Current pavement design method s also do
that can tolerate settlement should be selected not have ac c epted methods for including the
from Table I. Many heavy load pavement design effects of gabion or sand grids. Some initial
procedures allow structural credit for stiff behavior and design concepts have been pre-
stabilized layers in the pavement . However, if sented for sand grid s (Potter and Lamb e 1987).
' settlement occurs under the stabilized layer, However, at the present time performance data
it will crack, and its structural value will be for large loads such as considered in this
reduced. Many design methods evaluate sta- paper are limited . Therefore gab ions and sand
bilized layers in design through us e of an
equivalency factor (e.g. Department of Defense
1978) or by using a high modulus of elasticity
for the stabilized layer in the stress calcula- 1000 40
DESIGN CONDITIONS
tion (e.g. Barker and Brabston 1975, or
British Ports Authority 1982). If settlement 900 RUT DEPTH 70 - 100mm 36
is expected, the stabilized layer should pro- AXLE LOAD - 8000 - 9000kg
NUMBER OF LOADS = 1000
bably be given no more. credit than. a high 800 32
quality crushed stone for design to recognize
that settlement will break up the structural E 28 z
E 700
integrity and rigidity of the stabilized layer.
'"'" ""'"
w
w 600 24 z
z ><:
><: u
40. Although settlement may make a rigid layer u
I RANGE IN DESIGN I
undesirable as a surfacing, and the full struc- f-
500
20 f-
REQUIREMENT w
tural value of stabilized layers may not be w f-
relied upon, there are still some advantages in
f-
« 400
WITHOUT FABRIC «
c;J
c;J 16 w
using stabilized layers in the structure. A a: a:
w c;J
c;J
stiff layer placed toward the bottom of the 300 12 c;J
c;J
« «
pav ement structure will help distribute
stresses caused by the pavement and the applied 200 8
surface loads over a broader area. This will
lower the stresses in the soft underlying
100 4
layers and help decrease settlement. For this
reason Professor Witczak proposed using alSO
to 200 rom (6 to 8 in.) layer of asphalt con- 0
1.0 2 .0 3 .0
crete at or near the bottom of the pavement at SUS G A A DE CSA ,%
the proposed Seagirt Marine Terminal (STV/Lyons
Associates et al. 1987). This layer will lower
stresses on the weak underlying soils, provide Figur e 5. Comparison of pavement thickness
a working platform, and has some flexibility to design methods with and without
tolerate differential settlement. fabric (Robnett and Lai 1982)

PR OC EEDINGS 14th ARRB CONFEREN C E, PART 5 229

 ROLLINGS, POINDEXTER, SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

grids might best be represented in des ign as an Department of the Army. 1983. 'Soils and Geo-
equivalent thickness of crushed stone base logy: Procedures for Foundation Designs of
course material. Figure 4 shows the consider- Buildings and Other Structures (Except Hydrau-
able potential struc tural capacity of gabions lic Structures),' TM 5-818-1, Washington, DC.
and sand confinement systems such as sand
grids, but more information is needed to pro- Department of Defense. 1978. 'Flexible Pave-
perly assess their true value. Additionaly, ment Design for Airfields,' TM 5-825-2,
variations in properties with time must be Washington, DC.
considered in the design. For example, if the
galvanized gabion's coating is damaged during Gibson, R. E. , England, G. L., and
construction, corrosion may reduce the gabion's Hussey, M. J. L. 1967. 'The Theory of One-
structural capacity with time. Dimensional Consolidation of Saturated Clays,
I. Finite Non-Linear Consolidation of Thin
Homogeneous Layers,' Geotechnique,
.!2 pp 261-273.
CONCLUSIONS
Gibson, R. E., Schiffman, R. L., and Cargill,
44. The soft soils discussed in this paper are K. W. 1981. 'The Theory of One-Dimensional
generally not suitable for heavy load pave- Consolidation of Saturated Clays, II. Finite
ments. However, economics and project require- Non-Linear Consolidation of Thick Homogeneous
ments may force the engineer to build upon Layers,' Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 18,
these poor materials. Generally, some site pp 280-293. --
improvement will be needed to reduce or elimi-
nate settlement after. paving and to improve the Haliburton, T. Allan. 1978. 'Guidelines for
soil strength. Even after site improvement Dewatering/Densifying Confined Dred ged Mate-
efforts are completed the site may still be a rial,' Technical Report DS-78-11, US Army Engi-
poor one, and some sort of construction plat- neer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg,
form may be needed to allow construction of the Mississippi.
pavement.
Housel, William S. 1954. 'Checking Up on Ver-
45. Existing heavy load pavement design meth- tical Sand Drains,' (with discussion by L. A.
ods need some adjustments for the specific Palmer), Highway Research Board Bulletin 90,
characteristics of the soft soil sites dis- Washington, DC.
cussed in this paper. If settlement will occur
after construction, stabilized layers should be Institute of Civil Engineers. 1987. 'Building
assumed to crack and lose structural integrity. on Marginal and Derelict Land,' Thomas Telford,
Also settlement will dictate what pavement sur- Ltd., London.
facings are acceptable. Potential construction
platforms using fabrics, gabions, or sand con-
finement methods such as sand grids are not Meletiou, Marios. 1986. 'Pavement - An Inte-
easily incorporated within existing pavement gral Part of the Terminal as a Container Hand-
design methods. Fabrics probably provide no ling System,' Proceedings 'Ports 86,' American
structural reinforcing for paved surfaces and Society of Civil Engineers, Oakland,
should be considered only as a separator and California.
construction aid. The limited information on
gab ion and sand grid performance provides very Organization for Economic Cooperation and
little guidance on how to include them in Development. 1979. 'Construction of Roads on
design. At present they are probably best con- Compressible Soils,' Paris, France.
sidered as an equivalent thickness of crushed
stone. Poindexter, Marian E. 1984. 'Management of
Dredged Material Containment Areas,' Dredging
and Dredged Material Disposal, Proceedings of
REFERENCES the ASCE Conference Dredging '84, Clearwater
Beach, Florida.
American Society of Civil Engineers. 1978.
'Soil Improvement, History, Capabilities, and Poindexter, Marian E. 1988. 'Behavior of Sub-
Outlook,' New Yo rk, New York. aqueous Sediment Mounds: Effect on Dredged
Material Disposal Site Capacity,' PhD Disserta-
Barker, W. and Brabston, N. 1975. 'Develop- tion, Texas A&M University, College Station,
ment of a Structural Design Procedure for Flex- Texas.
ible Airport Pavements,' Technical
Report 5-75-17, US Army Engineer Waterways Potter, John and Lambe, Phillip. 1987.
Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. 'Advanced Construction Procedures; Confined
Bases for Airport Pavements,' Technical
British Ports Authority. 1982. 'The Struc- Report GL-87-3, US Army Engineer Waterways
tural Design of Heavy Duty Pavements for Ports Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
and Other Industries,' London, United Kingdom.

