FUNDAMENTAL SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD

_4ND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION

bY
D. J. MACLEAN, B.Sc., and H. W. W. POLLITT, B.Sc.

SYNOPSIS

This article has been written in response to a
request made to the Institution of Civil Engineers
for a British contribution to a meeting of the Soil
Mechanics and Foundations Division of the Ameri-
can Society of Civil Engineers at which consideration
is to be given to the applications of soil mechanics
to military engineering problems. The objects of
the article are to discuss the basic problems that are
encountered in the use of various methods of con-
structing military roads and airfields, and to describe
the results obtained from investigations of some of
these problems carried out in Great Britain.
To satisfy the various military requirements that
arise in this work it is necessary that the best use be
made of the soil in different climatic conditions, and
this involves the consideration of soils both as
foundation and as constructional materials. In
this article the approach is based largely on ex-
oerience of conditions in the British Isles, where the
soils are predominantly clays, and the climate humid
and cool.
La presente communication &pond a une
demande adressee recemment a 1’ ” Institute of
Civil Engineers ” de presenter une communication L
la conference organisee par la Section de Mecanique
des Sols et Fondations de 1’ “ American Society of
Civil Engineers.” Cette conference aura lieu en vue
de discuter l’application des principes de la
mecanique des sois aux problemes des constructions
militaires. L’article passe en revue les principaux
problemes qui se posent en relation avec la con-
struction de routes et d’ aerodromes militaires, et
decrit les resultats obtenus en Grande Bretagne au
tours de l’etude de certains de ces problemes.
Afin de faire face aux exigences d’ordre militaire
qui se presentent au tours de ce genre de travaux, il
est necessaire d’utiliser le sol avec un maximum
d’efficacite sous differentes conditions climatolo-
giques, ce qui veut dire qu’il faudra cobnsiderer les
sols Q la fois en tant que fondations et comme
materiel de construction. Le present expose est
base principalement sur l’experience obtenue en
Grande Bretagne oti les sols sont en g&n&al de
nature argileuse et ou le climat est humide et plutbt
froid.

MILITARY ENGINEERING PROBLEMS IN ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTIOI’I

The military engineering requirements that arise in connexion with road and airfield
construction are :-
(1) Rapidity in methods of construction.
(2) Stores requiring transportation to be kept at a minimum.
(3) Simplicity of plant and methods.
In the two latter respects the military engineer is placed in a similar position to that of
the civil engineer now engaged in construction works in undeveloped parts of the world,
although he is usually more fortunate in the amount of plant at his disposal and does not
have to take the cost of the work into consideration to quite the same extent. Where
materials such as gravel and rock are known to be easily available locally, both types of
engineer will use traditional methods of construction adapted to his needs. Such materials
are, however, often lacking and it then becomes necessary to consider what ca best be done
with the soil itself. In such circumstances the basic problem in road and airfiel a construction
is to render the ground sufficiently stable to support traffic or aircraft, and the scientific
study of soils, and particularly of soil stabilization, that has been made during the last IO
to 20 years has led to a more complete understanding of these military engineering problems,
and their possible solution.
Military roads and airfields differ from civil construction in the following respects :-
(1) They must be capable of carrying traffic within a day or two of their construction.
(2) They are not required to have such a long service-life-sometimes not more than
3 months.
(3) Greater deterioration of their structure can be accepted.
97

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 98 D. J. MACLEAN AND H. W. W. POLLITT

These requirements appear somewhat contradictory in that the first requires a higher early
strength, while the second and third permit a lower final strength, in military construction.
However, a high early strength is the overriding consideration.

METHODS OF MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION

The provision of a road or airfield for military use when roadstone is not available involves
one or more of the following forms of treatment :-
(1) Methods of protecting dry soil formations from the effects of rainfall to maintain
them in a stable condition.
(2) Methods of increasing the stability of soil formations whose natural stability is
insufficient.
(3) The provision of a simple form of surfacing.
These matters are now considered in more detail. Whatever form of treatment is applied
to the soil, good drainage is essential to deal with high water-table conditions and the seepage
of water towards the site.

THE PROTECTION OF DRY SOIL FORMATIONS

Assuming that the necessary steps have been taken to provide good drainage, there are
broadly two methods that can be used to protect a dry soil formation from the effects of
rainfall :-
(1) An impermeable surfacing.
(2) The admixture of a bituminous or other material which is able to resist the entry
of water into the soil.

IMPEKMEABLE SURFACING

Under this heading prefabricated bituminized surfacing (P.B.S.) was used successfully
as impermeable surfacing in various parts of the world during the Second World War, but
the limiting conditions within which this method is satisfactory have not as yet been estab-
lished. The surfacing, which consists of a hessian base impregnated and coated with
bituminous materials, can be employed either to surround completely a layer of compacted
soil of between 6 to 12 inches in thickness or simply as a surfacing. In the former case the
soil is not only protected from rainfall, but also from increases in moisture content that
might occur. from being in contact with wetter soil.
In the latter case the process is simpler and more rapid, but does not protect the soil
from moisture moving up from the soil beneath. That the moisture content of initially dry
soil under an impermeable surfacing can rise with time in British climatic conditions is
shown in Fig. 1 which compares the results of measurements of moisture contents made in
an unsurfaced silty clay soil and in the same soil covered with a surface dressing. If this
surface dressing had been laid when the soil was in a drier condition the rise in moisture
content would have been greater, but even a rise of 3 per cent, shown in Fig. 1, causes a
marked reduction in the stability of the silty clay soil. Thus the advantages during the wet
season of using impermeable surfacings to protect the soil against rainfall are offset by the
disadvantage that, in the following dry season, the soil beneath the surfacing is wetter and
softer than that adjacent to it. In *arid climates this disadvantage may be accentuated
because the surfacing prevents evaporation of water which collects as a result of upward
movements of water vapour. The extent to which changes in moisture content occur during
the operational life of the road or airfield needs to be determined. The soil problems that
thus arise in connexion with this method of construction are :-
(1) The estimation of the maximum moisture content that can be attained by the soil
as a result of movements of moisture in the soil.

