Characterisation of a lightly stabilised granular material by indirect diametrical tensile testing

Lightly stabilised granular materials with cementitious binders are generally characterised by their stiffness modulus and this paper examines the use of monotonic and cyclic load indirect diametrical tensile (IDT) testing to determine the stiffness characteristics of these materials. The experimental programme included the determination of density, IDT strength and static and dynamic moduli from monotonic and cyclic load IDT testing for a typical freshly quarried aggregate granular base material stabilised by the addition of 3–5% slag–lime slow-setting binder under a narrow range of moisture variations. The IDT tests were conducted on 28 days cured samples prepared by gyratory compaction. Details of an IDT testing arrangement with internal displacement measurement for performing cyclic load testing to obtain reliable data are also discussed. This study indicates that cyclic load IDT testing could be used reliably for determining the dynamic stiffness modulus of a lightly stabilised granular material with a newly proposed equation.