Road Embankments

Laboratory consolidation testing to obtain the value of compression index (Cc) is
time consuming and costly compared with another laboratories soil testing, so the
empirical formulation is preferred in the application for designing. Empirical formula to
obtain the value of compression index has been developed since the 1940s in many
countries, but there is still a view empirical formula derived from soft clay in Indonesia
whereas the characteristics of the soil in Indonesia with other countries is not
necessarily the same. This study was conducted to compare dozens of existing
empirical formula with 466 soil samples from 77 points of data bore holes at 25
locations spread in Surabaya area, Indonesia. Based on a comparative analysis of
existing empirical formula with the soil sample data indicates that, there is a difference
between the values of Cc empirical formula with the results of laboratory testing soil
data. Then the comparison results are used to find the empirical formula of index
compression by linear regression method for Surabaya soft soil.

In recent years expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam has successfully been used to reduce the acting vertical and horizontal stresses in several geotechnical applications due to its light weight, compressibility, and durability. In this study the efficiency of utilizing EPS blocks as a replacement for typical soil embankments under roadways was investigated. Accordingly, a detailed laboratory program was completed to measure the short- and long-term behaviors of EPS, which included unconfined compression (UC) and creep strain (CS) tests based on the time–temperature–stress superposition (TTSS) technique. Loading type applied during testing was cyclic loading to mimic the actual conditions under roadways, while the EPS density used was 35 kg/m³ to minimize deformations. The main outcome of this study was providing measured properties for local EPS considering creep stain after 100 years of cyclic loading, and these properties are ought to provide reliable design for EPS embankments under roadways.

Precast concrete sheetpile designed to restore and protect a road embankment, undergoing continuous settlement in soft ground condition in Jerlun, Kedah and Kuala Sanglang, Kedah is presented. The road built on soft ground has been in service for several years with some anticipated settlements. Major defects in the form of uneven settlements were spotted after few years of service. A survey was conducted and 5 spots of totaling 30m to 40m long stretch experiencing about 100mm settlements up to the centerline of the road. Several attempts have been used to backfill and re-surface the affected areas but the road conditions did not last, posing danger to motorists. Investigations have revealed slip circles did occur at the affected areas with signs of lateral movements of earths towards the river. Precast concrete sheetpile were designed to stabilize the road embankment to prevent further side movements of earth due to vehicular loads on the road. Analysis and design of the sheetpile system are presented. Outlines on some site works in handling, installing and finishing works are highlighted.

problem in Odisha. Almost every year earthen embankments and riverbanks are facing problems like erosion, breaching or Embankment failure and riverbank erosion are common retirements. Among many reasons the major causes are considered due to the use of geotechnical unstable materials, improper method of construction, seepage and sliding.

The existence of thick compressible clayey silt deposits along the Sava River provides major obstacle for design and construction of highway embankments in this region. To understand the consolidation and permeability characteristics of this alluvial layer and then to develop reliable soil parameters for earthwork design and construction, a comprehensive soil testing program was carried out. The program consisted of both in situ tests [e.g., standard penetration test borings, piezocone penetration test (CPT) soundings, Marchetti flat dilatometer test soundings, Lefranc test and CPT pore pressure dissipation tests] and laboratory tests (e.g., soil index tests, consolidation tests). The field and the laboratory test results showed that the clayey silt deposit was highly overconsolidated at the top and lightly overconsolidated at greater depths. The findings obtained from this study will be beneficial for future design and construction of Embankments along the Sava River.

Research into the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behavior of unsaturated soils and the effect of strain rate on their mechanical responses requires employment of advanced laboratory testing systems and procedures as well as protocols of correcting the measured data in order to account for errors associated with complex test conditions and apparatus calibrations. This paper presents design and calibration of an innovative constant-rate-of-strain (CRS) oedometer cell for characterization of the THM behavior of soils under combined non-isothermal and unsaturated conditions. The advanced oedometer cell enables for simultaneous control of temperature, suction, and stress state within the soil specimens. Temperatures of 20 to 200° C is applied through a tubular heating element placed at the base of the soil specimen. Suction is controlled using axis-translation technique, and measured using both axis-translation and two high-capacity tensiometers (HCTs) accommodated on the periphery of the specimen. The performance of the new cell is assessed based on a set of tests performed on clay specimens and its merits and advantages are discussed in detail.

The scarcity of conventional natural materials and the jeopardized environment have been compelling the tendency towards evolution of new or alternate materials and resources to be incorporated in sustainable infrastructure development. The inclusion of such materials entails several secondary and tertiary materials. Indeed, there is a strong thrust to investigate the feasibility of locally available industrial waste materials to replace the conventional construction materials. In India, vast network of existing industries spread across length and breadth of the country and many more to come in the near future, are certainly going to generate millions of tonnes of variety of waste and by-product materials. The pollution and disposal problems can be minimised to greater extent by properly utilising these materials in civil engineering applications. Several types of waste/by-product materials have already been investigated, assessed, and evaluated for utilization and practice in the field. In this paper, assessment of different waste materials produced by various industries was reviewed for ascertaining their suitability in the construction of rural roads, embankments, and subgrade layers. Physical, chemical and geotechnical properties of these waste materials have been critically evaluated for this purpose. From the results, it has been observed that most of the materials have potential to be selected as source materials for embankment and as a construction material in roads. Materials like steel furnace slag and zinc slag found to have their useful in partial replacement of aggregate for the construction of sub-base and base layers.