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 99

Fig. 1

beneath surface drerrinq

” ”
,ASONDJFMAMJJASOND
” ” ” ” ” ’ “1
1948 1949
Variation in the average moisture content of the top 6 inches of soil beneath the
surface dressing and in the verge during the period of the experiment

(2) The estimation of the time to reach this moisture content.

(3) The determination of the stability of the soil at this moisture content under various
types of traffic and aircraft.
These problems are as important in civil as in military engineering ; in fact, without a
satisfactory method of solving them it is considered to be impossible to apply, with any
degree of accuracy, the results of soil research to the design of road and airfield pavements.
As regards the first problem, it is suggested that it would be valuable for a co-ordinated
research into the movement of soil moisture to be carried out in a number of areas with
differing climates and on a range of soil types. Such a programme is, it is hoped, to be
carried out in the British Colonies.
The second problem involves a study of the permeability of soils at different moisture
contents as to the movements of moisture both as a liquid and as a vapour. The information
is required primarily to determine whether or not the maximum moisture content would be
reached during the probable life of the road or airfield.
The third problem involves the correlation of the maximum moisture content, with some
measure of the stability of the soil such as its shear strength, California bearing ratio or
plate-bearing value. In view of its simplicity and value, proven by much experience, the
California bearing ratio test is considered to be particularly suited to the requirements of
military engineers. This correlation of stability and maximum moisture content needs to
be followed by field trials to relate the performance of the surfaced soil formation under
different types of traffic to the measured stability of the soil. With this information it
should be possible to assess whether or not an impermeable surfacing would provide a satis-
factory road or airfield in any particular set of circumstances.
It is proposed now to illustrate the above suggestions by describing investigations carried
out at the Road Research Laboratory on some of these problems in relation to the climatic
conditions obtaining in the British Isles.

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 100 D. J. MACLEAN AND H. W. W. POLLITT

Estimation of maximum moisture content attained by soil under an imfiermeable surjacing.

In the British Isles methods have been developed which enable calculations to be made of
the maximum moisture content that soil, initially in a dry condition, will reach under an
impermeable surfacing. These methods do not take into account the effect of frost on
susceptible soils, which may reach a very high moisture content during a thaw. However,
such soil’s are usually fairly permeable, and the condition of high moisture content usually
lasts only for a few days, although the accompanying low stability would be a serious diffi-
culty during this time. If the effect of frost is ignored, the maximum moisture content that
is reached by a soil formation can be determined with a knowledge of the highest level
reached by the water-table.
The basis of the methods of calculating the maximum moisture content is the determina-
tion of the soil moisture suction, which is measured with respect to atmospheric pressure and
which can be related directly to the moisture content by means of laboratory tests on the
soil.
For granular soils the soil moisture suction at any point above the water-table is equal
to the negative hydrostatic pressure ; that is to say, it depends simply on the height above
the water-table. For clay soils, in which each soil particle is surrounded by a layer of
adsorbed water, the soil moisture suction at any point will, by virtue of the compressibility
of clay, be greater than that of granular soils by an amount equal to the normal pressure in
the soil water at the point due to the weight of overlying soil. A full description of the method
for clay soils has been published (Croney, Lewis, and Coleman, 1950).
A number of different laboratory methods are available for determining the relationship
between the soil moisture suction and moisture content. These include the direct suction
plate method (Fig. 2) for suctions between 0 and 12 lb. per square inch, the centrifuge method
for suctions of the order of 200 lb. per square
inch, and the measurement of the relative
humidity for higher suctions.
As an example of the type of relationship
obtained, Fig. 3 shows the curves obtained for
an undisturbed heavy clay soil. The hyste-
resis loop results from the two different curves
obtained for the soil when it is respectively
wetted and dried. In considering the case of
an impermeable surfacing to preserve the soil
in a stable condition, it would be necessary to
use the curve for the sample being wetted.
Different relationships are obtained with clay
soils when they are in a remoulded state, and
similarly the state of compaction affects the
relationship for granular soils. Thus, it is
necessary to obtain the curve for the soil in
the condition in which it is likely to be found
in practice.
Observations of the moisture conditions
in soil under roads have shown satisfactory
agreement with estimates made by the above
methods. In Fig. 4 the results obtained from
four closely spaced boreholes in a fairly
uniform clay subgrade are given. The
scatter of results is typical, and is caused
Prfncfple of the suction plate method for measuring by changes from point to point in the nature
soil suction
of the soil.

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 101
MEASUREMENT OF STABILITY OF SOIL

As already mentioned it is considered that for military use the California bearing ratio
test is the most suitable of the available methods of measuring the stability of soil. It has
the following advantages :-
(1) It is a simple test and gives a direct measure of stability.
(2) It can be applied satisfactorily to a wide range of soils and stabilized soils.
(3) It can be carried out on laboratory samples, or on soil formations and at the bottom
of shallow bore-holes in the field.
(4) The associated method of design is based on much practical experience.
Considerable experience has been obtained by the Road Research Laboratory in the
application of this method to problems of road design in Great Britain (Davis, 1949). As
with all methods of road design, the reliability of the California bearing ratio method depends
on the accuracy with which it is possible to estimate the maximum moisture content the
subgrade is likely to reach after the road or airfield is constructed. The methods described
earlier in this article have contributed considerably to the successful application of the
California bearing ratio method in Great Britain.
Fig. 4
MOISTURE CONTENT -percrnr
Fig. 3 35

0.1

“O\O IS 20 2s 30
MOISTURE CONTENT- per cent

Relationship between soil moisture suction

and moisture content for a heavy clay soil :
suction range 0.01-200 lb. per square inch 24 I I I

Comparison of measured and calculated moisture

contents in a clay soil beneath an impermeable surfaofng

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 102 D. J. MACLEAN AND H. W. W. POLLITT

