Stabilization and Utilization of Dune Sand in Road Engineering

The aim of the work presented in this paper is the valorization of dune sand, which is abundant in Djelfa (Algeria). This study consists of valorizing a local material in road construction. Several stages were considered in this investigation. A method of formulation of the mixtures has been proposed, which is based on the stabilization of the studied sands using a hydraulic binder and a granular corrector. For each mixture, the optimum Proctor, the compressive strength with and without immersion and the tensile strength were determined. After that, an analysis of the results was made to examine the influence of the sand origin and the stabilization agent proportion on the physical and mechanical characteristics of mixtures. The stabilized sands were classified according to current standards; the optimal formulations were then selected, on which additional tests were carried out. The results obtained show that the formulations selected have sufficient performances to be used in road foundation layers.