Red mud is an industrial waste material which is obtained from the refining of bauxite into the form of Aluminium oxide called alumina. In the present study for the use of Red mud with Fly Ash in geotechnical application with various percentages of cement were added. Tests like compaction, grain size distribution analysis, unconfined compressive strength, permeability were conducted to study the interaction of Fly Ash , Red mud and cement particles. Unconfined compressive strength were determined for the curing periods  3, 7, 28days with various combinations of  Fly Ash and  Red Mud mixed with various percentages of cement (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10). From the test results it is identified that as the percentage of cement increases compression strength increases and maximum values attained at 28 days curing periods. Hence Flyash- Red mud- cement stabilized material can be used in the Geo technical applications like Embankments and Liners.

A motorway embankment build on soft peaty soil, which has been improved by vibroreplacement (stone columns) and preloading is examined with respect to its seismic performance. For the assessment of the amount of coseismic permanent displacements, simple sliding block methods are compared with more complex two dimensional dynamic analyses, performed by a finite difference code (FLAC). The
embankment deformation is calculated for two action levels in order to provide the basis for assessment of embankment performance. It is suggested that the performance criteria of such embankments is not always rational to relate to a single displacement parameter. Motorway pavement serviceability and damage is more directly related to extensional deformation and angular distortion of embankment crest. For this reason the acceptable displacements (as a single parameter), is difficult to set in a rational manner.

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) geofoam has long been used in numerous geotechnical applications due to its lightweight and durability. Among these applications is the use of EPS as an alternative fill material to conventional roadway soil embankments. This study investigates the benefits of using EPS roadway embankments to reduce the induced stresses and strains on the underlying peat and soft clay. Firstly, mechanical and interface properties of the EPS were acquired from a companion study that also considered the cyclic loading and creep effects. In order to determine the actual stress-strain distribution within the EPS blocks, a physical prototype was developed in this study with overall dimensions of 1.2 x 1.0 x 0.5 m, with a density of 35 kg/m3. The prototype EPS blocks were subjected to cyclic loading with intensities ranging from 10 to 50 kN. Then, a numerical model was developed to simulate the behavior of EPS roadway embankments. The numerical model outcomes were verified against the prototype measurements. A parametric design study was also conducted to develop a correlation between EPS embankment height and the stress-strain that occur in the underlying strata. Results showed that EPS embankments could reduce stress and settlement in the underlying soil by about 40% and 54%, respectively.

Precast concrete sheetpile designed to restore and protect a road embankment, undergoing continuous settlement in soft ground condition in Jerlun and Kuala Sanglang in the state of Kedah, Malaysia is presented. The road built on soft ground has been in service for several years with some anticipated settlements. Major defects in the form of uneven settlements were spotted after few years of service. A survey was conducted and 5 spots along a 30m to 40m long stretch experiencing about 100mm settlements relative to the centerline of the road. Several attempts have been made to backfill and re-surface the affected areas but the road conditions did not last, posing danger to motorists. Investigations have revealed slip circles did occur at the affected areas with signs of lateral movements of earths towards the river. Precast concrete sheetpiles were designed to stabilize the road embankment to prevent further lateral movements of earth due to vehicular loads on the road. Analysis and d...

Definition
Artificial mounds constructed using fills,soils,and/or rock to:
(a) Raise infrastructure such as roads, railways, canals, and approaches to bridges above the level of low-lying ground to maintain gentle gradients. (b) Impound water in reservoirs. (c) Prevent ingress, or to deflect, flood water.
Embankments are constructed to make shallow gradients for infrastructures such as roads, railways, and canals across valleys and on approaches to bridges but also to impound waterforreservoirsorprotectlow-lyinggroundfromflooding (Helal 2017). The design and construction of embankments requiresaproperunderstandingofthecapabilityoftheunderlying soils to carry the imposed loads, suitable available materials, and the guarantee of post-construction stability (Cappa et al. 2017). This usually requires careful site
investigation, monitoring, sampling, testing and modeling, evaluation of potential construction materials, and stability analyses before and during construction. These steps should always comply with national and local laws, standards, and specifications.
Construction
An embankment is constructed by placing layers of appropriate materials (soil, rock, and other fills), one above another, and compacting them using heavy rolling plant until the required strength is attained (Ali et al. 2013). The layers should range in thickness from 150 mm (6 in) to 200 mm (8 in). The upper part of the embankment should be constructed with fairly high quality and well-compacted subgrade material which is able to support the overlying pavement layers and tolerate wheel loadings, without failure or unacceptable movements (Fig. 1). Fill used in the remainder oftheembankment mustmeet specifiedqualitystandardsand should be deposited and compacted at, or near to, the maximum dry density (Liao 2014). Embankments are generally of three types:
1. Bridge approach embankments (Fig. 2): constructed from fill, upto the level of abridge,and stretching 30m (100 ft) beyond the end of the construction’s subgrade height for thefull embankmentwidth.Inaddition, there should bean access rampona10H:1Vslope(H=horizontal;V=vertical) from the subgrade down to the surrounding ground level. Suitable materials should replace weak foundation soils beneath the bridge approach embankment (Wahls 1990; Wi ęzik 2010; Tarawneh et al. 2013). 2. Earth embankments (Fig. 3): elevated retaining structures mostly comprised of material other than rock (Lechowska 2017). The filling materials are placed in successive layers inlengthswhicharesuitableforrollingandsprinkling