Assignment

NICMAR / SODE OFFICE

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Course No.
Course Title
Assignment No
Date of Dispatch
Last date of receipt
of Assignment at SODE Office

GPQS 11
Construction Technology

ASSIGNMENT
a. What is Soil stabilization? What are the various methods of stabilization? Explain
these briefly.
b. Prepare concrete formwork and concrete reinforcement checklist?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Answer-1:
a. What is Soil stabilization? What are the various methods of stabilization?
Explain these briefly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Soil stabilization is any treatment applied to a soil to improve its strength and
vulnerability to water; if treated soil is able to withstand the stresses imposed on it
by traffic under all weather conditions without deformation, then it is generally
regarded as stable.
The main methods of soil stabilizations for road purposes are;
1. Mechanical stabilization
2. Cement stabilization
3. Lime stabilization
4. Bituminous stabilization

1. Mechanical stabilization:
Mechanical stabilization is accomplished by mixing or blending soils of two
or more gradations to obtain a material meeting the required specification. The
soil blending may take place at the construction site, at a central plant, or at a
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borrow area. The blended material is then spread and compacted to required
densities by conventional means.
Mechanical stabilization can be done in three kind of site installation as
described following.
On site mix of a granular stabilized subbase shall first spreading the required
thickness of imported borrow soil in uniform depth, and then admixing the dry
constituent materials using conventional blade graders to move them from one
side of the road to other. Upon completion of the blending process the drymixed materials is spread in layer of uniform thickness and water is added via
the spray bar of a water tanker to bring it to the desired moisture content for
compaction to a uniform thickness.
On Travelling plant construction, the process is similar to that described
above, except that a single pass of specialized moving equipment is all that is
necessary to dry mix the soils, admix water, and spread the moist material to a
uniform depth, prior to compaction.
On stationary plant, the soil to be blended are brought to a central location for
supply, and specialized equipment is then used to proportion and mix the
materials and water, after which the moist mixture shall be brought to the
construction site by truck, spread to a uniform depth by an aggregate spreader
and compacted. Whilst this construction process is more expensive than the
two previously described, it normally using in large scale works.
2. Cement Stabilization:
Cement stabilization is the most commonly used in subgrade capping and/or
subbase layers in major road pavements, and in subbases and roadbases of
secondary type roads. It is never used in surface courses because, as well as
having poor resistance to abrasion, it must be protected from moisture entry
into the cracks that will inevitably form the cement treated material.
The major factors of cement stabilization use widely are because of following
reasons;
- Easily availability of cement in all places
- Use of cement usually involves less care and control than many other
stabilizers.
- More technical information available of cement treated soil mixture
than any other type of soil stabilization.
- Most type of soils can be stabilized with cement if enough is used
with the right amount of water and proper compaction and curing.
Cement as a stabilizing medium can be very effective if used properly.
Appropriate particle size distribution, thorough mixing and maintenance of
optimum moisture levels will yield a successful mix with maximum final set
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strength. A compromise in any of the above will result in a reduction in

strength of the finished product. However final set strength is not the only
requirement of cement, adequate workability and adequate (if low) strength
prior to curing are two others. These other requirements often conflict with the
maximization of final strength for example by calling for higher clay
content.
A suitable soil can be considered to be one that has no organic material, has a
clay content between 10% and 20% and has a fair range of well distributed
particle sizes up to a maximum of 20mm in diameter. The moisture of the soilcement mixture needs to be carefully controlled. There needs to be sufficient
moisture for the cement to fully hydrate but no excess of water which would
reduce the final density, increase porosity and reduce final strength.
The dry soil is to be mixed with the cement and the required water added. The
mixture then needs to be formed and left in a 100% humidity environment
within 30 to 45 minutes of mixing the cement and soil with the water. This is
to ensure that the cement has sufficient water to hydrate and also that the
mixture is not manipulated again after the critical time.
Curing of the mixture takes several weeks, but the green strength of the
material must be sufficient to remove the formed material, handle it and
perhaps even directly place it into a structure. Multi-stage curing may be
possible, but the re-application of moisture may cause surface cracking and
the extent of this needs to be further investigated.

