Stabilisation Methodology

UPGRADING OF APPROXIMATELY 104KM OF ROAD D104/D791 CHIPATA TO MFUWE

IN EASTERN PROVINCE

STABILISED BASE COURSE METHODOLOGY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This method statement summarises the process of base stabilisation as will be carried out in the
contract for Upgrading of Approximately 104km of Road D104/D791 Chipata to Mfuwe in Eastern
Province. The summary includes notes on materials to be used, equipment, preparation of the
area for base, weather considerations, construction operation; testing and curing of stabilised
section.

1.0 MATERIALS

1.1 Gravel

Gravel base material shall be obtained only from approved borrow pits. The completed base shall
contain no material having a maximum dimension exceeding 50 mm. The other requirements
which shall be satisfied for base material are:-

(a) Neat gravel material - The minimum grading modulus shall be 2.0, PI maximum of 10,
Plasticity Modulus maximum 280 and 4 day soaked CBR minimum 30.

(b) Stabilised Gravel Material - The minimum grading modulus shall be 1.7, CBR at 98%
MOD AASHTO and 7 day cure/soak Min 160 or UCS at 98% MOD AASHTO and 7 day
cure/soak 1.5 to 3.0 Mpa, PI max 6% or as agreed by the Engineer.
Shoulders will be constructed from the same material as the base course.

1.2 Cement

The cement to be used as the stabilising agent for this project shall be Ordinary Portland Cement
satisfying the requirements of either Zambian Standard ZS001: 1972 or AASHTO M12 or BS 12 as
follows:-

Chemical Requirements
-
Lime Saturation Factor between 0.66 and 1.02
-
Insoluble Residue < 3%
-
Magnesium Oxide < 5% by weight
-
Sulphuric Anhydride expressed as SO3 < 3%
-
Loss on Ignition at 900’C to 1000’C < 4%

Physical Requirements
-
Minimum Specific surface (m2/kg) – 225
-
Minimum Average Compressive strength at 3 days 17.5 N/mm 2 and at 7 days 26.5
N/mm2
-
Minimum Initial Setting time – 45 minutes
-
Maximum final setting time – 10 hours
-
Soundness – expansion (mm) – 10 for unaerated cement and 5 for aerated cement

Upgrading of Approximately 104Km of Road D104/D791 Chipata to Mfuwe in Eastern Province Page 1

Final Draft = March 2011

Stabilisation Methodology

From the time of purchase to the time of use, the ordinary Portland cement shall be kept under
proper cover and be protected from moisture. Consignments of these materials shall be used in
the same sequence as that in which they are delivered at the Works.

2.0 EQUIPMENT

The following equipment shall be available for the work:-

i. 2 No 140G Grader
ii. 1 No. Recycler
iii. 6 No 15 ton Tipper Trucks
iv. 4 No Rollers (1No. grid roller, 2 No. Vibrating Steel Drum Rollers, 1 No. Pneumatic
Roller)
v. 2 No Water Bowser (each of capacity 21,000 litres)

3.0 COMPACTION REQUIREMENTS

The minimum in situ compaction of the stabilised gravel material shall be 98% as required for
material chemically stabilised.

4.0 CONSTRUCTION LAYER THICKNESS TOLERANCE

4.1 Requirements applying prior to the construction of the layer - Before dumping of
material for base is done, the subbase layer shall be:-

(i) submitted to the Resident Engineer for approval in terms of compaction (field
densities), levels and surface finish.
(ii) If passed/approved, we shall establish whether there is any post approval damage,
wet spots or other defects and if any, these shall be rectified in accordance with the
contract requirements and submitted to the Resident Engineer for inspection and
approval.

4.2 Dumping and Placing of gravel material – Having carried out and complied with sub-
item 4.1 above, the section shall be sprayed with water and dumped with natural pre-
tested and approved gravel material that meets the contract specifications for cement
stabilised base layers.

4.3 Preparing the layer – The dumps shall be spread, watered and mixed, compacted,
trimmed to +25mm above the design finished road level as preparation for cement
stabilisation. The amount of water added to the material is up to the Optimum Moisture
Content or close. Our aim is to prepare for cement stabilisation sections of minimum length
600m.

All oversize material > 53mm shall be removed by hand and disposed off at own expense.

A representative sample for the Mode shall be collected from the section to be stabilised
after all the dumps have been spread.

4.4 Applying the cement – On the day of stabilisation, the layer of gravel having been
prepared previously receives pockets of cement accurately spaced at premarked points of
equal intervals along and across the section to be stabilised. The cement is opened and
then uniformly distributed over the entire surface to be treated by levelling off by means of
squeegees.

Upgrading of Approximately 104Km of Road D104/D791 Chipata to Mfuwe in Eastern Province Page 2

Final Draft = March 2011

Stabilisation Methodology

The spacing between the cement bags is derived from laboratory test results mainly the
MOD.

