Low traffic secondary road subgrade evaluation by geotechnical tests

This paper approaches the technical feasibility of using local soils, preferably those of lateritic geotechnical behavior, in subgrade reinforcement layers of low traffic volume vicinal roads through geotechnical testing and MCT methodology (Miniature, Compacted, Tropical). Therefore, disturbed soil samples were collected from the road subgrade VCS 493 and VCS 296 from to the vicinal road net of the city of Viçosa, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The laboratory study program included the following trials: (i) grain-size distribution; (ii) Atterberg limits (LL and PL); (iii) specific mass of soil grain; (iv) compaction and CBR carried out in normal Proctor energy; (v) mini-MCV compaction; and (vi) specimen weight loss by water immersion. By using the results from this, it was possible to check if soils presenting lateritic behavior were classified in the LG' group of the MCT methodology, and that they even presenting high values of liquid limit and plasticity index, when compacted in normal Proctor energy and therefore water immersed, they did not present expansion with a significant value in CBR trial. On the other hand, the saprolitic sands presented mass loss by water immersion (Pi) difficult to be predicted through the MCT methodology because they can present very high and low values according to compacteness reached during compaction process, as it can be noted in the result from sample 8.

Soils; Subgrade reinforcement; Unpaved roads