Resilient

Modulus of Wisconsin Fine-

grained Soils
Hani Ti8, Ph.D., P.E., M. ASCE
Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering & Mechanics
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ryan English, M.Sc

Former UW-Milwaukee Graduate Student
Currently, Gestra Engineering

Research Project Funded by

Wisconsin Highway Research Program (WHRP)
Wisconsin Department of Transporta8on
 Acknowledgement
WisDOT and WHRP Financial Support
Mr. Bob Arndorfer, Past Chair, WHRP
Geotechnical TOC
Mr. Dan Reid
Chair and Geotechnical TOC members
Mohammed Elias, FHWA (Former UW-
Milwaukee Ph.D., student)
Aaron Coenen, (Former UW-Milwaukee M.SC.,
student) UIUC
2
 Outline

Introduc8on
Background
Laboratory Tests Procedures
Results
Laboratory Results
Sta8s8cal Analysis Results
Conclusions and Recommenda8ons

3
 Objec8ve

Conduct repeated load triaxial tests to

determine the resilient modulus of Wisconsin
ne-grained soils.

Develop/modify resilient modulus correla8ons

(models) proposed by Ti8 et al. (2006) between
the resilient modulus cons8tu8ve model
parameters (k1, k2, and k3) and basic soil
proper8es.
4
STH 32 Three Lakes

5
 Introduc8on
M-E Pavement Design was developed recently
Requires resilient modulus of subgrade soil

Currently Wisconsin Department of

Transporta8on (WisDOT) uses AASHTO 1972
Guide for pavement design
Uses Soil Support Values (SSV) for subgrade soil

WisDOT is currently in the process of

implemen8ng M-E Pavement Design Guide
6
AASHTO Mechanis8c-Empirical Design
Input Parameters
Level 1
Sample soil and conduct laboratory tes8ng
site/project specic
Highest condence and reliability
Increased cost
Level 2
Intermediate accuracy
Use developed correla8ons
Focus of research
Level 3
Least accurate
Use average values for the region
Low volume roadways 7
 Resilient Modulus

Laboratory Tes8ng
Repeated Load Triaxial Test (AASHTO T307)
Field Tes8ng
Falling Weight Deectometer
Light Weight Deectometer
GeoGauge

Resilient Modulus

d = deviator stress
r = recoverable strain 8
 AASHTO T 307

Standard Method of Test for Determining the

Resilient Modulus of Soils and Aggregate
Materials
Developed to simulate trac loading on
pavement materials
Cyclic load on cylindrical soil specimen

1 cycle is 1 sec
0.1 sec loaded
0.9 sec rest (contact load)

9
 Repeated Load Triaxial Test System
INSTRON FastTrack 8802
Servo-hydraulic dynamic materials
tes8ng system
Digital controlled to update PID
values for the dierent soil
specimens
Frame Capacity (56 kips)
Acuator
150mm (6in) stroke
250kN (56 Kips)
Dynamic Load cell
1kN (224 lbs) capacity
Integral acceleromter
10
AASHTO Mechanis8c-Empirical Design
M-E Design Guide uses the Resilient Modulus
model from the NCHRP project 1-37A

b = bulk stress (1+2+3)

1 = Major principal stress
2, 3 = Minor principal stress (conning pressure)
k1, k2, and k3 = material model parameters correlated
to soil proper8es
Pa= atmospheric pressure (101.325 kPa)

11
12
 Inves8gated Soils

Soil Name Sample ID County

Fond du Lac-1 F-1 Fond du Lac
Dodge-1 D-1 Dodge
Highland-1 H-1 Iowa
Highland-2 H-2 Iowa
Highland-3 H-3 Iowa
Lincoln-1 Linc-1 Lincoln
Racine-1 R-1 Racine
Deer Creek-1A DC-1A Ashland
Deer Creek-1B DC-1B Ashland
Superior-1 Sup-1 Douglas
Winnebago-2 W-2 Winnebago
Winnebago-3 W-3 Winnebago
Winnebago-4 W-4 Winnebago 13
Inves8gated Soils - Loca8ons

14
15
 Soil Property Tests

Soil Property Standard Test Designation

Particle Size Analysis AASHTO T88-00: Particle Size Analysis of
Soils
Liquid Limits AASHTO T89-02: Determining the Liquid
Limit of Soils
Plastic Limit and Plasticity Index AASHTO T90-00: Determining the Plastic
Limit and Plasticity Index of Soils
Specific Gravity AASHTO 100-03: Specific Gravity of Soils
Compaction AASHTO T99-01: Moisture-Density
Relations of Soils Using a 2.5kg 95.5lb)
Rammer and a 305-mm (12-in.) Drop
ASTM Soil Classification (USCS) ASTM D2487-93: Standard Classification of
Soils for Engineering Purposes
AASHTO Soil Classification AASHTO M 145-91 (2000): Classification
of Soils and Soil-Aggregate Mixtures for
Highway Construction Purposes
16
 Resilient Modulus - AASHTO T307