Procedure for deriving the cement dosage

a) At this stage, a representative sample from gravel pit of the material to be stabilised
should have been tested in the laboratory, with those stabilizers that appear promising
from the UCS tests with the addition of 1, 2, 3 and 4% stabilizer to determine the
quantity that will provide the specified UCS (Unconfined Compressive Strength) of
between 1.5 – 3.0Mpa. In this project, the minimum quantities have been determined
to be 2.5% and 3.0%, on average, for Zambezi Portland Cement and Lafarge
(Chilanga) Cement respectively as stabilizers.

b) Therefore the mass of cement needed for stabilisation of a section shall be determined
from the pre-determined percentage composition (derived from 4.4a above) of the base
material, compacted to Mod. AASHTO dry density(Mod),

Cement (kg) = {Percentage composition of cement} x { Mass of base material on road section}

= 2.5% or 3.0% x {Mass of base material to be stabilised on the road section}

(Where, Mass of base material =compacted volume x compacted density)

Therefore, for Chilanga cement for instance,

Cement (kg) =0.03 {length of section (m) x Width of surface(m) x thickness of layer (m)} X MOD

c) The number of standard pockets of cement needed to stabilise a given section shall
then be determined by dividing the result from b) above by 50kg/pkt. That is the
cement that shall be uniformly applied on the section for stabilisation as described in
4.4 above.

4.5 Mixing in the cement – Immediately after the cement has been spread, it shall be mixed
with the lightly compacted gravel for the full depth of treatment. Mixing shall be continued
for as long as necessary and repeated as often as required to ensure a thorough, uniform
and intimate mix of the gravel and the cement over the full area and depth of the material
to be treated. This shall be done until the resulting mixture is homogeneous and of uniform
appearance throughout. Mixing shall be done by grader, disc harrow or rotary mixer,
working over the full area and depth of the layer to be stabilised by means of successive
passes of the equipment. If the recycler is used, then it shall make five runs of 2.4m width
over the entire road width of 10.1m.

For sections in excess of 300m long, opening of pockets of cement shall not be done at
once but shall start with a single lane and proceed to the other lane along with the rate of
mixing. The timing for stabilisation shall however start on the opening of the first pocket.

4.6 Watering - Immediately after the cement has been properly mixed with the gravel, the
moisture content of the mixture shall be determined, and the required amount of water as
specified shall be added to get the material to nearly its OMC before compaction. To test
for OMC the “rule of the thumb” method (squeeze test) technique will be employed on site.

A handful of moist base material being stabilised, shall be taken and squeezed
tightly in the fist. If, on opening the hand, the material remains as a cohesive

Upgrading of Approximately 104Km of Road D104/D791 Chipata to Mfuwe in Eastern Province Page 3

Final Draft = March 2011

Stabilisation Methodology

mass and there is little or no free moisture on the hand, the material shall be
assumed to be approximately at its optimum moisture content

Each application or addition of water shall be well mixed with the gravel so as to avoid the
concentration of water near the surface or the flow of water over the surface of the layer.
Particular care shall be taken to ensure satisfactory moisture distribution over the full
depth, width and length of the section being stabilised and to prevent any portion of the
work from getting excessively wet after the stabilising agent has been added. The water
supply and watering equipment shall be adequate to ensure that all the water required will
be added and mixed with the material being treated within a short enough period to enable
compaction and finishing to be completed within the period specified.

It shall be ensured that when water bowsers are not watering the section they are parked
outside the boundary of the compaction to avoid sponges resulting from accidental leaks.

4.7 Compaction – Where a rotary mixer is used or after sufficient mixing has been done using
a grader, a pneumatic roller will follow behind to keep the moisture in the mixture. After
this has been done, a grid roller will follow to ensure that air voids are closed up. This will
go on until the grid roller marks are lightly visible or completely invisible on the surface.

It shall be ensured that overlaps of at least half drum width are maintained between
successive roller passes.

4.8 Finishing – After the gravel material and the stabilising agent (cement) have been
thoroughly mixed and sufficiently compacted with a grid roller, a grader will then cut the
section to design levels and cross-falls. Cutting and filling will be avoided since this will
give rise to laminations or biscuit layers. The Vibrating steel Drum Roller will follow the
grader as it makes the final cutting. Some casual workers will go ahead of the grader
spreading some fine materials in areas where stones or courser material might have left
some holes. In the centre, the grader blade will rest on the base on one lane and hang on
the other to ensure a distinct camber turn. Any rough areas will be sprayed with fine
material from the windrow and rolled with a pneumatic roller. +5mm tolerance above
design levels will be allowed for the purpose of skimming.

