Subgrade stabilization for road foundation in application for inundated area in Perlis, Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract Inundated areas, which are prone to frequent flooding, pose significant challenges for road infrastructure due to the adverse effects of water on subgrade soils. Thus, the objectives of this research were to identify and characterize the soil type from roadside of Kampung Bakau, Kangar, Perlis, and evaluate and propose the effective subgrade stabilization methods to enhance the performance and durability of road foundations under such condition. In this research, atterberg limit, standard proctor, and california bearing ratio (CBR) tests were conducted. For CBR test, 6 sets of soil samples were considered. In addition, during the CBR tests, soaked and unsoaked method were performed to simulate the condition of flooding. In general, the soil samples taken were characterized as high plasticity silt. Besides that, the results obtained from CBR test showed that lime with 8 % addition in mixture provides the highest strength which was 4.50 kN of load resisted at 2.00 mm penetration. Meanwhile, cement with 3 % addition in mixture showed the lowest strength observed in the CBR test which was 1.75 kN. In conclusion, this research showed that for high plasticity silt type of soil, the optimized subgrade stabilization method is by lime with 8 % addition in mixture.