Soil cement is a construction material, a mix of pulverized natural soil with small amount of portland cement and water, usually processed in a tumble, compacted to high density. Soil cement is widely used as a low-cost pavement base for roads, residential streets, parking areas, airports, shoulders, and materials-handling and storage areas. The primary advantages of soil cement are that it is economical and durable.
The first documented use of soil-cement was in 1929 at Grand Coulee Dam as subgrade material under the concrete slab/rubble footing for the dam. In 1933 the Bureau of Reclamation designed and constructed the first soil-cement road in the United States on the Parker Dam Access Road in California
Soil cement is a construction material, a mix of pulverized natural soil with small amount of portland cement and water, usually processed in a tumble, compacted to high density. Hard, semi-rigid durable material results. Used for pavements, dams, retaining walls and other structures.
Soil cement can be mixed in place or in a central mixing plant. Central mixing plants produce uniform mixes that are more consistent than onsite mixing. Soil cement mixtures are often used as base subbases for roads and parking lots. Soil cement is also used as a construction material for pipe and box culverts, slope protection and canals.
The first modern soil cement was reportedly made in 1929 by an engineer named Lefroy.[1] It was made by mixing Portland cement with the soil on the job site.[1] The first soil-cement highway constructed was the Long Beach Freeway (Highway 710) near Los Angeles by the California Division of Highways during the period 1932 to 1935.[2] In 1941, the National Bureau of Standards released NBSIR 41-1311 which became the standard for soil-cement testing and development.[3][4]
Soil cement is the most economical and sustainable choice for road base material. Soil cement has been used in the construction industry for more than 60 years. When soil cement is used as a pavement base, the pavement life is extended, resulting in substantial cost savings in future rehabilitation or reconstruction costs.
In addition to being economical, soil cement reduces noise and provides an improved riding surface for vehicles. In many cases soil cement also reduces the need for stormwater drainage systems, thus reducing stormwater runoff from paved surfaces and preserving natural streams and rivers.
Soil cement can be mixed with soil using standard earthmoving equipment at a central mixing plant or mixed in place using a mobile mixing machine. Soil cement mixtures consist of Portland cement, water and well-graded aggregate (such as gravel or crushed rock) that meets the gradation requirements of ASTM C 33 or AASHTO M 6.
Soil-cement is a highly compacted mixture of soil/aggregate, cement, and water. It is widely used as a low-cost pavement base for roads, residential streets, parking areas, airports, shoulders, and material-handling and storage areas.
Its advantages of great strength and durability combine with low first cost to make it the outstanding value in today’s market. The soil-cement manufacturing process uses materials which are available in abundance such as portland cement, aggregates (crushed stone, gravel) and mineral fillers (lime, fly ash).
The soil-cement base material typically contains between 8% and 12% portland cement which acts as the binder for the aggregates. The cement stabilizes the soil particles and protects them from disintegrating when exposed to water.
Soil-cement is normally made by thoroughly mixing a locally available granular subgrade soil with measured amounts of portland cement and water. The mixture is placed in thin lifts (no more than 6 inches thick), compacted to achieve maximum density through its optimum moisture content (OMC), and then cured for 7 days or more under moist conditions.
Soil cement is a highly compacted mixture of soil/aggregate, cement, and water. It is widely used as a low-cost pavement base for roads, residential streets, parking areas, airports, shoulders, and materials-handling and storage areas.
The term “cement” traction refers to the hydraulic cement binding the mixture together. Hydraulic cements do not react chemically with the soil to form a bond between the soil particles and the cement; rather, the cement simply fills the voids between soil particles.
Soil-cement can be mixed in place or in a central mixing plant. Central mixing plants can be used where borrow material is involved. Friable granular materials are selected for their low cement requirements and ease of handling and mixing. Normally pugmill-type mixers are used.
Soil-cement is a highly compacted mixture of soil/aggregate, cement, and water. It is widely used as a low-cost pavement base for roads, residential streets, parking areas, airports, shoulders, and materials-handling and storage areas. Its advantages of great strength and durability combine with low first cost to make it the material of choice for these uses.
Soil-cement can be mixed in place or in a central mixing plant. Central mixing plants can be used where borrow material is involved. Friable granular materials are selected for their low cement requirements and ease of handling and mixing. Normally pugmill-type mixer are used. The soil material is pulverized to pass through a 3/8 inch screen and blended with measured amounts of water and cement. The mixture is then conveyed to the spreader which places it on the prepared surface. A power roller then compacts the mixture to the desired thickness (usually 4 inches or more).
Soil-cement is a highly compacted mixture of soil/aggregate, cement, and water. It is widely used as a low-cost pavement base for roads, residential streets, parking areas, airports, shoulders, and materials-handling and storage areas.
Its advantages are low cost and long life. Its disadvantages are that it requires more skill to construct than other pavements and has higher initial cost than asphalt concrete. The quality control during construction must be better than for most pavements because variations in the soil-cement mixture have greater effect on pavement performance.
The Portland Cement Association recommends a minimum cement content of 6 percent for flexible pavements and 8 percent for rigid pavements. The optimum moisture content varies from about 12 to 15 percent for the finer textured soils to about 13 to 18 percent for the courser soils. The optimum compaction effort varies from about 80 passes with a 4-ton roller on fine-textured soils to about 150 passes on coarse-textured soils.