3. Lime stabilization
Lime, either alone or in combination with other materials, can be used to treat
a range of soil types. The mineralogical properties of the soils will determine
their degree of reactivity with lime and the ultimate strength that the stabilized
layers will develop. In general, fine-grained clay soils (with a minimum of 25
percent passing the #200 sieve (74mm) and a Plasticity Index greater than 10)
are considered to be good candidates for stabilization. Soils containing
significant amounts of organic material (greater than about 1 percent) or
sulfates (greater than 0.3 percent) may require additional lime and/or special
construction procedures.

When lime and water are added to a clay soil, chemical reactions begin to
occur almost immediately.

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1. Drying: If quicklime is used, it immediately hydrates (i.e., chemically

combines with water) and releases heat. Soils are dried, because water
present in the soil participates in this reaction, and because the heat
generated can evaporate additional moisture. The hydrated lime produced
by these initial reactions will subsequently react with clay particles.
2. Modification: After initial mixing, the calcium ions (Ca++) from hydrated
lime migrate to the surface of the clay particles and displace water and
other ions. The soil becomes friable and granular, making it easier to work
and compact. At this stage the Plasticity Index of the soil decreases
dramatically, as does its tendency to swell and shrink. The process, which
is called flocculation and agglomeration," generally occurs in a matter of
hours.
3. Stabilization: When adequate quantities of lime and water are added, the
pH of the soil quickly increases to above 10.5, which enables the clay
particles to break down. The soil is transformed from a sandy, granular
material to a hard, relatively impermeable layer with significant load
bearing capacity. The process begins within hours and can continue for
years in a properly designed system.
Lime-Pozzolan Mixtures for Soils with Low Amounts of Clay
Lime by itself can react with soils containing as little as 7 percent clay and
Plasticity Indices as low as 10. If the soil is not sufficiently reactive, lime can
be combined with an additional source of silica and alumina. Such
pozzolans include fly ash and ground blast furnace slag. The additional
silica and alumina from the pozzolan react with the lime to form the strong
cementitious matrix that characterizes a lime-stabilized layer. Properly
proportioned mixtures of lime and pozzolans can modify or stabilize nearly
any soil, but are typically used for soils with low to medium plasticity.
Fly ash is the most commonly used pozzolan. It is the finely divided residue
that results from the combustion of pulverized coal in power plant boilers,
which is transported from the combustion chamber by exhaust gases.

Construction steps:
The following construction recommendations apply to the use of hydrated
lime and quicklime in the stabilization or modification of subgrade (subbase)
and base courses.
1. Scarification and Initial Pulverization:
After the soil has been brought to line and grade, the subgrade can be
scarified to the specified depth and width and then partially pulverized. It
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is desirable to remove non-soil materials larger than 75mm, such as

