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The Effect of Moisture and Fine Grain Content on the 

Resilient Modulus of Sandy Clay Embankment 

Roadbed 
 

Nguyen Anh Tuan 

Faculty of Transportation Engineering 
Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport 

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 

tuanna@ut.edu.vn 

Phan Quang Chieu 

Faculty of Civil Engineering 
Tien Giang University 
Tien Giang, Vietnam 

phanquangchieu5@yahoo.com 
 

 

Abstract-This paper studies the effect of moisture and fine grain 

content on the resilient modulus of sandy clay embankment 

roadbed in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The study analyzed the 

grain content of 30 soil samples on the annually flooded routes of 

the Mekong Delta according to the AASHTO T88-97 standard. 
The triaxial compression test at room temperature was used to 

estimate the resilient modulus of the samples belonging to 6 

moisture levels. The experiments were conducted using 3 levels of 

lateral pressure, 0, 21, and 41kPa. Five deflection stress tests of 

14, 28, 41, 55, and 69kPa, were conducted for each lateral 

pressure. The results showed that as the percentage of grains 

finer than 0.075mm increased, the variation ratio of the resilient 

modulus also increased. The content of grains finer than 

0.075mm was between 54.1%-93%, while the variation ratio of 

the resilient modulus ranged between 53.7% and 89.1%. 

Moreover, as the percentage of grains finer than 0.075mm 

increased, water absorption capacity increased and resilient 

modulus decreased. As moisture and fine grain content influence 

the resilient modulus of the roadbed, this study’s results will help 
to limit and prevent the erosion of sandy clay embanked 

roadbeds, especially on frequently flooded areas such as the 
Mekong Delta.  

Keywords-resilient modulus; moisture content; fine grain 

content; roadbed; in situ plate loading test  

I. INTRODUCTION  

The resilient modulus of the roadbed is one of the most 
important parameters for designing a new or restoring a soft 
road surface in case of deformation. The thickness of the road 
surface layer is determined based on the resilient modulus of 
the roadbed. Moisture content affects the resilient modulus of 
the roadbed significantly, as it increases the road surface's 
deformation causing cracks and subsidence, especially in sandy 
clay embanked roadbeds which are flooded for long periods. 
The resilient behavior of cohesive soils (fine-grained soils) 
related to moisture has been studied for over 40 years. The 
influence of density and water content on the resilient behavior 
of Florida subgrade soils was studied in [1], while the subgrade 
resilient modulus was estimated by using standard tests in [2]. 
The degree of saturation affecting the resilient modulus of 
Tennessee soils was studied in [3]. An improved evaluation 

procedure of roadbed soil’s resilient modulus was introduced in 
[4]. The effect of moisture on the resilient modulus of the Ohio 
roadbed was investigated in [5]. In [6], a correlation between 
the relative moisture and the resilient modulus of the roadbed 
was proposed. The elastic and deformation characteristics of 
bottom ash in road construction, in particular Young’s modulus 
and Poisson’s ratio, were studied in [7]. According to [8], the 
settlement response of the embankment dam was similar for the 
Mohr-Coulomb and the Hardening Soil Models for three 
material zones (clay core, sandy gravel, and random fill), 
having a modulus of elasticity in the range 25000-50000kPa. 
These studies showed that the resilient modulus of soil 
embanked roadbed depends heavily on soil type, moisture 
content, and soil condition [9]. 

The current study carried out laboratory experiments to 
observe the effects of moisture and fine grain content on the 
resilient modulus of a sandy clay embankment roadbed in the 
Mekong Delta of Vietnam. 

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS 

A. Determination of the Resilient Modulus 

The resilient modulus is determined based on elastic strain. 
In road constructions, it is used to calculate the roadbed and 
road surface subsidence. Due to the transient workload, the 
loading and unloading time is extremely fast and repeated, 
while after several loads the accumulated plastic strain is 
reduced or eliminated. The subsidence of road works depends 
heavily on the elastic strain of the roadbed and road surface 
structure. Resilient modulus is defined, according to [10], as: 

�� 	= (�� − �	) ��⁄ =	�
 ��⁄     (1) 
where σ1 and σ3 are the major and minor principal stresses, σd  is 
the deviator stress, and εr is the accumulated plastic strain. 

B. Factors Affecting Resilient Modulus 

It has been shown that the resilient modulus of cohesive 
soil depends on soil type, moisture content, saturation, the 
content of the grains that can go through the No.200 sieve, 
deflection stress, suction force, plasticity index, pore water 

Corresponding author: Nguyen Anh Tuan



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pressure, lateral pressure, and lateral compression strength [11-
30]. 

