Research & Innovation

Base Stabilization Additives - Effect on Granular Equivalency (GE)

Summary:

Weak or vulnerable soils can decrease the strength of a road pavement base. New research illustrates proprietary base stabilization additives could provide stronger, more durable pavements. Laboratory and field testing over two years allowed researchers to determine optimal application rates and design specifications for using stabilizing additives in certain road reconstruction methods. Five pavement test sections compared different stabilizing products and a section without base stabilizer. Performance monitoring and an economic analysis showed the stabilized pavement sections were stronger after two years and were estimated to have lower overall life cycle costs. New pavement design standards incorporating these results can support more sustainable, cost-effective roads.

Final Deliverables:

• Base Stabilization Additives – Effect on Granular Equivalency (GE) (Report #2024-15)
• Understanding the Performance of Road Base Stabilization Additives (Research Summary)

Related Materials:

• Understanding the Performance of Road Base Stabilization Additives  (Blog Post)

Related Research:

• Base Stabilization Additives – Effect on Granular Equivalency (GE), Phase II Study: Long-Term Performance Evaluation of Field Demonstration Site

Project Personnel:

Principal Investigator:  Halil Ceylan
Co-Principal Investigator:  Bora Cetin, David White, Cassandra Rutherford
Technical Liaison:  Chad Hausman
Project Coordinator:  Brent Rusco
Panel Members: 
    Bernard Izevbekhai - Materials & Road Research
    Daniel Wegman - Braun Intertec
    Joel Ulring - Materials & Road Research
    John Siekmeier - National Academies Transportation Research Board
    Raul Velasquez - Materials & Road Research
    Terrence Beaudry - Materials & Road Research