Fig. 5 In the laboratory test it is considered that the

California bearing ratio should be measured on the
remoulded soil, since the soil formation under an
impermeable surfacing would in practice be un-
likely to be in an “ undisturbed ” condition. The
soil should be compacted in the mould at the
estimated maximum moisture content of the soil
formation to a state of compaction likely to be
obtained in practice. In the British Isles this
would usually be equivalent to an air voids
content of less than 5 per cent.
It has been found that there is usually a
significant difference between the California
bearing ratio obtained by carrying out the test
at the maximum moisture content estimated by
25 27 29 II 33 the methods described earlier in this article and
NOlSTWtE CMENl- par cent
that obtained by the procedure in which the
Variation of C.B.R. of saturated, re-
soil is soaked for 4 days. Fig. 5 shows the
moulded specimens of clay with
moisture content variation of the California bearing ratio with
moisture content of saturated, remoulded specimens
of a heavy clay. The California bearing ratio of soaked specimens of this soil is 3 per cent,
equivalent to a moisture content of 30 per cent, whereas the estimated maximum moisture
content of the soil in a formation under an impermeable surfacing is 26 per cent, equivalent
to a California bearing ratio of 7 per cent.
To obtain an approximate estimate of the minimum stability likely to be reached by
a surfaced soil formation, the California bearing ratio can, under British climatic conditions,
be measured with suitable apparatus at the bottom of a shallow bore-hole below the level
where the moisture content of the soil is affected by weather. This moisture content does
not usually differ appreciably from the maximum moisture content of the soil under an
impermeable surfacing. The method can only be used where the soil tested does not differ
significantly from the soil at the selected formation level, for to allow for the effects of traffic
it would be necessary to destroy the soil structure in the case of clays, or bring the soil to the
correct state of compaction in the case of granular soils. The method is thus likely to be
very approximate, but it may be useful for reconnaissance purposes.
The problem of relating the California bearing ratio, determined by the above considera-
tions, to the ability of the surfaced soil formation to carry different types of traffic and air-
craft is discussed later in the article.

SOIL WATERPROOFING AGENTS

As an alternative to the use of an impermeable surfacing, methods have been used with
varying degrees of success involving the admixture of bituminous, resinous and other materials
into soils in order to increase their resistance to the absorption of water, and thereby help to
maintain, during their operational life, the stability they possessed at the time of construction.
It has been established that their action results from the formation of a film of the material
over the air/water interface in the pores of the soil (Jackson, 1944 ; Glare, 1949). From
1 to 4 per cent only of these materials (based on the dry weight of the soil) is required to
form this film, and for this reason the method is attractive from a military point of view.
There are, however, a number of other military requirements of which the following two are
perhaps the most important :-
(1) The stabilizer should be suitable for treating a wide range of soil types.
(2) The stabilizer should be capable of being produced in sufficiently large quantities.

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 103
Waterproofing agents are added to soils to protect them from the immediate effects of
rainfall. They do not, however, assist soils to resist abrasion and it is therefore necessary to
provide the waterproofed layer with a wearing surface. The combined structure would
usually be impermeable.
The problems that arise in connexion with the use of waterproofing agents for soil are
therefore basically the same as those already discussed in relation to the use of impermeable
surfacings, with the following additions :-
(1) The determination of the effect of the admixture of the waterproofing agents on :
(a) the maximum moisture content reached by the treated soil as a result of
movements of soil moisture ;
(b) the time taken to reach this maximum moisture content ; and
(c) the stability of the treated soil both at the time of construction and when
it has reached the maximum moisture content.
(2) The determination of the suitability of soils of different types and properties for
treatment with the waterproofing agent.
The three problems listed under (I) must be solved before it can be determined whether
waterproofing agents as a general group of materials are able to maintain a soil at a higher
stability than it would otherwise ultimately reach under an impermeable surfacing, or
whether they merely reduce the permeability of soil to the movement of moisture and thus
delay ultimate softening. So far as is known, these problems have not been rigorously
investigated, and it is considered that investigations are required to determine how the soil
moisture suction/moisture content relationships of soils are modified by the admixture of
waterproofing agents. Such experiments are in hand at the Road Research Laboratory on
saturated and unsaturated soils, but the results have so far been inconclusive. This in-
formation should provide an answer to problem 1 (a) for movements of moisture both as a
liquid and as a vapour. By observing the times taken for the soil samples to reach a constant
moisture content in these tests, it should be possible to estimate the effect of the waterproofing
agents on the permeability of the soil.
In Great Britain a test known as the capillary water-absorption test has been used to
evaluate the performance of waterproofing agents. In this test cylindrical specimens of
treated soil 3 inches long and 2 inches in dia- Fig. 6
meter are stood in water 2 millimetres deep,
and the weight of water absorbed is compared
with that absorbed by similar specimens of
untreated soil in the same time. The speci- a
mens are prepared at a moisture content and p
dry density found by noting where the 10 per I 16
cent air content line intersects the dry ________
density/moisture content curve for the treat- i
ed material, determined by the British 8
Standard compaction test (which is equivalent 2
to the American Society for Testing Materials
test). The results obtained with a sandy g
clay treated with different proportions of a 3
waxy cut-back bitumen are shown in Fig. 6.
It is considered that a test of this type
measures approximately the effect of the
treatment on the permeability of the soil, 0 2 6
and its value therefore denends unon PERCENTAGE SlABhER
I A

whether or not this factor is the principal Water absorption of specimens of sandy clay cop-
taining various percentages of waxy cut-back
criterion of performance. Since military bitumen

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 104 D. J. MACLEAN AND H. W. W. POLLITT

