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The Impact of Moisture Variation on the Stiffness of Unbound Pavement Layers

Undergraduate #390
Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Civil/Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering

Brandon Davis - Savannah State University


The Southeastern Coastal states Georgia and South Carolina are severely affected by natural weather extremes. Due to the nature of the Coastal environment, these incidents resulted in water related hazards, damaging roads and other transportation infrastructure. While in some cases the roads appeared to be visually stable after water levels had lowered, but with the intrusion of large amounts of moisture, the layers underneath the surface have become the main sources of pavement distresses. In this study we construct several field models to evaluate the stiffness of unbound pavement layers observing the effects of moisture content. With these field models we are replicating the different moisture variations as they would be for typical field conditions of a coastal environment. Stiffness is measured with Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) and Dynamic Cone penetrometer testing (DCP) devices. LWD testing estimates the modulus of soil layer while the DCP evaluates the shear strength of the compacted soil layers. The fundamental index properties of the geomaterials, such as Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) and Maximum Dry Density (MDD), were also evaluated during these laboratory investigations. As per the LWD testing results, as moisture content increased, the modulus was decreased by almost a factor of two in some laboratory samples. The drying of soil samples also resulted in increased modulus of the compacted layer as evaluated by LWD and DCP tests. The results of this could be extended to a wider range of geomaterials used in the construction of transportation infrastructure in coastal regions.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): National Science Foundation

Faculty Advisor: Mehran Mazari, mazarim@savannahstate.edu

Role: All Components: Literature Review and Lab Tests.

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

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