Road Materials - Soil as Sub-grade

Hi,
Road Materials are the materials which are used for the construction of the roads, commonly used road materials are, soil, Aggregates and binders.
Soil is used for the construction of the bottom most layer of the pavement, i.e. sub-grade. Here is a short details of the sub-grade and its function.:

Soil as sub-grade material

• sub-grade is the layer of the pavement whose main function is to support the upper layers of the pavement and to provide the good drainage facility to the infiltrating rain water. It has to act as a single structure along with other layers of the pavement.
• Soil is compacted to its maximum dry density which can be achieved by using the optimum moisture content and the methods of compaction control. Strength has to be ensured which is required for the given design thickness of the pavement.
• Strength analysis and the thickness of pavement are inter linked because more thickness of the pavement is needed if the soil is weak but if the soil possess a good strength then less thickness is needed.

This is ensured by using the CBR(California Bearing Ratio) Test which is produced or was first used by the California State Highway Department. Using the CBR test and the empirical charts you can find out the thickness of the flexible pavement required above the sub-grade.

Thanks for your visit!

P.S. for more about the functions of the various pavement layers please visit this article:  Functions of various pavement layers.