4.9 Final rolling - This shall be done with a pneumatic roller to give a smooth surface finish
which conforms to the surface tolerances specified.

4.10 Time of Stabilisation - A sufficient number of compacting units shall be employed on the
work to ensure that, from the time the stabilising agent is first applied to the layer up to
the mixing, watering, compacting, shaping and final finishing, the whole process will be
targeted to be completed within six (6) hours.

4.11 Finishing at junctions - Any finished portion of the stabilised layer adjacent to new work,
which is used as a turn-round area by equipment in constructing the adjoining section,
shall be provided with a protective cover of gravel of at least 100 mm thick over a sufficient
length to prevent damage to work already completed. When the adjoining section is being
finally finished, such cover shall be removed to permit the making of a smooth vertical joint
at the junction of the different sections. Material in the vicinity of the joint which cannot be
processed satisfactorily with normal construction equipment shall be mixed and compacted
by hand or with suitable hand-operated machines. To ensure uniformity and smooth joints,
the base shall be constructed concurrently with bus-stops, major junctions and culverts
backfilled to subbase level.

Upgrading of Approximately 104Km of Road D104/D791 Chipata to Mfuwe in Eastern Province Page 4

Final Draft = March 2011

Stabilisation Methodology

4.0 CONSTRUCTION TOLERANCES

The completed base shall comply with the construction tolerances of 15mm and for shoulders and
wearing course, - 25 mm. The layer thickness tolerances referred to above for the base shall be as
follows: D90 - 21mm, Dmax - 27mm and Daverage - 5mm. The average width of the base and shoulders
shall not be less than 10.1m, and the outer edge shall not deviate by more than 50mm for base or
75mm for shoulders, from the edge lines specified.

5.0 CURING THE STABILISED WORK

The stabilised layer shall be protected against rapid drying-out for at least seven days following
completion of the layer. The methods of protection may be any one of the following:

(i) The stabilised layer shall be kept continuously damp by watering at frequent intervals. This
method will be permitted for up to a maximum period of 24 hours.

(ii) As soon as the moisture content of the stabilised layer so permits the stabilised base shall
be primed.

6.0 CONSTRUCTION LIMITATIONS

(i) For cemented layers, the cement shall be applied only to an area of such size that all
processing, watering, compacting and finishing can be completed within Six (6) hours.

(ii) No stabilisation shall be done during wet weather or when windy conditions may adversely
affect the stabilising operations.

(iii) Neither traffic nor any equipment not actually used for processing the layer may be allowed
to pass over the freshly spread cement. Only equipment required for curing or priming may
be allowed over the treated layers during the specified curing period. Where possible,
watering shall be done by side-spraying tankers travelling off the stabilised layer where
water spraying equipment causes damage to the layer.

7.0 QUALITY OF MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP

(i) Stabilising agent

We shall keep detailed records of the quantities of cement applied to the road and the
volume of material stabilised, and shall make these records available to the Engineer.

(ii) Compaction
The requirements for process control in respect of compaction shall be as per project
specifications.

8.0 PERSONNEL

Working Force

Upgrading of Approximately 104Km of Road D104/D791 Chipata to Mfuwe in Eastern Province Page 5

Final Draft = March 2011

Stabilisation Methodology

1 Site Engineer
1 Earthworks Foreman on site
1 Soils Technician
2 Laboratory Assistants
3 General Workers for checking levels
4 General Workers for picking rejected material
1 Machine Attendant for each item of plant and equipment
2 Mechanics for daily servicing and minor repairs

Plant Operators and Drivers

1 Bulldozer Operator
1 Loader Operator
1 Operator for each Grader
1 Operator for each Roller
1 Driver for each Water tanker
1 Driver for each Tipper Truck
1 driver Tractor (disk harrow)

9.0 SAFETY, WORKERS AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING

Base stabilisation works shall overally be supervised by a Site Engineer, who shall ensure that safe
working environment is always maintained, and that on-site safety procedures are followed at all
times.

The Site Engineer shall see to it that adequate measures are taken to warn and protect
road users and construction workers. He shall instruct all supervisors and foremen in
safety measures including traffic control and use of clean standard temporary road signs

The Safety Officer shall conduct regular on-site inspections of works, equipment, tools and
personnel. He shall also hold regular safety meetings with all work groups to discuss and
instruct in safety, and shall produce weekly reports to Management.

Good working and handling practices shall be ensured on site

All workers shall be provided with such protective clothing such as hand gloves, overall
suits, boots, reflective jackets and dust masks.

Only suitable hand tools and devices, free from any defect, shall be used.

Only experience operators shall be used to operate such equipment.

All detours shall be maintained in serviceable condition.

Upgrading of Approximately 104Km of Road D104/D791 Chipata to Mfuwe in Eastern Province Page 6

Final Draft = March 2011