Repeated Load Triaxial Test

AASHTO T 307: Standard Method of Test
for Determining the Resilient Modulus
of Soils and Aggregate Materials

17
Resilient Modulus - AASHTO T307
Sample Prepara8on
Sta8c compac8on method
Special designed split mold
5 equal lios
Dimensions of the soil specimen are 2.8 inch
diameter, 5.6 inches for ne grained soils

18
 Resilient Modulus - AASHTO T307
Triaxial Cell Setup
Porous Stone, Filter Paper
Membrane Placement
Triaxial Cell Assembly

19
 Resilient Modulus - AASHTO T307
Condi8oning Stage
15 Sequences
3 conning pressures (41.4, 27.6, 13.8 kPa)
5 sequences per conning pressure
Deviator stress (12.4, 24.8, 37.3, 49.7 kPa)

20
Computer Sooware Inputs

21
Computer sooware

22
Results AASHTO T307

23
 Soil Proper8es
Maximum Dry Unit
Passing Liquid Optimum Soil Classification
Plastic Plasticity Specific Weight
Soil Name Sieve Limit Moisture
Test # Limit Index Gravity Group
(Soil ID) #200 LL Content dmax dmax
PL (%) PI (%) GS USCS Index AASHTO
(%) (%) wopt (%) (kN/m3) (pcf)
(GI)
A-7
MH
1 92.0 54.5 32.0 23.0 2.53 20.5 16.3 103.8 26 Clayey
Fond du Elastic Silt
Soil
Lac-1
(F-1) A-7
MH
2 90.0 56.5 35.0 21.0 2.85 22.0 15.7 100.0 24 Clayey
Elastic Silt
Soil
A-7
CL
1 85.1 47.8 25.3 22.5 2.86 16.0 16.9 107.9 21 Clayey
Deer Lean Clay
Soil
Creek-1A
(DC-1A) CL A-7
2 81.0 41.0 25.7 15.0 2.48 17.0 16.8 107.7 Lean Clay 13 Clayey
with Sand Soil
CL A-7
1 75.8 43.7 24.4 19.3 2.62 16.0 17.3 110.0 Lean Clay 15 Clayey
Deer with Sand Soil
Creek-1B
(DC-1B) A-7
CL
2 85.0 42.0 25.5 16.5 2.38 17.0 16.9 108.0 22 Clayey
Lean Clay
Soil
MH A-7-5
1 80.3 60.8 22.8 23.0 2.55 24.5 14.8 94.2 Elastic Silt 22 Clayey
Superior-1 with Sand Soil
(Sup-1) MH A-7-5
2 89.0 66.0 36.4 30.0 2.73 24.5 14.8 94.2 Elastic Silt 33 Clayey
with Sand 24
Soil
 Soil Proper8es
Maximum Dry Unit
Passing Liquid Optimum Soil Classification
Plastic Plasticity Specific Weight
Sieve Limit Moisture
Soil Name Test # Limit Index Gravity Group
#200 LL Content dmax dmax
PL (%) PI (%) GS USCS Index AASHTO
(%) (%) wopt (%) (kN/m3) (pcf)
(GI)
A-6
CL Lean
1 90.4 37.3 23.3 14.0 2.60 16.6 17.3 109.9 11 Clayey
Clay
Racine-1 Soil
(R-1) CL Lean A-6
2 81.0 33.5 22.1 11.4 2.52 15.3 17.6 112.2 Clay with 9 Clayey
Sand Soil
CL Lean A-6
1 82.0 37.0 21.0 16.0 2.71 17.0 16.5 105.0 Clay with 13 Clayey
Highland-1 Sand Soil
(H-1) CL Lean A-6
2 84.5 37.0 23.0 13.0 2.77 14.5 16.9 107.3 Clay with 11 Clayey
Sand Soil
CL Lean A-6
1 78.7 36.0 24.0 12.0 2.70 15.0 17.3 110.0 Clay with 9 Clayey
Highland-2 Sand Soil
(H-2) A-6
CL Lean
2 85.2 38.0 24.0 14.0 2.84 14.0 17.4 111.0 12 Clayey
Clay
Soil
A-7-6
CH
1 87.5 56.5 23.3 33.2 2.56 22.0 15.6 99.0 32 Clayey
Fat Clay
Highland-3 Soil
(H-3) A-7-6
CH
2 87.4 59.8 28.5 31.3 2.49 24.0 15.4 98.0 24 Clayey
Fat Clay 25
Soil
 Soil Proper8es
Maximum Dry Unit
Passing Liquid Optimum Soil Classification
Plastic Plasticity Specific Weight
Sieve Limit Moisture
Soil Name Test # Limit Index Gravity Group
#200 LL Content dmax dmax
PL (%) PI (%) GS USCS Index AASHTO
(%) (%) wopt (%) (kN/m3) (pcf)
(GI)
A-7
MH
1 92.1 64.5 35.0 29.0 2.82 23.0 14.9 95.0 33 Clayey
Elastic Silt
Winnebago-2 Soil
(W-2) A-7
MH
2 98.1 62.0 36.0 26.0 2.58 26.0 14.8 94.3 33 Clayey
Elastic Silt
Soil
A-7
ML
1 87.2 41.5 26.8 14.8 2.82 22.0 16.0 101.5 14 Clayey
Silt
Winnebago-3 Soil
(W-3) CL A-7
2 84.2 43.8 26.4 17.4 2.85 23.0 15.7 99.5 Lean Clay 23 Clayey
with Sand Soil
CH A-7
1 83.3 60.5 29.3 31.0 2.69 21.0 15.7 100.0 Fat Clay 29 Clayey
Winnebago-4 with Sand Soil
(W-4) A-7
CH
2 85.9 60.5 27.3 33.0 2.58 NA NA NA 32 Clayey
Fat Clay
Soil
CL- Lean
A-4
1 79.2 34.0 23.6 11.4 2.49 17.0 16.8 107.0 Clay with 8
Silty Soil
Dodge-1 Sand
(D-1) CL- Lean
A-4
26
2 77.3 33.0 22.6 10.4 2.60 16.5 15.8 100.5 Clay with 7
Silty Soil
Sand
 Soil Proper8es