stumps, roots, turf, and aggregates.
2. Lime Spreading:
i. Quicklime
There are two ways that dry quicklime can be applied. First, selfunloading trucks or trailers can distribute quicklime
pneumatically or mechanically the full width of the truck.
Because granular and pebble quicklime flow is more controllable
than hydrated lime, it is a common practice to use trucks with
built in aggregate-type spreaders.
ii. Dry Hydrated Lime
Hydrated lime should be uniformly spread at the specified
percentage from suitably equipped trucks. An approved spreader
is preferable for uniform distribution. The application rate of dry
hydrated lime can be measured using the same method as
described above for quicklime.
3. Slurry
In this application, the soil is generally scarified and the slurry is applied
by distributor trucks. Because lime in slurry form is much less
concentrated than dry lime, often two or more passes are required to
provide the specified amount of lime solids. To prevent runoff and
consequent non-uniform lime distribution, the slurry is mixed into the soil
immediately after each spreading pass.
4. Preliminary Mixing and Watering
5. Preliminary mixing is required to distribute the lime throughout the soil
and to initially pulverize the soil to prepare for the addition of water to
initiate the chemical reaction for stabilization. This mixing can begin with
scarification. Scarification may not be necessary for some modern mixers,
however. During this process or immediately after, water should be added.
6. Mellowing Period
The lime-soil mixture should mellow sufficiently to allow the chemical
reaction to change (break down) the material. The duration of this
mellowing period should be based on engineering judgment and is
dependent on soil type. The mellowing period is typically 1 to 7 days.
After mellowing, the soil should be remixed before compaction. For low
Plasticity Index soils, or when drying or modification is the goal,
mellowing is often not necessary.
7. Final Mixing and Pulverization
To accomplish complete stabilization, adequate final pulverization of the
clay fraction and thorough distribution of the lime throughout the soil are
essential. Mixing and pulverization should continue until 100 percent of
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non-stone material passes the 1-inch sieve and at least 60 percent of nonstone material passes the number 4 sieve.
8. Compaction
The lime-soil mixture should be compacted to the density required by
specification, typically at least 95 percent of the maximum density
obtained Standard test.
Equipment: To ensure adequate compaction, the equipment should be
matched to the depth of the lift. Compaction can be accomplished in one
lift using heavy pneumatic or vibratory padfoot rollers or a combination
of the sheepsfoot and light pneumatic vibratory padfoot rollers or tamping
foot rollers. Typically, the final surface compaction is completed using a
steel wheel roller.
9. Final Curing
Before placing the next layer of subbase (or base course), the compacted
subgrade (or subbase) should be allowed to harden until loaded dump
trucks can operate without rutting the surface. During this time, the
surface of the lime treated soil should be kept moist to aid in strength
gain. This is called curing and can be done in two ways: (a) moist
curing, which consists of maintaining the surface in a moist condition by
light sprinkling and rolling when necessary, and (b) membrane curing,
which involves sealing the compacted layer with a bituminous prime coat
emulsion.
4. Bituminous stabilization
In Bituminous stabilization method bituminous materials are thoroughly
mixing into a soil or soil aggregate mixture to construct the base course, and
surface course, capable to carry traffic load under normal conditions of
moisture and traffic.
Depending on the granulometric composition and physical properties of the
soil, there are four types of bitumen-stabilized products, as follows;
1. Soil bitumen: waterproofed cohesive soil. Best results are obtained with
soils with grain size such that, a) maximum size is not greater than
approx. one-third of the compacted thickness or the same as thickness of
compacted base course.
2. Sand bitumen: Loose sand particles cemented with bitumen. The sad can
be beach or river sand. exisiting roadway material, substantially free from
organic matters, lumps, or adherent fills of clay are also included in this
category.
3. Waterproofed granular stabilisation: A good gradation of soil particles,
from coarse to fine and having a high potential density, is waterproofed by
addition of 1 to 2 precent bitumen.
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4. Oiled earth: A soil surface consisting of silt-clay materials is stabilised by

spraying slow or medium curing bitumen cutbacks or emulsions. The
main purpose of oiled earth is to produce a water and abrasion resistant
surface.

These are the four major kind of soil stabilisation on road works, there are many other
kind of soil stabilization methods are in practice for building construction sectors.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Answer-2:
b. Prepare concrete formwork and concrete reinforcement checklist?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1) CHECKLIST - FORMWORK
Safety in Formwork is twofold; safe working conditions for workmen, plus adequate
design and construction to ensure safety of structure. It required knowledge of formwork
and understanding of safe formwork removal and reshoring.
Following checklist indicated sufficient information on safety limit of formwork.
Checklist - Overall Safety

Safe working areas and safe passageways provided to and from the work areas
this means: safe working scaffolds, ladders, runways, ramps and crossings.

Continuous good housekeeping maintained to keep the work areas and passages
safe.

All exposed perimeter edges and all floor openings guarded.

Amount of work space for each worker checked for adequacy without crowding.
Safety training provided for foremen and subfomen, and safety orientation for
unskilled workers or new employees.

Safety practices of skilled workers or longtime employees re-examined.

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 Provisions made to keep new or unskilled workmen away from potential danger
spots.