roads and airfields are usually required to have only a relatively short life it is probable that
the results of the test do provide a satisfactory criterion for such construction. The capillary
water-absorption test is concerned with movements of moisture in the liquid phase and is
probably of little value in evaluating the effect of the treatment for movements of moisture
in the vapour phase.
The effect of waterproofing agents on the stability of soil is complex, but at any given
moisture content and state of compaction it seems probable that the general tendency
would be for a small decrease in stability to occur. Amongst the factors affecting this prob-
lem are :-
(1) With clay soils the treatment involves a destruction of the structure of the soil
and therefore a reduction in stability.
(2) The addition of bituminous material to soil increases the total fluids content which
usually more than offsets any gain in stability arising from the binding action.
In addition to the necessity for the treated soil to be sufficiently stable to resist serious
deformation under traffic, the whole structure comprising the surfacing, base and subgrade
must also possess an adequate strength after the maximum moisture contents referred to
above have been reached. The thickness of the treated layer must therefore be adequate
to avoid overstressing of the subgrade and would frequently exceed the 6 inches or so of
which the mix-in-place machines are capable. It would therefore be necessary to resort to
plant-mix methods, with which the required thicknesses can be laid.
Of the various tests which have beeti employed to measure the stability of soils stabilized
with waterproofing agents, the California bearing ratio test has been found to be the most
suitable, particularly as the associated design curves make it possible to choose a suitable
criterion of stability for different traffic conditions.
With regard to the second main problem-that of determining the suitability of soils
for treatment with waterproofing agents-it is necessary to first establish that the treatment
produces the desired effect, and secondly that the process can be carried out successfully in
practice.
Regarding effectiveness, it has been found that the best bituminous material is a waxy
cut-back bitumen of which between 2 and 4 per cent of the dry weight of the soil is required.
About 1 to 2 per cent of natural resins is required to effect the greatest reduction in the rate
of water absorption by soil. It has, however, been established that they are effective only
with acidic and not with alkaline soils (Clare, 1949), while microbiological investigations
have shown that resins are attacked by bacteria and fungi. In the latter work it was found
that sodium pentachlorophenate acted as an effective deterrent to attack by such micro-
organisms.
With regard to processing in practice, an essential attribute to the success of any stabiliza-
tion method is the ability to mix the stabilizing agent adequately into the soil. This problem
is more serious in the case of waterprqofing agents because of the relatively small proportions
of materials used, and is particularly serious for bituminous waterproofers for which mixing
time is critical. It is doubtful if, with existing plant, the performance of a waterproofing
agent, as evaluated by the capillary water absorption test, is with any soils as high as 50 per
cent of that obtained in the laboratory. With heavy clay soils this figure may not be greater
than 10 to 20 per cent.
If all the factors involved are considered, it does not appear likely that this group of
materials has more than a limited application in military road and airfield construction. If
they are to be used at all, it is considered that the problems mentioned must be fully inves-
tigated in order to determine the precise circumstances in which they would provide an
effective solution to the military requirements.
METHODS OF INCREASING THE STABILITY OF SOIL
Methods of increasing the stability of soil are applicable in cases where the soil formation

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 105

is either insufficiently stable for the particular traffic or aircraft at the time of construction, or
is likely to become unstable during the life of the road or airfield. In the latter application,
such methods can be regarded as an alternative form of treatment to methods of water-
proofing soils.
The principal methods of stabilizing soils are the admixture of cement or lime for wet
soils, and bituminous materials for dry granular soils lacking cohesion.
Where granular soils are treated with bitumen, the resulting surface will be capable of
resisting satisfactorily damage arising from the combined action of traffic and weather, but
in the case of other forms of stabilized soil, a surfacing such as prefabricated bituminous
surfacing, a thin bituminous carpet or surface dressing, will almost always be required.
Since military roads and airfields are usually required to be put into operation within a
day or two of construction, the stabilized soil should develop the required strength within
this period. In addition, as with waterproofing agents, they should be effective for treating
a wide range of soils and should be available in the quantities needed for military construction.
The primary purpose of the admixture of a stabilizing agent is to produce a material
which is not only stronger than the untreated soil but is also more resistant to the effects of
weather such as freezing and changes in moisture content. In addition to possessing a
strength sufficient to prevent its excessive deformation under traffic, the stabilized layer must
also be thick enough to reduce the stresses in the subgrade below a value which would result
in a large deformation of the whole structure. The latter problem is one of pavement design,
and in principle involves the same considerations as in civil road and airfield construction.
The following problems thus arise in connexion with the use of stabilizing agents :-
(1) The determination of the minimum stability of the stabilized soil required to pre-
vent excessive deformation of the treated layer itself.
(2) The determination of the relationship between the thickness of the treated layer
and the stability of the subgrade for each type of traffic envisaged.
(3) The determination of the effect of admixing different proportions of the stabilizing
agent on :
(a) the stability of the treated soil at different times after the treatment, and
(b) the resistance of the treated soil to the effect of weather at different times
after the treatment.
(4) The determination of the suitability of soils of different types and properties to
treatment with the stabilizing agent.
(5) Problems of mixing, compaction, and rapid control testing.
With regard to the first problem, in Great Britain the unconfined compressive strength
has been used successfully for a number of years as a measure of the stability of stabilized
soils, and in particular, that of soil-cement. It has been found that a base material satis-
factory in performance in civil road construction is produced by a stabilized mixture that
develops an unconfined compressive strength of 250 lb. per square inch when prepared in
the laboratory and tested after curing at a constant moisture content for 7 days. For
military construction it is thought that the California bearing ratio test is a preferable method
of evaluating the stability of stabilized soil, first because it is also of direct value for deter-
mining the thickness of stabilized layer required, and thus avoids the use of an additional
test, and secondly because the large amount of practical experience in the use of the test
makes it possible to select a more reliable criterion of stability than with other methods of
test. It is probable that this criterion will be different for roads and also for airfields because
whereas on military roads the traffic will be frequent and canalized, on airfields the traffic
will be widely distributed even if frequent. It is therefore likely that greater stability of
the stabilized base is required for roads than for airfields. For roads having a thin wearing-
surface, experience to date indicates that the criterion is a California bearing ratio of from
SO to 100 per cent, as determined on material processed in the field.

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 106 D. J. MACLEAN AND II. W. W. POLLITT

The second problem is one of pavement design and is considered later in the section on
metal surfacings ; problems (3) and (4) relate to the individual stabilizers and are now con-
sidered in relation to each important group of stabilizers ; after which problem (5) is con-
sidered under appropriate headings.

