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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <title>Micro-to-Macro Insights into Durability of Stabilized Soils Exposed to Wetting-Drying Cycles  </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2646953</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Roads built on problematic soils like expansive and soft clays often fail prematurely due to issues like heaving, cracking, and rutting. Low-strength, high-compressibility, and moisture sensitivity of these soils, primarily driven by the reactive nature of clay minerals, are the underlying causes for this. Stabilizing such problematic soils with cementitious binders is a common practice. Soils are often subjected to severe Wetting-Drying (W-D) cycles due to extreme weather events like flooding during monsoons and heat waves during summers and the long-term durability of stabilized soils under these stresses remains a critical concern. Often, failure in the system due to these W-D cycles is progressive in nature, starting from the generation of micro-cracks that eventually propagate into fully developed fractures within the soil mass. Also, the pore structure and pore connectivity alter significantly during this process, and manifest into the overall strength and performance deterioration. The evolution of the pore network, number of cracks, and their morphological features, like the length, width, and connectivity, are extremely important to understand the longevity and durability of stabilized soils to ensure safety of the transportation infrastructure. With this objective, this project aims to investigate the micro-to-macro scale damage progression in stabilized soils subjected to the W-D durability cycles. The study will be conducted on soft soil (low-plasticity clay) with two different stabilizers, namely Portland limestone cement and lime. Modification to the workability and strength characteristics of the stabilized soils will be quantified through laboratory tests, including Atterberg limits, Proctor compaction, and Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) tests, and the optimum dosages of the stabilizers will be determined. Durability assessment of the stabilized soils with optimum dosages will be evaluated for 0, 2, 4, 8, and 12 W-D cycles following the ASTM D559 & AASHTO T135 testing protocols with different specimen sizes. Mass loss, volumetric strain, and UCS values post-durability cycles will be recorded from different specimen sizes and compared to evaluate the effects of specimen size on the durability evaluation. This data will be beneficial for simplifying and advancing the durability testing protocols. Additionally, advanced X-ray micro-Computed Tomography (μCT) will be used to visualize and quantify internal microstructural changes, such as pore connectivity and crack morphology evolution, in miniature soil specimens. Image analysis algorithms may be developed for the robust and accurate quantification of the microstructure. Finally, correlations will be developed between the total porosity, number of cracks, crack length, crack width, and the UCS values of soil for various durability cycles. These correlations are expected to aid in the realistic prediction of the long-term performance of stabilized soils. Micro-perspectives and insights from this project will be crucial for developing more resistant and durabletransportation infrastructure in regions with problematic soils.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:59:58 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2646953</guid>
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      <title>Development of Cement Recycled Asphalt Base Stabilization (CRABS) Design Guide for Idaho Transportation Department</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2560882</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2025 13:15:16 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2560882</guid>
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      <title>Measurement of cement content and layer thickness variation of cement stabilized base and subgrade using ground penetrating radar
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2269988</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research objective is to investigate a relationship among dielectric constant, electrical conductivity, and cement content of cement-stabilized base/soil layers to develop a methodology to assess the layer thickness variation of cement stabilized base/soils layers and to perform field validation based on the outcomes that will be developed during this study and distress data from the existing LTPP, GA-LTPP, and/or specific sites that have cement stabilized base/soil layers.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Oct 2023 11:55:09 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2269988</guid>
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      <title>Evaluation of Portland Limestone Cement-Treated Subgrade Soils and Bases in Kansas</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2255786</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Due to the sustainability, benefit of Portland-limestone cement (PLC) (also referred to as Type IL cement) by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10%, it has been increasingly used to replace Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in civil engineering applications. In the US and Canada, PLCs are made with Portland cement and between 5% and 15% fine limestone. This type of cement has been considered to have equivalent performance to Type I Portland cement; therefore, a 1:1 replacement policy has been adopted. The conclusion that performance is equivalent was based on testing of ready-mixed concrete or structural concrete. Cement has also been commonly used to treat subgrade soils and bases. Subgrade soils often contain fine particles, including clay particles that can have different minerals. It is well recognized that chemical reactions between cement and clay particles are different from those between cement and aggregates. Since cement-treated subgrade soils and cement-treated bases (CTB) use a smaller amount of cement than concrete, their properties may be more sensitive to possible property changes of limestone cement. Unfortunately, PLC-treated subgrade soils and bases have not been well evaluated; therefore, it is necessary and important to evaluate the performance of PLC mixed with subgrade soils and base materials. This proposed study will evaluate the properties of PLC-treated subgrade soils and treated bases in Kansas as compared with those treated with Type I OPC using laboratory tests.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Sep 2023 17:47:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2255786</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Effects of Combined Carbonate and Biofilm on Shrinkage Cracking in Unsaturated Cementitiously stabilized Soils Using Microcapsules.</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1856850</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The proposed study is on an innovative approach that couples self-healing effects of bacterial spores with sequential hydration methodology that could mitigate the development of shrinkage cracking of stabilized mixture while sustaining the development of high strength. A dual encapsulation technique, which involves a primary and secondary encapsulation of two different bacteria into a single microcapsule will be utilized. The sequential hydration which is a concept for which moisture content below optimum is provided for partial hydration and consequently minimized shrinkage cracking will be utilized. The use of dual encapsulation technique, which will allow for a carbonate and a biofilm precipitating bacteria to be encapsulated into a single capsule. The combine precipitate from these bacteria will yield a ductile composite precipitate. The coupled effects of ductile precipitate and sequential hydration will thus provide an optimum stiffness for the stabilized mixture and thus mitigate shrinkage cracking. The mixes containing bacterial microcapsules which enhance self-healing is expected to benefit immensely from the sequential hydration and lead to a novel design for cementitious stabilization.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 05 Jun 2021 17:33:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1856850</guid>
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