Adequate personal safety equipment provided for all workers.

Safe power tools provided, and safety features rechecked as part of routine
maintenance.

Safe temporary electrical power cables and outlets installed in accordance with
OSHA and local requirements.

Formwork rigging inserts or connections checked to be sure they are correctly

installed, and rigging periodically reexamined for wear and correct positioning.

All loose hanging forms removed during stripping operations.

All loose material stored on open upper floors tied down or otherwise secured.
Exposed nails from all stripped lumber removed or bent.
Exposed form ties projecting into the work area bent or removed.
Toward the end of the day, additional inspection and supervision of work
performed, to counteract carelessness due to fatigue.

Watch maintained at all times for fires in formwork, but especially at the close of
the work day.

Above all inspection to see that the forming system is complete in all details
before placing concrete.

Checklist - Wall Form Safety

Lateral bracing provided as shown on the drawing s, firmly attached to the forms
and to points of support.

Blockouts braced to resist vertical and lateral loads; bulkheads braced to resist
lateral pressure and spreading of walls.

Offsets, pilasters, edge forms and single-faced forms checked to see that they are
adequately tied and braced.

Exterior corners of forms tied to pre vent spreading.

All wall ties checked for proper strength, spacing and length.
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 Resistance provided against uplift for top forms with sloping faces.
Wales checked for proper spacing, with joints staggered from one tier to the next.
In double-member wales, one member left continuous across form ties at splices.
Adequate lap provided between forms and previous construction, and any
connecting hardware carefully secured.

Rate of pour not to exceed that shown on working drawings.

Experienced form watchers at work during the concrete placement.
Care in vibrating when penetrating an earlier lift.
Checklist - Supported Forms And Shoring

Suitability of mud sill sizes for shore loads and bearing value of soil; working
drawings checked for guidance.

Soil firmly compacted under mud sills and proper drainage provided to prevent
ponding of water in the area.

Soil, if unstable, removed and replaced with stabilized material under the sills;
mudsills not supported on frozen ground.

Ground level slab completed wherever possible before shoring is erected for
supported slabs.

Individual shores laced both ways with continuous runners, and shoring system
braced laterally.

Timber shoring checked to see that it is sound, properly sized, plumb and not butt
spliced; hardwood wedges checked to see that they are tight and safety nailed to
pre vent slippage from vibration.

Provision of patented clamps on adjustable wood shores; clamps firmly locked

into place and safety nailed; direction of splice alternated for greater stability.

Freedom from damage of tubular welded frame shoring; pins installed and fully
braced.

Special bracing provided for tall tubular welded frame shoring.

Proper bearing provided for stringers and joists at points of support.
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 Ledgers or stringers either firmly attached to shores or bridged to pre vent

overturning from lateral forces.

Deep joists laterally braced to prevent overturning.

On sloping slab or beam forms, extra bracing added to resist lateral forces.
On supported forms, localized concentrated loads prevented unless forms were
specifically designed for such loads.

Columns poured at least one day ahead of slabs for added lateral stability
Pour sequence schedule shown on formwork drawings followed to prevent
eccentric loadings.

High drops from concrete buckets prevented, and ponding of concrete on

supported forms prohibited.

Sudden starts or stops with powered concrete buggies avoided.

Concrete slabs allowed adequate time to develop strength before removal of
shores or reshores (Temperature and admixtures also have an important effect on
strength development.)

Reshores fitted firmly in accordance with working drawings, but not wedged so
tight as to preload the floor.

No construction loads placed on new construction while reshoring is in progress.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2) CHECKLIST - REINFROCEMENT

Check steel are placed as per drawing.

Check rebars are straight.
Check the dia of rebar.
Check spacing of rebar.
Check hooks and bends are placed as specified by structural designer.
Check the lap length is accurate.

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 Check the clear cover.

Check cover blocks are enough.
Check the rebars are rust free.
Check the rebars are crack free.
Check minimum 1 inch clear distance is maintained between two bars.
Check the rods are tied properly with binding wire.
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