CEMENT

Normal Portland cement has been successfully employed on a large scale in civil engineer-
ing to stabilize inorganic soils with liquid limits not exceeding about 40 per cent. In order
to justify the use of soil-cement for military road and airfield construction, development
work is required on the process to enable a wider range of soils to be successfully treated, in
particular, heavy clays and soils containing organic matter.
With regard to the stabilization of heavy clay soils, laboratory work in progress in Great
Britain has shown that a clay with a liquid limit of about 70 per cent can be made adequately
strong and resistant to immersion in water by the admixture of from 15 to 20 per cent of
cement, based on the dry weight of the soil. The addition of 2 per cent of hydrated lime
was found to improve the quality of the stabilized soil. This work showed that the problem
of stabilizing clay with cement was largely one of obtaining adequate mixing, and field trials
at present in progress at the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment of the
Ministry of Supply have shown that a material about half as strong as that produced in the
laboratory can be obtained by the use of a modified form of double-paddled bituminous
materials mixer, while even better results can be obtained with a pug-mill of a type used by
the pottery industry. The present position is that, if mixing plant suitable for military use
can be successfully developed, there appears to be no reason why heavy clays should not be
satisfactorily stabilized with cement.
The principal type of organic soil likely to be met in practice is agricultural topsoil con-
taining organic matter such as dead roots and humus. Experiments have shown that such
soil can be successfully treated with 10 to 15 per cent of cement and 2 per cent of hydrated
lime, when the proportion of organic matter is comparatively small. When this proportion
exceeds about 10 per cent, however, the large amount of cement required (about 25 per cent)
and the difficulty of compacting the
Fig. 7
treated soil probably makes the process
0 High alumina cement
unsuitable for military use.
A Normal Partlond cement
Some sandy soils, occurring on
- Heavy clay + 15% cement heaths in the British Isles and also
--- Sand with octivc orgonlc matter found to occur in Africa, have been
+ 10% cement
found to contain what is thought to be
a small proportion of very active organic
matter that has the effect of retarding
the hardening of soil-cement prepared
from them. Experiments. have shown
that the addition of 1 or 2 per cent of
calcium chloride with ordinary Portland
cement is capable of completely over-
coming this difficulty. High-alumina
cement has also been found effective
(Fig. 7) in this respect.
Fig. 7 also shows that the military
, requirement of early strength can be
AGE-days met by the use of high-alumina cement,
Strength/age relationships for two soils stabilised with two but this material is less easily available
types of cement than Portland cement and calcium

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 107

chloride. It thus appears that a mixture of cement, lime, and calcium chloride in the
proportions 6 : 1 : 1 would be a satisfactory stabilizing agent for treating a wide range
of soils for military road and airfield construction. This stabilizer has the additional advan-
tage that the three materials are available in comparatively large quantities. Disadvantages
of the resulting type of construction are first that it is often easily abraded under the action
of traffic and weather, and therefore needs some form of surfacing, and secondly that it some-
times tends to be brittle and therefore cannot sustain a large deformation under load without
cracking badly. The brittleness is most likely to occur with stabilized granular soils, which
may easily develop a stability much in excess of that required. In such cases it is thought
that the addition of a small proportion of a bituminous material would be of value in giving
the material a certain amount of flexibility.

BITUMINOUS MATERIALS

As a means of increasing the stability of soils, bituminous materials find their main
application in treating granular soils occurring in arid climates by providing cohesion between
the particles. Using hydrated lime with special bitumen and tar binders, sands having
moisture contents as high as 10 per cent and not more than about 7 per cent passing British
Standard No. 200 sieve have been successfully stabilized for both road and airfield con-
struction in the British Isles (Lee and Carter, 1944), but generally it is thought that bituminous
materials are less suitable than cement for stabilizing soils in humid climates. For airfields,
bituminous-stabilized soils may be sufficiently stable for use without a surfacing, but for
roads they would sometimes require a substantial surfacing. As with cement, bituminous
materials have the advantage of being available in the necessary quantities and they also
waterproof at the same time and strengthen soils.

SYNTHETIC RESINS

Laboratory investigations carried out both in the United States of America and in Great
Britain have shown that the stability of a wide range of soils can be increased by the addition
to the soil of chemicals which together form a hard synthetic resin in the pores of the soil.
Amongst the combinations of chemicals tried are aniline and furfural, resorcinol and formal-
dehvde, and pyrogallol and formaldehyde. Laboratory experiments at the Road Research
Laboratory have shown that the second com-
Fig. 8
bination can produce in both sand and clay
soils strengths comparable with those obtain-
ed by the admixture of similar proportions of
cement, and a reduction in the rate of water
absorption greater than that produced by
natural resins. The process requires the
addition of equal parts of the two chemicals
which react to form a resin which hardens in
from 1 to 3 days. The time of setting is less
at high than at low temperatures and can be
reduced by the addition of about 1 per cent
of lime. Fig. 8 shows the strengths obtained
with various percentage additions of resorci-
nol-formaldehyde to sand and clay soils.
Although such materials are capable with
further development of a performance tech- RESIN CCdENTRATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF DRY SOIL
nically equal to that of cement, they are not WEIGHT

produced in the necessary quantities, and un- Effect of resorcinol-formaldehyde on the unconfined
less unexpected industrial developments occur compressive strength of soil

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 108 D. J. MACLEAN AND H. W. W. POLLITT

their use is likely to be limited. The work in the United States of America with
polymerizable compounds such as calcium acrylate appears to belong to this general
group of stabilization processes.

MIXING PLANT

In most processes involving the admixture of a material into soil either to maintain or
to increase its stability, it is essential to achieve an intimate mixing of the two materials.
Waterproofing with bituminous materials may be an exception, as there is evidence (Fig. 9)
that in this case there is an optimum amount of mixing above which the binder may be
dispersed into films too thin to be effective.
Fig. 9

Relationship between :*g time and water absorption for

specimens of a silty clay containing 3 per cent of a waxy
cut-back bitumen

Although there appears to be little published research into methods of obtaining the
adequate mixing of stabilizers into soil, there has been a considerable improvement in the
design of mixing plant. For example, the early soil-cement construction by the “ mix-in-
place ” method was carried out with ploughs and disc harrows, and tests showed that the
strength of the material produced was usually only about one-quarter of that made in the
laboratory ; on the other hand, recent soil-cement construction with the latest designs of
rotary tiller have given strengths at least two-thirds that of laboratory strengths. This
information applies to soils with liquid limits of less than 40 per cent, and it has been found
that existing rotary tillers are incapable of dealing with heavy clay soils. Since methods of
soil stabilization suitable for military use should be applicable to a wide range of soils includ-
ing heavy clays, there is thus a need to develop a mixing plant especially to meet these
requirements, and this raises the problem of the factors affecting the mixing of the materials
concerned.
It has been established in investigations at the Road Research Laboratory that good
mixing of powdered stabilizers, such as cement, into cohesive soil can be obtained either
when the soil is very dry or very wet, but that in an intermediate range of moisture contents
relatively poor mixing is obtained (Fig. 10). At a low moisture content the soil can be easily
pulverized and this facilitates the intimate mixing of the stabilizer and soil ; at a high
moisture content the soil has a low cohesive strength in which condition it is easy to mix
the stabilizer by a kneading action ; at the intermediate moisture contents the soil is difficult
to pulverize or to subject to a kneading action. It is apparent that rotary tillers which rely

