A preliminary study on characterisation of mechanical behaviour of hydrated cement treated crushed rock base using the disturbed state concept

For road pavements in Western Australia, base layers are usually constructed using hydrated cement treated crushed rock base (HCTCRB) of which the mechanistic properties with the reliable material model are necessary for rational pavement analysis and design. The purpose of this study is to present the experimental results produced from the assessment of the mechanical behaviour of HCTCRB and the material modelling based on the Disturbed State Concept theory-based process. The results reveal that HCTCRB can be treated as cohesive granular material where its internal friction angle (∅) is 43° and its cohesion (c) is 168 kPa. The Disturbed State Concept (DSC) and K-θ model can be used for establishing the relationship between the resilient moduli and the applied stresses. The permanent deformation of HCTCRB can be predicted by using models such as the DSC model and G.T.H. Sweere,’s model, which are presented in this paper. The use of the DSC model shows the advantage of showing the relationship between permanent deformations and applied stresses (σ1, σ3), and these are derived from the resilient modulus equation.