MPC Research Reports
Report Details

Title:	Enhancing the Resiliency of Pavement Infrastructure Built on Sulfate-Rich Expansive Soil Subjected to Climate Change
Authors:	Aritra Banerjee and Debayan Ghosh
University:	South Dakota State University
Publication Date:	Jul 2024
Report #:	MPC-24-530
Project #:	MPC-687

Abstract

The study aimed to understand the impacts of extreme climatic conditions such as prolonged droughts and intense precipitation due to climate change on the resilience of civil infrastructures like embankments. The knowledge of unsaturated soil mechanics and soil chemistry is integrated to determine the impact of climate change on the stability of embankment slopes built with sulfate-rich expansive soils based on various emission predictions and climate models. An advanced suction-controlled triaxial setup that can determine the shear strength under varying moisture conditions and the resilient modulus of soils, was installed and calibrated. This setup is essential to study the impact of climate change. A series of suction- controlled triaxial tests were performed to demonstrate the behavior of clayey soil from the region with varying suction levels. The stability of an embankment was analyzed based on low to moderate emissions and high emissions till the end of the century. It was observed that for the high emissions scenario, the stability of embankment slopes decreased significantly, which demonstrated the need for resilience of embankments to address the stresses caused by climate change. An alternative treatment method using biopolymers and cement was identified as a potential candidate for the treatment of sulfate-rich expansive soils.

How to Cite

Banerjee, Aritra, and Debayan Ghosh. Enhancing the Resiliency of Pavement Infrastructure Built on Sulfate-Rich Expansive Soil Subjected to Climate Change, MPC-24-530. North Dakota State University - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Fargo: Mountain-Plains Consortium, 2024.