C. Effect of Moisture Content on the Resilient Modulus 

Moisture content is the main parameter affecting the 
resilient modulus of sandy clay, as in low moisture the water 
binds soil grains and increases the effective stress between 
them through its suction and surface tension, leading to high 
resilient modulus values. Moreover, at low moisture content, 
the sandy clay produces strong suction in water enough to 
reproduce a significant temporary colloidal effect between soil 
grains. Increased moisture damages this phenomenon. The state 
of sandy clay depends heavily on water capacity, namely the 
physical bonding layers of water surrounding the coarse soil 
grains. When the soil is completely dry, the corresponding state 
is extremely hard or solid, the deformation is negligible, and 
the resilient modulus of the sandy clay increases due to the 
attraction between the opposite ions. Moisture content 
increases gradually with a strong water suction layer, 
increasing effective stress between soil grains through the 
suction and the surface tension of water. However, the soil 
sample volume remains unchanged until the grains are fully 
deposited in the water suction layer, the soil volume begins to 
increase due to the thickness of the water shells, the water takes 
up the voids that push the soil grains apart, the surface suction 
force decreases, the soil's resilient modulus value decreases, the 
soil becomes semi-hard and flexible, and when free water 
appears, the resilient modulus gradually decreases as the soil 
turns into the liquid state. Too much water causes the soil to 
enter a suspension state [31]. The resilient modulus value of the 
sample with the optimum moisture content is much greater than 
the resilient modulus value of the saturated sample. 

D. Effect of Fine-Grained Content on Resilient Modulus 

The resilient modulus of a cohesive embankment roadbed 
depends on the type of cohesive soil. The grain content is also 
an important factor affecting the resilient modulus of cohesive 
soils, especially the percentage of the grains that can go 
through the No. 200 sieve. When moisture is low, water binds 
soil grains (especially of fine-grained soil) and increases the 
effective stress between soil grains through the suction and the 
surface tension of water. In this case, the deformation of the 
soil is negligible. The clay may crack and become extremely 
hard when it is dry. Moisture gradually increases until the 
grains are fully deposited into the water suction layer, the soil 
volume begins to increase due to the thickness of water shells, 
the water takes up the hollow holes pushing the soil grains 
apart, and the soil becomes semi-hard and flexible [31, 32].  

E. Laboratory Experiments 

1) Purpose 

The main purpose of the experiments was to identify the 
physical characteristics of moisture content, saturation, 
unconfined compressive strength, plasticity index, liquid limit, 
optimum moisture, and the content of grains finer than 
0.075mm. The rapid compression test utilized a 3-axis 
compression chamber to determine the resilience of the soil 
samples and calculate the resilient modulus. A total of 124 
rapid compression tests were conducted to determine the 
resilient modulus, while 30 experiments were conducted to 

determine the physical characteristics and the grain content of 
the soil. 

2) Standards and Methods 

The soil samples were sandy clay samples with different 
moisture values. Soil samples were collected from the trunks of 
roads in annually flooded areas and classified according to 
AASHTO M 145-91 [33] based on grain composition and 
Atterberg limit. The resilient modulus was determined 
according to AASHTO T294-03 [34]. The simulation of 
vehicle load was performed on soil samples at 6 moisture 
values (2% and 3% dryer than the optimum, the optimum, 2% 
and 3% over the optimum, completely saturated). Liquid limit 
and plasticity index were determined according to AASHTO 
T89-07 [35] and T90-10 [36], while the grain content was 
analyzed according to AASHTO T88-04 [37]. The maximum 
dry density and the optimum moisture were determined 
according to AASHTO T180-01 [38], while the moisture was 
determined according to AASHTO T265-04 [39]. 

3) Sample Collection and Experimentation 

Thirty soil samples were collected at 30cm depth in the 
road body of the annually flooded roads in Dong Thap, Long 
An, and Tien Giang provinces. The natural moisture content of 
the samples was 9.9-32.7%. The basic physical characteristics 
of the samples were determined, including liquid limit, 
plasticity limit, grain content, standard compaction, and 
unconfined compressive strength. Table I shows the results of 
liquid limit, plastic limit, and grain content analysis. 