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 109

largely on their pulverizing action for mixing are most suitable for dealing with comparatively
dry soils while a mixer having a kneading action is preferable for wet soils. These con-
clusions apply to cohesive soils ; with granular soils mixing is a much simpler process since
these soils have at all moisture contents insufficient cohesion to render either the pulveriza:
tion or kneading action a difficult process. As mentioned earlier in this article it has been
found that mixers of the type used in the pottery industry, that apply a kneading action to
the soil, give much better mixing of cement into wet clays than can be obtained by rotary
tillers. In addition, a kneading action is likely to be effective in the mixing of fluid stabilizers
with granular soil. Since the main soil treatments required by the military engineer are
likely to be the stabilization of wet cohesive soils with cement and of dry granular soils with
Fig. 10

0 S 0 IS 20 25 30
MOISTURE CONTENT - pr cult

Relationship between coeflicient of variation of chalk content

moisture content

bituminous material, a machine employing a kneading action would appear to be the most
suitable type for military use.
Apart from the actual process of mixing, the other principal problem in mixing plant is
whether it should be of the mix-in-place type or of a travel plant ; that is to say, whether
the soil should be mixed in situ or whether it should be fed through a mixing trough mounted
on a mobile carriage. Since the latter type can employ a kneading action while the former
usually employs a pulverizing action, then, if it is accepted that the kneading action has a
wider application, it follows that the travel plant is the more suitable type of plant for
military use.
There are a number of further important reasons why in the Authors’ opinion travel
plant should be adopted. First, there is the requirement to treat soils to a depth possibly
as great as 18 inches, whereas existing mix-in-place plant cannot process to a depth much
greater than 6 inches. Secondly, travel plant is more adaptable to the range of work with
which the mi!itary engineer is concerned. For example, existing roads or airfields may
need to be repaired or increased in width and thickness. Such work forms a large part of
the military engineer’s task and cannot be satisfactorily carried out by mix-in-place methods.
A possible argument against travel plant is the difficulty of obtaining a high output, but this
is not felt to outweigh the other considerations and a machine of suitable design should be
capable of competing in output with the best mix-in-place types of plant. In any case there
is no virtue in a large output of unsatisfactory material.

COMP.%CTION

It is generally accepted that both untreated and stabilized soils have to be adequately

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 110 D. J. MACLEAN AND H. W. W. POLLITT

compacted in order to obtain the greatest stability they are capable of developing ; in fact,
the value of such processes as soil-cement may be completely lost if the compaction is not
properly done. The military requirements of compaction plant are :-
(1) Full compaction should be obtained with one passage of the plant.
(2) The plant should be capable of compacting satisfactorily in one layer the maximum
thickness of construction likely to be required. This might be as large as 18 inches.
At the Road Research Laboratory a considerable amount of research has been under-
taken on the performance of plant for compacting soils (Williams and Maclean, 1950), and
much experience has also been gained of laboratory and field compaction of stabilized soil.
The following conclusions applying to military construction have been drawn from this work.
Moisture content of so&-In military construction it will not usually be practicable, or
in fact desirable, to alter the natural moisture content of the soil. With methods of con-
struction aimed at maintaining the stability of soil, compaction has to be carried out usually
at a low moisture content, at which soil is difficult to compact ; with methods of increasing
the stability of soil, the moisture content is usually comparatively high, and the treated soil
is therefore much easier to compact. The difference in the compacting effort required for the
two types of process is thought to be an important factor in deciding which is the more
suitable for military construction, since with any given plant at low moisture contents satis-
factory compaction is obtained to a smaller depth, with more passages of the plant, than at
high moisture contents. In arid climates the effort required to raise the moisture contept
of the soil artificially in processes aimed at increasing the stability of the soil may well out-
weigh these considerations, but in more humid climates they would seem to favour the use
of processes aimed at increasing the stability of soil.
Type of plant.-Apart from the military requirements that the compaction plant should
give adequate compaction in one passage of the machine and to a depth of as much as 18
inches, it should also be capable of dealing with all types of soil over a reasonably wide range
of moisture contents. It is proposed to consider how far the three classes of compaction
plant, rollers, vibrators, and rammers, meet these requirements.
(1) Rollers. The rollers tested at the Road Research Laboratory were representative
of those commonly used in practice and comprised smooth steel wheeled rollers having
weights ranging up to 10 tons, pneumatic tired rollers having .weights ranging up to 12 tons
and tire inflation pressures up to 36 lb. per square inch, and sheepsfoot rollers having weights
ranging up to 5 tons and foot contact pressures up to 250 lb. per square inch.
The srnooth steel wheeled and pneumatic tired rollers were able effectively to compact
soils at the moisture contents normally obtained in the British Isles, but the sheepsfoot
rollers were unsatisfactory at these moisture contents and gave their best performance at
lower moisture contents common to less humid climates. Over the range of moisture con-
tents at which they are effective, the steel wheeled and pneumatic tired rollers gave satis-
factory compaction to a depth of about 6 inches in from eight to sixteen passages of the
roller, while the sheepsfoot rollers required from thirty to sixty passages to give satisfactory
compaction to a depth of about 4 inches.
Xone of these rollers would meet military requirements, but the results obtained in
investigating their performance suggest that the most suitable roller for military use would
be a small train of pneumatic tired rollers. Comparatively simple means could be provided
for adjusting the load and tire pressure, so that the range oi moisture contents over which
the train was effective could be increased. It is considered that the construction and opera-
tion of a single pneumatic tired roller designed to meet the military requirements set out
above would present many practical difficulties.
The steel wheeled roller could not be adapted for military use, as it would not be prac-
ticable to increase considerably its effective depth of compaction, nor could the roller easily
be made to operate over a wider range of moisture contents.

