Unbound Courses Research Articles

Crushed rocks stabilized with organosilane and lignosulfonate in pavement unbound layers: Repeated load triaxial tests

The creation of the new “Ferry-Free Coastal Highway Route E39” in southwest Norway entails the production of a remarkable quantity of crushed rocks. These resources could be beneficially employed as aggregates in the unbound courses of the highway itself or other road pavements present nearby. Two innovative stabilizing agents, organosilane and lignosulfonate, can significantly enhance the key properties, namely, resilient modulus and resistance against permanent deformation, of the aggregates that are excessively weak in their natural state. The beneficial effect offered by the additives was thoroughly evaluated by performing repeated load triaxial tests. The study adopted the most common numerical models to describe these two key mechanical properties. The increase in the resilient modulus and reduction in the accumulated vertical permanent deformation show the beneficial impact of the additives. Furthermore, a finite element model was created to simulate the repeated load triaxial test by implementing nonlinear elastic and plastic constitutive relationships.