The design of geo-beads (GB) fill material on road embankment

The soft soil layers as subgrade layers are undesirable due to low bearing capacity and high compressibility. Some methods were applied to improve the behavior such as accelerating consolidation by vertical drain and adding a binder to increase bearing capacity. All the methods could be combined with light-fill material for road construction. This research aims to propose the composite material comprising Geobead (GB), sand, and cement as a lightweight fill material. The specimens have varied GB percentages of 20%, 30%, and 40% of soil volume. The proposed composite fill modifying the self-weight of the embankment was investigated by some experimental tests such as compaction and CBR. The specimens were cured 7, 14, and 28 days before the test. The GB composite materials are lighter than the conventional fill material, with maximum dry densities (γdmax) from 14.95 to 16.95 kN/m3. Although the strength of the composite material decreases when the GB is added, it is suitable as the capping layer on stabilized soft soil and subbase layers (except GB40-D7 and GB40-D14).