Measurement of Cement Content and Layer Thickness Variation of Cement-Stabilized Base and Subgrade Using Ground Penetrating Radar

Details

• Creators:
  Kim, S. Sonny ; Birgisson, Bjorn ; Arinola, Damilola ; Hall, Zack
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Georgia. College of Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  Georgia. Department of Transportation. Office of Performance-Based Management & Research ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Dielectric Properties Electrical Conductivity Evaluation Full-depth Reclamation Ground Penetrating Radar Laboratory Tests Methodology Mix Design Quality Assurance Soil Cement
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-GA-26-2321
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; New York
• Edition:
  Final Report (October 2023–February 2026)
• Corporate Publisher:
  Georgia. Department of Transportation. Office of Performance-Based Management & Research
• Abstract:
  This report presents a comprehensive methodology for evaluating cement content and layer thickness variability in cement-stabilized pavement layers using a nondestructive ground penetrating radar (GPR) technique. The research integrates laboratory calibration and field validation for two widely used stabilization practices: conventional soil-cement stabilization and full-depth reclamation (FDR). Laboratory work involved preparing soil-cement/FDR specimens with varying cement and moisture contents, compacted to field-representative densities. The specimens were tested daily for over an 8-day curing period using dielectric constant and electrical conductivity measurements to track the hydration process. A field GPR survey was conducted at several GDOT project sites in Albany, Conyers, and Peachtree City, as well as Henry County, using a 2-GHz air-coupled antenna. Dielectric constants were obtained from GPR scans, and electrical conductivity was derived through the Crockford et al. (2021) model. Cement content estimation was performed by matching the field electrical conductivity values to the corresponding laboratory-derived surfaces. The estimated cement content at the soil-cement and FDR sites ranged between 4 and 7 percent. Although some sites showed results consistent with the running average, others exhibited estimated cement contents exceeding or falling below the design mix, indicating non-uniform cement application across the sites. These findings highlight the importance of developing a reliable quality control and quality assurance framework to ensure consistent and verifiable material performance in the field.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  PI#0015304
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cd0d47a043c2d62377cca15cd6cc23201abe855825f89b165d752ad039e8212034b8c9ef3a8f254afeaa265d877518e87014a55a2d29ba2278f1cfd2c0e22096
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/89536/dot_89536_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.63 MB ]