Characterization of the Lateritic Soil of Kamboinsé (Burkina Faso)

Abstract

Laterite is a very common material in tropical countries. Good quality lateritic deposits are becoming increasingly rare. This material is used as a base course for most roads built in tropical Africa. These materials are selected on the basis of geotechnical test results in accordance with current standards. However, these materials do not perform well in situ after a short period of time, causing premature pavement degradation. This poor behavior can be ascribed to insufficient geotechnical testing to justify the choice of these materials in road construction. In this work, in addition to traditional geotechnical tests (particle size analysis, Atterberg limits, modified Proctor, CBR Index), compression tests were performed in addition to traditional geotechnical tests to determine compressive strength and elasticity modulus. Geotechnical tests carried out on the laterite of Kamboinsé according to the lithology of the quarry reveal that the characteristics decrease with depth and that the first layer can be used as a base layer. Cement improvement for small percentages (1, 2 and 3%) shows a clear improvement in mechanical characteristics. An addition of 2% cement allows the use of the second base layer, improvement of 3% allows the use of the first layer as a base layer. An addition of granite crushed granites of class 0/31.5 improved the physical properties of materials for additive percentages varying from 20, 25, 30 and 35% by weight of dry materials. This improvement allows the use of layers 1, 2 and 3 as a base layer for low traffic, layer 4 can be used as a base layer.