TABLE I.  GRAIN CONTENT AND ATTERBERG LIMIT OF SAMPLES 

No. Sample 
Liquid 

limit 

Plasticity 

index 

Sand 

(%) 

Dust 

(%) 

Clay 

(%) 

1 LA842.1 33.0 14.8 15.2 48.9 33.9 

2 LA842.2 34.3 12.1 12.4 48.9 35.9 

3 LA842.3 39.7 14.6 14.0 49.8 35.4 

4 DT942.1 39.6 12.0 16.6 45.4 35.1 

5 DT942.2 36.0 11.3 17.7 43.0 32.1 

6 DT942.3 38.3 11.6 15.3 43.5 39.8 

7 DT942.4 39.0 11.9 21.5 38.4 34.8 

8 DT942.5 38.8 11.6 10.8 53.4 34.6 

9 DT942.6 35.3 11.4 10.7 50.9 31.6 

10 DT942.7 39.7 11.5 5.2 54.4 38.6 

11 DT942.8 38.2 11.8 15.7 51.9 31.9 

12 DT942.9 39.6 11.6 11.3 44.2 39.2 

13 DT942.10 39.9 11.7 7.3 55.1 36.2 

14 DT847.1 38.3 12.4 14.0 49.4 36.2 

15 DT847.2 38.9 11.5 10.6 53.8 35.2 

16 DT847.3 38.8 11.3 12.6 43.4 41.4 

17 DT847.4 39.9 11.5 16.9 42.4 38.1 

18 DT847.5 39.5 16.4 24.8 38.7 33.6 

19 DT847.6 39.4 15.3 34.5 30.1 31.6 

20 DT847.7 39.4 15.3 16.6 45.2 33.7 

21 DT847.8 38.0 13.8 27.1 36.5 33.7 

22 DT847.9 38.4 13.2 13.8 50.1 35.1 

23 DT847.10 37.3 12.3 19.7 38.2 37.3 

24 DT847.11 38.3 12.0 20.5 46.6 32.6 

25 DT847.12 39.1 11.6 20.0 47.6 31.6 

26 DT847.13 38.0 14.8 33.9 31.2 31.2 

27 DT867.1 38.2 13.3 33.9 29.1 33.1 

28 DT867.2 39.0 11.6 23.5 33.7 37.3 

29 DT867.3 38.8 13.3 42.2 22.9 31.2 

30 DT867.4 39.0 12.1 36.8 29.5 32.5 



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An unconfined compressive strength test, according to 
AASHTO T208-05 [40], was carried out with a speed of 
1mm/min right after compressing the sample to determine the 
value of the resilient modulus. The unconfined compressive 
strength was determined from the stress-strain curve. It is the 
maximum compressive stress value that the sample has to 
withstand or the value corresponding to 20% strain if this case 
happens first. Axial compressive stress σ1 (kPa) was 
determined by: 

�� = �
�(���)
��

� � 100    (2) 

F. Determining the Resilient Modulus of the Soil 

The purpose of this test was to measure the resilient strain 
of the soil samples under the effect of fast compressive loading 
and determine the influence level of moisture and grains with a 
finer than 0.075mm size on the resilient modulus. For each soil 
sample collected, 15kg were selected through a 5mm sieve, 
they were divided into 6 equal weight parts, placed into 6 trays, 
and 6 different water quantities were sprayed on them to obtain 
the required moisture levels: 2% and 3% drier than the 
optimum, the optimum, 2% and 3% wetter than the optimum, 
and one saturated. Wet soil was mixed, covered with a damp 
cloth, and incubated for 12h. The preparation of a test sample 
m (g) with the desired moisture value W (%) requires the 
determination of the moisture content of the sample W1(%) and 
the calculation of the amount of water q (g) to be sprayed 
according to: 

� = �0.01� (1 � 0.01��)⁄ � � (� − ��)    (3) 
A compacting mortar with 125mm diameter and 127mm 

height was placed on a hard and leveled ground. The prepared 
soil was taken into the mortar with 3 layers, each one 
occupying about 1/3 of the mortar’s volume. A 2.5kg hammer 
was used on free fall from a height of 300mm, evenly 
distributed over the surface of the soil layer. Each layer was 
compacted with 40 hammer drops. The compacted soil was 
removed from the mortar by pressing a cutting ring, having 
36mm diameter and 76mm height, vertically into the core of 
the soil. The cutting ring was removed from the soil by 
whittling. The removed sample was weighted to determine its 
natural volume and placed in a rubber wrap. A 3-axis 
compression device model 28-T0401, shown in Figure 1, was 
used to perform the tests. 

 

 
Fig. 1.  The triaxial compression device system. 

