Modelling drying shrinkage of cement-stabilised crushed rock Available to Purchase

This paper investigates the significant curling that occurs during drying of crushed basaltic aggregate stabilised with cementitious binders. The percentage of cement (by weight) is 3%, producing stabilised materials, which are weakly cemented. These materials are commonly used in the pavement industry for constructing cement-stabilised pavements for light to medium traffic. Curling deformations, in the form of lifting off from the edges (generating a concave surface), or lifting off from the middle (creating a convex surface), are reported in drying concrete pavements. The test specimens had cross-sections measuring 75 mm × 75 mm and length of 280 mm. This paper presents experimental observations of differences in shrinkage behaviour of stabilised crushed rock drying from one or all faces (i.e. one- or three-dimensional conditions) under controlled conditions. A theoretical explanation for the perceived curling is presented on the basis of physical principles and unsaturated soil mechanics. The curling was attributed primarily to differential shrinkage strain increments that occur within the specimen and their variation with the progression of desiccation. Making use of non-linear elasticity theory, the shrinkage and curling behaviour was modelled using the finite-difference method.