AUTOGENOUS HEALING OF LIME-SOIL MIXTURES
M R Thompson, Barry J. Dempsey · Highway Research Record · 1969
AUTOGENOUS HEALING CHARACTERISTICS OF 2 LIME-REACTIVE SOILS WERE EVALUATED. FREEZE-THAW TESTING WITH INTERMITTENT CURING PERIODS AND INITIAL STRESS FLAWING WITH INTERMITTENT CURING WERE USED TO STUDY THE MAGNITUDE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF AUTOGENOUS HEALING EFFECTS IN LIME-SOIL MIXTURES. DATA FROM THE STUDY INDICATED THAT AUTOGENOUS HEALING (STRENGTH GAIN IN A FLAWED MATERIAL) DOES OCCUR FOLLOWING STRESS FLAWING OR CYCLIC FREEZING AND THAWING OF LIME-SOIL MIXTURES. IN FACT, THE TERMINAL STRENGTHS OF CURED MIXTURES SEQUENTIALLY SUBJECTED TO CYCLIC FREEZING AND THAWING, ADDITIONAL CURING, AND ADDITIONAL FREEZING AND THAWING WERE GREATER THAN THE ORIGINAL CURED STRENGTHS. THIS LIMITED STUDY OF TWO LIME-REACTIVE SOILS INDICATED THAT AUTOGENOUS HEALING DOES OCCUR IN LIME-SOIL MIXTURES UNDER FAVORABLE CURING CONDITIONS. IT WOULD BE EXPECTED, BASED ON PAST LABORATORY AND FIELD EXPERIENCE, THAT THE CONCLUSION IS GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO MOST LIME-SOIL MIXTURES THAT DISPLAY A SUBSTANTIAL INITIAL STRENGTH INCREASE. THE RESIDUAL STRENGTH PHILOSOPHY FOR ESTABLISHING QUALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR LIME-SOIL MIXTURES TO BE USED FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES (MODIFIED SUBGRADE, SUBBASE-BASE) IS A VALID CONCEPT. WITH FAVORABLE CURING CONDITIONS, DETERIORATION PRODUCED BY VARIOUS FACTORS DURING CRITICAL PORTIONS OF THE MATERIALS SERVICE LIFE WILL LIKELY BE RESTORED BY THE AUTOGENOUS HEALING PROCESS. /AUTHOR/