The prepared samples were placed in the laboratory 
chamber to eliminate the residual strain by applying lateral and 
vertical pressure. By loading and unloading many times with a 
strain rate of 1mm/min, the sample accumulated the residual 

strain until there was only resilient strain left. The water inlet 
valve was opened until the chamber was full. Three levels of 
lateral pressure were applied (41, 21, and 0kPa) with 5 deviator 
stress levels (14, 28, 41, 55, and 69kPa). During the 
experiment, the bottom drain valve was unlocked. The results 
of loading for an unsaturated sample (DT.942.7-2) are shown 
in Figure 2. 

TABLE II.  LOADS ON UNSATURATED SAMPLE 

No. 

Lateral 

pressure σ3 

(kPa) 

σd 
(kPa) 

Times of 

loading (times) 
Note 

0 0 69 Many times 
Residual strain 

elimination 

1 41 14 3 
Get the average 

value 

2 41 28 3  

3 41 41 3  

4 41 55 3  

5 41 69 3  

6 21 14 3  

7 21 28 3  

8 21 41 3  

9 21 55 3  

10 21 69 3  

11 0 14 3  

12 0 28 3  

13 0 41 3  

14 0 55 3  

15 0 69 3  

16 0 
Destroy the 

sample 
 Determine qu 

 

 

 
Fig. 2.  Results of loading with unsaturated soil samples (DT.942.7-2). 

In each deviator stress level test, it was necessary to load 
and unload 3 times to get the average of the deviator stresses 
corresponding to the average of the resilient strain. Figure 3 
shows the deviator stress-resilient strain relationship of the 
sample. The average values of the deviator stress and resilient 
strain can be used to calculate the resilient modulus value 
according to (4). The resilient strain generated after each load 
level consists of two resilient strain parts: an instant resilient 
strain part generated when the load is applied to the soil and 
another due to the rheological behavior in load time. Slower 
speeds of loading (on the road when the car is running slower) 
cause greater resilient strains, as shown in Figure 4. Similar 
resilient values cause different P loads, resulting in different 
soil resilient modulus. 



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Fig. 3.  The relationship of σd with the resilient strain σ3 is unchanged 

(DT.942.7-2). 

 
Fig. 4.  The resilient strain curve of the compressing test when the load 

increases with each level at a uniform speed. 

 
Fig. 5.  Determining the unconfined compressive strength (DT.942.7-2). 

The unconfined compressive strength test was carried out 
immediately after the completion of five deviator stress levels, 
with zero lateral pressure and vertical load at 1mm/min until 
the sample was damaged to determine the compressive strength 
qu. Figure 5 shows a strain graph for determining qu of 
637.2kPa for sample DT942.7-2 having 15.7% moisture 
content. The unconfined compressive strength of the test 
samples was between 60.6 and 774.3kPa. The correlation 

coefficient between the resilient modulus and the unconfined 
compressive strength (qu) was 0.6788 (R

2
). For saturated 

samples, the test was only performed with zero lateral pressure 
level and five levels of deviator stress: 14, 28, 41, 55, 69kPa. 
During the experiment, the bottom drain valve was locked. The 
loading method for saturated samples is shown in Table III, and 
the results of loading for the saturated samples (DT.942.7-5) 
are shown in Figure 5. 

TABLE III.  LOAD ON SATURATED SAMPLES 

No. 
Lateral pressure σ3 

(kPa) 
σd (kPa) 

Times of loading 

(times) 
Note 

1 0 14 3  

2 0 28 3  

3 0 41 3  

4 0 55 3  

5 0 69 3  

6 0 
Destroy the 

sample 
 

Determine 

qu 

 

The resilient modulus determined from a 3-axis 
compression test is the ratio of the deviator stress and the 
relative resilient strain of the sample:  

�� = �
/�    (4) 
�
 = �� − �	    (5) 
� =  !/!    (6) 

The resilient strain of soil samples was recorded by the data 
collection system according to each load level. It was necessary 
to choose the average resilient strain value of the three load 
times for each load level to calculate the resilient modulus. 

 

 
Fig. 6.  Load result of unsaturated soil samples (DT.942.7-5). 

