I've noticed for some projects the engineer has requested 35 degrees for stabilizing to be done, ODOT requests 40 degrees. Thats when long-term strength gain is the objective. When you are decreasing moisture content to reach compaction it doesn't matter. My question being how much of an affect will the temperature have on the strength of the soil? This relates to my science projects in school last year and this year. I stabilized 2 different pads, I added 4-5 % quicklime to both pads, then tested them with a penetrometer. The max. number on the penetrometer is 4.5 ton/SF. Last year the stabilizing was done during the winter and this year the summer to show the difference in temperature. During the winter I did the stabilizing at about 35 degrees. This year it was somewhere between 70-80 degrees. The average for the winter was 4.25 ton/SF, summer was just over 4.35 ton/SF. At first I wrote the results as 'no', because the winter pad already had moisture in it because we had a rain previously to it, along with freezing and thawing occuring during the season. And it was right at that 35 degree mark where engineers will 'cut off' the time for the stabilizing to be executed. Now, the more and more I think about it since it's a school science project and the results from the summer were better I'm thinking for the conclusion I should have 'yes'. Any thoughts on this? It's been bothering me as to exactly how I should word this. Thank you so much for your help!!
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