On the durability and strength of soil–cement

Abstract

The paper presents an experience with soil±cement in a research project to investigate alternative pavement systems. The Portland Cement Association procedure was followed to design the soil–cement mixes. To assess the obtained material, it should satisfy durability and compressive strength criteria. As no freezing is experienced in this region of the world, it was decided to concentrate on wet–dry durability. This test is time-consuming and depends to a great extent on the skill and consistency of the operator. This might affect its reliability and reproducibility. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper proposes to substitute the weight loss from the test as a criterion with the strength of soil±cement samples, prepared in the same way as required by the standard procedure and subjected to cycles of wetting and drying. The results obtained appear to encourage the pursuit of this concept, which might, hopefully, serve the soil–cement industry.