Stabilisation Plant Operating In Australia (Nov 1981)

Stabilisation, already widely used in road pavements in Australia, is being increasingly specified by engineers in three general areas: (a) To improve the engineering properties of sub- grade materials. (b) To modify or strengthen locally available materials which are often of a marginal quality in a situation of diminishing availability and increasing cost of hi9h grade aggregates. (c) To recycle or rehabilitate existing granular flexible pavements in place to substantially extend their service life at low cost. Stabilising agents including cement can be mixed with soils either at a central mixing plant or on the road, the latter is commonly known as the road mix method. In the road mix method, there are four general processes: site preparation including scarification; mixing; trimming and compaction; and curing. During the mixing process the principal requirements are for the soil to be uniformly pulverised and the cement or other additive evenly and thoroughly mixed through the required layer depth. As with all other aspects of road construction, maximum efficiency and optimum resume can be achieved only by the use of the most suitable plant. For the mixing phase of road mix stabilisation the pulverising and mixing processes require the use of purpose-built road stabilising plant rather than equipment intended mainly tor agricultural purposes. Road mix stabilisation plant falls into two broad types: single-rotor and multi-rotor machines.