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Doctor of Philosophy / In this thesis an examination is made of the vibro-replacement technique for the stabilisation of cohesive soils. Improvement is achieved by the formation of stiffer columns of granular material within the soil deposit using a large cylindrical vibrator referred to as a vibroflot. Granular piles (also termed stone columns) are used either singly or in small groups to supoort isolated footings or large numbers are installed in a regular array to support widespread loads. Each of these modes of application are investigated.

Doctor of Philosophy / In this thesis an examination is made of the vibro-replacement technique for the stabilisation of cohesive soils. Improvement is achieved by the formation of stiffer columns of granular material within the soil deposit using a large cylindrical vibrator referred to as a vibroflot. Granular piles (also termed stone columns) are used either singly or in small groups to supoort isolated footings or large numbers are installed in a regular array to support widespread loads. Each of these modes of application are investigated.

D.Ing. / Unbound granular material has and is still being used with great success in the construction of road pavements in South Africa and many other countries around the world. Often this material is used in the main structural layers of the pavement with very little protection provided against high traffic induced stresses by way of a surface treatment or thin asphalt concrete layer. The performance of unbound granular pavement layers depend mainly on the level of densification and degree of saturation of the material in addition to the stress levels to which the layers are subjected. The main form of distress of unbound granular layers is the permanent deformation of the layer, either through the gradual deformation or rapid shear failure of the layer. Design engineers need accurate and appropriate design procedures to safeguard the road against such rapid shear failure and to ensure that the road has sufficient structural capacity to support the traffic loading over the structural design period. The recent trend in pavement design has been to move away from empirical design methods towards rational mechanistic-empirical design methods that attempt to relate cause and effect. Although a mechanistic-empirical pavement design method has been available in South Africa since the midseventies, increasing criticism has been levelled against the method recently. The models for characterising the resilient response and shear strength and estimating the structural capacity of unbound material have been of particular concern. The purpose of the research reported in this thesis was therefore to develop an improved mechanistic-empirical design model, reflecting the characteristics and behaviour of unbound granular material. The new design model consists of three components namely a resilient modulus, yield strength and plastic deformation damage model with each model including the effects of the density and moisture content of the material unbound granular where appropriate. The models were calibrated for a range of unbound materials from fine-grained sand and calcrete mixture to commercial crushed stone products using the results from static and dynamic tri-axial tests. An approximation of the suction pressure of partially saturated unbound material was introduced in the yield strength model and was validated with independent matric suction measurements on the sand and calcrete mixture. The yield strength model which is a function of the density and moisture conditions as well as the confinement pressure was calibrated for the individual materials with a high accuracy. A single plastic strain damage model was calibrated for the combined plastic strain data from all the crushed stone materials but a single model could not be calibrated for the plastic strain data of the natural gravels as these materials vary too much in terms of particle size distribution and the properties of the fines found in these materials. The formulation of the plastic strain damage model includes the density and degree of saturation of the material. A single resilient modulus model was calibrated for the combined resilient modulus data from all the materials excluding the data from a limited number of tests during which large plastic strain occurred. The resilient modulus model again ii incorporates the density, degree of saturation and the stress dependency of unbound granular material and is on an effective stress formulation for the bulk stress. Finally, the yield strength, resilient modulus and plastic strain damage models are combined in a mechanistic-empirical design model for partially saturated unbound granular material. Results from the proposed design method seem more realistic than results from the current design model and the model is not as sensitive to variation in the design inputs as the current design model is. In addition to this, the effects of the density and moisture content of the partially saturated, unbound granular material on the resilient response and performance of the material is explicitly included in the formulation of the proposed design model.

Drivers for sustainability have made it necessary for the construction industry to adapt its traditional processes to become both more efficient and produce less waste. Performance based design and specification in the UK for motorways and trunk roads permits a very flexible approach to pavement design, material selection and performance related testing aimed at utilising materials to their maximum potential. However, it is clear that within the emerging philosophy of using materials that are 'fit for purpose' there are many technical challenges for design and specification. There is a need to develop suitable methods of evaluating materials prior to their being used on site. This project was born out of this requirement, with a particular emphasis on coarse granular materials due to their common role in capping construction and also their unique difficulty for measurement under laboratory conditions due to their large range of particle size. A novel assessment test for coarse capping materials for roads that can be used to indicate their likely short-term in situ performance, under controlled laboratory conditions before construction on site, has been developed during this research programme. Key findings relating to the behaviour of coarse capping materials, the use of stiffness measuring devices and variables that influence the measurement of composite stiffness are discussed in detail. The research highlights the necessity for adequate drainage and protection of foundation materials against increase in water content. When adopting a performance specification the timing of the pavement assessment is critical, both on site and in the laboratory. The performance measured on site should perhaps only be considered as a 'snapshot' relating to the stress state in the material at the time of testing.