Mechanical properties of cement-treated aggregate material – A review

Cement-treated aggregate material (CTAM) is a traditional material applied in road bases and sub-bases. Its mixture proportioning design method applied in the last decades is tentative, time-consuming and cost-effective. There is no advanced technique to design the mixture proportioning of CTAM so far. Therefore, the problem of designing a CTAM mixture is the lack of an effective procedure that allows predicting its mechanical properties from mixture parameters like the mix composition and the characteristics of components. For cement concrete and asphalt concrete such prediction techniques already exist.This paper herein reviews the influence of mixture variables on the mechanical properties of CTAM. These properties include the unconfined compressive strength (UCS), the tensile strength and the elastic modulus. It was found that the UCS is normally taken as an important quality indicator of CTAM. Variables influencing the UCS, such as cement content, curing time, degree of compaction and so on, play different roles to determine the performance of CTAM. Models to predict the tensile strength and the elastic modulus are always correlated to the UCS. Evidence may be given that prediction models for the mechanical properties of CTAM may be established on basis of mixture parameters.

► A critical review of the mechanical properties of cement-treated aggregate material (CTAM) was presented. ► The influence relationships of mixture variables on the mechanical properties of CTAM were summarized. ► Evidence can be given that the mechanical properties of CTAM may be established by various mixture parameters.