Cargill, K. W. 1985. 'Mathematical Model of Robnett, Q. L. and Lai, J. S. 1982. 'Use of

the Consolidation/Desiccation Process in Geotextiles to Extend Aggregate Resources,'
Dredged Material,' Technical Report D-85-4, Extending Aggregate Resources, STP 774, Amer-
US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, ican Society for Materials and Testing,
Vicksburg, Mississippi. Philadelphi a, Pennsylvania.

230 PROCEEDINGS 14th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 5

 ROLLINGS, POINDEXTER, SHARP - HEAVY LOAD PAVEMENTS

Wilson, John O. and Hilliard, Jefferson M. Webs ter, Steve L. and Watkins, James E. 1977.
1986. 'Berth 5-6 Pavement Performance, Port of 'Investigation of Construction Techniques for
Oakland,' Proceedings 'Ports 86,' American Tactical Bridge Approach Roads Across Soft
Society of Civil Engineers, Oakland, Ground,' Technical Report S-77-1, US Army
California. Engineer Waterways Experiment Station,
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Rollings, Raymond S. 1988 . 'Design and
Construction of Roller Compacted Concrete
Webster, Steve L. 1986. 'Sand-Grid Demon-
Pavements,' Proceedings, 14th Australian Road
Research Board Conference, Canberra, Australia. stration Roads Constructed for SLOTS II Tests
at Fort Story, Virginia' Technical
Report GL-86-19, US Army Engineer Waterways
Rollings, Raymond S. and Chou, Yu T. 1981.
'Precast Concrete Pavements,' Miscellaneous Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Paper GL- 81-10, US Army Engineer Waterways
Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. 1979. 'Investigation of Beach
Sand Trafficability Enhancement Using Sand-Grid
STV/Lyons and Associates, Matthew Witczak, and Confinement and Membrane Reinforcement Con-
EBA Engineering, Inc. 1987. 'Pavement Design cepts; Report 1, Sand Test Sections 1 and 2,'
Report for Seagirt Marine Terminal,' prepared Technical Report GL-79-20, US Army Engineer
for Maryland Port Administration, Baltimore, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg,
Maryland. Mississippi.

Raymond S. Rollings earned a B.S. degree from the US Military Academy, a M.S.CE.from the
University of Illinois, and a PhD. from the University of Maryland. He has been a research civil
engineer with the USAE Waterways Experiment Station Geotechnical Laboratory's Pavement
Systems Divisionfor 10 years and previously served as a civil engineering officer with the US Air
Force . He is a member of the American Concrete Institute Technical Committees for Fatigue of
Concrete and Concrete Pavements and the American Society of Civil Engineer's Construction
R .S. Rollings Division Committee on Inspection .

Marian E. Poindexter received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees with
Honorsfrom the University of Tennessee and her Doctor of Philosphy Degree from Texas A & M
University. She has been a Research Civil Engineer at the US Army Engineer Waterways
Experiment Stationfor 11 years. She is an active member of a variety of technical and
professional societies. She was selected as the 1984 Young Engineer of the Year by the National
Society of Professional Engineers and is a current National Director for the Society of American
ME. Poindexter Military Engineers.

Kieran Sharp graduated in Civil Engineeringfrom the University of Melbourne in 1975. He has
post-graduate qualifications in highway and traffic engineering and was awarded a Master of
Engineeringfrom RMIT in 1986. He is currently a Research Scientist in ARRB's Pavements
Group and is involved with field trials of pavement structures. He is also ARRB's Technical
Editor. He took part in the GECD Study of Strain Measurement in Asphalt Layers in Italy in 1984
and was a consultant to the NAASRA RGRVL in 1985. He is the Australian member of the
K.G. Sharp International Committee ofSmal! Element Pavement Technologists.

PROCEEDINGS 14th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 5 231