Alabama Field Project to Evaluate Variability in Soil–Cement Specimens Compacted with the Plastic Mold Device

Abstract

The plastic mold compaction device (PM Device) was developed in Mississippi to compact cementitiously stabilized soil inside plastic molds to improve soil–cement quality by adding value during design and construction activities. The PM Device has been incorporated as an AASHTO provisional standard (AASHTO PP92-19) and, to date, prevailing activities have been Mississippi Department of Transportation projects and have included controlled laboratory evaluations and field projects. This paper goes beyond previous efforts, to document a field study in which the PM Device was successfully used on an Alabama Department of Transportation project to evaluate its effectiveness within another state’s construction specifications. The PM Device was capable of capturing quantifiable variation in mechanical properties over the duration of the construction project, as well as producing similar mechanical properties to cores taken from the compacted pavement surface. Additionally, molds described in AASHTO PP92-19 were compared with one another to evaluate their potential within the standard practice. AASHTO PP92-19 protocols were sufficient to produce viable, repeatable test specimens within another state department of transportation construction environment for quality control and quality assurance.