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 111
The sheepsfoot roller could not be made to meet military requirements, as it would not
be practicable to develop a roller or train of rollers of this type capable of giving the required
depth of compaction in one or two passages, nor could it easily be made to operate over a
wider range of moisture contents.
(2) Vibrators. A number of different types of vibrating roller weighing up to 29 tons
and of vibrating plate weighing up to 2 tons has been tested at the Road Research Laboratory.
The vibrating rollers were satisfactory only for compacting granular soils, while the heavy
vibrating plates gave good compaction on a sandy clay as well as on granular soil. The
improvement in performance obtained by applying vibration to a heavy steel wheeled roller
was not very great, and such a roller would be unsuitable for military use for the same reasons
as an ordinary steel wheeled roller. Heavy vibrating plates had the merit of compacting
soils to a depth of from 9 to 18 inches according to the type of soil, but they performed poorly
on heavy clay soils, and this is a disadvantage to their military use.
(3) Rammers. Power-operated rammers ranging from those weighing about 2 cwt. used
for compacting backfill in trenches to a frog-rammer weighing Q ton have been tested at the
Road Research Laboratory. The frog-rammer was found to compact a wide range of soils
to a depth of 12 to 18 inches according to the type of the soil with about three to five traversals
of the machine.
Fig. 11 shows some of the results obtained on a clay soil by some of the plant described.
On the basis of these results it is considered that the most suitable type of compaction plant
for military use would employ a system of heavy dropping weights, each taking the form of
a rectangular metal plate. With this type of machine it would be possible to obtain satis-
factory compaction in one traversal of the machine by suitably adjusting the rate of travel,
the frequency of blows and the length of the plates in the direction of travel. By having
an adjustment for the height of drop, it’would be possible to extend the range of moisture
contents over which the machine was effective.

Methods of testing materials

In the construction of roads and airfields by the methods described in this article, the
military engineer will wish to avoid as far as possible the use of tests on the soil and stabilized
Fig. 11

NUMBER OF PASSES
Effect of number of passes of plant on the dry density of the heavy clay soil
compacted at the optimum moisture contents for the plant in S-inch loose layers

3*

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 112 L). J. MACLEAN AND H. W. W. POLLITT

soil. Where tests are essential thev should be very simple and rapid, yet reasonably accurate.
The tests primarily required comprise those for measuring the moisture content and stability
of soil and stabilized soil, and for checking the stabilizer content of stabilized soil.
For measuring moisture contents in a few minutes the most satisfactory of the available
methods has been found to be one employing a proprietary apparatus (Croney and Jacobs, 1951)
in which the material whose moisture content is required is mixed with calcium carbide in a
closed container and the pressure developed by the resulting acetylene gas is recorded on a
gauge. With the help of a calibration curve this pressure is converted to a moisture content.
For the determination of the stability of soil and stabilized soil it is doubtful whether a
better test can be devised for military use than the California bearing ratio test ; its two
main advantages are :-
(1) The wide range of applications to which it can be put ; for example, for laboratory
and field use in situ, and for all types of soil and stabilized soil.
(2) The considerable amount of experience of the performance of roads and airfields
that is related to the results of the test.
It is considered that a simpler and more rapid test would involve testing a smaller sample
of the material, and it is unlikely that this could be done without the test value losing some
of its significance.
The measurement of the stabilizer content of stabilized soil is required primarily to
check that the correct proportion has been added, and the results of the measurement are
required as soon as possible after mixing. To meet this requirement for soil-cement a test
has been developed in which the change in the pH value of an acid buffer solution on the
addition of the soil-cement is related to the cement content. This test can give results in
15 minutes or less. For bitumen-treated sands it has been found that an immediate and
accurate estimate of the bitumen content can be made by comparing the colour of samples
of the mixed material with samples of known composition. Where this method cannot be
used the change in colour in a solvent might form the basis of a method of determining
bitumen content.

METAL SURFACINGS

As an alternative to the use of soil stabilization, prefabricated metal surfacings were

used during the Second World War, particularly for the construction of military airfields,
They were usually laid directly on the soil formation to provide the additional stability which
the soil itself lacked. Their weights ranged between 1 and 6 lb. per square foot, and the most
successful was probably pierced steel plank, which was also one of the heaviest types.
It would be of interest to check theoretical calculations based on Prandtl’s formula for
stability that suggest that metal surfacings are likely to be most effective on frictional soils.
Fig. 12 shows how the increase in stability resulting from the use of a metal surfacing might
be expected to rise rapidly with increasing angle of internal friction of the soil.
No form of metal surfacing so far developed affords protection to the soil formation from
the action of weather. This means that most soil formations will become very wet and
unstable during wet weather, and this largely offsets the gain in stability arising from the
rigidity of the metal surfacing. In arid climates soil formations will remain dry and maintain
their natural stability which they might partially lose if covered with an impermeable sur-
facing which prevented evaporation. FOJ these reasons existing types of metal surfacings
are considered to have their main application on soil formations in areas where the pre-
vailing weather is dry, and to be of little value on most soils where the weather is pre-
dominantly wet.
To make the use of a metal surfacing worth while in a wet climate, the soil formation
must thus be protected from the effects of rainfall by one of the methods mentioned earlier
iii this article. Of these, prefabricated bituminized surfacing has been found to be unsuitable

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 113
Fig. 12

Metal urfoclqs rpmad the load and

couw rumhar9e pnaun on the roll.
An extension of Pmndtl’r analyrir
b allow for the effects ol swchor99
adjacent 0 the loaded oroa shows
that
P- Pe*xp,
whem
p- bearin9 capacity with rurchaqe

R,- be&q capacity without surchaqe

p*- surchar9e pnrrurc
A - cocffidcnt qiven this 9mph

ANGLE OF INTERNAL FRICTION. 0 - dagrccs

Effect of eurcharge on bearing capacity of soil

because it is easily punctured by the metal surfacing, but this difficulty has been overcome by
the use of a l-inch sand-bitpmen carpet. Recent experiments made by the Road Research
Laboratory suggest that the application of tar and chippings to the soil formation combined
with the use of a metal surfacing might also be an effective form of construction.
The structure formed by a soil formation protected from the effects of rainfall and sur-
faced with the heaviest existing type of metal surfacing, may not always have the necessary
stability for the heavier loads and higher tire pressures now being used. In these circum-
stances a metal surfacing might be employed in combination with a stabilized soil formation.
Further investigations are required to determine whether or not the use of metal surfacings
in this way provides a more satisfactory method of construction than can be obtained by
stabilizing a greater thickness of soil, bearing in mind the effects of abrasion and of jet exhausts.
More research is required to determine the best design of metal surfacing for a given unit
weight. Laboratory and field tests carried out during the late war at the Road Research
Laboratory (Pollitt, 1948) showed that it is more important, especially with sandy soils, to
have a large area of surfacing in contact with the ground than to have high rigidity, and the
good performance of pierced steel plank is considered to be due to the fact that the total plan
area in contact with the ground is higher for this than for any other type of metal surfacing.
It is thought that the most efficient surfacing might be provided by thin steel or alldy plates
stiffened on their upper and lower faces by longitudinal and transverse members respectively.
With such a surfacing it might be possible to seal the joints between each panel and thus
protect the soil beneath from rainfall.

