CBR Improvement of Clayey Soil with Geo-grid
The quality and life of pavement is greatly affected by the type of sub-grade, sub base and base course materials. The most important of these are the type and quality of sub-grade soil. But in India most of the flexible pavements are need to be constructed over weak and problematic sub-grade. The California bearing ratio (CBR) of these sub-grade have very low, it needs to more thickness of pavement. Decrease in the availability of suitable sub base and base materials for pavement construction have leads to a search for economic method of converting locally available problematic soil to suitable construction materials. The present research have to study the effect of geo-grid reinforcement on maximum dry density (MDD), Optimum Moisture Content (OMC), California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and E-Value of sub-grade soil. The clayey type of soil and one type of geo--grid were selected for this study. From the study it is clear that there is considerable improvement in California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of sub-grade due to geo-grid reinforcement. In case of without reinforcement (Geo-grid) the soaked CBR value was 2.9% and when geo-grid was placed at 0.2H from the top of the specimen the CBR increases to 9.4%.
A critical performance study of innovative lightweight fill to mitigate settlement of embankment constructed on peat soil
Infrastructure construction now demands the development on soft ground such as 
peat. Discomfort of road users such as bumpy road need to be addressed with the use 
of appropriate lightweight and stiff backfill materials. Alternative lightweight fills 
used in current highway construction is critically reviewed in this research prior to 
the conceptual development of a stiff lightweight mat (Geocomposite Cellular Mat, 
GCM). The GCM concept is somewhat similar to the EPS concept by virtue of the 
mat form. However, the EPS is lighter than GCM, but the GCM is much stronger, 
stiffer, more porous and permeable. The performance of the GCM on hemic peat 
ground at the test site in Parit Nipah, Johor was compared with that from 
conventional backfill (sand fill). The typical geotechnical properties of Parit Nipah 
peat were high in organic content (85.3 %), high in moisture content (> 600 %) and 
low in undrained shear strength (< 15 kPa). The consolidation characteristics of Parit 
Nipah peat was obtained from both laboratory and field tests using Terzaghi’s, and 
hyperbolic methods. The settlement predicted by hyperbolic method gave a better 
agreement with the field data. The field tests were environmentally monitored and 
innovative field instrumentation for the settlement monitoring was specially designed 
for this research. The research effectively demonstrates potential for the use of GCM 
to mitigate settlement of highway embankment built on peat ground. The field 
observation showed that the maximum settlements were reduced up to 84 % with the 
adoption of GCM fills. Furthermore, 70 % differential settlement was reduced with 
GCM fill compared with sand fill. GCM fills not only reduces excessive settlement 
but also reduces the differential settlement. However, they also effectively accelerate 
the consolidation settlement within the sub-grade through the ease of dissipation of 
the excess pore water pressure through the open-porous cellular structure of the 
GCM fills.
Geomagnetic micropulsations due to the motion of ocean waves
When sea waves move in the magnetic field of the earth, electric currents are generated in the water volume. These currents give rise to a small magnetic field which perturbs the earth's field. For plane trochoidal waves, this perturbing field decays exponentially with altitude and lies in a vertical plane which is oriented in the direction of wave propagation. The magnitude of the perturbing field also depends upon the magnitude and dip angle of the earth's field, and upon the height, wavelength, and propagation direction of the sea waves. For north-south waves, sea state 5, and an altitude of 100 feet, the perturbation is of the order of 0.1 gamma.