Mechanical fatigue behavior in treated/stabilized soils subjected to a uniaxial flexural test

• The two-point bending test is relevant to measure fatigue of cement treated soils.
• A behavior law links the monotonic and fatigue performances of these materials.
• The cement treated soils can be used in subbase layers of pavement structures.

The use of in situ fine-grained soils treated with lime and/or hydraulic binders as subgrade in common civil engineering infrastructures is a sustainable upgrading process for natural materials with low mechanical performances. In the case of land transport projects, the lack of knowledge on mechanical fatigue behavior in these materials leads either to empirical oversized design of the layers made with these materials or to their rejection. However, the development of a relevant test now enables us to accurately measure the mechanical fatigue performances of treated soils. First, sample preparation appears to explain most fatigue performances, not sample mineralogy. Second, based on original results on three treated soils and previous results from the literature, it seems that a behavior law governs these performances. Finally, a simple classification tool shows that these materials can be considered within the entirety of transport infrastructures from subgrade layers to subbase layers.