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Figures 7-9 show the experimental results for the resilient 
modulus of the 30 soil samples. In Figure 7, a lateral pressure 
of 41kPa was applied during the experiment, with 5 samples 
having moisture content of 14.5%, 15.7%, 17.4%, 19.6%, and 
20.3%. Five deviator stress levels were performed to determine 
the resilient modulus, at 14, 28, 41, 55, and 69 kPa. Figures 8 
and 9 show similar experiments by applying lateral pressures of 
21 and 0kPa respectively. The results illustrate the effect of 
moisture content, deviator stress, and lateral pressure on the 
resilient modulus. The resilient modulus is significantly 
affected by moisture content, as it decreased as the moisture 



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content increased at constant lateral pressure level. The 
resilient modulus decreased as the deviator stress increased, 
tending to change nonlinearly with the deviator stress at the 
same lateral pressure level. The resilient modulus increased as 
the lateral pressure increased at the optimum moisture value 
and the same level of deviator stress. The resilient modulus of 
the saturated samples decreased by 24.8-56.6% from the 
optimum moisture content. The correlation coefficient (R

2
) 

between the resilient modulus and moisture was 0.8849. The R
2
 

between the resilient modulus and saturation was 0.6741. 

 

 
Fig. 7.  Mr according to moisture and deviator stress, lateral pressure 

41kPa (model DT942.7). 

 
Fig. 8.  Mr according to moisture and deviator stress, lateral pressure 

21kPa (model DT942.7). 

 

Fig. 9.  Mr according to moisture and deviator stress, lateral pressure 0kPa 

(model DT942.7). 

Figure 10 shows the effect of the grain content with a size 
finer than 0.075mm on the variation rate of resilient modulus 
due to the change of moisture content. The content of grains 
with size finer than 0.075mm varied from 54.1% (sample 
DT.867.4) to 93.0% (sample DT.942.7), while the value of the 
resilient modulus varied from 53.7% (60,548 - 28,043kPa) to 
89.1% (95,533 - 10,426kPa). The more the content of grains 
having size finer than 0.075mm was, the more it affected the 
variation ratio of the resilient modulus. The content of grains 

having size finer than 0.075mm accounts for 54.1% (sample 
DT.867.4) to 70.1% (sample DT.847.10) corresponding to the 
rate of value variation of the resilient modulus from 53.7% 
(60,548 - 28,043 kPa) to 65.6% (45,531 - 15,681 kPa). The 
content of grains having size finer than 0.075mm accounts 
from 72.3% (sample DT.867.6) to 93.0% (sample DT.942.7) 
corresponding to the variation rate value of the resilient 
modulus from 65.8% (48,903 - 16,709kPa) to 89.1% (95,533 - 
10,426kPa). The R

2
 between the resilient modulus and the 

content of grains having a size finer than 0.075mm was 0.7358. 
The correlation coefficient between the resilient modulus and 
plasticity index was 0.5412. 

 

 
 

Fig. 10.  Effect the content of grains having size finer than 0.075mm on Mr. 

The obtained results demonstrate that the resilient modulus 
is significantly influenced by moisture and the content of grains 
having size finer than 0.075mm. The increased moisture 
content of the sample caused a drop in the resilient modulus. In 
many cases, the resilient modulus value of the saturated 
samples was reduced by more than 56.6% (35,698 - 
15,489kPa) compared to the samples at optimum moisture 
content. The resilient modulus decreased nonlinearly when the 
deflection stress increased. Increasing lateral pressure led to an 
increase in the resilient modulus of the soil sample. The higher 
the percentage of clay grains, the larger the area they cover, 
and the greater the resilient modulus of the soil is due to the 
attraction between opposite ions. The increased moisture 
corresponds to the thickness of the water shells. The greater the 
volume of water that occupies the voids, the farther apart the 
soil grains are, and the lower the surface suction of soil grains 
decreases. Thus, the resilient modulus of the soil decreases 
significantly. 

IV. CONCLUSIONS 

The resilient modulus was significantly affected by the 
moisture content, as it decreased rapidly as the moisture 
content increased by 1-2%. The resilient modulus for saturated 
samples was reduced by 56.6% in comparison to the optimum 
moisture content (sample DT942.7). The resilient modulus 
reached the smallest value of 8.153kPa when the sample had a 
moisture content of 23.3% and the content of grains having size 
finer than 0.075mm accounted for 88.1% (sample DT942.5). 
The percentage of grains having size finer than 0.075mm of the 



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soil sample had an important influence on the value of the 
resilient modulus. Among the tested samples, those with a 
higher proportion of grains with size finer than 0.075mm had a 
greater drop of resilient modulus value with increased 
moisture, while their resilient modulus reached the smallest 
values on the maximum moisture. The percentage of grains 
having size finer than 0.075mm in the samples was between 
54.1 and 79.2%. The resilient modulus varied with moisture 
content from 53.7% to 89.1%. The greater the percentage of 
grains that are finer than 0.075mm is, the higher the ratio, the 
larger the area ratio, the greater the water absorption capacity, 
and the more the resilient modulus decreases. 

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