Evaluation of the Mechanical Behavior of Soil Stabilized with Asphalt Emulsion Using Multi-Stage Loading

The objective of this research was to assess the mechanical response (resilient and plastic) of soil stabilized with petroleum asphalt concrete using asphalt emulsion under multi-stage loading. To enhance the adhesion of the asphalt film to the soil grains, the stabilized soil underwent air-drying curing for seven days. Dosage was conducted through the indirect tensile strength test using diametral compression. With the optimum content determined in the dosage (2% emulsion), additions and removals of 0.5% asphalt emulsion from this content were performed. Consequently, three specimens were molded with concentrations of 1.5%, 2%, and 2.5% of slow-setting cationic asphalt emulsion. These specimens were then subjected to drained triaxial tests under multi-stage loading, using 5 different stress pairs, totaling 50,000 cycles. Analyzing the regions defined by the total and permanent deformation curves allowed studying the plastic and elastic response, the proportionality between these regions, and the increase in elastic and plastic regions of the soil and stabilized soil in a single test, providing a more accurate interpretation. Regarding the measured deformations, as the deviator stress was increased with each loading cycle, the stabilized samples exhibited an increase in plastic deformations compared to the natural soil (control). It was also observed a proportional increase in the resilient region, indicating that the addition of asphalt made the soil less rigid but provided cohesion that was absent before stabilization.

Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2024-010-01-02

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