ABSTRACT
In order to reduce road-paving costs, the aim is always to use local materials, namely earth from deposits closer to the construction. Occasionally several unsuitable soil deposits are available, but whose properties can be improved, adopting the correct upgrade technique, such as chemical stabilization involving the use of polymers or polymeric association. The purpose of this study is to assess the use of a polymeric association to improve the geotechnical behavior of a soil with strength problems, in order to deploy it as material for paving roads with light traffic. This study is based on geotechnical characterization, compaction, CBR, unconfined compressive strength - UCS - and permeability tests performed on pure soil and on this soil with a polymer added in proportions varying from 2% to 6%. A substantial increase was noted in CBR and UCS figures. The results revealed that using the polymeric association reduced plasticity, increased optimum moisture content, reduced dry apparent specific weight and expanded the soil. The conclusion, therefore, was that, in light of the prevailing specifications, the addition of 6% polymeric association to the clayey-sandysilty soil with considerable plasticity brought significant improvements to the soil's geotechnical properties.
Keywords:
Soil stabilization; Industrial polymer; Materials for pavement