Maximum Dry
Passin Liquid Optimum Soil Classification
Plastic Plasticit Specific Unit Weight
g Sieve Limit Moisture
Soil Name Test # Limit y Index Gravity Group
#200 LL Content dmax dmax
PL (%) PI (%) GS USCS Index AASHTO
(%) (%) wopt (%) (kN/m3) (pcf)
(GI)
CL-ML
Sandy
A-4
1 56.8 25.0 19.0 6.0 2.81 10.5 18.9 120.0 Silty Clay 1
Silty Soil
with
Lincoln-1 Gravel
(Linc-1) CL-ML
Sandy
A-4
2 54.7 25.0 18.0 7.0 2.76 10.0 19.2 122.0 Silty Clay 1
Silty Soil
with
Gravel

27
Results Grain Size Distribu8on

P200 Line

28
 Soil Proper8es

Grain size distribu8on for soil Lincoln-1

29
 Soil Proper8es
Compac8on for soil Lincoln-1

30
Resilient Modulus

31
 Lincoln-1
Op8mum

Dry Side
Wet Side

32
 Sta8s8cal Analysis
Resilient modulus model NCHRP project
1-37A

Transformed equa8on for sta8s8cal analysis

33
ki Histograms

34
 Sta8s8cal Analysis
ki parameters determined from test results

35
Probability of Occurrence

36
Probability of Occurrence

37
Model Parameters All Soils

38
Resilient Modulus Predicted vs
Measured All Soils

39
Resilient Modulus Predicted vs
Measured A4 Soils

40
Resilient Modulus Predicted vs
Measured A6 Soils

41
Resilient Modulus Predicted vs
Measured A7 Soils

42
Resilient Modulus Averages All
Soils

43
Resilient Modulus Averages All
Soils

44
 Summary & Conclusions
Laboratory test procedures were conducted
on Wisconsin ne-grained soils to determine
soil proper8es
Repeatability study performed for high
quality test data
Equa8ons developed to es8mate resilient
modulus values (M-E Design Guide level 2)
Resilient Modulus database was developed
(M-E Design Guide level 3)
45
 Recommenda8ons
Use resilient modulus test database in
absence of any basic soil tes8ng
Use equa8ons provided from this study to
es8mate resilient modulus values based on
available tes8ng
Explore eld devices to determine subgrade
modulus in the eld
Explore freeze-thaw cycles on Wisconsin
subgrade soils
46
Ques8ons?

47