PAVEMENT DESIGN FOR MILITARY ROADS AND AIRFIELDS

It is comparatively simple to provide the required number of passages of a loaded wheel

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 D. J. MACLEAN AND I-I. W. W. POLLITT

Fig. 13
42-b

I I
Dstributim d left hand
wheels d commercial
trdfic on 3011. road\ .

Distrlb4tion
of
I whcab of aircraft m a
I*ft bald

FEET FEET

d rod
and rmwq

Comparative distribution of traffic on road and runway

to study the performance of runways, but it is less practicable to do so with roads because
of the much larger number of passages required. Thus, the design of runways can be con-
veniently investigated by constructing small test-areas and observing the deformation caused
by a loaded test wheel, but in the investigation of the design of roads it is usually preferable
to construct an actual road incorporating the different types and thicknesses of construction
3n a site such as an army camp, where the actual traffic will use the road.
.%nce the information from full-scale trials takes a long time to accumulate, it is felt that
in the interim period a useful purpose is served by employing simple empirical rules to deduce
the design of military roads and airfields from the available information about their civil
counterparts. In doing this there are two main factors to be considered :-
(1) Military construction is required to have only a short service life compared with
civil constrtictipn.
(2) A rather lower standard of performance can be accepted from military than from
civil construction.
With regard to the first factor, a useful rule has been found to be to reduce the thickness
of the structure required to carry the same type of traffic as for civil purposes by a factor equal
to the ratio of the logarithms of the probable number of repetitions of loading in the two
cases. A further reduction in thickness compared with civil construction should be per-
missible in respect to the second factor. This reduction would be greater for roads than for
runways, since a greater reduction in performance is probably permissible in the case of
roads. On the basis of these. considerations it has been estimated that the thickness of
structure required for military purposes could in general be safely reduced to about half the
thickness used to carry the same type of traffic or aircraft for civil purposes.
A comparison of the distribution of wheel loads on roads and runways shows that the
most heavily trafficked strip of a road carries a much greater proportion of the total traffic

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 SOIL PROBLEMS IN MILITARY ROAD AND AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION 115

than in the case of runways. For example, comparative distributions of wheel loads on a
30-foot wide road and on a 150-foot wide runway (Fig. 13) showed that the number of
repetitions of wheel load in the most heavily trafficked strip was over 40 per cent of the
average traffic per foot width for the road, whereas the corresponding figure for the runway
was 14 per cent. This considerable difference may result in different requirements as to
thickness and quality of pavements for roads and airfields respectively.
These factors could usefully be studied further since a complete understanding of them
would permit considerable economies, particularly in military airfield construction.
Since the stresses due to a loaded wheel Fig. 14
decrease with depth beneath the surface, another SUB’BASE
possible source of economy lies in employing BASE+ SW-BASE
material with a lower stability at the bottom
than at the top of the traffic-bearing structure,
especially on poor soils where considerable
thicknesses of structure are required. For 5o
example, it has been estimated that with soil-
cement on a weak subgrade, if instead of an 1%
inch thick layer of uniform strength a 6-inch
layer of the same strength and a lower 1Binch
layer of less strength estimated by means of E
the California bearing ratio method were used, o
a saving in cement of as much as 50 per cent f 30
could be effected (Fig. 14). It is realized that
on strong subgrades where the required thick-
ness of treated layer is not more than 6 inches
the extra effort involved in laying two different
mixes would not be justified, but on poorer
subgrades the two-layer method would seem to
merit consideration.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors wish to express their appreci- ’ O-2 o’4 BASEO’b
ation for the assistance rendered and valuable BASE+ SUB-BASE
criticisms made by their colleagues of the Economy in cement possible with two-layer
Soil Mechanics Section of the Road Research stabilization. GUI-ves calculated for wheel
Laboratory. The Authors also owe much to loads up to 27,000 lb.
the valuable lessons learned in co-operative work with the Military Engineering Experimental
Establishment of the Ministry of Supply where important development work is being carried
out on some of the matters discussed in the article. The article is published by permission
of the Director of Road Research.

REFERENCES
CLARE, K. E., 1949. The waterproofing of soils by resinous materials. J. Sot. them. Ind. 68 : 69-76.
CRONEY, D., and JACOBS, J. C. The rapid measurement of soil moisture content in the field. Rds and Rd
Constv. 29 : 191-194.
CRONEY, D., LEWIS, \V. A., and COLEMAN, J. D., 1950. Calculation of the moisture distribution beneath
structures. Ci:,. .!?‘rrgizg.45 : 103-106.
DAVIS, E. H.., 1949. The California bearing ratio method for the design of flexible roads and runways.
Ge’otechnique. 1 : 249-263.
JACKSON, J. S., 1944. Recent developments in connexion with the application of soil stabilisation in
practice. J. Sm. chew. Ind. 63 : 161-165.
LEE, A. R., and CARTER, H. J. E., 1944. The use of cold and wet aggregates in bituminous construction
for roads and aerodromes. Road Pabev No. 12. Znstn Civ. Eners.
POLLITT, H. W. W., 1948. The influencdof light surfacings on thgtraffic carrying capacity of soil. PYOC.
Second Int. Conf. Soil Mech. 4 : 237-242.
WILLIAMS. F. H. P., and MACLEAN,D. J., 1950. The compaction of soil. RoadResearch Technical Papev No. 17.

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