Stabilisation of a road pavement using Polymeric Stabilisers: Case study of Christian Road, Shamva District, Zimbabwe.

Abstract

The objective of the research is to design a polymer stabilised road pavement that is capable of preserving the dry strength of the pavement at lower cost of construction, to assess the properties of the polymer the bearing capacity of a polymer stabilised soil and to conduct the road condition survey. The geotechnical site investigations were conducted at the site and these included Dynamic Cone Penetration (DCP) Test and visual soil classification. The laboratory tests on the soil samples included soil classification tests (particle size analysis and plasticity tests), compaction test and California bearing ratio (CBR) test. The design of the road was carried out. The stabiliser SoilTech Mk III polymer was added to the soil at different percentages and the maximum dry densities, CBR and optimum moisture content measured. From the graphs, stabilised soil has a very high maximum dry density of 2365kg/m3 at an optimum moisture content of 7.2% as compared to the unstabilised sample which has a maximum dry density which ranges from 2116kg/m3 to 2120kg/m3determined above. This shows that SoilTechMkIII increases the maximum dry density of the soil. The optimum of moisture content of the stabilized sample increased by 0.2% from the optimum moisture content which was determined in the higher compactive effort (HCE) test of the unstabilised sample. It is recommended to stabilize the soil in order to increase its bearing capacity. It is also noted that the significance of mixing material thoroughly helps in coming out with more accurate results.