土木工程类专业英文文献及翻译.doc

PAVEMENT PROBLEMS CAUSED BY COLLAPSIBLE SUBGRADES By Sandra L. Houston,1 Associate Member, ASCE (Reviewed by the Highway Division) ABSTRACT: Problem subgrade materials consisting of collapsible soils are com- mon in arid environments, which have climatic conditions and depositional and weathering processes favorable to their formation. Included herein is a discussion of predictive techniques that use commonly available laboratory equipment and testing methods for obtaining reliable estimates of the volume change for these problem soils. A method for predicting relevant stresses and corresponding collapse strains for typical pavement subgrades is presented. Relatively simple methods of evaluating potential volume change, based on results of familiar laboratory tests, are used. INTRODUCTION When a soil is given free access to water, it may decrease in volume, increase in volume, or do nothing. A soil that increases in volume is called a swelling or expansive soil, and a soil that decreases in volume is called a collapsible soil. The amount of volume change that occurs depends on the soil type and structure, the initial soil density, the imposed stress state, and the degree and extent of wetting. Subgrade materials comprised of soils that change volume upon wetting have caused distress to highways since the be- ginning of the professional practice and have cost many millions of dollars in roadway repairs. The prediction of the volume changes that may occur in the field is the first step in making an economic decision for dealing with these problem subgrade materials. Each project will have different design considerations, economic con- straints, and risk factors that will have to be taken into account. However, with a reliable method for making volume change predictions, the best design relative to the subgrade soils becomes a matter of economic comparison, and a much more rational design approach may be made. For example, typical techniques for dealing with expansive